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Help - have I got Type 2 Diabetes ??

Douglas Niedermeyer

Member
Messages
8
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Other
So, lots of frequent urination at night time - I borrowed by Sister-in-Law's blood glucose monitor (FreeStyle Lite).

I got morning fasting readings of 6.5, 6.3 and 5.9 three days running.

I got 2 hr post-prandial reading of 6.2 BUT I also go a one hour reading after the same meal of 13.3 mmolL !!

Read somewhere that ADA guidlines suggest that any reading above 8/9 mmolL at any time = diabetes guaranteed.

I should point out that I had been starving myself all day before the meal in question - it was the only meal of the day (as I'm trying to lose weight) - but it was lowish carbs (about 40g) + I had 2 x banannas.

I now have background reading of 5 mmoL - but I'm worried the post prandial 1 hour result means I have diabetes T2 - any views very welcome !!
 
Hi Douglas. I think you should get yourself to your doctor's surgery. Those readings are outside the normal range (but not massively so), so it's quite possible that you have diabetes or are well on the way to developing it. Not for us to say for sure, so a visit to the doc and a full blood test is in order.

Good luck.
 
Thanks Geoffers.

I went to the Doctor on Friday - after I had the high morning "fasting readings" - he said "I was on the cusp but should be ok if I lost a bit of weight" - I'm moderately overweight by about a stone but all carried on the belly.

What shocked me was last nights 1 hr reading - which at 13.3 - I've never heard of a reading that high in the research I've done this week - although that reference to the ADA guidelines is freaking me out as I think now I'm not Pre T2 but actually have full blown D T 2.

I've got no reference point here - so will return to the doctor - but any other thoughts or comments from the community v. welcome.
 

Everyone is likely to experience a rise at 1 hour after eating, unless their meal is extremely low carbohydrate and quite a bit of fat. One of the indicators for diabetes is how quickly an individual's level reverts to the usually accepted ranges. Depending on what you ate, your 13.3 could be OK.

Whatever your Doc might say about an individual reading like that, it is unlikely you would be treated with medication straight away, even if he felt you tripped the diagnostic wire.

Personally, I'd take his advice and try to shed any excess weight, and probably do it by reducing the carbohydrate in my diet, then have a retest in a number of weeks. You may find that's enough to help you out, and if not, you'll be trimmer anyway.

Good luck with it all.
 
I would suggest you have a look at either a low carb diet or the 5:2 diet to lose the weight you need to. If you want to do it faster have a look at a very low calorie diet.
 
Thank you so much for that reply - really appreciate it !
 
Andrew Colvin said:
I would suggest you have a look at either a low carb diet or the 5:2 diet to lose the weight you need to. If you want to do it faster have a look at a very low calorie diet.
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Thanks - that's really great advice - and thank you for posting a reply
 
Nobody here can diagnosed diabetes, your doctor has to do this, and if necessary will do the proper tests to do so. But you've given a possible early warning, so take heed and lose some weight, definitely avoid scoffing bananas, and stop starving yourself - that's probably not the best way to lose weight.

Personally I think you're probably worrying too much - if you eat bananas you will be likely to see a highish spike one hour after eating, diabetic or not. Check through the forum, people have tested their non diabetic partner's post meal spikes and have seen similar highish readings.

Robbity

PS Has you doctor looked for other possible causes for frequent night time toilet visits? There may be other reasons for this issue.
 
Hi. Those readings are quite good. You need to test 2 hours after a meal and not 1 hour. It's possible you are marginal. The only real test would be the HBa1C as anything else won't give you a firm diagnosis.
 
Thank you so much for your reply - really helpful. On the urination - I'm 50 and otherwise fit - the only other main cause - prostate malfunction - was ruled out by my doctor - I had an exam 12 months ago and my bloods are normal.
 
Daibell said:
Hi. Those readings are quite good. You need to test 2 hours after a meal and not 1 hour. It's possible you are marginal. The only real test would be the HBa1C as anything else won't give you a firm diagnosis.
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Thank you for that reply - really helpful information.
 
Actually just a thought - years ago i went on an extremely low calorie diet and I wee'd like there was tomorrow all the time I was on it, so maybe your starvation diet might possibly be the cause?

Robbity
 
Robbity said:
Actually just a thought - years ago i went on an extremely low calorie diet and I wee'd like there was tomorrow all the time I was on it, so maybe your starvation diet might possibly be the cause?

Robbity
Click to expand...
Hi - unfortunately not - my fasting diet started 3 days ago in response to my first high fasting test result (which was 6.5) - urination has been around for the past 4/ 6 months - and very pronounced in the night in the last two months - which is why I tested my bloods this week.

Thank you for your reply - I really appreciate the suggestion though !
 
Douglas Niedermeyer said:
Thank you so much for your reply - really helpful. On the urination - I'm 50 and otherwise fit - the only other main cause - prostate malfunction - was ruled out by my doctor - I had an exam 12 months ago and my bloods are normal.
Click to expand...
There are lots of possible causes of nocturia (night time urination). Prostate malfunction can only be ruled out by a digital rectal exam, not a PSA blood test, as these are unreliable. It's pretty unusual to have prostate malfunction as young as 50.

One of the more common causes of nocturia is obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, which can occur in people of any age who are normal weight. It's more common in people over 40 and people who are overweight though. It can be caused by structural issues in the nose, mouth and throat, not just by the increased effort of the lungs to inflate when there is a large abdomen in the way.

Signs and symptoms of OSA include witnessed snoring or breathing pauses in sleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, nocturia, headache upon awakening, gastric reflux, dry mouth, high blood pressure, T2 diabetes, or depression.

If you don't have these other signs or symptoms, then it is probably a long shot, but I like to mention OSA to increase awareness because often doctors don't think of it until it's well advanced. If you think you might have it, ask for a referral for a sleep study.

If your nocturia is not caused by diabetes, prostate issues, or OSA, then other causes need to be explored. Nocturia is really disruptive to sleep quality, which will cause other issues like weight gain, fatigue and poor immune function. And it could be an early warning sign of something else, who knows what? It's a diagnostic puzzle but one that your doctor should keep trying to solve.
 
Your GP could offer you a blood test for hba1c, or refer you for an OGTT. These would give a good indication. Maybe ur GP could refer u to a dietitian?
 
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