symptoms for pre-diabetes

winglets

Well-Known Member
Messages
90
I've been reading through information regarding pre-diabetes and it seems in terms of symptoms, most people do not report any before diagnosis. How common are symptoms if they do occur?
I would like to know whether you had or at least noticed any symptoms prior to diagnosis? Or were you the majority diagnosed through routine blood testing?
 
Messages
6,107
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
A bit of each. I knew for some time that something wasn't right but I made excuses. It was age, drink, lifestyle. I got diagnosed since I attended the surgery for a pneumococcal innoculation and the nurse asked if I would mind if she took a blood sample. The rest is history.
 
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winglets

Well-Known Member
Messages
90
A bit of each. I knew for some time that something wasn't right but I made excuses. It was age, drink, lifestyle. I got diagnosed since I attended the surgery for a pneumococcal innoculation and the nurse asked if I would mind if she took a blood sample. The rest is history.

So what kind of things did you notice when you said something wasn't quite right?
 

LittleGreyCat

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,245
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Diet drinks - the artificial sweeteners taste vile.
Having to forswear foods I have loved all my life.
Trying to find low carb meals when eating out.
I was full blown diabetic when diagnosed.
Classic symptoms of tiredness, drinking and weeing a lot, then a sudden half stone weight loss.
I was borderline pre-diabetic at a company medical the previous year (re-test with my GP and given the all clear) with no symptoms so the onset was quite quick.
 

Lamont D

Oracle
Messages
15,940
Type of diabetes
Reactive hypoglycemia
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
When I was (mis)diagnosed with prediabetes, even though I'm not sure what I had.
I had a dizzy spell. And felt a little off, there was tiredness, a lack of energy, going the toilet a bit more through the night.

These were mine, others have had a wide variety of different symptoms, so I wouldn't take what I had as a baseline.

Best wishes
 

Jo123

Well-Known Member
Messages
718
I was diagnosed as pre diabetic and I was only just into the pre diabetic range.
I asked for a test due to a strong family history and I was getting blurred vision after eating. I quickly got my blood sugar to normal levels and lost not only the blurred vision, but also lost my incredibly itchy legs, tiredness after eating, not getting up frequently to wee at night, and lastly my frozen shoulder rapidly healed when my blood sugar normalised.
 

winglets

Well-Known Member
Messages
90
I was diagnosed as pre diabetic and I was only just into the pre diabetic range.
I asked for a test due to a strong family history and I was getting blurred vision after eating. I quickly got my blood sugar to normal levels and lost not only the blurred vision, but also lost my incredibly itchy legs, tiredness after eating, not getting up frequently to wee at night, and lastly my frozen shoulder rapidly healed when my blood sugar normalised.

How many times per night did you wake up to pee? And were you peeing during the day time as well?
Also were the symptoms more prominent after you had an intake of high carb food?
 

Jo123

Well-Known Member
Messages
718
This was a few years but from memory only 1 or 2 times a night which isn't that frequent! But it was big deal as I got consistently better sleep because I very rarely have to get up in the night now. Can't really say whether I'm weeing more in the day. I used to eat a high carb, high fibre, low fat 'healthy diet'.
 

Ballerina

Member
Messages
20
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
So does anyone know people who currently have pre-diabetes AND had symptoms prior to diagnosis?
Yes,I had extreme thirst,fatigue,and running to the loo for about 3 months. So I went for a 'finger prick' test at a pharmacy. When the number turned out to be a bit high,I was sent to chat with the doc,who sent me for a full blood test. He explained the numbers to me and said he'd like to see me in 3 months time,1 stone lighter and numbers lower. Which I did,thanks to advice on this forum and coming up with a "diet" that suited me.
 

Arlmy

Well-Known Member
Messages
94
So does anyone know people who currently have pre-diabetes AND had symptoms prior to diagnosis?

I had bouts of thirst and tiredness but I ignored it - I did suspect but because I usually have a fairly healthy diet and did some walking didn’t pursue. I was diagnosed as preD at my 50th health check
 

winglets

Well-Known Member
Messages
90
I had bouts of thirst and tiredness but I ignored it - I did suspect but because I usually have a fairly healthy diet and did some walking didn’t pursue. I was diagnosed as preD at my 50th health check

For how long roughly did you have these symptoms and would you say they were intense or just mild and on and off?
 

Arlmy

Well-Known Member
Messages
94
The thirst was on and of but definitely felt strange - my throat went dry - I am a nurse - should have clicked
 

Juicetin

Well-Known Member
Messages
350
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I had lots of weeing (still do at night) tiredness and neuropathy in both feet which started at exactly the time of pre-d diagnosis.
 

Freema

Expert
Messages
7,346
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Always thirsty , tired. And had headace very often didn’t feel like wanting to do anything physical , well it was all a sign of my diabetes comming

Did bike 20 km with my daughter the day before diagnosis of diabetes , all Hills I had to get off and walk up even the ones of only 1 meter it was terrible only hardly got home that day , it turned out that I had had a blood sample of pre-diabetes one year earlier but no-one had bothered telling me that
 
Last edited:
Messages
6,107
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
it turned out that I had had a blood sample of pre-diabetes one year earlier but no-one had bothered telling me that

Yes, I would like to have a whinge on that topic. In the early days I used to visit the DN to watch her cuddling her computer screen so that I couldn't see what was on it. I had a friendly receptionist who said I could have a print out of my blood test results which I took to Lloyds Pharmacy for an interpretation. They said I was pre diabetic.

DN mentioned my Hba1c and I asked if I could be told what it was because I wanted to show an interest. She wrote it on a post-it note and handed it to me as if it were valuable. That post-it note is a prize possession now and will be framed one day.

We've come on a bit and I now have a folder with results in and computer access via EMIS. Such luxury.