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How did your diabetes start?

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AnnaR123

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Hi

I'd like some advice about how your diabetes started/ when you noticed symptoms and when you sought advice.
A few nights ago I had what my nurse boyfriend described as a hypo- drowsiness, uncontrollable shaking, nausea, dizziness, breathing difficulty (I have asthma and it wasn't that which was triggered) feeling faint and weak- which resolved when he fed me sugary drinks and then food when I was more willing to eat. I've been having dizzy spells for a while, feeling very tired and have had shaky spells like that, but not to that extent. I have no family history of diabetes, my BMI is 19, I usually eat well with regular meals and exercise. As a child my mum took me to see someone regularly to have my BM checked a number of times because she was concerned, later an optition expressed concern as my eyesight went from near perfect to pretty bad in a relatively short space of time and a few years ago I collapsed (viral cause) ended up in A&E where I was told my BM of 5 was unusal given I had eaten a big meal only an hour earlier.

I'm a little concerned that I may have diabetes of some kind, but don't want to waste a Drs appointment. I'd really like to hear about people who have been through it as to when and why they sought help. Obviously this was a one off and occurred on a day where I didn't eat proper meals, but I had still eaten and drank enough that I should feel ok.

Thank you
 
It might be reactive hypoglycaemia.
I used to have sudden drops in energy at around 3 pm after school dinners, and at around 4pm after a lunch of sandwiches at the office.
When I began to eat low carb they went away - it is an over reaction to the carbs, too much insulin is released and the blood glucose level drops too low.
 
Thanks for replying Drummer

I had last eaten at about 4pm and this happened at about 11pm- I had planned to eat but had to rush a friend to hospital and just forgot with worrying about her etc. I normally eat relatively low carb anyway- that day I'd had toast for breakfast (rare but had literally nothing else!) then a yogurt, some soup, a banana and some rice cakes.
 
I was 3yrs old in the year England Won the World cup. I don't need to say what year do I ? I became a "Risk Assessor" for Duk because the sooner people find out the better long term. Welcome Anna 🙂
 
Low carbs is better for anyone Anna unless you are running a marathon 😉
 
With classic T1 diabetes you wouldn't get a hypo as your blood sugar goes up off the scale. You get the symptoms of the 4 T's - tired, thirsty, toilet and thin. In general it comes on relatively quickly - days and weeks. For a couple of weeks I was constantly drinking litres and litres but still thirsty with the consequent trips to the toilet. I've always been thin but when I was diagnosed I'd lost weight and looked like a skeleton and just felt very tired. In the final stages I had shallow breathing and started to be sick. I went to the GP's with my Mum and was rushed to hospital with diabetic ketoacidosis - good job really as the GP later said if I'd left it another day or so I'd have been dead.

As Drummer says, reactive hypoglycaemia is a possibility but really if you have concerns you need to see your GP.
 
Hi Welcome Anna. The best thing you can do is see your GP, it certainly wouldn't be a waste of an appointment. Pre diagnosis our BG (blood glucose) tends to go up rather than down. So you do need to be checked over again.
 
Certainly see your GP. I would not worry about wasting appointments. It is better than worrying about things although I am one to talk as I avoid the GP as long as I can if I am honest.

I went to see the nurse a few weeks ago as the Pharmacist thought my bite was infected as the blister was an orangey colour. I wasn't sure but I had had one infected before and it did not look the same. When I saw the nurse it was not infected but she said she would rather people go than burst the blister themselves as, if it had been infected, it could cause serious problems.
 
Before I was diagnosed I was drinking lots of water , losing weight, headaches and constant feeling of nausea. I also had umpteen chest and mouth infections and headaches daily. It was the chest infections that I went to the GP about and the diabetes was discovered when my blood was tested.

My bg was high, 22.7, but I did used to get the shakes after eating carbs.
 
As I was waiting in a queue in a pharmacy, to buy some moisturising cream for my feet, I clocked a pink Diabetes UK sign suspended above the counter ..and on spec ..asked if I could have a ✻test✻ ..which was subsequently revealed my blood glucose to be 22 mmol/L
Prior to this, I'd been drinking jugfuls of water ..was having numerous ✻comfort breaks✻ ..etc ..but I'd all this attributed this to simply being older.
A nurse later told me I probably would have ✻collapsed✻ at some point had I not commenced treatment.
 
Welcome to the forum @AnnaR123 and @steven. Others have already explained about reactive hypoglycaemia.
As you're concerned, Anna, you could ask pharmacist for check finger prick test or GP for venous blood test for HbA1c (approx average blood glucose over past approx 3 months).
Glad to hear your condition was identified relatively early, Steven. What are you doing about diet and exercise, in addition to metformin?
 
Hi Anna, your symptoms sound very familiar to me. I was diagnosed with chronic reactive hypoglycemia six years ago and have been on various forms of medication to help me manage it ever since. I would agree with others here and recommend seeing your GP but also would suggest getting a basic/low cost blood glucose monitor to start with, so you can check your level as you start to feel the symptoms again (dizziness, light headed, shaking etc). I would also keep a note in your calendar each time you start to feel the symptoms in case the frequency increases. Eight years ago I was aware of my first hypo, then had another two months later and soon it became monthly, weekly, daily and up to the start of medication had reached twice a day. You should be able to manage the symptoms with a low GI diet, more regular meals etc but see what your GP suggests. Good luck!
 
Welcome to the forum @NickD. Please feel free to introduce yourself in Newbies section.
 
I think the best course of action is to go to the GP and after explained the symptoms ask if it's possible to could prescribe a fasting blood glucose exam, a HBA1C blood exam and an urine exam.
 
I had no reason to suspect I was diabetic although it being hereditary on my Mothers side of the family I should have known it would happen sooner or later. My wife made me see the doctor when I started having both impotence and incontinence problems. We thought it would be my prostate playing up but sadly this wasn't the case. The doc said I had probably had diabetes for some time. I was told my incontinence problems would subside once my sugar levels were controlled. Sadly this wasn't the case and I have been diagnosed as having nerve damage in that region which has caused my incontinene and impotence..
 
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