Diabetes - how did you know you had a problem?

mattyprice4004 said:
Having the shakes. Possibly low blood sugar? Just wondering, I get this too... :eek:
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Unlikely. If you had type 1 diabetes your blood sugar would be too high, i.e. you'd be hyperglycaemic. Low blood sugar is caused by not eating enough food for the insulin you've taken, too much insulin being injected or too much exercise.

That's why anybody going for a blood test to determine if they have diabetes or not has to fast for 12 hours before. If their blood sugar is too high and they've not eaten anything in 12 hours then something is wrong. However if you have breakfast and then turn up for a blood test a high blood sugar could just be a result of your body taking a while to sort out the carbs from your meals.

When I had my blood test for diabetes I was 11.2 at the surgery. I went home and had some breakfast whilst Mum came home from work to take me to the hospital. I had a bowl of Shreddies and semi-skimmed milk. Two hours later I was 19.2. I should have been between about 4 and 7 mmol. :p
 
dmpoole said:
Obviously this question is only for those who have diabetes or know a family member.

So, what were your symptoms when you knew you needed to go and get help?
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My dad was diagnosed about a year ago. In the months before we found out I would notice that sometimes he smelt like nail polish remover (acetone). I assumed it was some medicine he was taking for his stomach. Apparently acetone breath is an indicator of diabetes.


I should stop reading this thread before I convince myself I'm diabetic :p

I'm always thirsty, I'm quite skinny, lethargic, and I've been eating a lot of sugary food recently :(
 
It is fairly rare to have a hypo without being treated for diabetes but isn't impossible. A hypo for a diabetic is basically ODing on our treatment. The problem is being more active can cause cells to be more sensitive to treatment so leading to too much.

Hypos without diabetic treatment are fairly poorly understood, and normally ain't going to be diagonalised without the person collapsing a few times. While they can test the glucose levels of blood for lows it has to happen pretty much when you are low as the liver will get blood glucose up again fairly fast.
 
The only good advice if you think you might be diabetic is to get a test done. The first stages of either type I or II can be pretty vague, by the time you are getting really noticeable problems thinks are bad and you'd wish you'd got the test done before.
 
I'm a bit confused, are the 'shakes' directly related to diabetes then or could they be a 'hypo' episode? I think an hypo episode would be way worse?

Next time I see my doc I think I'll get it checked out.
 
Its very unlikely to be a hypo unless your on medication for diabetes especially as you say you dont go long without eating. What you may be getting is false hypo symptoms eg. you go high after eating and then your body pumps out insulin and you get a rapid decrease and it brings on shakes and sweating. It was one of the first things I had.

But then again some people can just have mild hypoglycaemia so just do us a favour and go get checked ;)
 
Ok, there's some confusion over diabetes/hypoglycaemia here. The hallmark of diabetes is high blood sugar. If you are diabetic, you cannot have a low blood sugar unless you are receiving treatment (tablets or insulin injections).

Please read the following informative links.

http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Diabetes-Type-1.htm
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Diabetes-Type-2.htm

Bottom line is if you think you may have any of the typical symptoms (thirst, weight loss, peeing lots), know that diabetes runs in your family, or even have general concern, go and get checked. Such a simple test. Ask your doctor about anything you're worried about regarding 'shakes' or hypos or anything else. Better than worrying, then being confused about your worries, then delaying your check up. Diabetes is something that should be picked up as early as possible, don't hesitate :)
 
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Guys this is starting to turn into medical advice!

Tom d, if you were worried about the 'shakes' you would see a doctor, now go do it! Shaking when NOT type 1 insulin diabetic is 99.99% not a hypo, trust me, you would KNOW when you have a hypo and there's a lot more to it than shaking.

Now just go see a bloody doctor :p
 
This is starting to scare me now. :p

The problem is, I'm massively needle phobic so would be very hard pushed to actually do something about it.

The issues I've had recently:

- Eyesight wobbling from left to right, totally random spells of this
- I'm a bit of a fatty. :p

I've not had any other issues, I do sit next to a water fountain in work so drink a lot anyway. Not always thirsty though.

I think I'm just very very paranoid.
 
i am 44 and have been a type 2 for near 15 years now. i always knew i was going to get it due to my family history, it was always a case of when not if. for the first 7 years i was diet controlled, this was no big deal as my diet was near enough spot on but diabetes slowly get worst no matter how carefully you are and i had to start tablets, and was ok until last year were now i have to inject with one of the new drugs

not really going to say much about this thread, it full of the classic info about what type 2 symptoms are.

however

you many not show any of the classic symptoms and my advise is if you notice that you doing something that you never use to do (eg pee more drink more ) anything at all. go to the DR

if you notice changes in your body even tho your environment is the same, go to the DR

it may or may not be diabetes but it best to get the DR to check you out. and remember ASK the DR question and for tests, if he doesnt want to do tests as why.

once you find out you are a diabetic the next bit of info i would give you is check out your Dr surgery, the DR i go is very good, she keeps her self well informed in the new drugs and in the newer ways of treating it. they have a nurse is has trained in diabetes (you will spends as much time with the nurse as the Dr btw) and who runs classes for those who are new to diabetes to teach them what to do and not do, in one of her classes she take you round the local supermarket showing you what to buy and not buy and how to read labels

and while i do not want to **** off any Dr and the way they run their surgery, not all DR are as good as my DR, and when you talking about a illness that you will have for the rest of your life you want to find the best you can
 
mattyprice4004 said:
This is starting to scare me now. :p

The problem is, I'm massively needle phobic so would be very hard pushed to actually do something about it.

The issues I've had recently:

- Eyesight wobbling from left to right, totally random spells of this
- I'm a bit of a fatty. :p

I've not had any other issues, I do sit next to a water fountain in work so drink a lot anyway. Not always thirsty though.

I think I'm just very very paranoid.
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For some reason I've always been paranoid about diabetes and I'm not sure why. I only know one person who has it (gran) and she lives with it fine. Guess it's just one of those worrys.

I did a glucose urine test this morning and it came back negative so I guess that's a good sign, not really going to rush off to the doctors with the 'shakes' because I've read online and it seems VERY common! I will just mention it again to my doctor when I go for my next anx review.

Cheers for the info guys!
 
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Tom_D said:
I'm totally aware of that, that's why I was asking if there was another way around it/getting a different test. No need to be a nob about it. :p

It'd make me paranoid not being able to eat for 12 hours, as I said I start to get the shakes from having nothing eat for 4 hours.
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It's called going to bed and I'm pretty sure you've been in bed for more than 12 hours.
Make an appointment for around 11am and don't eat anything past 11pm the night before.
Get Mummy to wake you up at 10:45am and get to Lloyds.
Walk out of Lloyds and go in your nearest food shop.
 
Another question:
I was told when I had diabetes that it is very hard to lose weight and for somebody who runs 5K every day + other stuff I can vouch for that.
Now I've been put on Metformin does this mean that my sugar chemistry will hopefully be solved and my body should go back to losing weight?
 
when i was first told i was diabetic it was more to do with my lifestyle, i was 8 and use to play football everynight and have two matches saturday and sunday but then i started becoming very tired, so tired that i would go to the toilet in the night and not have the energy to walk back to bed, i would be urinating a lot more than normal and drinking a ton more aswel. when they took me to the doctors they took my sugar level and it was off the chart, so they rushed me in to hospital and stuck me on a drip.

blood sugar levels can tell you whether your sugar is high or low but you should notice change in lifestyle aswel
 
dmpoole said:
Another question:
I was told when I had diabetes that it is very hard to lose weight and for somebody who runs 5K every day + other stuff I can vouch for that.
Now I've been put on Metformin does this mean that my sugar chemistry will hopefully be solved and my body should go back to losing weight?
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I thought the main reason for this is because insulin we inject makes us gain weight, especially if you go low whilst doing sports you end up eating to keep your sugar from dropping.
Not sure what effect Metformin has on it though ... might be best to read up on a diabetic specific forum - lots of information out there !
 
Tom_D said:
For some reason I've always been paranoid about diabetes and I'm not sure why. I only know one person who has it (gran) and she lives with it fine. Guess it's just one of those worrys.

I did a glucose urine test this morning and it came back negative so I guess that's a good sign, not really going to rush off to the doctors with the 'shakes' because I've read online and it seems VERY common! I will just mention it again to my doctor when I go for my next anx review.

Cheers for the info guys!
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Yeah I'm pretty paranoid now, and if I am negative I've vowed to lose about 4st to bring me into 'normal' BMI ratings.

I've been looking it up on line, and I don't think I could live with it if I had to have blood tests. I have absolutely horrific needle phobia.

Have ordered a test, we'll soon see... :o
 
I was diagnosed with Impaired Glucose tolerance about a year ago and told to eat better (50/50 chance of getting type 2) and lose weight.

I bought a blood test machine and do mine every now and then.

I do a fasting test and then a 2 hour test after a meal. I am normally in the 5.5-6 mmol range before and around 7.5 after. This is well within tolerances considering I'm doing it myself.

I have lost a tonne of weight since my first test in the hospital which was 6.0mmol before the 75ml glucose and 8.8mmol after (hence the diagnosis). I didn't follow the fasting instructions very well though.

I have just taken a random test (I ate pie and chips about 3 hours ago, and 2 chocy biscuits about an hour ago) and it was 6.9mmol. So all good.

I was told by the Doc that anything under 6mmol for the fasting and under 11mmol for the 2 hour means you do not have diabetes, however if the 2 hour test is above 7.8mmol you may have impaired glucose tolerance (what I was originally diagnosed with).

I keep an eye on it and on what I eat, however my biggest thing is exercise I do loads of it and have lost almost 8 stone since July last year. I will add that whatever diet you have the secret is to keep your blood sugar level stable, so not eating huge meals in the morning and evening(my initial problem), but just eating every 4-6 hours to keep it from peaking and troughing, this give a more steady release of insulin and your body doesn't over produce Insulin and then become intolerant to it.
 
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Just found out there's a blood test called HBA1C that you don't have to fast for. The doctor can get a good idea of what your blood sugar levels have been for the past 3 months. I realised I actually had one done before, but I had anaemia at the time and with anaemia it can give false results.

I'll see my doctor sometime next week and see if he thinks I should take another HBA1C test. :)
 
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