[Holly400]

Hi everybody.

I'm a 22 year old female, work full-time at a busy pharmacy, and am full time in college. Over the last four or five months, I've started to notice some changes in how I normally fell.

I sometimes get brief hunger pains mid-morning and early afternoon which hardly ever happened before. Generally I like to think that I'm a fairly upbeat person, but in the last few months, I've had several days when I've been rather sullen and pratish to the point where the people at work were getting concerned over me. I'm tired nearly all the time. Days when I don't have work or school, I can sleep from 11pm until noon, take a nap from 4 to 6 and hit the hay at 10:30 and still feel exhausted (previously I slept from around 2am until between 7:30 to 9am). It seems most days now, I can barely stay awake past 11pm. Also, I feel like I aways need to use the restroom. Typically before, I would go once in the morning and maybe once in the evening if I had been drinking a lot of water that day. Now it's in the morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, after dinner, before bed, and a few times I've had to get up late at night or in the early morning, which hasn't happened since I was a small child.

I'm 161cm and usually weigh in between 123 and 128lbs. There's no history of diabetes in my family that I'm aware of. I eat fairly healthy. I usually cook dinner after work or have leftovers, although we still tend to eat out on a weekly basis. I almost never eat fast food, and I don't indulge in too much junk food. I do admit that I don't get that much real exercise in (aside from the 9 hour days of continuous walking at work), and spend a lot of my free time on my computer (as a computer science student and an avid gamer). I have had a bit of stress lately what with fall classes and we're starting to enter our busy season at work with a short staff (plus a large percentage of our patients are outright nasty and I often get the brunt of their anger working at the out-window).

I am concerned that I might be developing diabetes. My doctor, like most in the area, won't be able to get me in for at least a month. I've thought about going to a walk-in clinic, but the only person I've discussed this with (a girl from work) has discouraged the idea (our opinions of clinics are not that great in our work field).

I haven't felt really ill or like I'm going to faint or anything. And I only started to really notice the other symptoms recently; it's certainly possible that I'm just tired and stressed and am looking back on the last few months and nitpicking at absolutely insignificant details.

I don't know anyone who's diabetic and can give me their advice on the matter. Does this sound like I should be immediately concerned to anyone else? I know that I need to see a doctor to be checked out anyway, but I don't know if it's imperative or not. I could get to a clinic as early as Tuesday, or does anyone think it would be okay to schedule an appointment with my doctor in a month or two and wait that long?

I do apologize for prattling on, but I'm a little worried and don't know what to do or how much info you guys would need...

[matingara]

it does not sound to me like you are prattling!

have you been more thirsty than normal? if so, how much more thirsty would you say you have been?

-- Joel.

[dbc]

I'd say schedule an appt with your doctor - you've described enough changes to your "normal" that it'd be wise to go for a checkup. If nothing is wrong, great, if the other, you will have taken the step in getting it sorted out.

good luck!

[beau91]

Hi,you should see a doctor that his for sure.I don't know were your from but here in Montreal,we can go at a pharmacist.They have every week a nurse that comes in and takes BC (test).It would give you an idea but not a confirmation .Bye Ricky

[xMenace]

There's a few things that can cause such symptoms such as diabetes, aging, and pregnancy. Check with your pharmacist about getting a blood glucose test done. Maybe they have some spare monitors/strips kicking aound. If you are peeing constantly and losing weight dramatically, go to ER, otherwise, see your doctor as planned. You might wanna try that exercise pill too. It's been known to do wonders

[princesslinda]

I agree with the other posters...the best thing for you to do is to see your doctor and have appropriate blood tests done to r/o diabetes andor any other potential problems.

[georgepds]

The best thing to do is to see your doctor. The easiest thing to do is check your blood glucose level your self

If the fasting blood glucose level is > 125 mg/dl , you are diabetic. if any random blood glucose level is > 200 mg/dl , you are diabetic

Good luck

--G

[georgepds]

Forgot to mention, you can buy the meter in the pharmacy for ~US$50 , the strips to use it will cost another ~$25

--G

[Holly400]

Okay. Thanks for the advice then everybody. I'll be setting up an appointment then and looking into getting one of the meters at work maybe to test myself. Glad to see that no one is telling me to panic; that's certainly calming. Thanks again. ^_^

[Terry From Mn]

Hi Holly,
The past post are great, You are active in work and school, small check up at Dr. office is great. You may just burning the candle at both ends and your tired. Good luck and let us know how thing came out
Terry

[Olidus]

Another thing I notcied pre DX formyslef, since I was running high for so long every now and then when I would yawn, I would get a sweet taste in my mouth. Told that is the sugar build up in your blood.

Near the end before I finally went to my GP I also felt really stressed all the time and at times zombie like - staring off into nothingness.

As for the Testes not sure if it just Canada or where I am at. But at the Diabetes Association, anytime I go in and purchase strips I am entitled to a free tester. They give them away here cause they know if you have one you will need to purchase the strips.
I have 3 different ones at home now.

[andypoo]

As for the Testes not sure if it just Canada or where I am at. But at the Diabetes Association, anytime I go in and purchase strips I am entitled to a free tester. They give them away here cause they know if you have one you will need to purchase the strips.
I have 3 different ones at home now.




I believe the "Testes" in Canada are similar to the ones in the U.S. Though I wouldn't swear to it..LOL! Not knocking your spelling,it just came out funny,that's all!LOL!