I Have Symptoms But Not Sure What To Do

[CrumblingWall]

I have been monitoring my blood glucose for a few years and have had various scares about diabetes. A year ago, after a heavy carb load I felt really bad, my stomach hurt and I had ketone breath. I went to my GP who did tests that has shown no diabetes. I started a ketogenic diet at the same time, to help my pancreas not have to work as hard. I have failed glucose tolerance test at 13.2 mmol/l after 2 hours.

I was sent to amn endo who thought I was type 1 but antibodies were negative at a time. I did fail GTT there as well. He took various bloods and told me that it is not diabetes, and to get on with my life. I was having various problems of highisg blood glucose since: around 6 mmol/l I get a terrible headache, sweating and feeling tired. Also the sweet taste in my mouth. I was monitoring my blood glucose for some time and usually it was between 5-6 mmol/l. (I am still eating low-carb mind you).

Recently, I was having more and more symptoms of glucose being higher and my Codefree shows high 5s, low 6s mostly. Just a few months ago it was low 5s. Today, after a meal of salmon, green leaves and various nuts, my blood glucose is not coming down from low 6s and I feel: pressure in my head, nausea, tired and dizzy.

I try to not measure my blood glucose often because it causes me anxiety. My August HbA1c was 5% which is average of 5.4 mmol/l but I bet it would be higher now since seeing low 6s a lot of time.

I am not sure who to ask about this because doctors don't think it is diabetes but my symptoms make me incapable of working sometimes and affect my life.

 

[Boo1979]

High 5s and low 6s are normal BG readings and not indicative of diabetes
I seem to recall that you have posted similar questions several times and that you were going to look into potential health anxiety issues - have you got anywhere with that?
Sorry to be so direct, but having the same worries going round and around despite infomation to the contrary isn't good for any of us

 

[Deleted Account]

Sorry to read about your problems. However, as you can see from here, BG in the 6s after eating is not considered diabetic.

I am not a doctor but wonder if you have some food intolerances which are causing you nausea, tiredness, etc.
Have you seen a dietician?

 

[kitedoc]

Hi @CrumblingWall, from my own experience as a diabetic, not as professional advice or opinion:
your description of symptoms and your BSLs results, except for the 13.2 mmol/l at 2 hours on a GTT, do not fit the descriptions listed in the Home page on this site for diabetes.
It may be that your change in diet has altered your BSLs to the non-diabetic range (just my guess) and that the original GTT results is now less relevant.
You have not stated what the actual result of the more recent failed GTT was either.) And just to note a highish BSL at one hour into the test (rather than 2 hours) )is not used to diagnose diabetes but could be relevant in other ways, ? maybe??
We on site cannot advise and give opinion on the sum total of your results, descriptions. and what medical action is needed.
You may need to see another endo to receive a second opinion.
The above is NOT written to trivialise your predicament. As you say, you do experience episodes of incapacity and the reasons and remedies for this are needed.
Sometimes people are ordered GTTs with normal meals beforehand and/or prolonged GTTs oi 4 hours plus to better gauge what is happening with their intake of food.

 

[Member496333]

Some researchers estimate that many many non-diabetics these days would ‘fail’ the GTT, so I wouldn’t be too worried about that. It’s more likely to give you diabetes

Overall I would say it seems like you’re probably worrying about nothing. At the moment you’re not diabetic. Are you gaining weight? If not then you almost certainly have no insulin dysfunction, either.

The other symptoms you list appear to be those of a poorly formaulted ketogenic diet lacking in minerals, water and ample fat.

 

[torchman2]

I have been monitoring my blood glucose for a few years and have had various scares about diabetes. A year ago, after a heavy carb load I felt really bad, my stomach hurt and I had ketone breath. I went to my GP who did tests that has shown no diabetes. I started a ketogenic diet at the same time, to help my pancreas not have to work as hard. I have failed glucose tolerance test at 13.2 mmol/l after 2 hours.

Blood glucose is maintained in the absence of carbs, by your body breaking down protein and fat with cortisol and other glucocorticoids. Especially during fasting periods like sleep. This is why your BG can still be around 6, without carbs.

"Over the 6-9 hours that one sleeps (without food), the body is busily making new sugar to maintain its narrow blood sugar range. For some people, this nightly GNG process is so robust that morning blood sugar levels are higher than they were when the person went to sleep. This higher than normal morning blood sugar is called the Dawn Phenomenon"

For some, this is fine, and for others it can be fine for a certain period of time. But cortisol is a stress hormone, and for some, continued high cortisol (especially combined with other stressors) leads to complications. Anxiety is closely linked to cortisol levels. Cortisol tends to wake people up around 4am.

Do you eat enough calories? Sustained eating under your caloric needs will lead to a continued drop of your basal metabolic rate, which will mean certain non-essential functions of your body will decrease. Things like bad digestion (constipation/gas), thinning hair, bad sleep, lack of energy, anxiety, cold hands/feet/nose, waking up at 4am.

 

[CrumblingWall]

I just got really sick with flu since yesterday. I have not eaten for the last 15 hours and my blood glucose was alarmingly high - 7.0 mmol/l . Is this normal to have such huge elevations during illness? I am not sure if I have diabetes ...

 

[DCUKMod]

I just got really sick with flu since yesterday. I have not eaten for the last 15 hours and my blood glucose was alarmingly high - 7.0 mmol/l . Is this normal to have such huge elevations during illness? I am not sure if I have diabetes ...

During illness it is very common yo experience higher than usual blood sugars. Yourr body is fighting infection, so, to describe it vey simply, is pumping out glucose to help your body cope.

As a matter of interest when you had your second GTT, did you do it whilst following yourr keto diet, or did you increase yourr carrbs beforerhand for 3 orr 4 days?

It is thought those not used to eating moderate amounts of carbs (c130gr per day, rregularrly), can have a more extreme reaction to the carb loading of the glucose in the GTT drink. That gives rise to a warning of the potential false positives.

I have no way of knowing if this happened to you, but it is something to consider in the light of your other readings and tests.

 

[CrumblingWall]

During illness it is very common yo experience higher than usual blood sugars. Yourr body is fighting infection, so, to describe it vey simply, is pumping out glucose to help your body cope.

As a matter of interest when you had your second GTT, did you do it whilst following yourr keto diet, or did you increase yourr carrbs beforerhand for 3 orr 4 days?

It is thought those not used to eating moderate amounts of carbs (c130gr per day, rregularrly), can have a more extreme reaction to the carb loading of the glucose in the GTT drink. That gives rise to a warning of the potential false positives.

I have no way of knowing if this happened to you, but it is something to consider in the light of your other readings and tests.

Yes, I did it while following keto. I am kind of afraid of trying to eat carbs again because they spike me and make me feel ill. I am under supervision of a doctor and she agrees with dietary choice but prefers it to not be permanent. Keto puts strain on liver for glucogenesis and in her opinion, it might be not wise to continually strain it.

I really thank you for your response.