Diabetes symptoms, but tested negative twice

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JustMcCollum

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Hello there.

I am here to reach out to others who may have experienced symptoms similar to diabetes, but tested negative.
I tested negative at my walk-in clinic via blood work/vials for a CBC and the finger prick test, recently as of January 4th, 2024.

Hemoglobin is 16.7/17.1, normal.
Glucose is 94/99, normal.
Hemoglobin A1C is 5.2/5.7, normal.

As far as my symptoms go, I've been having
  • Dry mouth & lips
  • Excessive urination (I feel I have to go more than usual even though I'm not drinking enough bottles of water, maybe 1-2 a day.)
  • There are times when I'm really thirsty, but it doesn't happen every day.
  • Tingling sensations in my hands and feet
  • Losing weight without trying. (I'm 187 pounds at 6'4'' and can't seem to gain any more pounds. I'm not physically active.)
  • Feeling very tired (I get a rushing sensation when I feel tired throughout the day like that feeling when blood rushes to your head tilted upside down, but imagine that throughout the whole body, and I can hear my heart beating profusely when I get tired. And I fall into a deep sleep even if it's for a nap.)
  • Always hungry, never seem to get enough food
  • Itchy skin, particularly on my arms, armpits or legs
  • Joint pain all over the body (Knuckles, wrists, knees, toes, ankles, even my jawbone at the hinges)
  • Blurry vision is hard to tell as I've had glasses/contacts since I was in middle school. I can't tell if my vision has blurry episodes or not.​
As far as my medical history goes, I do have swollen lymph nodes in my neck currently, which are currently in the process of being evaluated, we don't know if it's cancer or not.

I also have a history of high cholesterol and gallbladder polyps. I do have pain when I eat in my belly above the belly button in the center (which makes me paranoid it's my pancreas), and on the right side below the ribs, particularly eating anything sweet or fatty. I get pain in my shoulder blades when I eat such food. So, I've been avoiding sugar and junk food altogether the last several weeks. I've been on a strict diet to reduce the possible inflammation of my gallbladder. I don't even know if my gallbladder is inflamed because even my White Blood cell count is perfectly normal on my CBC.

However, nobody in my close family have had a history of diabetes, not even my grandparents. My dad's aunt has Type 2 diabetes and my cousin once removed has Type 1 diabetes and that's those are the only traces of diabetes in our family.

I'm just baffled. My parents think I'm crazy having all these tests, spending money on doctor's appointments and they're all coming back normal. I know I don't feel well. Does anybody have any idea what could be causing these symptoms?

Thank you.
 
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Welcome @JustMcCollum 🙂 Pain in the shoulder blade can be connected to gallbladder problems, so that fits with your suspected gallbladder and digestive issues. Your weight is in the healthy category so I wouldn’t worry about that. If you do have digestive issues then it might be those which are slowing any weight gain.

Your HbA1Cs are 33.3/38.8 which are both normal, so you don’t have diabetes.

If I were you, I’d eat a gallbladder-friendly diet (very low fat), get help with the high cholesterol if needed, and look for other causes of your symptoms because you’ve ruled out diabetes.
 
Inka said:
Welcome @JustMcCollum 🙂 Pain in the shoulder blade can be connected to gallbladder problems, so that fits with your suspected gallbladder and digestive issues. Your weight is in the healthy category so I wouldn’t worry about that. If you do have digestive issues then it might be those which are slowing any weight gain.

Your HbA1Cs are 33.3/38.8 which are both normal, so you don’t have diabetes.

If I were you, I’d eat a gallbladder-friendly diet (very low fat), get help with the high cholesterol if needed, and look for other causes of your symptoms because you’ve ruled out diabetes.
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Yes, but I was 200 lbs and I dropped all the way down to 187 in a matter of 4 months without trying. That's a lot of weight and it's scary. I don't know what is causing that, but I'm working on a solution.

I appreciate your response nevertheless. Thank you.
 
Perhaps you’re not absorbing your food so well due to digestive issues @JustMcCollum ? That could cause weight loss. You also mention you’ve been on a diet for the stomach pain. Perhaps it’s a combination of those things? Certainly, if I were you I’d explore the whole gallbladder/digestion thing further.

The weight loss associated with Type 1 diabetes is dramatic. I lost a stone (14lbs) in a couple of weeks or so. It was very sudden and very noticeable. There was no fat on me, not even on my face. It was very weird.

Anyway, you’ve done a sensible thing ruling out diabetes. I hope you can get some answers soon. If you continue to have the stomach pain, you might want to keep a food diary to see if certain foods make it worse. There are also tests that can be done to test your absorption of foods. You can also have tests to rule out vitamin deficiencies as some of those can cause tiredness.
 
Welcome to the forum @JustMcCollum

I note you are posting from the US. The mg/dl BG units that you use would translate to 5.2mmol - 5.5mmol/L (which as you doubtless know are perfectly normal).

The unexpected and unintended weight loss must be quite concerning. And your other symptoms sound very uncomfortable for you.

Would it be possible for you to enquire about x-rays or possibly a CT scan? This would be relatively easy in the UK as this would be covered by the NHS if the Dr felt it would be helpful - but I’m not sure how costly it might be in the US with insurance/copay to take into account.

But someone taking a look at your abdominal area to see if they can identify the cause of your weight loss seems prudent?
 
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