Body acts like Pre-diabetes my whole life?

I'm confused about my condition, but it's been with me since as long as I can remember. I believe it's something which runs in the family (on one side, like my father) but so far I can't nail what it might be.

I've been a health nut my whole life. I was brought up by health addicts. Since my early school years we were never given sugar, never drank soft drink but would occasionally eat toast and bread. Very strict.

Well into my teens, I realised something wasn't right. I would get fat really easily whilst my brothers and sisters would not. I especially noticed that it was very difficult for me to concentrate no matter what I did. My eyes would blur slightly and I just could not focus. I gather it was after food but then I wasn't aware of it's link to insulin resistance.

Well into my 30's I discovered what insulin resistance was and eventually had to go onto a very low carb diet to stop the effects of what I now know was high blood sugar. I got my insulin tested as well as my blood sugars over a whole day and it seemed that I was suffering from slight insulin resistance. I now know that I have to get my blood sugars balanced overnight so that I don't suffer from an over-pronounced dawn phenomenon in the morning. If I don't get that into control it takes my whole day.

We all ate the same but myself and my father both suffer in the same way.. He has long passed away now but like me he had all the symptoms I had. It was also impossible to lose weight. However, later years I noticed that a high fat high protein and low carb diet does wonders for me.

The focusing issues would disappear, I could concentrate. I would lose weight when exercising and calorie restricting, it was amazing. Things started to work how they always should have.

I've noticed that after years of low carb dieting I feel great and it's done wonders for every bio marker under the sun. But even after 10 years of this, going off it for a short time, I return to the same high blood sugar state. Difficulty concentrating, blurry vision, no energy.. Really annoying.

My question is, can insulin resistance be passed on genetically.. Can you draw a short straw and have a lifetime of dealing with this when eating sugars and carbs of all kinds (starches, complex carbs, fruit) anything that raises insulin? My whole family is baffled by this. I'm wondering what the community thinks? Is it possible that I've been somewhat insulin resistant since birth? If so, is there any science backing this up, special conditions, genetic abnormalities.. etc?

I'm sure you get what I mean.

Thanks

Lamont D said:

Hi and welcome to the forum,
Obviously because of forum rules we cannot diagnose or tell you what you have is definitely what a GP has told you!
However, I get the same symptoms when I eat carbs and when I omit carbs from my diet, I feel really good and my health problems go away. But will return if I don't behave myself!
I have had a diagnosis of reactive hypoglycaemia, and I have a food intolerance to carbs! I also have had problems with insulin resistance and have trouble with control of my blood glucose levels if I don't behave!
I was misdiagnosed with T2.
I also put weight on, whilst following a so called healthy diet, that was recommended by doctors, dietician and every health care provider before diagnosis.
What is your fasting blood glucose levels if you have a glucometer?
What tests have you had?

There are a lot of metabolic conditions out there that GPs do not have the tests for diagnosis, it took a series of tests to get my diagnosis.

We have a sub forum on Reactive Hypoglycaemia, which covers a wide types of Hypoglycaemic conditions and also other syndromes which are similar but not reactive hypoglycaemia. Please read, see if anything rings a bell!

Keep safe

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Thanks for your answer, and thanks for replying to me. Can you tell me whether high blood sugar comes into RH?

Late add-on.
RH involves late secretion of insulin. That could be the reason for high BS.


Thanks

Resurgam said:

I have been glucose intolerant all my adult life - many of the things you describe are very familiar I have been rather unlucky t o have always had GPs who believed that carbs are healthy and not at all fattening.....

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I have had this since I was very young, but really didn't know what it was until I could articulate the problem. Is it the same with you?

My symptoms start with high blood sugar, I feel it in my eyes, and lack of ability to ficus on anything, and unfair fat buildup. I suppose Reactive Hypoglycemia could start off without insulin resistance and then later develop into insulin resistance (hence the high blood sugar).

Or

Late add-on.
RH involves late secretion of insulin. That could be the reason for high BS.

Lamont D said:

I got misdiagnosed with T2, five years before I got my true diagnosis of RH!
My blood glucose levels were really high.
This was because of really bad control, insulin resistance, hyperinsulinaemia and bad dietary advice.
If control is bad enough because of fluctuating blood glucose levels, then hba1c test is done, it will show T2 diagnosis.
As soon as dietary restrictions are tried, normal fasting levels should be seen and hba1c levels will also show normal.

With RH It is not late insulin, it is a weak initial insulin response then what is known as an overshoot of insulin that drives blood sugar levels down. In between, the patient will have high blood glucose levels.

Keep safe

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Thanks for answering that. I just asked this exact question on the RH section of these forums. You've answered it in one.
I suspected that this slow early release of Insulin would result in High Blood Sugar initially, as that is what I have suffered from most of my life. I have also been pretty nervy my whole life, difficulty focusing, can't concentrate etc..

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