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Am i Diabetic ????????

D

damianhucker07

Member
Messages
11
hi for the last 18 months i have been suffering from dizzy spells which i had approx once a fortnight but are now once or twice a day and last for a couple of minuttes , sometimes a little longer . my grandma was diabetic and my mum thinks she might be . i am getting more and more symptoms that always seem to be a possible diabetes symptom such as , tiredness ( not usually wanting to go sleep but the kind of tiredness like ive just been physically active ) muscle cramps particularly in my calf , one of which lasted for almost 2 weeks , headaches , sickness (feels more like travel sickness than a tummy bug) the obvious visiting the toilet more often (usually to urinate for long period) , dazed/disorientated ( feel rather retarded at the time ) larger appetite and subsequent weight gain rather than the weight loss people have mentioned on this forum , regular thrush like sypmtoms approx every 10-14 days for around 1 day ( this was the final straw that convinced my i was diabetic when i read it was a symptom ) dry mouth (although wouldnt really say i was really overly thirsty as described by some people ) generally feel hungover like ive been out on the town the night before . yet despite all this i had a plasma glucose test on thursday and got my results today which i was told was "fine" but wasnt given an actual figure . i have an appointment to see my gp this thursday morning to discuss my sypmtoms and find out anything else that could be causing them but should i be asking for another test or anything as i feel i am definatley suffering from diabetic symptoms . im not a hypercondriac or anything ive only visited the docs a handful of times in my entire life and know theres definatley something wrong , i just dont wanna be fobbed off by gp i want a real answer . im 28 years old and im slightly over 13 stone and 5ft 9 and have just gone up to a size 36 waist . i have a partner and 4 children and obvioulsy need to know whats happening for them too . i walk 45 minuttes to work every morning so i get s small amount of exercise . whats your opinion of what i should do next?
 
See the doctor
 
Ask your GP for a Glucose tolerance test. It is a glucose loading over a period of several hours, it will give you a definitive answer if you are diabetic or not.
 
thats exactly what i was thinking of doing , am i completly within my rights to ask and is there any reason for him to refuse me the glucose tolerance test
 
damianhucker07 said:
thats exactly what i was thinking of doing , am i completly within my rights to ask and is there any reason for him to refuse me the glucose tolerance test
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Absolutely you are. With those symptoms most GPs would order a glucose tolerance test anyway, but you can certainly ask for one and speed the process up a bit.
 
Geoff is absolutely right, and with a family history of diabetes, your GP can't refuse.
 
in addition to all this i have been sent home from work today suffering from very severe headache that meant i couldnt stand up as i felt so dizzy , its the worst headache of my entire life . i called nhs direct as it was so bad i thought i should possibly go to hospital and didnt want to go and be told i just had a headache . the nurse on there also agreed i had symptoms of diabetes but was unsure as to why my plasma glucose test would thefor say it was fine and that i should just wait until i see gp tomorrow morning , i just need to know whats going on , i need to start trying to get in under control now before its too late to do anything about it . at the moment i feel slightly worse by the day .
 
Although what you describe does sound very much like diabetes, other things could cause these sort of symptoms. Diabetics can have normal blood glucose, it just doesn't stay normal for very long! If what was measured was blood glucose at a single point in time, then a negative result doesn't mean that you don't have diabetes - it just means that it hasn't been found yet. If you had a full range of blood tests that includes an HbA1c then that would be unlikely to be normal if you are a symptomatic diabetic. Nonetheless a Glucose Tolerance Test is by far the best way of diagnosing the disease - you really should demand one.
 
yes it was just a single blood test .
i will definately be asking for a glucose tolerance test tomorrow , is this something i will need to go hospital to do and how long after asking does it usually take before i get the test . i agree also that the symptoms doesnt all neceserally mean i am diabetic but even if im not it would be good to rule it out so other potential avenues can be followed to see just what is wrong with me .

"edit" also just realised i was told to fast for 12 hours by gp prior to plasma glucose test , yet everwhere ive read says 8 - 10 hours , which way is the correct way and would fasting for 12 hours have made much difference to the outcome . if so it wold be interesting to put this to my gp tomorrow
 
damianhucker07 said:
i was told to fast for 12 hours by gp prior to plasma glucose test , yet everwhere ive read says 8 - 10 hours , which way is the correct way and would fasting for 12 hours have made much difference to the outcome
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Hi Damian,
There are several different types of test that can be done and they can be a bit confusing.

The one you are having done is a fasting glucose test. For this you need to fave fasted (i.e. nothing but water) for 8 to 10 hours beforehand. The results will give an indication of whether you are diabetic as follows:
From 3.6 to 6.0 mmol/L - normal glucose tolerance
From 6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L - impaired fasting glucose (i.e. pre-diabetes)
7.0 mmol/L and above - probable diabetes.

For an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (or OGTT or GTT) you have to fast for ideally 12 hours. First they test your BG to get a base point. Then you have to drink a 75g glucose drink and rest for two hours. Then they test you again to measure the level that your BG has reduced to within the 2 hours. The results of the second test are measured as follows:
Less than 7.8 mmol/L - normal glucose tolerance
From 7.8 to 11.0 mmol/L - impaired glucose tolerance
Over 11.1 mmol/L - probable diabetes.

Unfortunately the fasting and GTT tests have to be done at different times.

Another test is the HBA1C test. For this they will extract a sample of your blood and send it to a lab for analysis. The equipment needed for the test is quite expensive and not something that a GP surgery will normally run to. This test averages your BG highs and lows over the last 3 months and gives the result as a percentage. This percentage can be translated into mmol/l. For example my last HBA1C was 6.7% which is equivalent to an average BG level of 7.5mmol/l over that 3 month period. For an HBA1C you don't need to fast because it does not measure your present BG but your historical one, and whatever you have to eat or drink immediately before the test can't change that.

Finally there is the fingerprick test that you do at home with a small BG monitor. This shows what your BG is at that moment in time.

Hope all that makes sense, but please shout if any questions.
 
hi yes that all made sense
i think you missed my point on the plasma glucose fasting test though .
i had it done last week and it read that i was fine , but i was told to fast for 12 hours . ive since found i should have fasted 8-10 hours not the 12 the gp told me , so would the extra fasting hours effect my result . i am seeing him tomorrow at which point ill be asking for the tolerance test to be scheduled as i beleive i have far too many symptoms to just ignore and also have familly history . hope that clears up what i was asking , hopefully you might shed some light on that.
 
Sorry Damian, I had misunderstood your point. Although the recommendation for a fasting test is 8 to 10 hours, some GPs say 12 hours just to be on the safe side. At 10 hours your metabolic system should be at rest (i.e. insulin not being called for and blood sugar levels stable). Another 2 hours shouldn't make much (if any) difference to that situation.
 
ok , thnx for clearing that up dennis . just didnt want to have to point out to the doctor that he told me to do something wrong , dont think that would make him as keen to be helping me . lol :wink:
 
Hi Damian,
Yes, there's nothing doctors like more than us amateurs telling them how to do their jobs!!!
 
ive been to gp this morning and asked for glucose tolerance test . i was flatly refused the test being told that my results from festing was 5.1 and that it would be ridiculous to request the test . i explained (again) about all my sypmtoms and he agreed they sound diabetic but that other avenues should also be explored so has asked me to return in a week for another fasting test and to test kidney and liver functions . im not convinced by his knowledge but also he has made me feel quite stupid , how can i have so many symptoms but not be diabetic , i need answers . so ive ordered the test machine thing from the pharmacy which should arrive this evening to be picked up as i dont want to wait another week for blood test and then a further week to see gp to discuss results . 2 weeks is far too long to leave me feeeling like this . i feel like im almost hoping i am diabetic now just to give myself an answer of whats going on , if im not then my head will be all over the place not knowing whats wrong . ive only had a handful of doctors appointments in my entire life , i dont get ill . but this time i know somethings wrong and just need it sorting , sorry to rant on at whover reads this but im really p****d off that im still no closer to knowing whats wrong .
 
the best thing to do when you get your meter is to test before you eat and then at one and two hours after eating. if your results are within normal ranges it's unlikely that you do have diabetes.

sometimes the fasting test isn't always the best. when i was diagnosed my fasting results were fine, and remained fine for several years after diagnosis. but the glucose tolerence test showed that after eating I was spiking up to 17ish, well over the threshold for diagnosis. the fastign result can stay normal as the body has time overnight to bring the blood sugar back down and isn't dealing with any food.

If you don't have diabetes then I think your symptoms need further investigation
 
thanx for the advice guys . if i dont end up being diagnosed as diabetic it will be a shame to not need to visit this forum anymore , i have found everyone very helpful thus far , i work in a trade in which forums are quite commonplace and usually theres allsorts of bickering going on between the members . i will take in advice give and will report back on this thread over the next couple of days as to what my bs readings are . thanx again everyone
 
damianhucker07 said:
ive been to gp this morning and asked for glucose tolerance test . i was flatly refused the test being told that my results from festing was 5.1 and that it would be ridiculous to request the test.
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I think this is very bad - the mere fact that you are worrying about diabetes should be enough to justify the test - it isn't exactly expensive. However, if you have got your own meter then you can do a simplified version of the test yourself. A diagnostic test should be done using venous blood, so the following instructions won't give you a definitive result, but they will give you a pretty good idea.

  1. Starve yourself for at least 10 hours. This is best done first thing in the morning before breakfast.
  2. Wash your hands carefully before taking the blood sample - contamination with food or other substances can foul up the results.
  3. Take the first blood sample, and record the blood glucose.
  4. Drink a 380ml bottle of lucozade original.
  5. Wait two hours, and don't eat or drink anything while you are waiting.
  6. Take the second blood sample (again after washing your hands), and compare this with the first.
If you are not diabetic, then the two figures should be fairly similar. If the second figure is less than 7.8 mmol/l then the test is considered negative. If the second figure is in the 7.8-11 mmol/l range, then that suggests impaired glucose tolerance but not diabetes (this is probably the so-called "pre-diabetes"). If the second figure is anything greater than 11 mmol/l then that suggests full blown diabetes.

If you do this and get positive or ambiguous results, then go back to your GP and demand a "proper" GTT - if he still won't do this then find another GP! If the test is negative, then you don't need to worry about diabetes - although you should still find out what is causing your symptoms.
 
ok dunno if i understand any of my results on my first attempts . ive done this in evening so not done any fasting etc gunna do it that way 1st thing in morning . i tested before my dinner and it read 5.9 which didnt surprise me as ive felt fine all day an hour later it was 5.3 , not much change , maybe im not diabetic after all . as the second hour approached i noticed a slight headache coming on , i tested 4.0 this time , i am confused as these signs are in normal range . for dinner i ate chicken curry with brown rice , unsure on nutrition etc so not sure how that compares to results , i do admit i was expecting an increase not decrease , ive not exercised or anything today as thurs and fri are my days off but sun - wed i have to walk for 45 mins to work each morning and i occasionally start getting headaches not long after(on my bad days) . dunno if any of this means anything to anyone but thought more info the better . i plan to test last thing before bed and then first thing in morning , i will then have a drink of lucozade and test after 1 and 2 hours . on saturday i plan on testing when i arrive at work to see if my normal routine effects anything . if anyone spots anything amongst all this that i should or shouldnt do then please let me know
 
All I can say is that most uncontrolled diabetics would have much higher figures than these. Try the DIY Glucose Tolerance Test, and if that is negative then it is pretty unlikely you have diabetes. I am afraid you are going to have to go back to the doctor whatever, you really do need to get to the root of these symptoms.
 
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