Question:
I'm 30. I'm somewhat overweight (about 30 lbs), but trace back a lot
of my symptoms to before I became overweight, and think I became
overweight *because* of the blood sugar issues. Actually I was
stick-thin and COULDN'T gain weight or keep it on until my mid-20s
which is about the same time that my suspected-diabetic symptoms
started showing up.
I haven't had the classic drink-a-lot/pee-a-lot thing, at least yet.
Actually I find myself drinking and peeing *less* since I cut back my
caffeine intake.
What were your symptoms, in the beginning, or that led up to
your dx?
Answer:
With type 2 diabetes, there may be no signs. In my case, I was like you.
Very thin and couldn't put weight on. Then suddenly, the weight came on,
and kept coming on, despite my attempts at diet and exercise. More
specifically, the weight came on around the middle. And then I noticed that
after spending most of my life as a hypoglycemic, I could suddenly skip a
meal without fainting. Those were my first symptoms.
Drink-a-lot/pee-a-lot is a marker for the "OhmyGod-gettotheDoctorFast"
stage. Hopefully, you'll catch it a lot earlier than that.
Some other symptoms:
1. Mysterious episodes of blurred vision
2. Very high triglycerides
3. Mysterious episodes of fatigue and drowsiness about 2 hours after
eating
4. Abnormal blood sugars.
5. Numbness in an extremity: fingers/toes/bottom of feet
6. Creeping blood pressure: higher than 120/80
The blurred vision and episodes of fatigue are direct consequences of
current high blood sugars. The numbness and creeping blood pressure are
signs of a history of extended exposure to high blood sugars.
Type 2 diabetes is strongly hereditary. With relatives like yours, you
ought to have a home blood testing meter and be testing now and then.
Non-diabetics spend most of their time with blood sugars between 70 and 110
mg/dL. Many of the younger non-diabetics will exhibit a sugar between 80
and 90 mg/dL almost any time they test. See what yours are like,
especially two hours after a meal.
Now and for the rest of your life, you wish to keep your blood sugar at
2-hours-after-eating at some value below 140 mg/dL. If you can't, you
need medical advice ASAP.
High triglycerides is a symptom of the Insulin Resistance which often
precedes and exacerbates Type 2 diabetes. The Insulin Resistance is
deadly all by itself. Any triglycerides reading above 150 mg/dL for a
person with relatives like yours is a warning indicating it's time for you
to find a good, aggressive doc and start attacking this disease.
Congrats for showing up here and asking about this. One of the symptoms
of hidden Type 2 Diabetes is "Sudden Heart Attack at an early age". For
sure, you want to catch it before that happens.
Keep coming back. Reading the diabetic newsgroups every night has resulted
in significant improvements in my health, quality of life, and, I'm sure,
my life expectancy.
I didn't have any that I was aware of; a couple in hindsight, like a
hypo in the bathroom that was put down to other causes.
When you say "I am getting checked soon", now that you've satisfied the
legalities, why are you waiting?
Until you are checked, I assume you're testing as other posters have
recommended earlier. That will be you best indicator; if you aren't
getting higher than normal BGs after high carb meals, you may not have a
problem.
In any event, until you are "checked", stop worrying and enjoy your
honeymoon. And congratulations.
