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Are these Diabetes symptoms?

TheFloppyOne

TheFloppyOne

Well-Known Member
Messages
46
Location
grimsby
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
So what symptoms do I have?

1. I have dark underarms with a red-ish line in the middle. They are very itchy at times. I'm sure this Acanthosis Nigricans or it could be Erythrasma. I'm currently discussing treatment with my Doctor and trying to get him put me over to a specialist after diabetes blood tests come back.

2. I have frequent urination. This has been persistent for as long as I can remember.

3. I do tend take longer getting out of bed and waking up in the early afternoon or I tend to have early nights.

So my story is this. I have a long term addiction with sugar and caffeine. I used fizzy drinks and sugar as a way of trying to combat the side effects of a anti-psychotic I take called Risperidone which causes high levels of drowsiness. I take this for mood swings and delusions which are related to a Autistic related disability.

I am morbidly obese. I am 6ft 4 tall and 22 stone. I am not very active.

This will sound incredibly stupid but for the last 5 years I have been drinking 2 litres of Cola a day.

I did this because It was the only way I could gather the energy to clean my home. There is zero social care provision in my area and my parents are too old & frail to help me.

I will put pictures up soon but for now its looks very similar to this.

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fj340w2/figure05c.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A few of these do point to Diabetes symptoms. The one and only way to get a definite answer is make an appointment with your GP and they can do it within minutes. better to get it checked and it be nothing than leave it and find out later on when its harder to handle. Hope everything goes okay! :)
 
TheFloppyOne said:
So what symptoms do I have?

1. I have dark underarms with a red-ish line in the middle. They are very itchy at times. I'm sure this Acanthosis Nigricans or it could be Erythrasma. I'm currently discussing treatment with my Doctor and trying to get him put me over to a specialist after diabetes blood tests come back.

2. I have frequent urination. This has been persistent for as long as I can remember.

3. I do tend take longer getting out of bed and waking up in the early afternoon or I tend to have early nights.

So my story is this. I have a long term addiction with sugar and caffeine. I used fizzy drinks and sugar as a way of trying to combat the side effects of a anti-psychotic I take called Risperidone which causes high levels of drowsiness. I take this for mood swings and delusions which are related to a Autistic related disability.

I am morbidly obese. I am 6ft 4 tall and 22 stone. I am not very active.

This will sound incredibly stupid but for the last 5 years I have been drinking 2 litres of Cola a day.

I did this because It was the only way I could gather the energy to clean my home. There is zero social care provision in my area and my parents are too old & frail to help me.

I will put pictures up soon but for now its looks very similar to this.

http://escholarship.org/uc/item/6fj340w2/figure05c.jpg
Click to expand...
Those symptoms could be many, many things. They're just too vague for anyone to decide.

It sounds like your Doc is trying to look after you. Have you actually had blood tests taken for diabetes? If not, does your Doc intend to have any done? I'm sorry, but that's not clear from your post.

However it turns out, it would be best to try to drop the fizzy cola as it won't be doing you any favours. It's just highly sweetens, flavoured caffeinated water and empty calories. If you want to do something simple to trim back your potential for diabetes and trim your waistline, dropping the cola could make a big difference.

Coca cola is roughly 850 calories, per 2 litre bottle. Again, by the same estimation, most folks need to drop 3000-3500 calories to lose a pound of weight. By dropping cola, and doing nothing else, you could lose some consisyptent weight, I'd think.

If you seriously want to,lose weight there are other things you could try, such as cutting back on sugary and carbohydrate heavy foods, but a good start would be the cola.

If you haven't had bloods test for diabetes, do ask for one to put your mind at rest. Your GP may start with a finger prick test in the surgery.
 
Blood tests where done last week. I stopped the fizzy drink binge a month or so ago. I am on a low carb diet.

It looks bang on in terms of "Acanthosis Nigricans". Can't be a bacterial infection since I've tried everything from anti bacterial soap, hydrocortizine, acidic anti fungals and antiseptics.
 
Hi and welcome. Good to hear that you've moved to a low-carb diet. I'll be amazed if you don't see real weight reduction. It's a myth that you need sugar for 'energy'. It does give a short-term boost to blood glucose but that may not be needed and it's followed by a sugar low. Most people can get all the glucose they need via proteins and fats plus a few carbs and it's a much smoother ride and you feel full for longer. I hope you are finding that.
 
TheFloppyOne said:
Blood tests where done last week. I stopped the fizzy drink binge a month or so ago. I am on a low carb diet.

It looks bang on in terms of "Acanthosis Nigricans". Can't be a bacterial infection since I've tried everything from anti bacterial soap, hydrocortizine, acidic anti fungals and antiseptics.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you'll get those blood test results back soon then :)

Nobody here can give medical advice, so you've done the right thing going to your doctor and getting those tests done.

Let us know how you get on :)
 
azure said:
Hopefully you'll get those blood test results back soon then :)

Nobody here can give medical advice, so you've done the right thing going to your doctor and getting those tests done.

Let us know how you get on :)
Click to expand...

Got negative for Diabetes and negatives for any STD's. It seems to be a Fungus which has worked its way into my stretch marks under my arm-folds.

I think this is a early wake up call for me but I'll still stick around on the forum because I would like to learn how to get more healthy and reduce my sugar levels because I am a sugar addict.

I'd also like to learn about diabetes more because my older Brother is at risk as well. He takes Risperidone too and he has put on a lot of weight. I think his BMI is worse than mine.

Thank you for your support.
 
Good news that you don't have diabetes :)

A fungus doesn't sound nice, but at least you know what it is now, so that's more good news

If you find the Risperidone is making you that tired, is there any help the doctor can give you? Is there any alternative drug that might suit you better? Worth asking - if you haven't already, of course. It may also be worth asking for support from your GP for healthy eating/weight loss. My local surgery has Well Man and Well Women clinics and I believe they have special help with diet, and support from a trained nurse.
 
azure said:
Good news that you don't have diabetes :)

A fungus doesn't sound nice, but at least you know what it is now, so that's more good news

If you find the Risperidone is making you that tired, is there any help the doctor can give you? Is there any alternative drug that might suit you better? Worth asking - if you haven't already, of course. It may also be worth asking for support from your GP for healthy eating/weight loss. My local surgery has Well Man and Well Women clinics and I believe they have special help with diet, and support from a trained nurse.
Click to expand...

I might be put on a slimming world subscription with help of the medical team there which includes all the people trying to slim down in my local area.

Doctor knows I've been Pre-Diabetes for almost 2 years so she and her surgery team are taking it seriously it seems. I might get help with fitting into a slimming world program and perhaps some help to install a new Bath in my Bathroom since I need to soak a lot to make sure I get clean.

I may as well be honest and say I am not the brightest chap in the world. I have severe Autism and beneath the mask I do struggle a lot with normal things like keeping a routine and managing the house.

I hope your diabetes issues aren't holding you down if you suffer from type 1 or 2. I'm going to continue being me and stand along side friends, neighbors and strangers who have different illnesses to myself just as your doing here by helping me.

Hope you have a good evening. I have that cold that is going round at the moment. Can't seem to shake it off.
 
You sound perfectly bright to me @TheFloppyOne :) And you should see the state of my house! I'm decorating and its a real tip at the moment! Housework is hard work, for sure.

I hope your cold gets better soon. Look after yourself and enjoy your evening too :)
 
Yes lowcarbing is the way to go for weight loss and not just for diabetics, my skin problems cleared up with my weight lose, I lost a third of my body weight , lots to learn on this forum and now you have made a start things will improve for you, best of luck
 
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