Hi! Introducing myself, and a few questions!

[Nicki-Lou]

Hi!
I’m Nicki-Lou, 31 year old female.
I had Covid back in December, and since then I’ve had a few weird symptoms that would fit with potential diabetes, especially over the past two weeks. In particular I’m feeling quite shaky and weak if I haven’t eaten for a short while, particularly in the mornings - I often find I struggle to actually hold the spoon when eating my breakfast as I’m so shaky… this resolves a short while after I’ve eaten though… I also had an episode of almost passing out two weeks ago and these symptoms have become more frequent and worse since then although I don’t think the almost passing out was related to what I’m experiencing now, I suspect that was a blood pressure drop… I am also incredibly thirsty and drinking a lot, and needing to wee a lot too! I am also exhausted all the time although this could be down to having had Covid…
I had a HBA1C done as part of routine blood tests a month ago and that was 37 (I believe normal range is up to 42) so I was wondering if you can have normal hba1c and be diabetic or not…
My Nan (maternal) has type 2 diabetes and on insulin, and my Grandad (paternal) is prediabetic… my auntie and cousin have both had gestational diabetes too whilst pregnant.. and I have another condition tuner syndrome and diabetes is common with this…
I have a GP appointment to discuss symptoms on Tuesday and was wondering what to expect if he does suspect it’s a blood sugar/potential diabetes related?”

Thank you!

 

[Saoirse]

Hi. Sorry to hear about Covid and the shaky symptoms you’ve been experiencing. A hbA1c is the diagnostic test for diabetes and your results are normal. On this basis there is no reason to suspect you are diabetic but it’s good you are seeing your gp to investigate the reasons for your symptom. Hope you get some answers and feel better soon.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Nicki-Lou

Good that you’ve had an HbA1c recently - that is a measure of glucose concentrations over the preceding 3 months or so, and is a good indication that your glucose levels have been in ab optimal range.

The thirst and urination could have been symptomatic of diabetes, but this doesn’t align with your HbA1c result as thirst / urination happen when blood glucose exceeds the ‘renal threshold’ (about 10mmol/L), which would have been reflected in your HbA1c

Hope you get some answers to what is behind the wooziness you've been experiencing.

 

[Nicki-Lou]

Welcome to the forum @Nicki-Lou

Good that you’ve had an HbA1c recently - that is a measure of glucose concentrations over the preceding 3 months or so, and is a good indication that your glucose levels have been in ab optimal range.

The thirst and urination could have been symptomatic of diabetes, but this doesn’t align with your HbA1c result as thirst / urination happen when blood glucose exceeds the ‘renal threshold’ (about 10mmol/L), which would have been reflected in your HbA1c

Hope you get some answers to what is behind the wooziness you've been experiencing.

Thank you! It is strange that the symptoms would fit but they don’t match the HBA1C result… how quickly would this result change? As symptoms only really started a couple of weeks after the blood test was done… although I’m guessing it wouldn’t have changed that much in that short space of time! So I guess there must be something else going on!
Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my post, it’s much appreciated!

 

[Lucyr]

You could read about reactive hypoglycaemia and see if that fit with your symptoms, but I’m not sure it would if it’s whilst you’re eating breakfast that you’re shaky, reactive hypoglycaemia would normally be a while later.

An hba1c is an average of 3 months so if your symptoms continue go back to your GP. Perhaps they could loan you a BP machine to check your blood pressure when you’re shaky to rule out any issues with that?

 

[Leadinglights]

It would be worth asking for another HbA1C test if the one you had was before you had Covid as it could be that Covid has triggered a change in your system affecting your ability to cope with carbohydrates. There is evidence that Covid has led to people being diagnosed with diabetes.
However there could be other explanations so keep an open mind.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

how quickly would this result change? As symptoms only really started a couple of weeks after the blood test was done… although I’m guessing it wouldn’t have changed that much in that short space of time! So I guess there must be something else going on!

Well it’s a sort of a rolling programme. Red blood cells last for approx 120 days, though they don’t all switch over at the same time. They get reabsorbed and remade continually. So every 3 months is the frequency where most of fhe old cells would have made way for new.

 

[Spathiphyllum]

I have another condition tuner syndrome

Is this a typo? Did you mean Turner syndrome? ... If so, it's quite a rare disorder and associated with a range of different problems (for example heart abnormalities and thyroid problems), and it usually means taking long-term medications and seeing various specialists regularly.

So-- as Leadinglights says, "keep an open mind"; tell your GP and/or your specialists all about it, and wait and see what they say. If your HbA1c a month ago was 37, it's unlikely you have diabetes. I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon!

 

[Nicki-Lou]

Hi. Sorry to hear about Covid and the shaky symptoms you’ve been experiencing. A hbA1c is the diagnostic test for diabetes and your results are normal. On this basis there is no reason to suspect you are diabetic but it’s good you are seeing your gp to investigate the reasons for your symptom. Hope you get some answers and feel better soon

Is this a typo? Did you mean Turner syndrome? ... If so, it's quite a rare disorder and associated with a range of different problems (for example heart abnormalities and thyroid problems), and it usually means taking long-term medications and seeing various specialists regularly.

So-- as Leadinglights says, "keep an open mind"; tell your GP and/or your specialists all about it, and wait and see what they say. If your HbA1c a month ago was 37, it's unlikely you have diabetes. I hope you get some answers and reassurance soon!

Ahh yes sorry! Turner Syndrome yes! Thank you for your reply, I have my GP appointment tomorrow so will hopefully get some answers! Thank you

 

[Nicki-Lou]

I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and reply to my post, it is very much appreciated and very reassuring!
I had my GP appointment, he thinks my symptoms could be caused by either blood sugar or blood pressure dips, or a combination of the two! So he has suggested that I could test both blood sugars and blood pressure regularly and when I get symptoms, and keep a record of these readings, to see if there are any dips or any patterns we can identify.
Does anyone have any recommendations on blood sugar meters I can buy? I'm currently looking, but there are so many different ones and so many different, conflicting reviews it's confusing me!
Thank you!

 

[Leadinglights]

People who are Type 2 find they have to self fund a monitor as the GP are not obliged to prescribe them unless people are on medication that could cause low blood glucose, but I do think when people are actually advised to test by their GP they should be prescribed.
However the monitors to look for are ones with the cheapest strips as that is the consumable bit of the kit. Two that people find reliable are the GlucoNavii or Spirit TEE2 but do shop around as prices are changing all the time. On line are generally cheaper than the pharmacy.