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Diagnosed with PCOS: but Is it possible I have type 2 diabetes?

lilyh94

lilyh94

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hiya all :)

I'm new here! Hope you're all well :D I've been worrying about the possibility of type 2 diabetes for some time now. I'm 20 years old and the past couple of years things keep on going downhill for me. Firstly, the diagnosis of PCOS last year (the symptoms of that alone drive me insane :(), I have been prescribed Metformin 500mg although haven't really bothered taking it. I had a bunch of bloods done and my LFT result came back abnormal so was refered for a liver scan, unfortunately though I did not attend this. I do regret that now, and will be asking GP to re-refer me. It seems I've stopped caring anymore. I've only got a doctors appointment because they phoned and told me it was important I booked in asap. I guess they're wondering what the hecks so wrong that I couldn't attend my (pcos related) appointments. I wish I wasn't so lazy about my health. I'll stop going on about that anyway!

My concerns for possible type 2 are as follows:
Insulin Resistance- this is part of my PCOS diagnosis, and the reason for the Metformin.
Weight gain/ Constant hunger - always need a sugary fix in the day be it chocolate or a sugary carbonated drink.
Fatigue - Always tired no matter how much sleep I get. I could have 10-12 hours sleep, go to work for 5 hours and be exhausted the whole day.
Dizziness - feeling unsteady on my feet, wobbly. Constant shaky hands, not so severe but still annoying.
Vision loss - My vision seems is terrible right now. I went to the opticians and ended up having to get glasses for long sighted/ watching TV. It's like when I've got my glasses on everything becomes HD. I can no longer watch TV w/o them. I find it's worse at night than it is during the day. I never used to have any problems with my vision, this is a fairly new thing (1-2 years). When I mentioned it to my Gp he just told me to go get my eyes checked. No thought to whether it could be a sign of something serious.
Headaches - Or migraines. Around 2/3 times a week. Usually one sided followed with excruciating pain in my right eye. I once called 111 it was so bad but they didn't really advise much. I end up sleeping excessive amounts to get rid and feel almost normal again, lol.

Sorry if I've gone on a bit !! But please any comments / advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm just wondering what I should ask my Gp on Tuesday?

Thanks so much.

Lily Xx

 
Type 2 diabetes is prevalent amongst women with PCOS. I think somewhere around one in two by the time you are 40. non alcohol Induced fatty liver disease is also prevalent and may be the reason for your liver function test results and the scan appointment. I suggest you ask for a referral again and ask GP to run your bloods again to check whether you are now diabetic - the thirst, tiredness and vision issues are all possible symptoms but you need to have it confirmed by GP. You have been prescribed Metformin which you are not taking - this is prescribed for both PCOS and diabetes so it would help.
 
cold ethyl said:
Type 2 diabetes is prevalent amongst women with PCOS. I think somewhere around one in two by the time you are 40. non alcohol Induced fatty liver disease is also prevalent and may be the reason for your liver function test results and the scan appointment. I suggest you ask for a referral again and ask GP to run your bloods again to check whether you are now diabetic - the thirst, tiredness and vision issues are all possible symptoms but you need to have it confirmed by GP. You have been prescribed Metformin which you are not taking - this is prescribed for both PCOS and diabetes so it would help.
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Thanks for the reply Ethyl. Just re-read my post and found so many errors! It's hard to put all the problems in one post really with pcos in the loop. I do really want to sort myself out, it's just getting in the right frame of mind I guess. I always feel so rushed when I'm at the doctors, like they just want to see me quickly and send me off. Which I guess is expected being an NHS patient. The endo Dr point blank refused to do me a insulin 2 hour fasting test, as said it's probably what I've got .. so I'm thinking it was to save money despite it being the NICE guidelines for PCOS. I just wonder what are the steps in diagnosing Type 2 and do the symptoms get better? I really wish my eyes would get back to normal Xx
 
If you have diabetes or are prediabetic then the symptoms will improve if you control your sugar levels. You really need to tell your GP that you suspect you are diabetic and get them to run a HbA1c test at the least which shows you what your blood glucose levels have been running at for the previous three months. If they refuse, then I'd be changing surgeries. I think some chemists will do blood sugar tests but someone else might know the answer to that one.
 
Oh my life. You have just described how I was before I was diagnosed with diabetes. Especially the headaches and pain in the eye. I couldn't tolerate light either. People thought I was crazy. I never took the PCOS seriously and ate what I wanted and did no exercise. The doctors prescribed metformin and I didn't take it. I thought I knew best. I got sick of going to the doctors so I just carried on my merry way. The only reason I got diagnosed was because the occupational nurse came in and had a cancellation so I took it. She asked if I wanted to do a urine sample so I thought why not. When I bought it back to her, she tested it and said you need to see your doc as soon as. You have a massive amount of glucose in your urine, it could be diabetes. My advise to you, from my experience, is first of all take the PCOS seriously, be careful what you eat, look after yourself and ask the doctor to check you for diabetes. I was borderline fir ages so they prescribed metformin. I never took it but when I look back now I wish with all my heart I had listened, perhaps I could have kept diabetes at bay a little longer. Good luck to you and don't be disheartened.
Sorry for the long post hope this helps you
 
cold ethyl said:
If you have diabetes or are prediabetic then the symptoms will improve if you control your sugar levels. You really need to tell your GP that you suspect you are diabetic and get them to run a HbA1c test at the least which shows you what your blood glucose levels have been running at for the previous three months. If they refuse, then I'd be changing surgeries. I think some chemists will do blood sugar tests but someone else might know the answer to that one.
Click to expand...

Thanks I will look into it and will defo ask for re-referel :) Thanks for the help Ethyl xxx
 
bexter75 said:
Oh my life. You have just described how I was before I was diagnosed with diabetes. Especially the headaches and pain in the eye. I couldn't tolerate light either. People thought I was crazy. I never took the PCOS seriously and ate what I wanted and did no exercise. The doctors prescribed metformin and I didn't take it. I thought I knew best. I got sick of going to the doctors so I just carried on my merry way. The only reason I got diagnosed was because the occupational nurse came in and had a cancellation so I took it. She asked if I wanted to do a urine sample so I thought why not. When I bought it back to her, she tested it and said you need to see your doc as soon as. You have a massive amount of glucose in your urine, it could be diabetes. My advise to you, from my experience, is first of all take the PCOS seriously, be careful what you eat, look after yourself and ask the doctor to check you for diabetes. I was borderline fir ages so they prescribed metformin. I never took it but when I look back now I wish with all my heart I had listened, perhaps I could have kept diabetes at bay a little longer. Good luck to you and don't be disheartened.
Sorry for the long post hope this helps you
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Hiya Bex, thanks for the reply and well wishes! :) I'm glad I'm not alone with the whole severe eye pain thing. It's been driving me mad, so much so i end up holding my eye in my hand and sleeping with ice on my head lol. I will defo try and sort it out properly now I think, I don't wanna end up causing myself more problems. I haven't even had my period in over 4 years due to the pcos, goodness only knows what it's doing to me. I find it all highly embarrassing going to dr's with these sorts of issues. Did you have low vitamin D with your pcos too? xx
 
I never got checked for my vitamin D levels. Regarding your periods there is a tablet you can take which brings a period on. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it wasn't the pill. I made sure I took it 4 times a year at least. I have been going to the gym for a while now, I haven't lost a lot of weight, but within 2 months of being at the gym my periods returned, and they are as regular as clockwork. I don't think the doctors take PCOS as serious as perhaps they should do. Regarding your eye pain, is it worse if you eat something sweet? My eyes can still suffer now, but not as bad as they were. Keep on at them and don't give up. Don't let the PCOS rule you, you rule it
 
don't know anything about PCOS so can't help there, but one thing did jump out as familier, always feeling the need for a sugar fix and always feeling tired. I suffered both before I got my BS levels under control. Even now I can tell that my sugar levels are high because I go tired, confused and unable to concentrate and really feel like I need something sweet to wake me up, I know now that giving in will only make matter worse. You might find you feel better if you have something low carb, a piece of cheese or homemade low carb biscuit say, rather than something sugary it might help fool your body and help you feel better in the end.

Hope you do get everything sorted soon and push your doctor about the head pain as well, the only thing I had similar was when I was on the pill and I knew I would get a migraine in the week I wasn't taking it, mentioned it to the doc and was taken straight off the pill so there is some link, I still get migraines but no where near as frequently or regularly.
 
As a veteran PCOSer, the only thing that helped me was going low carb.

And I have now discovered, the lower the better.
It has made a tremendous difference. :)

Have a look through the low carb section of the forum and give it some serious thought. I cannot recommend it enough.
 
I'm the other way round, Ive been diagnosed type 2 for almost 5 years. But lately I've been wondering if I also have PCOS. I'm seeing an Endocrinologist on friday, so will bring that up.
 
Lenny3 said:
I'm the other way round, Ive been diagnosed type 2 for almost 5 years. But lately I've been wondering if I also have PCOS. I'm seeing an Endocrinologist on friday, so will bring that up.
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Hi, good luck with your endo appointment :) Hopefully it leads to answers for you. Xx
 
Thanks
Brunneria said:
As a veteran PCOSer, the only thing that helped me was going low carb.

And I have now discovered, the lower the better.
It has made a tremendous difference. :)

Have a look through the low carb section of the forum and give it some serious thought. I cannot recommend it enough.
Click to expand...

Hiya, thanks for the tip hun :). I'm on the PCOS fb groups & like you, they always recommend low gi/carb, I just find it so **** sticking to a diet when I still live at home. Xx
 
Ruth B said:
don't know anything about PCOS so can't help there, but one thing did jump out as familier, always feeling the need for a sugar fix and always feeling tired. I suffered both before I got my BS levels under control. Even now I can tell that my sugar levels are high because I go tired, confused and unable to concentrate and really feel like I need something sweet to wake me up, I know now that giving in will only make matter worse. You might find you feel better if you have something low carb, a piece of cheese or homemade low carb biscuit say, rather than something sugary it might help fool your body and help you feel better in the end.

Hope you do get everything sorted soon and push your doctor about the head pain as well, the only thing I had similar was when I was on the pill and I knew I would get a migraine in the week I wasn't taking it, mentioned it to the doc and was taken straight off the pill so there is some link, I still get migraines but no where near as frequently or regularly.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ruth :) I'm going to the doctors tomorrow so fingers crossed! Hope you're keeping well X
 
bexter75 said:
I never got checked for my vitamin D levels. Regarding your periods there is a tablet you can take which brings a period on. I can't for the life of me remember what it was called, but it wasn't the pill. I made sure I took it 4 times a year at least. I have been going to the gym for a while now, I haven't lost a lot of weight, but within 2 months of being at the gym my periods returned, and they are as regular as clockwork. I don't think the doctors take PCOS as serious as perhaps they should do. Regarding your eye pain, is it worse if you eat something sweet? My eyes can still suffer now, but not as bad as they were. Keep on at them and don't give up. Don't let the PCOS rule you, you rule it
Click to expand...

Hiya, well done on sticking with going to the gym! I've been considering joining up, but I think I'm too shy to go alone, lol. Doctors definitely don't. Especially with checking the insulin levels that should be mandatory for PCOS. I'm not sure whether my eye pain is or not actually, maybe I'll keep a little journal the next few weeks and try and keep a track of it all. Thankyou for all the support. Take Care Xx
 
I was diagnosed with PCOS years ago and it doesn't make me feel good about myself. They were very quick to pick up on it and I saw an Encronologist for just over 10 years. I was put on Metformin for the insulin resistance and dianette for lack of periods and bad facial hair. I even had laser treatment but PCOS has destroyed me as I person. My calcium levels went into a world of their own giving me randomly high levels for periods of time - I had so many scans, tests and blood tests but they couldn't find the problem. Was diagnosed T2 in Jan 2013 which is when I was discharged from the Encronologist - he did stay that when you have PCOS you have a high risk of being diabetic than others.

Like you I have trouble taking my meds consistently but for me it's a combination of giving up on this body and not being able to take tablets well.
 
I had all the symptons you are mentioning, I am also PCOS, insulin resistant, I have metabolic syndrome, fatty liver, I had been able to control my periods in the past with metformin and low carb, after been diagnosed type 2 in january (ended up in hospital) Im definitly back on track, I just wish I had taken it more seriously before... But my emotional eating won me over... After starting low carb again by blood sugar numbers plumeted... Something impressive was the change in my eyesight as I went really blurry... And afterwards couldnt focus... Now its fine... If I had a glucose metre before I would have been able to see more clearly the damage that wheat and sugar do to me as I see it now in my numbers.... Hope you get the answers you are looking for.
 
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