Worried

[Kazsta]

Hi all, I am new to the boards, and haven't been diagnosed with diabetes, but am wanting to know if anyone suffered similar experiences before being diagnosed.
I have rather high risk factors of developing type 2 diabetes, I have a family history of it, some medication I am on for mental health problems - Quetiapine, can apparently cause it, and I am also Hepatitis C positive, which I have been told is another risk factor, and I am overweight. :?
I have had fasting tests done in the past as I have had episodes, that by everything I have read are due to low blood sugar - I get really, really shaky and sweaty, feel really light headed, sometimes I feel like I've not eaten for a very long time too - I have a very "empty" feeling in my stomach, and the only thing that cures it is to eat - sometimes I have had to eat a lot of sugary things to take it off properly - which isn't good with my weight.

When they have done the finger prick test on me the last couple of times my sugars have been on the high side my nurse has said, but the fasting test is always ok - although I am due to have another in a couple of months, I am wondering whether I ought to ask it to be brought forward for the following reasons?

I have started waking up in the early hours of the morning, after having some very, very weird dreams, different to my normal dreams, and sometimes sleep talking as well, but when I wake up I am absolutely starving, and have the whole shaky, sweaty thing. And I am really, really thirsty, my mouth is so dry it's unbearable.

This morning it was 5am when I woke up, and HAD to get up and eat, I managed to get back to sleep after eating, but still had the most obscure dreams, when my alarm went off at 8:30am, I woke up feeling dreadful, I was really light headed, I was shaking inside and out, my heart felt like it was racing, I was nearly falling over standing up, I had to actually come down my stairs on my bottom, as I was so scared I was going to fall down them. I was so thirsty I can imagine what dehydration feels like, and even after I had eaten this feeling didn't go away for a long while. In fact my head has been what I can only describe as "woolly" all day, and talk about tired.... I could have so easily gone back to bed and just slept all day, I've really had to push myself to stay awake today.
This by far has been the scariest episode like this I have experienced, I live alone, and did not feel safe at all.

I was just wondering if anyone else had similar experiences before they were diagnosed, or if I should be looking in another direction for the cause of these episodes? Also I am at a loss as to what to do when I get these episodes as I have to eat, and I really don't need to be eating more with already being overweight :?
Diabetes didn't actually cross my mind, it was my Mum who suggested it, as I had to ring her this morning because I was so scared.
Any advice and answers would be greatly received, thank you

 

[sandymaynard]

Hi
Firstly welcome to the forum,
My first signs were, increased thirst, increased need for the loo!
I am type 2,
This must be a very scary to you! If i was you i would go back and see the doctor and ask for testing! I got my self a blood glucose machine before i got offical report and could see if my bloods were too high or too low!
If you are having the low blood sugar, then lucozade or glucose pills is your best option! Then a nice sandwich afterwards!
I have only just been diagnoised my self by a couple of months, I am sure someone will come along shortly who knows more than me to give advice!
Sandy

 

[Spiral]

I think you need to see a doctor.

You need to talk about the mental health and sleep problems with someone who understands psychiatric medication and mental health problems. This probably isn't your GP unless he/she has a specific interest in mental health - some do.

I'd call your surgery and ask to speak to the practice nurse to talk about the worries you have - he/she will suggest some things you can do and may suggest you see your GP.

However, this isn't helping in the here and now. You can talk to your pharmacist about anything to do with medication. They are mines of useful (and sometimes life-saving) information. If I have a question about a medicine I'd always ask a pharmacist rather than a doctor. Also, many pharmacies will do diabetic tests...

You can also talk to NHS Direct about your symptoms now. They can be very helpful and reassuring and also tell you how urgently you should see your GP, saying that "NHS Direct said.." might help you get past the appointment booking system!

Sleep problems are awful - I have a family member who has a REM sleep disorder (along with a mental health problem) and who regularly sleepwalks. He was refered to a specialist who gave lots of helpful advice.

Edited to add...
The shaky feelings could also be anxiety/panic attacks. These states have very physical sensations. Make sure you mention this when you are talking to the medics, especially the mental health ones.

 

[Trinkwasser]

This may well be Reactive Hypoglycemia which may be an early symptom of diabetes: your BG shoots up high after eating and will then drop low a couple of hours later, then will annoyingly revert to normal when they do a fasting test.

Your best bet would be to beg borrow or buy a meter and do this

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2009/ ... -test.html

only check your numbers half an hour after eating, then after 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours, see if it goes up, comes down and then evens out again.

At this stage it will probably be highly controllable by dropping your carbs to the level it no longer spikes: without the BG highs the lows will stop. It may help to eat small quantities several times a day rather than big meals, and spread the carb load out over the day. You may find you are much more carb sensitive in the morning and a low carb high protein breakfast will also help.

Attacking insulin resistance through growing and using muscle may also be effective in the long term.

 

[Kazsta]

HI, and thanks for your replies

Spiral, I really don't think the waking and these shaky episodes are anything to do with my mental health.
Since I have been on this medication, my mental health has been vastly improved, to the point where for the first time in my life I actually feel "normal".
I did indeed used to suffer with panic attacks, and anxiety, and while some of the symptoms are of a similar nature, having experienced those in the past I can honestly say they do not feel the same. The times when I would mostly get panic attacks were when it came to going out, at one point I couldn't even open my curtains for fear of people seeing inside, but these are different to those kinds of attacks. I don't suffer them when it comes to going out or seeing people, I'm not hyperventilating, and with the panic attack's I used to encounter the last thing I felt like doing was eating - I would feel too sick to even consider food. With these episodes I have like a "primal urge" almost, that I MUST eat.
I do know I suffer from Chronic Fatigue syndrome, and have separate issues to do with sleep regarding that, but this waking and needing to eat to correct the problem are not the same, but thanks for the advice, I can see where you were coming from with it.

Thanks for your advice Sandy, interestingly I hadn't thought about it before you mentioned it but I have needed to go to the loo more just recently, I can normally go all day without needing to go, and now it's reminiscent of when I was pregnant - and no, there is no chance of that lol!
Although that does remind me, I have no idea whether or not this is significant, I did have gestational diabetes when I was having my son, by what I knew of that though, it is just something that can happen when you are pregnant?

Trink, I thank you for your advice too, and will try harder to eat small quantities regularly.
At the moment I do tend to eat breakfast, then a dinner, and then maybe a sandwich or toast for tea, so I am eating big meals and nothing in-between. I will also try and get hold of a testing kit. When my nurse did the finger prick on me a little while ago, she did say it was a little on the high side, (it was 8.4) and I had just had something to eat and a cup of tea (I take sugar in tea :?).

It has also been recommended to me by someone to try and eat a low G.I. diet - is this something you would agree with or is it another dieting con?

Thanks again for all your replies

 

[Trinkwasser]

It has also been recommended to me by someone to try and eat a low G.I. diet - is this something you would agree with or is it another dieting con?

Thanks again for all your replies

Certainly can't hurt, some people can make it work quite well depending on their insulin output. I'd definitely avoid fast carbs, see if you can find a sweetener you like rather than sugar, and use your meter to determine what you can eat and when. Personally I have dropped nearly all starches and don't really miss them, I eat more of everything else instead! When I do eat them I favour relatively low GI things like oatcakes or ryebread.

 

[salsasue]

Hi Kazsta

And I am really, really thirsty, my mouth is so dry it's unbearable.

This and the regular trips to the loo I can definitely relate to and empathise with as pre-diagnosis symptoms; horrible, ain't it! I can definitely recommend you check with your latest health centre/surgery and Lloyds Chemists also do a test for sure as saw it when picked up my first test strip/lancet prescription. I hope that you can get all the help and info you need, take care,

best wishes, Salsasue