Thoughts on Blood Sugar

[Josh0161]

Hi All,

I have recently been experiencing some symptoms that are concerning me, however with the current state of the world, I'm anxious of visiting the GP as I'm shielding due to Covid.

I have noticed over the last month or two I have been visiting the bathroom a lot, Which then makes my mouth really dry so I drink more water, resulting in me going to the bathroom even more. Despite the amount I'm doing, the urine is not clear, it's a cloudy yellow.

My other symptoms are feeling sick, tiredness, bursts of energy, genital itching. - All of which I have read online can be linked to Diabetes.

To clear my mind I purchased a glucose meter of the internet to do some testing of my own but I don't fully understand this, when I woke up (on a empty stomach for longer than 8h) my reading was 5.8mmol/L , I had dinner around 3PM today and its been well over 2 1/2 hours since, I have just taken another reading and I have 7.4mmol/L.

Are these normal digits, or is this something I really need to speak to my GP about?

Sidenote: I have never been tested for Diabetes by a doctor before, so I'm unsure if I might have it or not.

 

[Inka]

Those are normal readings @Josh0161 🙂 Could you have a urinary infection? It might be worth seeing if you can drop a sample off to your GP.

 

[Inka]

Just to add - the glucose meters in the shops aren’t for diagnostic purposes. They’re really more for people who already have diabetes to see how they’re doing.

If you continue to be concerned about your health, do speak to a GP. You won’t be wasting their time 🙂

 

[Josh0161]

Just to add - the glucose meters in the shops aren’t for diagnostic purposes. They’re really more for people who already have diabetes to see how they’re doing.

If you continue to be concerned about your health, do speak to a GP. You won’t be wasting their time 🙂

Thanks, I don't think I have any urinary infections, However, I have had previous lapses/episodes of Balanitis however I'm not seeing the redness I usually do when I get that.

 

[Inka]

If you’ve had balanitis before I think that’s something to get checked out. If you don’t want to speak to a GP about that for the moment, your local pharmacy might have a suitable cream you could try first to see if it helps at all.

With quite general symptoms like you’ve got, it’s hard to know what’s causing them because there are so many possibilities. Even something like an iron deficiency can cause a number of symptoms.

 

[Josh0161]

If you’ve had balanitis before I think that’s something to get checked out. If you don’t want to speak to a GP about that for the moment, your local pharmacy might have a suitable cream you could try first to see if it helps at all.

With quite general symptoms like you’ve got, it’s hard to know what’s causing them because there are so many possibilities. Even something like an iron deficiency can cause a number of symptoms.

Thanks, I think I will arrange a telephone appointment on Monday with my GP. I agree it could be a number of things, but it's worrying that all my symptoms all seem to link with Diabetes somehow from the research I've done.

 

[Inka]

Thanks, I think I will arrange a telephone appointment on Monday with my GP. I agree it could be a number of things, but it's worrying that all my symptoms all seem to link with Diabetes somehow from the research I've done.

Very sensible. If you’re still worried about diabetes, you could ask for an HbA1C blood test. This is what’s used to diagnose diabetes and needs to be taken from the arm not a finger prick. That will give you a definitive answer 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

Not knowing what balanitis is, I thought of thrush which is a yeast infection usually a female issue but can affect men as well. It is often linked to diabetes as yeast just loves a sugary environment. If you can't get a GP appointment then yes the pharmacist should be able to advise.

 

[Josh0161]

Very sensible. If you’re still worried about diabetes, you could ask for an HbA1C blood test. This is what’s used to diagnose diabetes and needs to be taken from the arm not a finger prick. That will give you a definitive answer 🙂

Thanks, I will likely do that! Appreciate the help.

 

[Inka]

Thanks, I will likely do that! Appreciate the help.

You’re welcome 🙂 Let us know how you get on.

 

[Josh0161]

You’re welcome 🙂 Let us know how you get on.

I will do!