Abscesses on stomach

Glink said:

I've been diagnosed pre-d for about 3y now. On metformin and low carb diet and HbA1C has been great. Unlike many in the pre camp, I do experience symptoms quite readily when I have high blood sugars (urinary frequency, thirst, fatigue, thrush, etc.). I've not got what is my 3rd abscess on my abdomen since I was diagnosed. There's no trauma to this area (waistline/belly, roughly); they just seem to come out of nowhere and get red and angry and painful. In the past I've ended up just keeping them clean and self-lancing (with a meter lancet) to relieve pressure. I don't let them get huge and I'm not worried about them causing systemic infections (I would seek medical care if I were unable to resolve it on my own). However, I'm not really happy with this as a lifestyle. They seem to come at times of stress, so although I don't test regularly anymore I suspect this is sue to higher sugars.

Does anyone have advice for preventing these in the future? They hurt and many me worry about my sugar levels (although this morning I did test and got a 5.7, so that looks good). Thanks in advance.

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Regardless of you managing it on your own I would go and get it checked. I have no idea what it could be but with diabetes it is always better to get it checked. Take care

How big are they? I used to get quite large boil type things in the area you are describing that turned out to be hairs that had ingrown.. Lots of squeezing and hot compresses seemed to draw out the pus. Then they'd be really sore for a few days.
Maybe exfoliation could be helpful around the waist area. I must admit I don't remember having any recently so it could well have been the combo of excess sweat , tight trousers from being obese and sitting a lot ( I had a very sedentary job).

Are you testing your blood glucose at all?

That looks like decent control to me.

Glink said:

I've been diagnosed pre-d for about 3y now. On metformin and low carb diet and HbA1C has been great. Unlike many in the pre camp, I do experience symptoms quite readily when I have high blood sugars (urinary frequency, thirst, fatigue, thrush, etc.). I've now got what is my 3rd abscess on my abdomen since I was diagnosed. There's no trauma to this area (waistline/belly, roughly); they just seem to come out of nowhere and get red and angry and painful. In the past I've ended up just keeping them clean and self-lancing (with a meter lancet) to relieve pressure. I don't let them get huge and I'm not worried about them causing systemic infections (I would seek medical care if I were unable to resolve it on my own). However, I'm not really happy with this as a lifestyle. They seem to come at times of stress, so although I don't test regularly anymore I suspect this is sue to higher sugars.

Does anyone have advice for preventing these in the future? They hurt and many me worry about my sugar levels (although this morning I did test and got a 5.7, so that looks good). Thanks in advance.

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Was going to suggest it might be high sugars - an abdominal abscess that refused to go away led to the blood tests that saw me being diagnosed - but your testing suggests otherwise. Might be worth getting checked out by the Doc if they are a regular thing.

There's an autoimmune condition called Suppurativa Hidradenitis - could it possibly be that? There've been a few people with it on the forum in the past if you search.

Hi,

Symptoms like these tend to be linked with high or irregular blood glucose levels and often occur in women with pcos. I remember once reading an article linking high insulin levels rather than high glucose. Sorry, but I don’t have a link to the article. I read it years ago. By that I mean that your bg may be swinging about more than is shown by your current testingregime. And you can still get a low fasting reading yet have bg rising and falling at other times.

Or alternatively, your bg levels may be staying controlled, but you may be needing large/increased amounts of insulin to do this, because of growing insulin resistance.

I was (known to be) preD for nearly 20 years, I think (although hard to remember now), and I had 2 or 3 periods of boils that coincided with less low carbing and diet changes. I also found they recurred with stress, fatigue and anything that knocked my immune system. Then they went away again with fewer carbs, better eating, and less stress/disruption.

Interestingly, I have had higher bg at other times, with no boils, so I lean speculatively towards the hyperinsulinaemia theory.