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Am I likely to be diabetic?

M

mk7

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11
I know someone is likely to tell me to get to the doctors, I have an appointment booked already before anyone suggests it, I'm only looking for opinions :D

I'm 25, Male, for the past 3 years I've had on and off dizziness/lightheaded, with doctors unable to find any explanation for it despite countless tests

Anyways, about 6 weeks ago I started to get new symptoms and had no idea what was causing them, Feeling hungry/empty all the time as if I hadnt eat, in the day time, this would then go the second I ate at nite then headaches within an hour of eating anything

Days have been going somthing like for the past month or so:

Wake up feeling ok for about a hour
Eat breakfast, still feel empty, Eat lunch, still feel empty, bit of nausea at times too
Eat dinner around 5-6, empty feeling/nausea goes, headache for the rest of the night

I was at my dads house last nite, who has been type 2 for years, and he suggested it could be my blood sugar, I tested it with his tester, only one strip left because he never uses it/is used to managing his sugar levels, and got a reading of 16.4 2 hours after eating, Hadnt eaten anything really sugary other than a cereal bar after the meal , which from what I can tell is ridiculously high

After that I decided to give sugar a miss for today, and had the empty stomach/hunger feeling all day and night, about 11pm I ate a cereal bar to see if it give me a headache, and sure enough, 30 mins later the headache turned up

I have had a fasting test in the past that I was told was normal, but this was about 3 years ago now

Only thing is I'm not getting the excessive thirst, which is a main symptom, but I drink about 4 bottles (500ml ones) of water a day anyways

Cheers for any replys and bothering to read all of that :mrgreen:
 
Julietterporter said:
I work in a school and encounter all sorts of strange illnesses and diseases. A child currently has prada-willy syndrome (that could be willie not willy) anyway, willy's aside (!) one of the major features of this syndrome is an unabating hunger, regardless of how much is eaten. The child has to count calories all the time because the 'I'm full' mechanism in his brain doesn't work. He could potentially eat himself to death. Whilst I'm sure this isn't what you have as it is normally a birth defect, there may be other syndromes about that cause this phenomenon.
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Hi Juliette

Excellent advice given to the OP, just a quick comment on your paragraph above. It's Prader-Willi syndrome, named after the doctors that "discovered" it back in 1956. There was another doctor too, Labhart but don't know why he was excluded!
It's a genetic chromosomal abnormality which cannot be rectified or treated with meds and as you say causes insatiable constant hunger as well as behavioural difficulties.It can now be diagnosed shortly after birth and appropriate measures taken.
Adults and older children with PWS often have diabetes as well.

Lesson over. :wink: :D
 
If your blood meter reading on your friends meter was correct, and there are lots of reasons why it might NOT be (old strip, bad testing routine, etc), but if it WAS then it's likely you are diabetic. However, you'ree right - the advice is see the doctor! But don't settle for a fasting blood test. It's not niccesarily definitive. Ask for an HbA1c test (still just a blood test, but the doctor normally has to either refer you to a local hospital/clinic for the test, or if they do it they have to send it to a lab) This test shows what your blood levels have been doing over the last month or so and is pretty conclusive.
 
Julietterporter said:
Thanks for clarifying that it's Prada-willi syndrome.
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Psst..PradER-Willi Syndrome :D Awful name though isn't it? :roll:
 
Cheers for the advice, I've spoke to doctors today and they can't book me in for a test until the doctor asks for one to be done, so it looks like im on my own til at least Thursday when the appointment is

and no to whoever asked im not overweight, I've ordered a test kit myself to keep track of it while I wait
 
Just too add a note, not sure if anyone mentioned. The cereal bar you mentioned contains a lot of sugars.
 
16.4 after two hours is very high and the thirst symptoms are a definite diabetic symptom. Have you been peeing loads or lost weight recently? In my non professional opinion being 25 and not overweight it is unlikely you are T2. Make sure you doctor checks your urine for ketones as again most T2's do not have ketones in their urine at diagnosis. The main test to distinguish between T1/T2 or the other forms of diabetes such as LADA (T1.5) is a c-peptide test which will measure the amount of insulin you are producing. As you don't fit the normal criteria for T2 I would ask the doc for one of those along with a proper hBA1c test which will give an average blood level over the past 3 months.

Good luck!
 
xyzzy said:
16.4 after two hours is very high and the thirst symptoms are a definite diabetic symptom. Have you been peeing loads or lost weight recently? In my non professional opinion being 25 and not overweight it is unlikely you are T2. Make sure you doctor checks your urine for ketones as again most T2's do not have ketones in their urine at diagnosis. The main test to distinguish between T1/T2 or the other forms of diabetes such as LADA (T1.5) is a c-peptide test which will measure the amount of insulin you are producing. As you don't fit the normal criteria for T2 I would ask the doc for one of those along with a proper hBA1c test which will give an average blood level over the past 3 months.

Good luck!
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I'm not sure on my weight because I dont check it at all, and havnt for years and am naturally quite thin anyways, as far as the peeing goes, yes slightly more of then usual mostly at night, I've tryed to have no sugar today and not too many carbs, and havnt had the emptyness/hunger today, but did get a headache from drinking half a cup of tea (decaf) with a spoon of honey in it, Not really sure what to make of any of it, but I've got this monitor comming tomrow so I should be able to make a bit more sense out of it tommrow
 
mk7 said:
xyzzy said:
16.4 after two hours is very high and the thirst symptoms are a definite diabetic symptom. Have you been peeing loads or lost weight recently? In my non professional opinion being 25 and not overweight it is unlikely you are T2. Make sure you doctor checks your urine for ketones as again most T2's do not have ketones in their urine at diagnosis. The main test to distinguish between T1/T2 or the other forms of diabetes such as LADA (T1.5) is a c-peptide test which will measure the amount of insulin you are producing. As you don't fit the normal criteria for T2 I would ask the doc for one of those along with a proper hBA1c test which will give an average blood level over the past 3 months.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure on my weight because I dont check it at all, and havnt for years and am naturally quite thin anyways, as far as the peeing goes, yes slightly more of then usual mostly at night, I've tryed to have no sugar today and not too many carbs, and havnt had the emptyness/hunger today, but did get a headache from drinking half a cup of tea (decaf) with a spoon of honey in it, Not really sure what to make of any of it, but I've got this monitor comming tomrow so I should be able to make a bit more sense out of it tommrow
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I think that's right, once you have a meter we won't be grappling in the dark trying to help you. The headaches I'm not sure of, but what I can say, I used to suffer with the most debilitating migraines. They would have me in the dark for up to four days (4 days only happened twice, two days was usual). I cut my carbs on diagnosis and have had one migraine by the next day it was gone. So although I don't know if carbs and headaches/migraines are or can be attributed to carbs/sugar, mine seemed to be.
 
Can I ask what age your dad was when diagnosed? There is a form of diabetes similar to type 2 called MODY which runs in families but affected people usually get it before the age of 25. It is often mis diagnosed with type2.
For my tuppenceworth, if 16.2 after a meal is correct, this does strongly suggest that you have some form of diabetes.
Many chemists particularly in supermarkets do free testiing, if I were you and cannot wait til the docs, go there around 2 hours after a starchy meal and get a test it should not be much above 8.
 
the_anticarb said:
Can I ask what age your dad was when diagnosed? There is a form of diabetes similar to type 2 called MODY which runs in families but affected people usually get it before the age of 25. It is often mis diagnosed with type2.
For my tuppenceworth, if 16.2 after a meal is correct, this does strongly suggest that you have some form of diabetes.
Many chemists particularly in supermarkets do free testiing, if I were you and cannot wait til the docs, go there around 2 hours after a starchy meal and get a test it should not be much above 8.
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I think my dad was in his late 40s when he got his diagnosis, 58 now (i think), Managed it with diet up until about a year ago when he started to take some kind of pill, His sister is also type 2, no idea on when she was diagnosed though

I've got a monitor ordered this morning on next day delivery, but if for some reason I dont get it, I'll keep the supermarket thing in mind, cheers
 
mk7 said:
I've got a monitor ordered this morning on next day delivery, but if for some reason I dont get it, I'll keep the supermarket thing in mind, cheers
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When is your gp appointment?...... as your obviously concerned try ringing the surgery back up and ask them to bring your appointment forward stating that you are very worried and need to be seen asap.

Good luck!
 
Missed the delivery of my tester today, so went to a chemist to get a test and got a reading of 6.9 before eating I assume thats a bit high?

GP appointment is thursday, Which they wont move, Unless I cancel that and take my chances ringing first thing in the morning tommrow and hope theres some free, Doctors here is completely useless most of the time
 
As a fasting reading it is a bit high, more meaningful is to go to the chemists again after your meal around 1-2 hours after, by 2 hours your body should certainly have processed all the carbs and returned your blood sugar to a normal level if you are not diabetic.
 
the_anticarb said:
As a fasting reading it is a bit high, more meaningful is to go to the chemists again after your meal around 1-2 hours after, by 2 hours your body should certainly have processed all the carbs and returned your blood sugar to a normal level if you are not diabetic.
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Place shuts at 5 so I dont think I'll have chance today now, I've not ate since about 1, Woman at the chemist told me to get down the doctors aswell, I'll be able to pick my tester up from royal mail in morning and will be able to go from there to get a bit more of a idea, cheers for the quick reply
 
Hi

Well 6.9 as a pre meal reading just puts you in "normal" as the NICE guidelines state between 4 & 7. However 95% of the non diabetic population would be under 6.5 and 75% under 5.5 so yes it is a bit high.

Saying that it came down from the teens and that must mean you are at least producing some insulin. If you continue restricting sugar and carbs you should hopefully see a gradual day by day improvement but I really would get yourself thoroughly checked out as at your age and weight plain T2 is just one of a number of possible diagnoses. Make sure you mention LADA and MODY to the GP and I would ask for tests to rule those out. I would specifically tell him you do not meet the standard T2 criteria as you are too young and not overweight. The other thing is to get the doctor to organise an HbA1c blood test that will measure your average BG's over the last 3 months. The problem is some doctors can sometimes get very confused by people who drop their carbs and sugars and apparently then have reasonable looking BG's when they do a normal blood test with a meter (your 6.9 being a case in point). Tell your doc you have given up sugar and a lot of carbs so that he is aware.
 
Yes, if you want to find out what your body is capable of you really need to do the test AFTER having some carbs, even if it is your own test at home. Can you ask for a glucose tolerance test, where you have something sugary and then get tested to see if your body can deal with the sugar.
Even I could probably reach non diabetic levels if I ate nothing for a day and went for a long run for example, but the minute I ate something I'd shoot up to high again/
So be careful of what your reading at the docs is.
Come to think of it, this is the perfect excuse to indulge in a cake or something on the way to the docs!
 
I aree about the carb thing. If you start restricting carbs now, you'll get a misleading result. A short while won't hurt, so stick to a "normal" diet until you've had your tests and everyone knows the score. then we can help you control your diabetes, if you do have it, with changes to diet/lifestyle
 
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