High fasting blood sugars - what now?

[tulip87]

Hi,

I'm a 21 year old, BMI 20. Have been feeling worsening tired/hungry/fainting over last couple of weeks so my doctor ran blood tests. Last week my fasting blood sugar came back as 8.4 (so above the normal level). My random finger stick glucose was just 10.9 though, normal. They've run another fasting glucose which was 8.6... So not quite sure what's going on, couldn't get a doctor appointment until next week. I've read that two positive fasting glucoses is a diagnosis of diabetes, but mine seem a little low to be Type 1 presenting levels? And surely I wouldn't be a Type 2 given my age/build?

I would appreciate advice from anyone about what might happen now? Will they need to run further tests? If so what type of things do they do or do they just start treatment straight away? I am just so nervous and wish I could find out what was going to happen really soon rather than having to wait. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

Fleur

 

[timo2]

Hello tulip87,

A 10.9 isn't normal for a finger test, unless you'd just eaten a box of mars bars.
It's more likely to be type 1, though type 2 can show up in overweight youngsters these days.
Hope it's neither though.

Good luck,
timo.

 

[goji]

Hi Fleur

Sorry to hear you have been feeling unwell as of late.

I wanted to post as your description sounds a bit like how I was when I was first diagnosed. I also had the borderline high blood sugars, was aged 20 and had a lowish BMI (well height 5'6'' and weight of 7 stone 7 lbs). My only symptoms were total exhaustion/fatigue and strange episodes where I felt monstrously hungry and shaky (retrospectively, I now know these sensations to be related to hypoglycemia). I didn't have the thirst/peeing thing.

There was a lot of confusion at the time of diagnosis. I was initially referred to an endo at the young diabetics clinic but was sent away from there after being told that I wasn't diabetic as I was too skinny to be a type 2 and my sugars weren't high enough to be Type 1. :roll: Fortunately my nice GP thought otherwise and organised a Glucose Tolerance Test which confirmed the diagnosis.

I still don't really know what type I am. I took tiny amounts of insulin for some years. At one point they tried to put me on pills but I didn't like the pills and went back to insulin.

Aside from Type 1 and Type 2, there are a couple of sub-types of diabetes like LADA and MODY that might be worth bearing in mind. If you do have diabetes then your doctor should be able to do tests to work out what kind you have.

Anyway if there is any confusion about your results, I'd ask for a GTT straight away as it gives a definitive analysis of how well your body deals with sugar. Let's hope it's not diabetes. But if it is then there are much worse things in the world and lots of us live with it with no problems.

Take care and let us know how it goes with the doc.
Goji