Symptoms of Diabetes

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Oscar

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi,
I have all the signs & symptoms of diabetes, plus suffer from symptoms of high & low blood sugar, often the low is quite serious & on past two routine blood tests my blood sugar has been high, but on a follow up test of bloods have been told its normal. Have not been offered further tests...Am I pre-diabetic or something else?
Thanks....Oscar
 
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hanadr

Expert
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8,157
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soaps on telly and people talking about the characters as if they were real.
You need to nag at your healthcare team
 
D

DiabeticGeek

Well-Known Member
Messages
309
Ask them for a "Glucose Tolerance Test". This is by far the most sensitive method for diagnosing diabetes, and very useful in borderline cases (which is what I presume you are). Some PCTs seem to be reluctant to do these any more, so, tell your GP that you are worried and hassle until get one. I really don't understand why there is this resistance to the old GTT - it is a very useful and really simple test (at a pinch you could do a version of it yourself).
 
O

Oscar

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi,
thanks for the advice....my Docs are not very forthcoming when one asks for something! What's the DIY test at a pinch ?!! & how do I assess the results please?
Oscar
 
D

DiabeticGeek

Well-Known Member
Messages
309
Oscar said:
What's the DIY test at a pinch ?!! & how do I assess the results please?
Click to expand...
OK, first you need to get hold of a glucose meter. You can buy these for about £10-15 from a high street chemist, or less on eBay. Some manufacturers will send you one for free if you ask them (they make their money out of the consumables - but the meter will come with enough in the box for a GTT). When you get your meter then read the booklet that comes with it and learn how to use it. Make sure that it is set to display results using the British standard (mmol/l) rather than the American one (mg/dl) - otherwise confusion will ensue (if you see any figures in the hundreds, then it is set to the American standard). Once you are happy with this, then follow the Instructions for a DIY GTT that I posted on another thread.

Do remember that a GTT should really be done using blood drawn from a vein rather than a fingerprick, and that a lab analysis will be much more accurate than a home meter. So treat the results with a bit of caution, especially if they are borderline. However, this should give you a fairly good indication. If in doubt about interpreting the results then post again here.
 
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