[B.brown]

I believe I might have diabetes and will be going in to get tested by the end of the month. I have one concern tho. What if I don't have diabetes and they diagnose me as having it? What could be the effects of insulin on my body? I've heard stories of people without diabetes dying from taking insulin. Maybe I'm just nervous but your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brian

[duck]

Can you document such stories, or are they urban legend? Typically, if you are misdiagnosed with diabetes, it's along the lines of being diagnosed as a Type 2 when in reality you are a Type 1 or vice versa.

There are a few blood tests that should be run to determine a diagnosis, obviously a blood sugar level, then a Glycosolated Hemoglobin A1c and a C-Peptide test. The results of such tests are pretty hard to argue with...

And as always, you should get a second opinion if you feel one is needed.

[B.brown]

I'm pretty sure the stories are just urban legands.

BTW the reason I asked this question is I'm in the Army and Army doctors aren't the greatest known to man. And can't be trusted to do much other than deal with a cold or a headache.

[DeusXM]

Hate to be the one to break this to you but if you're in the army and you get diagnosed with diabetes, you'll be out of a job. Your doctors certainly aren't going to misdiagnose you as having diabetes if you don't have it.

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by B.brown

I'm pretty sure the stories are just urban legands.

BTW the reason I asked this question is I'm in the Army and Army doctors aren't the greatest known to man. And can't be trusted to do much other than deal with a cold or a headache.

If you are diagnosed with the big D, you'll find out very quickly how useless doctors can be in helping you manage it. They give me the scripts and the basic understanding of how things work and what I'm supposed to accomplish, but for practical day-to-day edumacation and advice, come here or other places and talk with real diabetics who have the time and experience to help you.

[B.brown]

I have realized that I will be seperated from the army and have made my peace with that.

But I'm just curious if insulin has a ill effect on a "normal" body. Anyone know?

[right2fight]

A "normal" body produces its own.
Margaret

[JediSkipdogg]

The simple answer is it won't harm you. There is actually been proven recently a misdiagnosis of people that were diagnosed younger than 6 months old.

I can't remember the full diagnosis causes but they were immediately put on insulin. Then down the road, many many years down, they were determined to not need the insulin and were immediately taken off at which point thier body took over full control without any problems.

Your body is a amazing item in that if it sees insulin being given it will produce less of it. The problem is when too much insulin is given the body can't quite compensate for that accurately. But if you happen to be newly diagnosed and given insulin and then misdiagnosed, the amount of insulin they would put you on is nothing that would drop you low enough to worry about.

Good luck and here's crossing my fingers for you either way.

[Funnygrl]

The tests are pretty conclusive and hard to falsely interprut.

But lets go worst case scenario-
The doctor thinks you have diabetes, so he tells you to diet and exercise. No harm there.

Or he starts you on oral meds. Oral meds really won't do anything if you don't have diabetes.

Or say he does think you need insulin. You'd be started on a small dose. Your healthy defense mechanisms (since you don't have diabetes) would prevent you from dropping very low.

Or say you did drop low. You would deal with the hypoglycemia just like any other diabetic would. Then you would keep dropping, and they would keep lowering your dose, till they realized their error of putting you on it.

[duck]

Originally Posted by B.brown

I have realized that I will be seperated from the army and have made my peace with that.

But I'm just curious if insulin has a ill effect on a "normal" body. Anyone know?

If you are given enough insulin and you are "normal", you'll risk hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). As a "normal" person, your body will kick in mechanisms to raise blood sugar, but it is possible to take too much external insulin for your body to overcome, in which case you could go into a coma and even die. The fix is simple--sugar.

Insulin is one of the most powerful anabolics you can take, so you'll hear about bodybuilders injecting insulin and eating more to force additional nutrients into cells. So, there are apparently "normal" people taking insulin for illegal reasons.

[w5wjp]

Originally Posted by B.brown

I'm pretty sure the stories are just urban legands.

BTW the reason I asked this question is I'm in the Army and Army doctors aren't the greatest known to man. And can't be trusted to do much other than deal with a cold or a headache.

Don't be bad mouthing the Army doctors. I am a retired Army lab tech and, when I look through the phone book, I can recognized quite a few of the "civilian" doctors as ones that I have worked with in the Army. The point is....civilian or military, there are good doctors and bad doctors. Remember, half of all doctors practicing medicine were in the bottom half of their med school class.

[B.brown]

Thank ya'll for all your response's I feel alot more relaxed now and I'm going to set up a appointment for friday.

Peace!

[poodlebone]

Originally Posted by JediSkipdogg

The simple answer is it won't harm you. There is actually been proven recently a misdiagnosis of people that were diagnosed younger than 6 months old.

I can't remember the full diagnosis causes but they were immediately put on insulin. Then down the road, many many years down, they were determined to not need the insulin and were immediately taken off at which point thier body took over full control without any problems.

This affects only a small number of children who were diagnosed before the age of 6 months. It's some totally different, genetic form of diabetes. I don't remember exactly what goes wrong, though, something to do with potassium stopping the beta cells from producing insulin. Their body doesn't take full control once insulin is stopped, though. These kids are put on oral meds instead, and can stop injecting insulin because their beta cells start producing it once they're on the oral medication. They're not exactly Type 2 either, even though they use a T2 medication.

[June91]

Originally Posted by w5wjp

Remember, half of all doctors practicing medicine were in the bottom half of their med school class.

Finally, a rational explanation for the phenomenon...