[Lexicon]

Hi- I am just posting cause i need some answers to various questions. For the last year, I have been getting more and more tired. I have biopolar disorder so I just wrote it off as that. I am 22/f. I have always craved sugar. In the last year I have gotten so tired, even more so in the last month. I sleep almost constantly. I am thirsty alot. I feel itchy alot. I used to feel hungry all the time, lately I don't feel hungry much though. I chocked up all these symptoms to lithium. My friend Mike has diabetes so when I told him my symptoms he said it sounded like diabetes. I hadnt eaten so I tested my blood sugar on his counter. It was over 9 mmol/l but I hadn't eaten anything that day. Then later when I was a the doc's I mentuioned this and they tested me and it was 11.3 mmol/l but all I had was a little coffe and a few bites of pasta a few hours before. Based on other blood test results, my doc said I was diabetic and sent me to have a fasting test. The thing is, I was supposed to get my blood drawn 8-10 hours after I stopped fasting, and I got it drawn closer to 16. Also, I was slightly manic that night so I was up all night, jumping around, doing pushups, pacing around my apartment. The blood test results were high normal for fasting. I asked my doctor later if all the running around and getting the test later than suggested could've used up the sugar in my blood and he said no.

A new doc I have sent me back for another fasting test and glucose test. I tried to rest suring the last fasting test (was still awake all night though) and I tried to sit still during the glucose test. Does anyone know if this sounds like diabetes and why my blood tests would at first indicate diabetes and later be high-normal?

Btw, my urine also has a sweet smell to it often, but i don't know if that is related. Diabetes type 2 also runs in my family. I checked out the type 2 indicators and I don't have any of them, besides it being in my family. I am fairly slender and I have very low blood pressure (very low), etc...

Insight would be appreciated. I am confused and a little nervous as I havent got my results yet.

P.S. How long does it take to get blood test results for diabetes? I got my test last monday morning (it's early saturday today). Thanks.

[HeatherP]

Hi and welcome, Lexicon. It sounds like you're going to have a positive Diabetes diagnosis. As for the fasting test, as long as you haven't eaten anything for at least 10 hours, it doesn't matter if you fast longer. Physical activity will bring the blood sugar down a bit. That may very well have affected your test results.

My labwork usually takes just a few days, but sometimes up to a week.

It sounds like you have a lot of anxiety. I don't know if this is just the way you are normally, or if it's just a result of the diabetes scare. Either way, you should talk to someone about this - it can be controlled and you can feel better.

If you are indeed dx'd w/ Diabetes, don't let it overwhelm you. It's going to be traumatic at first, but this is a disease that millions of people have and it CAN be controlled. If you are diabetic, you should see a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)/Dietician. This person will teach you about diabetes, and how to eat and manage your blood sugars.

As an additional resource, you will find that we are a friendly bunch of folks, and always happy to help anyone out. No such thing as a silly question, so ask away. You ARE NOT alone in this.

HeatherP

[Lexicon]

thanks heather. I know my blood tests have been in the diabetic range (just barely) a few times, only finger prick ones. I am naturally kind of high strung, I think, but I read diabetes can make you anxious? I overlooked a lot of symptoms for a long time because I thought they were related to bipolar (depression and mania) like tiredness, anxiety, itchiness (nerves, i thought), eating too much, etc... I also read that lithium can induce diabetes. Does anyone else know about this? I am nervous... I hate waiting. I'd rather know one way or the other. I also really, really LOVE sugar so I am hoping I am not, obviously, just because of that. I asked me doctor if being active during the fast could've screwed up the results, an dhe said no. But I don't think he was thinking about mania (new doctor). I mean, i can get really hyper. Today I am exhausted. Thanks again.

[HeatherP]

Get some help with your anxiety. My husband has it too, and he's SO much better on medication.

Once you get your sugars under control, and depending on if you're T1 or T2 and/or on insulin you don't really have to give up anything. Learn to carb count and you'll be able to adjust your dose of insulin so that you can have goodies once in a while. Not a good idea to overdo it though. Just want you to know that you don't have to give up everything you ever enjoyed. We humans are an odd lot - tell us we CAN'T have something and it becomes the thing we want the most in the whole world.

Keep us posted on your progress, and again, we're all here for you. PM me anytime if you need support.

HeatherP

p.s. They mean well, but GP's are not always the best resource for diabetes info. It is a very intricate disease and it's hard to know everything.

[Lexicon]

Okay. Thanks. Btw, is 11.3 mmol if you have barely had anything ot eat all day too high? Also, could someone have type 2 instead of type 1 even if they dont have any type 2 indicators? Ie: slender, young (22), low blood pressure and cholesterol, etc... I sort of want someone with diabetes to tell me now if they think I have it cause I hate waiting, you know? Thanks again.

P.S. Does anyone else ever have problems with feeling like they need to pee alot but not peeing a lot? I feel like I need to pee at least 3-4 times an hour. Often its a lot of liquid, but sometimes no. I was checked for bladder problems before and they are stumped. Just curious. Thanks.

[HeatherP]

11.3 is approx 200 in the States. That's pretty high. Considering your age and the fact that you're slender, it would most likely be T1, which means you will need to inject insulin. We T1's have quite a bit of freedom 'cause we can adjust doses to cover any kind of food (although I'd still rather not have it at all, lol). It is possible to have T2 at you're age but in most of those cases being overweight it a factor. Some people get T2 later in life but weight is not always a factor.

Constant thirst and the resulting frequent trips to the bathroom are a classic symptom. Feeling like you've got to go even though you don't need to is a symptom of a bladder infection. If your urine has been tested and comes up negative, then it could be a symptom of diabetes or an unrelated problem. It could be all the stress you're putting yourself through right now.

Try to let it go for the weekend - you're not going to have results until at least Monday. Do something you enjoy doing and try to not be so obsessed with it. Also, what you know about diabetes might be a lot of untrue old wives' tales, so don't freak out. We've come a long way in the last 20 years.

By the way, I'm T1 for 13 years, on Multiple Daily Injections (MDI) and complication free.

HeatherP

[Lorna]

Hi- I am 22 and female to. Ive been type 1 for the past 13 years. My advice is see a doctor as soon as possible. But if it turns out that you are diabetic it's not the end of the world.

[Lexicon]

Hi- apparently my most recent tests indicate I am not diabetic. But I have been in the "diabetic ranges" before. I know I should be happy, but instead I feel unsettled. I thought for sure I would be diagnosed. Now, I don't know what is wrong with me. My symptoms are dead on for diabetes and this fatigue is driving me nuts. Now I feel kind of dicouraged, because I don't know what to do to get rid of these symptoms (thirsty, hungry, tired, peeing all the time). Oh well. The doctor said my thyroid is working too hard, but then checked the hormone and said that was normal. I am not sure what this is supposed to mean, if anything. I am mildly anemic, but not enough to explain this constant, extreme fatigue, and lithium doesn't make people tired like this. My white blood cell count is in the normal range. I guess I am happy I am not diabetic but now I don't know what I am, if anything. How can an apparently healthy 22 year old who is not significantly depressed get out of breath so easily and be so thirsty and so tired?

Confused and a little down (and a little rlieved too, of course),
Lex

[MarkMunday]

The high random readings and the symptoms you describe suggest diabetes. The fact that the fasting tests were normal suggests that you haven't got Type 1 Diabetes. But it could be Type 2.

If you are not happy with the negative diagnosis, based on fasting blood sugar readings taken by the doctor, ask him to do a Glucose Tolerance Test. The GTT asseses how well your body responds to a glucose load over a three hour period, and is more conclusive than a fasting test.

If you don't want to wait for your doctor to do it, you can do a GTT yourself. Borrow a glucose meter and follow the procedure outline in this article. The normal values are provided in this article. To convert from mg/dl to mmol/l, divide by 18.

Hope this helps,

Mark

[Lexicon]

Hi- thank you! My doctor did a glucose test and it was close to 7.0 mmol. Right now I don't know what is up. I was told today that my thyroid is overactive but the amount of hormone being produced is "normal". I don't know what this means, and why my thyroid is working so hard if its not producing too much thyroid hormone. I feel really discouraged right now. I wasn't told what to do about the thyroid thing, how to follow up, or what it indicates. All I know is this fatigue can't be my imagination! Thanks again!

Lex

[rzrbks]

Lex,

It sounds as though the Dr. is trying very hard to pin-point what's happeneing with you. I KNOW it's very hard but keep in mind that Medicine is nearly as much art/detecive work as it is science.

The Dr. seems to be trying hard so now you have to do your bit. Start working on the things you can control { meds to help with anxiety and Bipolar } and then you'll be able to handle the other things better as they come up.

[Lexicon]

Oh yes I forgot to add- my latest test results were 5.6 fasting and about 6.6 for the glucose test... does this count as prediabetes?

[Funnygrl]

Neither of those results indicates diabetes or prediabetes.