Potential diabetes or something else? All advice welcome

[daisydot]

Hi. I am 16 years old and I believe I may be diabetic. I have many of the symptoms of diabetes. The only problem is that I have been tested for diabetes through my bloods, but everything came back okay.

My mum and dad have had to go private with me to get help as I am getting nowhere with my normal GP(s). For years, doctors dismissed there being anything wrong with me, despite me missing many months of school since I was a young girl, due to a recurring Strep A infection.

My parents and I do not know where to go from here. We all strongly believe I am diabetic, even though my blood says otherwise. I will state why this is.

Firstly, I have excessive thirst (I drink 5 litres of water EVERY day). I have always drank so much water since I was a young girl, but this has increased to about 5 litres of water within the past year. I am ALWAYS thirsty. Doctors did not think much of me drinking a lot of water until I told them just HOW much I am drinking. They ran some tests for diabetes and my bloods came back fine. I also do not need to urinate that much at all which is confusing. When I do go to school, I am not able to drink as much water as I can at home. My thirst is never relieved.

Extreme acid reflux from my strep A infection caused me to eat very little for a year. I lost 3 and a half stone with this as I was in great pain when eating, however again, GPs did not think this was excessive.
Since being on acid reflux medication with penicillin V since October, I have had CRAZY sugar cravings and I have been extremely hungry. I cannot even begin to describe to you just how much I crave sugar all the time. I am RAVENOUS. I was never like this until recent months and my parents find it peculiar.

This brings me to my next point: Within the past four months, I have started to get mucus in my throat after eating. It is a thick coating that makes me have to cough. After I have finished eating, I have to try to swallow this mucus to get rid of it. I also get extremely bad rib pain (it feels like a bruised feeling, radiating from the front to the back) after eating large meals when I am RAVENOUS. I wonder if this could be connected to my pancreas?

I am FREEZING all the time. I cannot heat up, no matter what I do and I am like this every day. I also always have a low temperature when taking my temperature. I am noting this because I have heard that some diabetic people can be cold all the time.

Also, since December, I have had bad thinning in my hair. I have tingling and bad pain in my scalp too, which is causing me great discomfort.

Finally, I should add that more recently I have mucus-like stools when going to the bathroom. I apologise if this is a bit tmi, but I just wonder if this could be connected to diabetes in anyway that you may know.

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read this post. What I ultimately would like to know is even though when I had blood tests for diabetes carried out and they came back okay, do you still think I could have diabetes or I am developing diabetes. My symptoms have stunted GPS for years. All advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Inka]

Welcome @daisydot 🙂 Sorry you’ve been feeling rough for so long. I feel the answer might be the mucus. Have you had a thorough Ear Nose Throat check? The mucus could make you thirsty.

You’re extremely unlikely to have diabetes because you’ve had the thirst for so long - bluntly, you’d be a goner if you’d had Type 1 that long. Also, you don’t have the excessive urination that’s a big symptom. Finally you’ve had blood tests to rule diabetes out.

I hope you find an answer and feel better soon.

 

[Inka]

The low temp and thinning hair might be a thyroid issue or simply that you’re run down. Antibiotics can mess with your body because they destroy the good bacteria in the gut as well as bad bacteria. I find they can make me feel pretty run down. I take a probiotic and concentrate on healthy eating. Your sugar craving could be connected to the balance of bacteria in your gut.

 

[Inka]

It’s clear you’re anxious about your health but if you’ve had diabetes ruled out, then it’s sensible to look elsewhere for the cause.

Do go back to your GP and say you’re still not feeling 100%.

What I ultimately would like to know is even though when I had blood tests for diabetes carried out and they came back okay, do you still think I could have diabetes or I am developing diabetes.

No, I don’t frankly. Type 1 diabetes is very serious and would be obvious, and Type 2 can be not so obvious and is diagnosed by a blood test. If you’ve had this blood test and came out as not diabetic then you can’t have diabetes by definition.

 

[Docb]

Hi Daisydot. I think that Inka has said it all. It would take a really incompetent doctor to miss diabetes in a 16 year old, and the reality is that incompetent doctors are very rare and do not last long in the profession. Add to that the negative results from the tests and you can eliminate diabetes as a reason for the things that are happening to you.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi. So sorry to hear you are suffering all these symptoms which sound very unpleasant.
I agree with the others above that it is not Diabetes Mellitus but wondering if it could be Diabetes Insipidus which is not diabetes as we know it but a completely separate illness. It is to do with a hormone imbalance but not the hormone insulin. Thyroid is another potential problem site for some of your symptoms and I think you could probably do with a referral to an endocrinologist if you haven't seen one yet.

 

[Inka]

Diabetes insipidus is rare and it involves excessive urination too, even when the person doesn’t drink. The OP has said she doesn’t have excessive urination.

I don’t know how common thyroid issues are in young people but it was the feeling cold and thinning hair that made me think of it.

 

[rebrascora]

@Inka I agree. I did notice that regarding no excess urination but perception can be a funny thing and perhaps the volume per visit is more as oppose to numerous visits to the loo, particularly as the OP has been in the habit of drinking a lot from a young age. If there are 5 litres a day of water going in, there must be a decent amount coming back out again, unless the OP has significant oedema building up or sweats profusely, neither of which are mentioned. It is a lot of daily fluids and it can't just vanish!

 

[Inka]

Agreed @rebrascora But I believe the ‘excessive’ in diabetes insipidus is in relation to intake. I think I mentioned a school friend was suspected of having it. She actually had a physical problem (a salivary gland issue after a viral infection).

 

[Perfect10]

Hi daisydot, it’s always difficult when you don’t feel quite right but don’t know what the cause is. The mucus and some of your symptoms may be due to a food intolerance? eg lactose? This would be a case of cutting certain things from your diet to see if you improve?
I am presuming that your GP has done other blood tests so full blood count etc. They can rule lots of things out this way.
Hope you manage to sort it soon

 

[daisydot]

Welcome @daisydot 🙂 Sorry you’ve been feeling rough for so long. I feel the answer might be the mucus. Have you had a thorough Ear Nose Throat check? The mucus could make you thirsty.

You’re extremely unlikely to have diabetes because you’ve had the thirst for so long - bluntly, you’d be a goner if you’d had Type 1 that long. Also, you don’t have the excessive urination that’s a big symptom. Finally you’ve had blood tests to rule diabetes out.

I hope you find an answer and feel better soon.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me Inka. I had a good look at all of your comments and they have been more than helpful. I find your comment about gut bacteria specifically interesting and worth further investigating.

 

[daisydot]

Hi Daisydot. I think that Inka has said it all. It would take a really incompetent doctor to miss diabetes in a 16 year old, and the reality is that incompetent doctors are very rare and do not last long in the profession. Add to that the negative results from the tests and you can eliminate diabetes as a reason for the things that are happening to you.

Hi Docb, thank you for the advice. I completely agree with you. That has really given me some peace of mind!

 

[daisydot]

@Inka I agree. I did notice that regarding no excess urination but perception can be a funny thing and perhaps the volume per visit is more as oppose to numerous visits to the loo, particularly as the OP has been in the habit of drinking a lot from a young age. If there are 5 litres a day of water going in, there must be a decent amount coming back out again, unless the OP has significant oedema building up or sweats profusely, neither of which are mentioned. It is a lot of daily fluids and it can't just vanish!

Hi rebrascora. I definitely agree with you when you say that it is worth further investigating where all of the water is going. I do have to wonder if maybe when I am going to the toilet that I am urinating more than average? Thank you for taking the time to reply!

 

[daisydot]

Hi daisydot, it’s always difficult when you don’t feel quite right but don’t know what the cause is. The mucus and some of your symptoms may be due to a food intolerance? eg lactose? This would be a case of cutting certain things from your diet to see if you improve?
I am presuming that your GP has done other blood tests so full blood count etc. They can rule lots of things out this way.
Hope you manage to sort it soon

Hi Perfectly, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. Perhaps I could have a food intolerance of some sort, like you have pointed out. It's definitely worth further investigating

 

[rebrascora]

Hi rebrascora. I definitely agree with you when you say that it is worth further investigating where all of the water is going. I do have to wonder if maybe when I am going to the toilet that I am urinating more than average? Thank you for taking the time to reply!

It is not necessarily something that you would know what normal was because it is not like you measure it or would necessarily know what was normal for someone else, but if 5 litres a day are going in, then they have to be coming out again somewhere or you would be swelling up pretty fast and piling on weight and I am sure you would have mentioned that!
If we want to make a maths and physics lesson out of it then 1litre of water weighs 1kg so if you are drinking 3 litres a day more than the average person but weeing the same then that is 3kg a day (6lbs 6oz) that you would be putting on in weight per day, so you would be looking like a water balloon by the end of a week with a 21kgs weight increase! So either you are not drinking as much as you think or you are weeing a lot more than you realise.

 

[Inka]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to me Inka. I had a good look at all of your comments and they have been more than helpful. I find your comment about gut bacteria specifically interesting and worth further investigating.

You’re very welcome @daisydot 🙂 The gut’s role in good health is often underrated. We all hear about the importance of a healthy, balanced diet, but it really does make a difference. I take probiotics whenever I have to take antibiotics (after the antibiotics have finished, that is).

Do consider the ENT thing too. Mucus and catarrh can cause a dry mouth by themselves but they can also contribute to poor sleep and mouth-breathing - which dries your mouth out even more.

 

[Inka]

So you might find your thirst is actually more due to a dry mouth. You could drink a normal amount per day (ie the recommended 6-8 glasses) and in addition simply try swilling water around your mouth to moisten it as an extra to your normal drinks. The friend I mentioned above was drinking much more than you, but her ‘thirst’ was actually caused by a lack of saliva due to the inflamed salivary glands.

Also, choose water to drink and not caffeinated drinks as they can dehydrate you more.

 

[Docb]

Hi Docb, thank you for the advice. I completely agree with you. That has really given me some peace of mind!

You're welcome @daisydot.

Can I suggest that in your research you do not lose sight of the fact that the human body is a complicated thing with many interacting systems.

Two things come from that.

First, there is a very broad spectrum of what ought to be considered normal. Looking for some sort of perfection is illusory.

Second as a general statement, it is only when one of the major systems goes out of kilter is there a decent chance of associating cause and effect with any degree of confidence. Otherwise there is a lot fuzz with speculation and guesswork being presented as certainty. Develop a healthy cynicism about things you read which seem to offer explanations - look for the reasons they might be wrong with as much effort as you put into looking for reasons they might be right.