Overt diabetes

[Weehotty]

My doctor mentioned i had overt diabetes ... what is that?

 

[EllieM]

I'm guessing you've got obvious symptoms. eg thirst, maybe weight loss? It would be more helpful to say what type - T1, T2, etc...
Have you been put on any medication, going for more tests?

 

[Robbity]

Here's what Google has to say on overt diabetes.

 

[Walking Girl]

As we here in the Southern United States might say, overt means “Ain’t no doubt... you’ve got it”.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My doctor mentioned i had overt diabetes ... what is that?

I'd say it means "clear as day" diabetes. But yeah, that doesn't really tell you the type.

 

[Weehotty]

I'm guessing you've got obvious symptoms. eg thirst, maybe weight loss? It would be more helpful to say what type - T1, T2, etc...
Have you been put on any medication, going for more tests?

Not put on anything yet .. my ogtt test was at 16 mmol.. i am symptomatic but shes writing to a specialist to confirm as my HBA1C was high in the prediabetic zone and not in the confirm diabetes zone . I did explain that i had made changes to my diet since last year as we expected this .. so i did say to the doc that the reason that the HBA1C is in that zone is because ive been trying to manage the levels through diet and exercise

She said that i would be treated as a t2 initially .. my father is a LadA type 1 but j do have symptoms of type 1 ... excessive hunger , hypoglycaemic events that come out of the blue etc ... in essence my poor wee pancreas is spluttering like a car with lack of petrol .. I suppose time will tell what catagory i fall into .. when i had gdm the specialist said that he would see me back later in life not a case of if but when ... maybe he new more than he let on lol

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Not put on anything yet .. my ogtt test was at 16 mmol.. i am symptomatic but shes writing to a specialist to confirm as my HBA1C was high in the prediabetic zone and not in the confirm diabetes zone . I did explain that i had made changes to my diet since last year as we expected this .. so i did say to the doc that the reason that the HBA1C is in that zone is because ive been trying to manage the levels through diet and exercise

She said that i would be treated as a t2 initially .. my father is a LadA type 1 but j do have symptoms of type 1 ... excessive hunger , hypoglycaemic events that come out of the blue etc ... in essence my poor wee pancreas is spluttering like a car with lack of petrol .. I suppose time will tell what catagory i fall into .. when i had gdm the specialist said that he would see me back later in life not a case of if but when ... maybe he new more than he let on lol

Ask for GAD and C-peptide tests, though not always conclusive, especially in the beginning stages, those could determine type. What changes did you make in your diet, what does a typical day look like for you?

 

[bulkbiker]

hypoglycaemic events that come out of the blue

Hypo or hyper? Highly unlikely you'll get hypos if unmedicated T1.. I'd go so far as to say impossible?

 

[Weehotty]

Not put on anything yet .. my ogtt test was at 16 mmol.. i am symptomatic but shes writing to a specialist to confirm as my HBA1C was high in the prediabetic zone and not in the confirm diabetes zone . I did explain that i had made changes to my diet since last year as we expected this .. so i did say to the doc that the reason that the HBA1C is in that zone is because ive been trying to manage the levels through diet and exercise

She said that i would be treated as a t2 initially .. my father is a LadA type 1 but j do have symptoms of type 1 ... excessive hunger , hypoglycaemic czevents that come out of the blue etc ... in essence my poor wee pancreas is spluttering like a car with lack of petrol .. I suppose time will tell what catagory i fall into .. when i had gdm the specialist said that he would see me back later in life not a case of if but when ... maybe he new more than he let on lol

Hypo or hyper? Highly unlikely you'll get hypos if unmedicated T1.. I'd go so far as to say impossible?

you would think that but not impossible .. my body is struggles to push out stored glucogen if ive not eaten for say 10hrs ( if i get up in the morning, forget my breakfast and dont eat after lunchtime) I can best describe it like a hypo . If i took too much insulin when i had gdm i would shake, mt hands wouldn’t work and id get confused and sweaty and i end up chugging on a bottle of full fat coke

 

[Weehotty]

But sadly it happens too fast . Ok 1 min 5 mins later shakey sweaty and in coherent wreck

 

[bulkbiker]

you would think that but not impossible .. my body is struggles to push out stored glucogen if ive not eaten for say 10hrs ( if i get up in the morning, forget my breakfast and dont eat after lunchtime) I can best describe it like a hypo . If i took too much insulin when i had gdm i would shake, mt hands wouldn’t work and id get confused and sweaty and i end up chugging on a bottle of full fat coke

Have you ever measured your blood sugar when you feel that way?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

you would think that but not impossible .. my body is struggles to push out stored glucogen if ive not eaten for say 10hrs ( if i get up in the morning, forget my breakfast and dont eat after lunchtime) I can best describe it like a hypo . If i took too much insulin when i had gdm i would shake, mt hands wouldn’t work and id get confused and sweaty and i end up chugging on a bottle of full fat coke

If you have those events, do you check your bloods? They could be false hypo's. (They feel the exact same as an actual hypo, the only way to know the difference is to test. I have had both, and honestly, there's no other way to tell them apart.). If they're the real deal, you need to know, because that's weird and you'd want a specialist looking into it, not a GP.

 

[MeiChanski]

Hello I’m a bit confused. Doctor mentioned overt diabetes but you don’t have a formal diagnosis and you are not on medication. But you said you took too much insulin when you had gestational diabetes? and go hypo because you haven’t eaten anything. You would obviously hypo if you took insulin and not eat anything. But some of us are saying if you are not on medication now to lower blood glucose, it’s not possible to hypo, unless you test to confirm it or you are still on insulin?

 

[lucylocket61]

you would think that but not impossible .. my body is struggles to push out stored glucogen if ive not eaten for say 10hrs ( if i get up in the morning, forget my breakfast and dont eat after lunchtime) I can best describe it like a hypo . If i took too much insulin when i had gdm i would shake, mt hands wouldn’t work and id get confused and sweaty and i end up chugging on a bottle of full fat coke

I can get down to under 3 sometimes. I am an unmedicated type 2. But do know that, eventually, it will creep up again. Slowly, but it comes back up. If i rest it raises, I dont need anything sugary. Unlike a type 1. Having full fat coke is not a good idea as you go up, but then go down again fast. Trying to keep your sugars as stable as possible helps with avoiding the shakes.

Do you have a blood glucose meter? I dont know what country you are in. I had to buy mine and my strips. I am in the UK

Controlling all carbs, not just obvious sugars, is a major part of stabilizing your blood sugar levels and keeping them stable.

 

[KK123]

Just to add to this, about 2 years ago 6 months after diagnosis I was having a lot of hypos so the Consultant said to stop insulin completely and see how it went. I did this for around 6/7 weeks and at LEAST 3 times a week still went very low, in the 2s and 3s. My DN said to my face 'That is impossible, you are not on insulin'. You can imagine my response to this with the evidence in black and white and she then said 'Well, they are not hypo's, it's just your body naturally going that low, lots of people without diabetes go much lower than 4'. I asked her whether I should stop treating these lows as hypos then and just ignore them....No, no, she said 'just in case'. No wonder we are all confused.

 

[Weehotty]

I know it’s confusing .. ok so no longer on insulin (i was on it as gdm, I remember once that i had a hypo when using insulin and I remember how it felt) ... doc is writing to my old specialist that i had when i had gdm because my recent ogtt came back at 16 and the diabetic cut off is 11 . My hbac 1 is at 46 so still in the prediabetic range ( mainly because ive been adjusting my diet to keep the sugars lowish - yes i do have a meter. . My doc will confirm the diagnosis when she hears back from the specialist . For the time being treatment is diet and excersice with the possibility of tablets should it get worse ...

When im out . And ive not eaten for a while it feels like my sugars take a nose dive ( just like when i had the hypo with gdm)

I hope ive explained this better
I am partnof the uk lucy locket im glad someone else unders that sugars can dip like that and its not just me

 

[HSSS]

I know it’s confusing .. ok so no longer on insulin (i was on it as gdm, I remember once that i had a hypo when using insulin and I remember how it felt) ... doc is writing to my old specialist that i had when i had gdm because my recent ogtt came back at 16 and the diabetic cut off is 11 . My hbac 1 is at 46 so still in the prediabetic range ( mainly because ive been adjusting my diet to keep the sugars lowish - yes i do have a meter. . My doc will confirm the diagnosis when she hears back from the specialist . For the time being treatment is diet and excersice with the possibility of tablets should it get worse ...

When im out . And ive not eaten for a while it feels like my sugars take a nose dive ( just like when i had the hypo with gdm)

I hope ive explained this better
I am partnof the uk lucy locket im glad someone else unders that sugars can dip like that and its not just me

I think it’s really important you test when you get that “hypo” feeling. It sounds in the circumstances much more like a false hypo caused by lower than typically experienced sugars not necessarily especially lower in reality <4. What the actual readings are will give some major answers to what’s going on.

As there is family history it’s wise to rule out LADA but hunger can be a type 2 thing and we’re not sure yet if they are true hypos and even if they are, whilst unmedicated they aren’t typical of either type 1 or 2. (Possibly reactive hypoglycaemia?)

Also just checking that if you got the meter for gdm that the strips you are using are current in date ones not old ones.

What diet changes are you making?

 

[Weehotty]

Ive got an new meter an Accu chec performa which i bought myself... diet changes are cutting down on carbs no sugary cakes . No sugar juice .. plenty more veg .. i also cut back on my fruit ... this morning for breakfast i had a good portion of mushrooms a poached egg two tined toms and one tottie scone .. my 2hr pp came out at 8.9 which is great for me my lunch i had a lamb curry which had 3 tbls of rice was at 9. 3. Which is good ... normally I would be sitting at about 15 the now

 

[HSSS]

Not sure what tottie scone is - potato? I’m guessing that and the rice were what gave you highish numbers but if they are better than usual it’s a good start. Along with the items you listed be very wary of potatoes (all colours) and other starchy root veg like parsnips, all grains so bread (any type or colour), flour, cereals and oats fall in this category.

Let us know what sort of readings those odd ‘hypo’ events have and what’s been typical around them.

 

[ianf0ster]

this morning for breakfast i had a good portion of mushrooms a poached egg two tined toms and one tottie scone .. my 2hr pp came out at 8.9 which is great for me my lunch i had a lamb curry which had 3 tbls of rice was at 9. 3. Which is good ... normally I would be sitting at about 15 the now

Hi,
I only have personal experience as a Type 2, so perhaps it is different for LADA's.
If I were getting BG readings of 8.9 at 2hr post prandial (unless it was over 7.0 pre-prandial, I would be horrified. I try hard to adhere to the guidelines of trying to avoid more than a 2.0 increase pre-prandial to 2hrs post-prandial and also avoid every going higher than 7.8.

Getting figures like 15 in the past, I would not be surprised if you were getting 'false hypos' even though your post-prandial BG figures are still what I would consider to be high.
Note that a 'False Hypo' isn't dangerous in itself -except if you are driving or doing something requiring concentration, balance etc.

All Type 2's have different responses to different types of carbs, but I would suggest that the food items I 'bolded' contain rather a lot of carbs and are contributing to your 'mountain range' BG numbers.