Prediabetes Need some help for my untreated diabetes

[bobbys]

I am 40 , 5 feet 8 inches , 80kg , skinny look but 38 inch waist line (fat is not distributed equally its just the belly fat)

I inherited diabetes from my Father and mother. I am regularly monitoring my blood sugar level using "optium freestyle" and occasional HbA1c test

and I never got dangerous reading it always remained within normal range i.e fasting 100mg/dl and random 120 to 140 mg/dl, HbA1c remains within normal ranges.


I have an inactive life style I work from home and spend most of my time in front of computer (leaning on my easy chair)
I usually don't eat sugary products but occasionally consume bad or junk food after which I immediately observe pain in tooth, frequent urination (while blood test monitors shows normal ranges)، scrotum itching and dark spots on legs (which goes away after controlling diet)

Overall I am not in good health, I always receive comments like you are looking pale or weak. I eat very less food (loss of appetite), while climbing stairs I feel shortening of breath often get pain in joints (Knee and lower spine or back which goes away after few days on its own) and most importantly I can't walk with some weight is hand e.g carrying a 5kg bag for few hundred meters is hell of a job for me , And since couple of months I noticed erectile dysfunction.

So my question is Is it possible that my diabetes is progressing but home monitors and HbA1c are failed to detect it? or the decline in health is because of my inactive lifestyle ?
what kind of tests I should take to check what exactly wrong with me ?

 

[Rachox]

Hi bobbys and welcome to the forum. First let me tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel your health is deteriorating. Your symptoms may or may not be related to your diabetes. Do you know what and when your last HbA1c test was?
I think your best bet is to see a dr and tell them everything you’ve told us here. Mention your diabetes but keep an open mind that Diabetes isn’t the cause of all our ills.

 

[Jaylee]

Hi @bobbys ,

Welcome to the forum.

I'll tag in @daisy1 with an information sheet.

You realy should make an apointment with your doctor regarding the issues you're having.

More members will be here soon to say hello & impart experince, however we can't diagnose your ailments.

Regards.

 

[Pasha]

I am 40 , 5 feet 8 inches , 80kg , skinny look but 38 waist line (fat is not distributed equally its just the belly fat)

I inherited diabetes from my Father and mother. I am regularly monitoring my blood sugar level using "optium freestyle" and occasional H1ac test

and I never got dangerous reading it always remained within normal range i.e fasting 100 and random 120 to 140, H1ac remains less than 6


I have an inactive life style I work from home and spend most of my time in front of computer (leaning on my easy chair)
I usually don't eat sugary products but occasionally consume bad or junk food after which I immediately observe pain in tooth, frequent urination (while blood test monitors shows normal ranges)، scrotum itching and dark spots on legs (which goes away after controlling diet)

Overall I am not in good health, I eat very less food (loss of appetite), while climbing stairs I feel shortening of breath often get pain in joints (Knee and lower spine or back which goes away after few days on its own) and most importantly I can't walk with some weight is hand e.g carrying a 5kg bag for few hundred meters is hell of a job for me , And since couple of months I noticed erectile dysfunction.

So my question is Is it possible that my diabetes is progressing but home monitors and H1ac are failed to detect it? or the decline in health is because of my inactive lifestyle ?
what kind of tests I should take to check what exactly wrong with me ?

Welcome to the forums bobbys,

My immediate advice would be that you explain ALL of the above to your GP without further delay.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hello and welcome,

With blood glucose levels such as the ones you have reported, can you tell us why you think you have diabetes? They look perfectly normal to me.

I agree with the others, your problems indicate you need to see a doctor. We can't possibly diagnose you. Do ask him for another HbA1c or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

 

[bobbys]

Hi bobbys and welcome to the forum. First let me tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post.
I’m sorry to hear that you feel your health is deteriorating. Your symptoms may or may not be related to your diabetes. Do you know what and when your last HbA1c test was?
I think your best bet is to see a dr and tell them everything you’ve told us here. Mention your diabetes but keep an open mind that Diabetes isn’t the cause of all our ills.

Last HB1AC test was conducted 6 to 7 months ago I can't exactly recall the reading but it showed normal.

 

[bobbys]

Hello and welcome,

With blood glucose levels such as the ones you have reported, can you tell us why you think you have diabetes? They look perfectly normal to me.

I agree with the others, your problems indicate you need to see a doctor. We can't possibly diagnose you. Do ask him for another HbA1c or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

Because of my inheritance age and symptoms , If I eat late night pizza/apple or rice then while sleeping I wake up after every hour to urinate. If I continue to have junk food I start having other diabetic symptoms which I already mentioned e.g itching, spots on legs with rashes, pain in tooth and joints, temporary erectile dysfunction etc it all used to go away once I start to control my diet for few days (but home tests remained normal)

But this time the persistence in erectile dysfunction is what worried me

 

[Rachox]

Last HB1AC test was conducted 6 to 7 months ago I can't exactly recall the reading but it showed normal.

Ok, so it was quite a while ago, your dr may decide to repeat it now to assess if your symptoms can be attributed to your blood sugar levels.

 

[bobbys]

Ok, so it was quite a while ago, your dr may decide to repeat it now to assess if your symptoms can be attributed to your blood sugar levels.

But what worries me that once I watched a youtube video(I lost the link) where a diabetic was telling that his home monitors and HBA1C never showed high glucose levels but only the glucose tolerance test revealed that he is diabetic. Is it possible?

 

[bobbys]

Hi @bobbys ,

Welcome to the forum.

I'll tag in @daisy1 with an information sheet.

You realy should make an apointment with your doctor regarding the issues you're having.

More members will be here soon to say hello & impart experince, however we can't diagnose your ailments.

Regards.

Thanks for your reply Jaylee, I wasn't looking for exact diagnoses I just wanted to see if someone can relate to my symptoms or if the respected members can share some experience with me.

Thanks again for saying hello

 

[Pasha]

But what worries me that once I watched a youtube video(I lost the link) where a diabetic was telling that his home monitors and HBA1C never showed high glucose levels but only the glucose tolerance test revealed that he is diabetic. Is it possible?

bobbys, thats not the urgent issue at the moment, your seeing a doctor ASAP is. Believe me, the sooner you get comprehensive screening tests to sort out your issues the better.

 

[Rachox]

But what worries me that once I watched a youtube video(I lost the link) where a diabetic was telling that his home monitors and HBA1C never showed high glucose levels but only the glucose tolerance test revealed that he is diabetic. Is it possible?

I think I’d rather ask my dr’s advice than believe everything I saw on YouTube. Please make an appt to discuss your worries.

 

[Pasha]

Thanks for your reply Jaylee, I wasn't looking for exact diagnoses I just wanted to see if someone can relate to my symptoms or if the respected members can share some experience with me.

Thanks again for saying hello

I can personally relate to some of your issues, but again its only a doctor that can properly answer your questions and initiate the screening/diagnosis.

 

[Bluetit1802]

But what worries me that once I watched a youtube video(I lost the link) where a diabetic was telling that his home monitors and HBA1C never showed high glucose levels but only the glucose tolerance test revealed that he is diabetic. Is it possible?

Then you need to ask your doctor for a glucose tolerance test. To answer your question, yes, it is possible that an HbA1c can read as normal and miss that a person is having lows and highs that average out to normal, and it is also possible your home monitoring is missing some highs. That is not to say this has happened in your case. Please see your doctor.

 

[daisy1]

@bobbys
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 147,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[Member496333]

So my question is Is it possible that my diabetes is progressing but home monitors and H1ac are failed to detect it?

Hi @bobbys, yes it is conceivable that your diabetes is progressing without necessarily materialising as abnormal glucose concentration in the bloodstream. However, this is very largely dependent on your treatments. If you are using oral hypoglycaemic medicines or exogenous insulin in order to achieve your blood control then it is very possible that the resulting glucotoxicity in the tissues, nerves and organs is causing complications to arise. If you are controlling only through diet and exercise then this is less probable.

It’s also possible that your problems are unrelated but it seems vanishingly unlikely in my opinion. As others have said you need to see a doctor, preferably one that properly understands diabetes.

 

[bobbys]

Hi @bobbys, yes it is conceivable that your diabetes is progressing without necessarily materialising as abnormal glucose concentration in the bloodstream. However, this is very largely dependent on your treatments. If you are using oral hypoglycaemic medicines or exogenous insulin in order to achieve your blood control then it is very possible that the resulting glucotoxicity in the tissues, nerves and organs is causing complications to arise. If you are controlling only through diet and exercise then this is less probable.

It’s also possible that your problems are unrelated but it seems vanishingly unlikely in my opinion. As others have said you need to see a doctor, preferably one that properly understands diabetes.

Thank you so much Jim, Finally something exactly I was looking for. It seems other respected users were so reluctant to share some thoughts.
I understand that I need to consult a doctor but I just have a bad habit of going to doctor after doing lots of research and lab tests on my own.

Just to add so far I havn't taken any medicine. Only diet control and some occasional weight training or walking and only after my body give indication of something extraordinary wrong.

thanks again for your valuable input I will soon visit a doc and hopefully will share the findings in this thread.