Hi everyone,
I am new to this thread, new to the concept of having diabetes. But I have been browsing around a bit and found lots of very helpful information on this forum. Perhaps you all can help me as well.
I have not been myself since January 2017, when I was struck with sudden illness. Ever since, I have been struggling with severe water retention and weight gain (I have gained approx. 100 lbs since), and no idea what's wrong. All my tests have come back normal. Except one: my hs-crp levels showed critical inflammation, indicating possible future issues with my heart.
Over this past spring, I had felt rather out of whack, and had purchased a glucose monitor to start watching my blood sugar levels. That's when I discovered I had some pre-diabetic fasting levels. My doctor admonished that, while I was probably dealing with some insulin resistance, it was most likely a result of what else was going on in my body, and gave me some dietary suggestions to help control it. While he didn't discount it all together, he definitely didn't seem to be as concerned about it as I was.
I was advised that I needed to take a break and get my mind off my health, so, in September, my husband and I took a 5 week cross country trip to visit my family and go camping. I was particularly bloated and inflamed the whole time, but I decided not to worry about it til I came home. One evening, just 2 days after returning home, I felt particularly "off", so I decided to check my glucose and blood pressure, just to start monitoring my vitals. I never made it to checking my blood pressure. My glucose was 235 mg/dl (yeah, I am from the USA: please don't hold it against me!), and I just crumpled.
I had only eaten cream of pumpkin and potato soup for dinner, with a few whole wheat crackers. Yet this was enough to send me well over the diabetic line.
I immediately went on an extremely low carb diet, and began monitoring my glucose levels through out the day. In less than 2 days on such a diet, I already noticed a HUGE difference. My feet were no longer puffy and inflamed and I felt a whole ton better.
I also realized that exercise, which previous had only wearied and inflamed me, made me actually feel better.
After a few days, I experimented with adding a bit of sourdough bread, or tiny amounts of brown rice or quinoa back into my meals to see how I could handle them and, while my glucose didn't shoot up drastically, the swelling and inflammation began to return. Since apparently my body cannot handle carbohydrates, I have cut them out just about entirely. I still have a few carrot sticks with salad, and berries or apples don't seem to be a problem. But all other fruits and grains are out.
I have been in touch with my doctor, and we are preparing another group of tests to take, including the A1C,. In the meantime, doing as much research as I can. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information regarding the symptoms progressing up to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.
It's as if you either have it or you don't.
But I can't, for the life of me, believe that a person can go from being perfectly healthy to having full blown diabetes. There has to be a lead up of symptoms as the disease develops, before it is actually diagnosed.
And so my questions are:
Have I been watching myself slowly develop diabetes over the past 3 1/2 years, without realizing it?
Can any of you trace your diabetes (1 or 2), or insulin resistance back to a particular illness?
What symptoms did you experience in the years leading up do your diagnosis?
MY main complaints have been tops: water retention and weight gain. Next, my biggest struggles have been fatigue and lack of energy, followed by severe muscle pain, similar to what is often called fibromyalgia. And finally breathlessness and heavy legs. This last one is an anomaly: most of the time I would be struggling up the stairs feeling like I have a 50 lb sack tied to each upper leg. And then another day, I go up the stairs, and they feel weightless.
All of these symptoms have progressed from a single illness. I will post about this separately to keep this post from becoming any longer than it already is.
I thank you for your time, and experience. And I look forward to any suggestions any of you may have.
Blessings,
Ivygreen
I am new to this thread, new to the concept of having diabetes. But I have been browsing around a bit and found lots of very helpful information on this forum. Perhaps you all can help me as well.
I have not been myself since January 2017, when I was struck with sudden illness. Ever since, I have been struggling with severe water retention and weight gain (I have gained approx. 100 lbs since), and no idea what's wrong. All my tests have come back normal. Except one: my hs-crp levels showed critical inflammation, indicating possible future issues with my heart.
Over this past spring, I had felt rather out of whack, and had purchased a glucose monitor to start watching my blood sugar levels. That's when I discovered I had some pre-diabetic fasting levels. My doctor admonished that, while I was probably dealing with some insulin resistance, it was most likely a result of what else was going on in my body, and gave me some dietary suggestions to help control it. While he didn't discount it all together, he definitely didn't seem to be as concerned about it as I was.
I was advised that I needed to take a break and get my mind off my health, so, in September, my husband and I took a 5 week cross country trip to visit my family and go camping. I was particularly bloated and inflamed the whole time, but I decided not to worry about it til I came home. One evening, just 2 days after returning home, I felt particularly "off", so I decided to check my glucose and blood pressure, just to start monitoring my vitals. I never made it to checking my blood pressure. My glucose was 235 mg/dl (yeah, I am from the USA: please don't hold it against me!), and I just crumpled.
I had only eaten cream of pumpkin and potato soup for dinner, with a few whole wheat crackers. Yet this was enough to send me well over the diabetic line.
I immediately went on an extremely low carb diet, and began monitoring my glucose levels through out the day. In less than 2 days on such a diet, I already noticed a HUGE difference. My feet were no longer puffy and inflamed and I felt a whole ton better.
I also realized that exercise, which previous had only wearied and inflamed me, made me actually feel better.
After a few days, I experimented with adding a bit of sourdough bread, or tiny amounts of brown rice or quinoa back into my meals to see how I could handle them and, while my glucose didn't shoot up drastically, the swelling and inflammation began to return. Since apparently my body cannot handle carbohydrates, I have cut them out just about entirely. I still have a few carrot sticks with salad, and berries or apples don't seem to be a problem. But all other fruits and grains are out.
I have been in touch with my doctor, and we are preparing another group of tests to take, including the A1C,. In the meantime, doing as much research as I can. There doesn't seem to be a lot of information regarding the symptoms progressing up to insulin resistance or pre-diabetes.
It's as if you either have it or you don't.
But I can't, for the life of me, believe that a person can go from being perfectly healthy to having full blown diabetes. There has to be a lead up of symptoms as the disease develops, before it is actually diagnosed.
And so my questions are:
Have I been watching myself slowly develop diabetes over the past 3 1/2 years, without realizing it?
Can any of you trace your diabetes (1 or 2), or insulin resistance back to a particular illness?
What symptoms did you experience in the years leading up do your diagnosis?
MY main complaints have been tops: water retention and weight gain. Next, my biggest struggles have been fatigue and lack of energy, followed by severe muscle pain, similar to what is often called fibromyalgia. And finally breathlessness and heavy legs. This last one is an anomaly: most of the time I would be struggling up the stairs feeling like I have a 50 lb sack tied to each upper leg. And then another day, I go up the stairs, and they feel weightless.
All of these symptoms have progressed from a single illness. I will post about this separately to keep this post from becoming any longer than it already is.
I thank you for your time, and experience. And I look forward to any suggestions any of you may have.
Blessings,
Ivygreen
