Might be diabetic eek :-\

holly35 said:
Just came back from the docs, cos for the last few years, I have always got really tired and rubbishy feeling even if I went to college, or stayed in etc etc and recently its been getting worse, like on sunday I was at work and suddenly became really shaky, tired, nauseous and faint, after a coke i was fine. And this whole week iv pretty much stayed in but felt like Iv had a hang over all day untill I have a meal...then im fine! I stopped drinking for a month to see if I got any better and had no improvements! I also had a few other symptoms that sounded like diabetes so thats why I went to the docs.

I have a blood test for next wednesday, I am scared I think although the thought of having it hasnt sunk in, i was expecting to be told that!

Is anyone here diabetic? And does it affect your life much?
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Type 1 Diabetic here, have been for 20 years, your symptoms you describe arent quite diabetic strictly related. If your had a can of coke and you felt ok, it not Diabetes I would think.... a diabetic needs it pancreas to help control blood suger through insulin control, hence when it fails you become diabetic. but symptoms are high blood sugars causing dehydration, tiredness and even increasing appeatite. Also usually you will go to the toilet a lot more. If you drunk a can of coke, this would only resolve to push your sugars up making you even more dehydrated. Could be type 2 right enough, but that usually occurs in older people, not younger....

Diabetes is more easy to control than it was when i was diagnosed, and doesnt restrict you in anyway, watch your diet but doesnt mean ban on chocolate, high sugary stuff, booze etc... I have all of these but as usual moderation is the key...
 
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holly35 said:
One thing that affects me a lot atm though is peeing a lot, especially at work (i work in a pub) i always worry they get annoyed at me cos i go about 4 times a shift (6 hours) but hopefully if i am diagnosed with it they will understand it more. Peeing a lot can get embarrasing too i went out for a drink with someone the other night and had to go about three times in an hour!

*Im only ten stone and 5'5 so not having trouble with my weigh, jst fluctuates a lot!
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Sounds a lot like Type 1 if you are diabetic, given your age and weight, my brother came down with it exactly the same way, peeing all day, eating all the time, blurred vision and mood swings. Just spent 5 weeks working with diabetics (I'm a med student), if you have got type I, the DAFNE course is a really excellent way of learning how to cope with it.
 
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Minstadave said:
Sounds a lot like Type 1 if you are diabetic, given your age and weight, my brother came down with it exactly the same way, peeing all day, eating all the time, blurred vision and mood swings. Just spent 5 weeks working with diabetics (I'm a med student), if you have got type I, the DAFNE course is a really excellent way of learning how to cope with it.
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Hmmm I didnt think that was too bad, I used to drink 3 or 4 litres still feel thirsty and be peeing the lot out 5 mins later and be back under the drinking water tap as soon as I was finished. It was the coke thing to me, still doesnt convince me it that feeling better afterwards points to Diabetes... that corresponds to low blood sugar, which pre-diagnosed diabetics certainly dont have.... Also given the amount of time she has been feeling this way, it only gets worse... ie... more extreme symptoms like mine... before i was diagnosed...
 
The reason you pee more is because you have all this extra sugar in your system that isn't being turned into energy by the natural insulin in your body, this causes the body to react by making you thirsty, and pee a lot, to flush it out of your system. This can also lead to infections of the "penile" area, so if you have something like that too, I'd say it's pretty much a given.

I'm a diabetic too by the way. :)
 
SideWinder said:
Treading carefully, how do people become diabetic?
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Type I diabetes is an autoimmune reaction against your insulin producing cells in you pancreas, they are killed and you lose the ability to produce insulin, the cause isn't clear, there may be several possible causes, such as allergic reaction, some infections (a range of infective agents have been linked to diabetes), and genetic dispositions.

Type II diabetes is basically the body becoming insensitive to the insulin it produces (often Type II diabetics produce massive amounts of insulin in an attempt to compensate) and its aetiology isn't clear again. It's associated with being overweight (especially abdominal fat being greater in relation to total body fat), a family history of the disease, race, and high cholesterol.Risk increases dramatically with age. Its also becoming more common in children (early onset Type II), and is probably related to our changing diet and a greater proportion of overweight children.
 
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holly35 said:
Just came back from the docs, cos for the last few years, I have always got really tired and rubbishy feeling even if I went to college, or stayed in etc etc and recently its been getting worse, like on sunday I was at work and suddenly became really shaky, tired, nauseous and faint, after a coke i was fine.
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There's the solution - Marching powder.

*n
 
My dad found out he was Diabetic (type 2) year before last, he used to be tired and grumpy a lot but at the time everyone thought it was just down to the long hours he worked.

It got so bad that he started feeling really ill (pains etc) and went to the doctors where they told him he was having a heart attack. A couple of days in hospital and he was diagnosed with diabetes,

After he started taking the drugs and adapted his diet things improved an incredible amount and he was healthier/happier than he had been in a long while. Yes it’s a pain and he has to be careful what he eats and follows the medication routine but it doesn’t intrude on his life too much.

But good luck with your results next week what ever the outcome. :)
 
Pixel said:
The reason you pee more is because you have all this extra sugar in your system that isn't being turned into energy by the natural insulin in your body, this causes the body to react by making you thirsty, and pee a lot, to flush it out of your system. This can also lead to infections of the "penile" area, so if you have something like that too, I'd say it's pretty much a given.

I'm a diabetic too by the way. :)
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Close. IIRC when glucose gets to very high levels the kidney isnt able to reabsorb all the glucose that gets filtered out. Hence glucose left in your urine, which stop water being absorbed due to its osmotic effect. Hence you gets lots of urine with lots of glucose in it, so you pee a lot and have to drink a lot of compensate for it. The glucose in the urine then gives a food source to bacteria + helps infection.

If you have diabetes the best thing you can do is keep tight blood sugars (nurses will tell you what to aim for) to reduce complications and sort out your diet exercise to lower your cardiovascular risk.
 
PikeyPriest said:
Close. IIRC when glucose gets to very high levels the kidney isnt able to reabsorb all the glucose that gets filtered out. Hence glucose left in your urine, which stop water being absorbed due to its osmotic effect. Hence you gets lots of urine with lots of glucose in it, so you pee a lot and have to drink a lot of compensate for it. The glucose in the urine then gives a food source to bacteria + helps infection.

If you have diabetes the best thing you can do is keep tight blood sugars (nurses will tell you what to aim for) to reduce complications and sort out your diet exercise to lower your cardiovascular risk.
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Dependant on age... you will start to loose weight rapidly... as said... sugar piles up in your boidy needing to be expelled rapidly.... to flush it you become dehydrated.... you drink fluid to expelle it...... but its a loosing battle.... trust me I know..... litre's of fluid doesnt mean you feel better... and more sugar mean worse dehyration.... God brings up memories.....
 
It happens when I read anything, but I get light-headed a lot, I have to snack on loads of chocolate and fizzy drinks to keep me active (might be because of irregular sleeping patterns), don't feel the inspiration to get up in the morning and a few other things (have been under a lot of stress etc). I absolutely hate needles, and guessing I'm just being hypochondriatic (if that's even a word!). But nevertheless, always gets me worked up.
 
Read this newsgroup...

alt.support.diabetes.uk

It's got some great info for diabetics. The people on there have years of experience and will be able to answer pretty much anything. I've had some great advice off there. Read it, post in it and you will learn. Jennifer, Old Al et al all are diabetics and know what works and what doesn't. More so than ANY doc I've met. Honestly.

The thing with diabetes is there's no perfect solution for everyone. Despite what the docs tell you, it's all down to YOU. You can lead a virtually normal life and do all the things "normal" people do. Obviously it takes a little time to get a balance.

Good diet, plenty of excercise and regular checks of your blood sugar will prevent nasty things like night time hypos (where you might wake up, covered in sweat, feeling wobble and dissorientated) or extreme situations like neuropathy, retinopathy or even amputations. You'll see some serious cases of bad diabetes management when you go into hospital for your 6 month checkup!

It's not all bad. Ask them about DAFNE (Dose adjustment for Normal eating). Basically it's a regime where you inject an amount of insulin relative to the size of the meal. You'll learn about carb content, protein, what makes the best breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ideal snacks to nibble etc. If you put the effort in theres no reason not to lead a normal life, bar the odd injection or finger ***** through the day.

This book is fab too...

http://www.diabetes-book.com/

Chin up, it's NOT the end of the world. It's merely the beginning of a very interesting journey!
 
Mr Spew said:
It happens when I read anything, but I get light-headed a lot, I have to snack on loads of chocolate and fizzy drinks to keep me active (might be because of irregular sleeping patterns), don't feel the inspiration to get up in the morning and a few other things (have been under a lot of stress etc). I absolutely hate needles, and guessing I'm just being hypochondriatic (if that's even a word!). But nevertheless, always gets me worked up.
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try another way of perking yourself up.

forget chocs and fizzy drinks. sugars like that get into your system too quickly, and out fast too, like an up and down effect where your sugar levels SHOULD be staying within a range of 4-7.

instead of chocolate, eat a couple of lucozade tablets and eat an apple. that way you have quick acting sugar to cure the light headedness, and an apple which will take a bit longer to absorb, and to wear off.

drink water instead of fizzy drinks. cut down on caffeine intake. excercise more (half an hour a day, something that makes your heart beat - brisk walking is excellent)
 
I agree

eating high content sugary goods can raise quickly but also crash U just as quick

its just an escuse to eat chocolate but not the right thing to do
 
My old photography teacher who was diabetic believes that I might have it, says I show some of the strong signs and that I should get checked out, I'm still alive now though :).
 
NokkonWud said:
My old photography teacher who was diabetic believes that I might have it, says I show some of the strong signs and that I should get checked out, I'm still alive now though :).
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LMAO :p, i have to say after someone that is diabetic saying you may have it i'd have gone to the docs to find out tbh, instead of chancing it.
 
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