Do I have diabetes?

[spursfanuk]

Hi there, firstly I don't want to upset everyone on here living with diabetes as i'm not sure yet if I have it or not but it's all come a bit out of the blue.

It all started a couple of nights ago when my mouth started to feel really dry and yet at the same time creating excessive saliva which I know sounds odd. This carried on into the next day and after googling (I know) I started to get a bit worried about what it could mean so I went to the medical centre here. At no point from either googling or from my own thoughts did I ever think diabetes. Anyway the nurse looked down the back of my throat and said it was a bit red and may be infected, this was a surprise to me as I don't have a sore throat. She also took my blood sugar levels which came back at 8.7 which she said was quite high as it's meant to be under 7? She wants me to have another test but after i've finished the antibiotics she gave me for my throat as she said that sometimes infection can raise the blood sugar levels but i'm really not sure that my throat is infected because as I say there is no pain or soreness at all.

Im 38, 5'11 and what I describe as skinny fat, im a lean guy with with quite a bit stomach and far from a good diet.

So I suppose my question is , is 8.7 a really high blood sugar level reading, and is exessive saliva a symptom of diabetes?

 

[xfieldok]

We can't diagnose on the forum. A red throat indicates some form of infection which will raise blood sugars. Get the antibiotics out of your system and have the hba1c blood test. Chances are you are fine.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome.

I am afraid you are going to have to be patient and await the results of your further blood tests. The 8.7 is a bit high, but it all depends on the time of day, what and when you last ate, how stressed you were, and whether or not you do have an infection. The diabetes diagnostic blood test is called an HbA1c. This shows what your average levels have been over the previous 2 to 3 months. Make sure this test is on the list. There will likely be other things on the list such as cholesterol, liver and kidney functions, and full blood counts. Your nurse was very sensible to wait till after any infection has cleared.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi there, firstly I don't want to upset everyone on here living with diabetes as i'm not sure yet if I have it or not but it's all come a bit out of the blue.

It all started a couple of nights ago when my mouth started to feel really dry and yet at the same time creating excessive saliva which I know sounds odd. This carried on into the next day and after googling (I know) I started to get a bit worried about what it could mean so I went to the medical centre here. At no point from either googling or from my own thoughts did I ever think diabetes. Anyway the nurse looked down the back of my throat and said it was a bit red and may be infected, this was a surprise to me as I don't have a sore throat. She also took my blood sugar levels which came back at 8.7 which she said was quite high as it's meant to be under 7? She wants me to have another test but after i've finished the antibiotics she gave me for my throat as she said that sometimes infection can raise the blood sugar levels but i'm really not sure that my throat is infected because as I say there is no pain or soreness at all.

Im 38, 5'11 and what I describe as skinny fat, im a lean guy with with quite a bit stomach and far from a good diet.

So I suppose my question is , is 8.7 a really high blood sugar level reading, and is exessive saliva a symptom of diabetes?

You're not upsetting anyone, it's what we're here for. However, we can't diagnose on here. Sorry. It really could go either way, as if there is an infection, that would indeed influence blood sugars. You could be a bit higher than you normally would be, so a one-off finger prick is nothing to go by, especially as we don't know whether you ate in the 2 hours before that, nor what a possible meal was. (Do you happen to remember?) A seven, well... There's a lot of non-diabetics out there, who go well over that when they eat a piece of birthday cake, the matter is whether it drops back down properly. If there's some inflammation going on that could cause a plethora of things, so excess saliva and a dry mouth, sure, why not.

All in all... You want to get in touch with your GP, tell them the nurse thought your prick test was cause for concern, and request a HbA1c (blood test) to check the average bloodsugars of the past 3 months. That will tell you much, much more than a one-off test would. For your information, when I was diagnosed, my blood sugars went over 22.0 mmol/l, which is waaaaay over 7. So for the time being, don't panic. There's a bunch of other things that could explain your symptoms, some that'll pass, some that'll be easily treated, and should the numbers come back as diabetic or pre-diabetic, we can help you get your blood sugars back under control. If they're not already. But get that HbA1c test organised.

We'll be right here, should you need us.

 

[spursfanuk]

Thanks for your replies. She did ask if I had ate recently and I hadn't because I was in the waiting room for at least 3 hours before I was seen so I'd imagine it had been 4-5 hours since I'd ate anything.

It's this excessive saliva thats still a problem and not something I've had before when I've had throat infections.

I do have fairly high cholesterol (6.7 nmol when checked earlier this year) and I think they may have tested for diabetes then but i'm not sure. Either way im drastically changing my diet, although reading that fats are better than sugars may not do my cholesterol any good!

Thanks again for the replies and I will indeed request a HbA1c test after I've finished my course of antibiotics.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks for your replies. She did ask if I had ate recently and I hadn't because I was in the waiting room for at least 3 hours before I was seen so I'd imagine it had been 4-5 hours since I'd ate anything.

It's this excessive saliva thats still a problem and not something I've had before when I've had throat infections.

I do have fairly high cholesterol (6.7 nmol when checked earlier this year) and I think they may have tested for diabetes then but i'm not sure. Either way im drastically changing my diet, although reading that fats are better than sugars may not do my cholesterol any good!

Thanks again for the replies and I will indeed request a HbA1c test after I've finished my course of antibiotics.

Well... I had high cholesterol. Going low carb, high fat, actually brought that down. Yay, bacon! So maybe think on it some more before ruling it out. (Not because I think you definitely have T2 or anything.. But it'd just be a good move for your health in general.)

 

[spursfanuk]

Well... I had high cholesterol. Going low carb, high fat, actually brought that down. Yay, bacon! So maybe think on it some more before ruling it out. (Not because I think you definitely have T2 or anything.. But it'd just be a good move for your health in general.)

Funny you should say that because I had been following a mainly vegan diet at the time of my last test as I thought that it would bring my cholesterol down and basically it didn't!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Your best bet would be to ask the receptionist at your surgery (if you are in England) if you can register for test results on-line. Having them on-line means you can also look at the historic results and see which tests you have had and what the results were. It also saves you waiting for your nurse/GP to contact you with the results and filtering out some of the information, which they usually do. The total cholesterol is meaningless without the breakdown of its components, because many of the components are good. We can help you interpret these if you wish.

In the meantime, ask for print outs of your last lot of results. You are entitled to these.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

Funny you should say that because I had been following a mainly vegan diet at the time of my last test as I thought that it would bring my cholesterol down and basically it didn't!

Most cholesterol in your body is manufactured by the body, not taken directly from your food.
So high cholesterol foods like eggs don't usually raise your cholesterol.

Vegan includes all the carbohydrate heavy foods. Starchy roots, starchy grains.
Also highly processed vegetable oils.

Cholesterol is at least partly manufactured (if I remember correctly) from carbohydrates.

 

[spursfanuk]

Well i'm not sure what I should be asking next, i had an all round blood test which included cholesterol etc and apart from cholesterol all came back ok, does this mean i'm not diabetic and would the blood test have measured my blood sugar.

Seems strange to me because the initial symptom of dry mouth is still there, my blood sugar at that point was 8.7. I't not helped by it not being easy to get seen by a GP at the moment.

Funnily enough the only reason they rang me back about my results was my cholesterol which was 6, which is actually .7 better than last time and last time I'd been trying to eat a more healthy diet.

 

[Resurgam]

@spursfanuk I also found that my cholesterol went down when I stopped the 'healthy' diet which was pushing up my weight and expanding my waistline - I was almost spherical.
I used to have a very slender waist before I was pushed to eat carbs, and it is now shrinking down each year - I am almost 5 years from diagnosis.
You might find that reducing carbohydrate will make you feel better and remove the bay window waistline.
I ate low carb whenever I could get away with it and felt, and looked pretty good. Carbs are pushed as healthy foods - but they do not suit everyone and a modest reduction might well be a good idea, particularly if you are seeing higher levels of blood glucose at the moment. It might not be affecting your Hba1c tests yet - the average of 49 and 51 is 50, but it is also the average of 70 and 30 - so Hba1c would not detect if you were getting highs and lows.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Well i'm not sure what I should be asking next, i had an all round blood test which included cholesterol etc and apart from cholesterol all came back ok, does this mean i'm not diabetic and would the blood test have measured my blood sugar.

Seems strange to me because the initial symptom of dry mouth is still there, my blood sugar at that point was 8.7. I't not helped by it not being easy to get seen by a GP at the moment.

Funnily enough the only reason they rang me back about my results was my cholesterol which was 6, which is actually .7 better than last time and last time I'd been trying to eat a more healthy diet.

Did you not ask what tests you had, and what your blood glucose level was (HbA1c)? You need to ask for a printed copy of your blood test results. You can ask the receptionist, and you are entitled to these. They are important. The cholesterol of 6 appears to be the total, which is meaningless. You absolutely need the full breakdown, which should include HDL, LDL and triglycerides. Without those, no-one can say whether your cholesterol is good or bad. Please ask for a copy.

 

[spursfanuk]

Did you not ask what tests you had, and what your blood glucose level was (HbA1c)? You need to ask for a printed copy of your blood test results. You can ask the receptionist, and you are entitled to these. They are important. The cholesterol of 6 appears to be the total, which is meaningless. You absolutely need the full breakdown, which should include HDL, LDL and triglycerides. Without those, no-one can say whether your cholesterol is good or bad. Please ask for a copy.

Hi, I didn't see anything regarding what test I was having until I was briefly sat in the waiting room before my blood tests, I have requested a print copy which im going to collect soon so we shall see.

By the time I had my tests the symptoms that originally prompted me to seek medical help had kind of dissapeared but this weekend the very dry mouth with excessive saliva and feeling on edge have returned so its possible that my blood sugar had returned to normal but have not gone up again?

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi, I didn't see anything regarding what test I was having until I was briefly sat in the waiting room before my blood tests, I have requested a print copy which im going to collect soon so we shall see.

By the time I had my tests the symptoms that originally prompted me to seek medical help had kind of dissapeared but this weekend the very dry mouth with excessive saliva and feeling on edge have returned so its possible that my blood sugar had returned to normal but have not gone up again?

Well done for asking for your print out. It should be with you soon, and that may answer your questions. If you have any questions about the test results, all you have to do is ask.

 

[spursfanuk]

Well done for asking for your print out. It should be with you soon, and that may answer your questions. If you have any questions about the test results, all you have to do is ask.

Went to the Doctors and got the results from reception, ok...

My Haemoglobin A1c level is 32 mmol/mol , I assume this is the HbA1c test? if so 32 is within normal, so it is possible to have high blood sugar but not be diabetic?

Regarding my cholesterol the results are as follows
Serum Cholesterol : 6 mmol/L
Serum triglyceride : 1.4
Serum HDL Cholesterol : 1
Serum non high density lipoprotein : 5

I don't really understand all of that!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Went to the Doctors and got the results from reception, ok...

My Haemoglobin A1c level is 32 mmol/mol , I assume this is the HbA1c test? if so 32 is within normal, so it is possible to have high blood sugar but not be diabetic?

Regarding my cholesterol the results are as follows
Serum Cholesterol : 6 mmol/L
Serum triglyceride : 1.4
Serum HDL Cholesterol : 1
Serum non high density lipoprotein : 5

I don't really understand all of that!

Others'll chime in on the cholesterol, as I tend to get a bit lost in numbers, but the HbA1c is beautiful and very, very non-diabetic. And non-diabetics can have a slight peak here and there, depending on what they eat and whether they have a touch of dawn phenomenon, (liver dump), but the insulin response and sensitivity is adequate enough to deal with whatever's put in. Meaning they function normally and have a HbA1c.... Just. Like. Yours.

Can't diagnose on here, but from the looks of it, you're most decidedly not diabetic. Congratulations!

 

[Bluetit1802]

You are well below the diabetes level, which is 48 and above.

Cholesterol.

Firstly, the triglycerides are the baddies.
The HDL are the goodies. (high density lipoprotein)

The total is made up of the HDL plus the LDL plus 40% of the triglycerides. It sounds like your LDL wasn't estimated but it looks like it may be higher than ideal, about 4.4 if my mathematics are correct.

These are the ideal target ranges -
Total 5
Trigs 0 to 1.9
HDL 1.2 to 3.5
LDL 0 to 3
Non HDL under 4

One question - did you fast for about 14 hours before the test? Water only.
If not, the test is probably skewed as far as the Trigs and LDL are concerned.

 

[spursfanuk]

Others'll chime in on the cholesterol, as I tend to get a bit lost in numbers, but the HbA1c is beautiful and very, very non-diabetic. And non-diabetics can have a slight peak here and there, depending on what they eat and whether they have a touch of dawn phenomenon, (liver dump), but the insulin response and sensitivity is adequate enough to deal with whatever's put in. Meaning they function normally and have a HbA1c.... Just. Like. Yours.

Can't diagnose on here, but from the looks of it, you're most decidedly not diabetic. Congratulations!

Well that's good news, thanks

 

[spursfanuk]

You are well below the diabetes level, which is 48 and above.

Cholesterol.

Firstly, the triglycerides are the baddies.
The HDL are the goodies. (high density lipoprotein)

The total is made up of the HDL plus the LDL plus 40% of the triglycerides. It sounds like your LDL wasn't estimated but it looks like it may be higher than ideal, about 4.4 if my mathematics are correct.

These are the ideal target ranges -
Total 5
Trigs 0 to 1.9
HDL 1.2 to 3.5
LDL 0 to 3
Non HDL under 4

One question - did you fast for about 14 hours before the test? Water only.
If not, the test is probably skewed as far as the Trigs and LDL are concerned.

Hi , thanks for that. I did fast because I wasn't sure if I was meant to or not although I don;t think it was required.

It's good news regarding diabetes test but im at a loss as to what is causing my symptoms and with it being difficult to get to see a GP at the moment it almost feels like im wasting their time but something doesn't feel right. This has now been several weeks of dry mouth yet excess pooling of saliva, its constant and its affecting the way I speak etc.

 

[MrsA2]

Hi , thanks for that. I did fast because I wasn't sure if I was meant to or not although I don;t think it was required.

It's good news regarding diabetes test but im at a loss as to what is causing my symptoms and with it being difficult to get to see a GP at the moment it almost feels like im wasting their time but something doesn't feel right. This has now been several weeks of dry mouth yet excess pooling of saliva, its constant and its affecting the way I speak etc.

You could try a dentist. They are often pretty good in anything affecting the mouth, but definitely medical advice of some sort