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I think I might have diabetes

Isabellelewis

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi all!
So I'm a bit concerened that I may have diabetes. I sound like a total hypochondriac, but I've been 'off' for quite a while. The thing is, I have a very poor diet. I don't have much food, and i got admitted to hospital with urinary retention about 3 weeks ago, a week later given the all clear (no blood tests done). Now I never eat before a blood test when i do have them, i don't eat that much.

About a week ago i started getting very sudden signs of hypoglycemia, and i know my dad has diabetes.
Today i went out and got a kit, i tested myself on fasting and i got 4.5 which i was happy with. I then ate a pretzel, just a pretzel with a bit of sugar on, and within an hour (not 2!!) I've shot up to 6.6.

I'm unsure of what to think, as it hasn't even been 2 hours yet.
Could anyone give me some advice.
 
Sounds like a completely normal reaction to a high carb food.Test again after a couple of hours and see if your blood sugar has gone back down again.
 
There may be some broader issues, but a reading of 6.6 one hour after a sugared pretzel is not, in itself, indicative of diabetes.

Edit- posted this before I saw Bulkbiker had already posted basically the same thing!
 
It is very unusual to get symptoms of hypoglycaemia with untreated diabetes. Diabetes causes our blood sugars to rise not fall.
A reading of 4.5 is not unusual for someone without diabetes ... but very very unusual for someone with untreated diabetes.

I remember before I was diagnosed with diabetes, I had days when I would feel washed out, no energy apart from to be ratty. This was usually when I had not eaten anything and had nothing to do with diabetes.

Rising to 6.6 within an hour is also not unusual without diabetes.
As https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html shows, this is within the targets of someone without diabetes.

You mention that you have a poor diet and don't eat much.
Perhaps you may want to change this.
I am not a doctor so cannot diagnosed your problem but it may help.
 
Update: was 7.5 after 2 hours, going to do another test before a proper meal later, wait 2 hours and see what the outcome is.
 
When you wake up in the morning, before you eat, and haven't eaten in 12 hours check your blood sugar- this is a fasting blood sugar test- if it is above 11/12 then I would go to your doctor..
 
Isabellelewis said:
Update: was 7.5 after 2 hours, going to do another test before a proper meal later, wait 2 hours and see what the outcome is.
Click to expand...


this can actually be a normal level if what you ate was a very high carb containing kind of foods
in this link you can read about the acceptable levels of blood glucose before and after a meal, up til 7.8 is acceptable in a non diabetic person 90 minutes after having the meal ;
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

I´ll also put in a scheme where you can see at what level prediabetes starts and what is truely normal level, not that only the green are is normal, and the numbers are fasting blood glucose or the HbA1c which is an average number of blood glucose for the last 3 months

 
on the other hand getting low blood glucose being non diabetic is possible, but that is usually not dangerous, when it gets dangerous is usually when a person take insulin or insulin affecting drugs, because then the number can continue getting lower and end up in brain damage or even death, but a non diabetic person would usually have a strong liver reaction where the liver spits out a lot of blood glucose to counteract the very low blood glucose and turn the person back to normal levels..
 
stefficlewis said:
When you wake up in the morning, before you eat, and haven't eaten in 12 hours check your blood sugar- this is a fasting blood sugar test- if it is above 11/12 then I would go to your doctor..
Click to expand...

The limit for a fasting blood sugar level for a non-diabetic is 5.9. If it goes above 6.9 it is indicative of diabetes. I'm not sure where you get your 11/12 from?
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The limit for a fasting blood sugar level for a non-diabetic is 5.9. If it goes above 6.9 it is indicative of diabetes. I'm not sure where you get your 11/12 from?
Click to expand...

When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 4 years ago it was told to me that a fasting blood sugar above 11 indicated diabetes.. maybe that was a mistake then
 
any reading above 11.1 is indicative of D (or so they think) as none D's will never go over that threshold
 
@Isabellelewis Hi
- Have you lost a lot of weight without trying recently?
- Are you drinking excessive amounts?
- Are you going to the toilet a lot more frequently? (Think every twenty minutes, half an hour frequently)
-Are you excessively tired - is getting out of bed physically challenging, kind of tired, never mind stairs etc?

If you are answering yes to all 4 of those questions (or even 3) then you may have T1. However, as @helensaramay very astutely pointed out, it is extremely unlikely that an untreated diabetic - particularly an untreated T1 - would see 4.5, fasting or otherwise.

And as for that blood sugar reading after a pretzel (which has a lot of carbohydrate in it, and would spike anybody, diabetic or not), bear in mind that there is a 15% margin of error on meters, so that 7.5 could be anywhere between 6.5 and 8.5.

Crucially, though, none of us here can diagnose you - if you think you may have diabetes, you should see a doctor.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
The limit for a fasting blood sugar level for a non-diabetic is 5.9. If it goes above 6.9 it is indicative of diabetes. I'm not sure where you get your 11/12 from?
Click to expand...
I agree ... and more importantly, so does diabetes.co.uk (https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html)
As I keep saying, there is more to this website than the forum. I don't know who put it together but this is an amazing library of information for everyone with diabetes, concerned they may have diabetes or knows some one with diabetes. But I get the impression it is under used.

(Sorry @Bluetit1802 - this comment is not directed to you it but your response seemed appropriate to hang it off.)
 
Last edited by a moderator:

No worries at all. I couldn't agree more about the main website. It is under-used, and that is a shame. I like what you say about it being an amazing library of information.
 
 
5 hours after initially eating... glucose is 6.9 still. Heard it should be back at my fasting level (the reading i took this morning i had fasted for 8 hours)
 
Isabellelewis said:
5 hours after initially eating... glucose is 6.9 still. Heard it should be back at my fasting level (the reading i took this morning i had fasted for 8 hours)
Click to expand...

Yes, it should be back down again, but it all depends on what you have been doing in this time. Excercise (of any sort) is likely to raise levels, have you had any drinks, or nibbles, do you take medication for anything, are you feeling anxious and stressed? It isn't just food that raises levels.

Do you have any other symptoms, as @EllsKBells asked earlier?

All you can do is make an appointment with your doctor and ask for the relevant tests. We can't diagnose you.
 
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