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does diabetes make you feel ill?

licklemoose

Well-Known Member
Messages
315
Location
swindon
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
the heat
sorry if a adumb question but im hypothyroid with high cortisol and type 2 diabetes
i remember last year while i was seeing an endocrinologist (for thyroid) that she said she wanted to test me for diabetes as that can make you feel unwell
if yes then how does it make you feel as i really dont know whats what with how im feeling and its getting on my nerves now
 
I don't feel ill in the slightest. In fact, I feel very well. However, I don't have any other medical conditions and take no medication, plus my blood glucose levels are tightly controlled by diet..
 
Uncontrolled diabetes can make your feel all kinds of ill - I had a constant need to pee, a constant need to drink, constant hunger, constantly tired - I also had Thrush, blurry eyes and generally felt like I was getting flu all the time. Then I got trigger finger in four fingers at the same time and various cuts and grazes that wouldn't heal. I also think it contributed in a big way to the depression I was having at that time and my hair started falling out - which my DN also said can be related to diabetes and/or the depression.

Two years on of eating a low carb with healthy fats diet and all of that has gone and my hair is getting back to how it used to be.
 
There are a bunch of symptoms that can be, but not necessarily are, due to type 2 diabetes. Or, you might not feel any symptoms.

Classic ones are feeling very thirsty and urinating a lot, blurry vision, and tingling (pins & needles) in your extremities. Some lesser known ones are recurring boils, darkening of the skin around skin folds (skin hyperpigmentation), erectile dysfunction, nerve damage to organs (digestive tract, heart, kidney, etc.).
 

Feeling unwell in one or some of various ways prior to diagnosis is probable. The range of possible ways in which someone with badly managed diabetes could feel unwell is to wide to list. That said, I only ever felt unwell during a hypo (and I've only had two in over two years). I would add - feeling unwell can also be down to other associated factors : a change to diet (particularly in the first few days of a change to carbohydrate intake..and especially if the carb intake is low and then suddenly increases); meds you are taking for diabetes (many have digestive problems on metformin while others are fine), particularly stronger drugs like Gliclazide; meds you are taking for other reasons; lack of hydration...and of course other conditions altogether. If I rule out these issues, I generally feel well regardless of my Type 2 diabetes...in fact, as I am now eating less rubbish, I'm healthier than I was. I would advise you to do two things - 1] read all side effects on any meds you take (but not if you are the kind of person who will then worry he/she has them all!), 2] record how you feel alongside your readings, the food you eat and the meds you take - that should reveal any patterns.
 
I don't remember but when I was diagnosed at 4 - it was so late in the diagnoses that I actually lost consciousness and was in a coma for a brief amount of time. Friends and relatives of the family just thought I was a sickly kid as I always had a cold, lacked energy and was losing weight. Thankfully someone eventually clued in. LOL ....
 
im always thirsty and peeing lots but i have water retention so take herbs to help
ive been getting recurring boils for 29 years (hidradenitis)
i suffer air hunger and palpitations (thyroid)
 

I have Type 1 but before I was diagnosed I felt ill like I had a virus. I felt nauseous after eating, very tired, very thirsty, and generally really run down.
 
I have never felt unwell before or since having diabetes I have never had a hypo and did not have any symptoms before I was diagnosed at my routine annual blood test. I think many here have found the same and were suprised to find they had diabetes as nothing had pointed to it
 
I'm on Day 8 of my diagnosis and am still feeling very much like I have been for the last however long so can completely sympathise with you @licklemoose

- Tired to the point of absolute mindless exhaustion (I got lost in my kitchen yesterday. Last week I forgot my son's name)
- Weirdly emotional about things that don't matter- adverts, news stories about pensioners etc - and weirdly unemotional about things that do matter.
- CONSTANT need to pee. Seriously, 5 or 6 times a day.
- An almost constant thirst (and dry mouth if I don't drink). I'm downing easily 4-6 litres of water / day right now.
- Swollen feet that itch constantly, like there's something crawling on them. Poor cat's been treated for fleas 3 times this month.
- What I can only describe as an exploding abscess on my chest that took 2 days to drain. The doctor said they can be an indication of diabetes.
- Ravenously hungry until I eat, and then completely bloated.
- Generally "Blah", run-down and wrung-out. Much like having glandular fever as a teen.

I'm yet to experience the physical up-turn, but I'm only a week in and meds, diet, monitoring etc regimes are yet to be firmly set in place. However, it really has helped my mental well-being to have joined this community and to be reading about the journeys that other people have been on. The enormity of it all has gone and I no longer feel helpless and overwhelmed. I also feel optimistic that I can get through the time between now and when my physical health starts to improve and that, no matter what other stresses I'm dealing with, I'm as capable of taking control of my disease as anyone else here.

Hang in there, lickle. It'll get better - it did for everyone else here, regardless of whatever else they had going on with their health. But, also, know that it's okay to feel angry and ****** and fed up. It's a bum deal. Take a breath, read through other people's stories - I promise, you'll feel less alone and more confident.

Much love,

Sock x
 
licklemoose said:
im always thirsty and peeing lots but i have water retention so take herbs to help
ive been getting recurring boils for 29 years (hidradenitis)
i suffer air hunger and palpitations (thyroid)
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hey do you eat enough protein ? like 0.8 grams of protein per kg body-weight it is important for the body to be able to repair itself... there is around 7 grams of proteinn in an eggs for instance..

when one has more deseases it is sometimes hard to know wfrom which disease the different symptoms come from, but being thirsty and going to pee a lot is typically diabetic symptoms... is your thyroid hormons at the right level that is very important as too low in thyroid hormons can also worsen diabetes type 2..

to get rid of the thirst and frequent peeing you need to eat far less carbs... try to get under 100 grams a day and eat more nuts and olives instead ... and meat... and fish.. and the vegs grown over ground.

rice, potatoes corn and cakes and all sorts of bread are very high in carbs and it can be good to avoid them as much as possible... LIDL has a high protein roll that is very low in carbs , this is a fine choice instead of ordinary foods.
 
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NoCrbs4Me said:
So have you been tested for diabetes yet? I think it is a good idea.
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yes 9th june HbA1c level IFCC standardised was 51mmol/molHB (26-42). that was when i was put on the metformin, told to take one a day and that was it
 
i eat a lot of eggs and i had the lidl protein rolls a few days back and they didnt raise my glucose so i will stock up on those and freeze them
my thyroid has never been right since diagnoses 4 years ago, lastest TSH is 22
 
i could have typed all you did, im exhausted, irratable, anxious, palpitations, short of breath (all thyroid as far as i know)
i dont want to move off the sofa but have too and my feet are killing me, i even have a mark from where they get so swollen
im allways hungry but i put that down to mirazapine as thats a side effect so im trying to get off that
the abcesses/boils are nothing new to me in fact i can feel the niggle under my arm and another at the top of my leg
anxiety is through the roof as i have hospital appointment next month for fibroids and the letter said about a hysteroscopy, well i looked it up on google and well if they want to do that then i have to be knocked out.........no friggin way
trouble is im not sure if my HBA1c will go down when my thyroid is sorted as for the last couple of years the standard glucose test comes back when my thyroid levels are off and then it goes down when thyroid gets closer to range but ive never had the HBA1c test at the same time
 
I think many don't feel unwell after diagnosis and with a level of blood sugar control in place. After all it's not an 'illness' but a 'condition' and with blood sugar in a reasonable range with diet and meds your body can behave near normally
 
licklemoose said:
i eat a lot of eggs and i had the lidl protein rolls a few days back and they didnt raise my glucose so i will stock up on those and freeze them
my thyroid has never been right since diagnoses 4 years ago, lastest TSH is 22
Click to expand...

I think you should insist on getting thyroid hormons fixed and have it up to a norml level (maybe your diabetes will disapear then too.... , because your diabetes symptoms can actually be mainly from being far too low in thyroid hormons..or far too high(and liver being extremely overactive ). make a scene and demand that your thyroid hormons is helped into the normal range and TSH gets back in normal range as well... and remember to tell your GP that Metformin (that is a fine medication in many ways) unfortumately also has the ability to camouflage a low level of thyroid homons as it can affect TSH so that it is much lower even though thyroid hormons are actually low, so that what they need to look at are the actual levels of T3 and T4 and not the TSH....because of the metformin..... you´ll feel much better when your levels of thyroid hormons are in the nprmal range... you can feel tired from both being too high and being too low in thyroid hormons.. remember to move a lot that is good for both ....if only long walks do it..
 
Felt really ill most of the time; then diagnosed with T1 and never felt better as long as I stay in control
 
I get ill from time to time, depending on how far I move up and down on the meter. Lethargy, nausea and headaches, weakness and irritability are common symptoms.
 
symptoms for me on diagnosis.

extreme tiredness,
inability to sleep
tingling in my feet and fingers
carpel tunnel syndrome in my right hand
falling asleep after eating
inability to watch anything to completion
horrific snoring
getting up to pee
bloated tum
indigestion
feeling like I must lie down in the afternoons
hating hot weather

Since switching to LCHF all of these symptoms have generally disappeared, though I do still snore (less so) and I do sti need some BP medication. I am hoping both of those will still get better.
 
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