Am I prediabetic?

[Joy-FL]

Twice this week people brought up the possibility of my having diabetes. One was a doctor who asked because a bone/stitches isn't healing as fast as he thought it would. I am worried now.

I got general blood tests done a couple of years ago and the only problem they cited was "Your cholesterol is getting a little high." (I'm not really worried about that, as I'm eating healthier now.) I'm currently waiting the recommended 6 months before I get LC blood work done.

But I'm wondering if I should test earlier for diabetes. Would that even WORK? I mean, I'm in ketosis, and not eating many carbs. Would a diabetes test even show diabetes if the diabetic is doing LC? If I ate HC would it show that I'm super-duper-diabetic?

I went to the ADA website and took their screening test. It says I'm at risk for pre-diabetes because of the following:

Risk factors for diabetes:
- Low physical activity level
- Being very overweight compared to your height (BMI:33.6)

Here's also the checklist of diabetes symptoms, which I answered for you guys:

Symptoms of diabetes:
- Urinating often - no
- Being very thirsty - no
(^ Exception to these two: first week of induction. Wow. I peed like crazy.)
- Being very hungry - only when eating carby
- Unusual tiredness - I have chronic depression (since teens), so this is normal for me
- Unusual weight loss - ha! no
- Blurry vision - no

So what do you think? Should I be worried? Would a test even work?

Thanks,
Joy

[Shayde]

Hi Joy,

I have pre-diabetes and I don't have any of those symptoms.

I'm not sure if eating high carb or low carb affects the testing..no expert about that.

Do you have access to a blood glucose monitor? I have one from when I had gestational diabetes and I spot-check myself once a week or so in the mornings and sometimes after meals.

[Joy-FL]

Originally Posted by Shayde

Hi Joy,

I have pre-diabetes and I don't have any of those symptoms.

I'm not sure if eating high carb or low carb affects the testing..no expert about that.

Do you have access to a blood glucose monitor? I have one from when I had gestational diabetes and I spot-check myself once a week or so in the mornings and sometimes after meals.

Hi Shayde,

I can get a monitor, but... why? Would it tell me if I'm pre-diabetic?

Also I came back to add that I've heard that diabetics have an apple shape, but I definitely have a big butt pear shape.

[CookinsForMe]

I had none of the typical (for that time) symptoms when I was diagnosed in 2000. The symptom that had me questioning was chronic/recurring yeast infections. Now it's often listed as a symptom on the internet but then I found maybe 5 sites that mentioned it as a potential symptom. Keep in mind that the symptom list is really just a guideline and not all-inclusive. Also, not all diabetics have an apple shape. Some are actually thin and fit, too! A glucometer would give you an idea of what food is doing to your blood sugar and you'd know fairly quickly if your bg is okay or not.

[hpjrt]

There are very few "absolutes" about diabetics. It's one of the frustrating things about it.

A friend of mine had none of the typical diabetic symptoms ... and he wasn't even overweight ... but his blood sugar reading was 234 when he was diagnosed.

There are some things that doctors "look for" ... or at least things that make doctors suspect that a given patient has diabetes or is pre-diabetic.

Why get a meter? Well ... I don't know a thing about pre-diabetes, but using a meter to test your blood glucose as soon as you wake up ... before meals and at least 2 hours after eating might give you some indication that you have a problem.

And, just because you eat low carb doesn't mean that your blood sugar won't rise and fall dramatically during any given day. All of the diabetic people on this forum are doing low carb ... otherwise they wouldn't have found it ... but we are all working towards getting "near to normal" blood sugars, through diet and meds [in some cases].

There's more to being a diabetic than our blood sugar numbers ... although those numbers allow us to know when other things are at risk. If our numbers are too high, it doesn't necessarily mean that we've eaten too many carbs ... but could be indicative of infection ... or other inter-related problem.

Hope that helps ...

Mary

[Leo41]

If you're really concerned, I'd suggest scheduling a fasting blood glucose test with your doctor. But I wouldn't take seriously that doctor's comments about your possibly being diabetic because of some "slow healing." Being fat, I've found that doctors are always suggesting that I might be (or am) diabetic, especially when I reached middle age. I am not diabetic, but I've had a lot of tests because of doctors assuming that I am because I'm overweight. It's part of the general medical bias against overweight patients.

[CookinsForMe]

I think a FBG test is one of the worst ways to diagnose. For the first couple of years I awoke with a beautiful FBG and every FBG test I had at the physician's office was great but a few carbs in a meal revealed what was going on. I think an A1c or GC test are much better at revealing what's going on. But that's just my opinion!

[jem51]

there's not much i can add.
it is important to test throughout the day rather than just fasting.
diabetes is way underdiagnosed and often goes undetected until a problem arises.
they have gone by fasting numbers alone for far too long.

[sistertzu]

If you have the glucose tolerance test it won't matter if you are doing low carb or not. They will take your blood then you will have to drink a huge amount of glucose and then they will take your blood every hour after that to see how your body responds to the glucose.

Sis

[chiody]

Here's a link to a very good site with plenty of diabetes information:

Am I Diabetic? How to Test Your Own Blood Sugar To Find Out

The contentions advocated are supported in most cases with reputable "studies."

[MSN08]

Originally Posted by sistertzu

If you have the glucose tolerance test it won't matter if you are doing low carb or not. They will take your blood then you will have to drink a huge amount of glucose and then they will take your blood every hour after that to see how your body responds to the glucose.

Sis

Slight TJ

I have blurred vision,dizziness,sweatiness and eye pains after I eat so I went to the Dr. for a glucose test and they did not give me anything at all just told me to fast over night then drew my blood once when I got there, have they changed the way they diagnose this?

[Joy-FL]

I was at CVS yesterday and saw they have a free $10 meter after mail in rebate. Will this work or should I invest in one of the $50 ones?

[Shayde]

Originally Posted by Joy-FL

I was at CVS yesterday and saw they have a free $10 meter after mail in rebate. Will this work or should I invest in one of the $50 ones?

I think the important thing to consider is the price of the test strips...some are very expensive!

[Shayde]

Originally Posted by MSN08

Slight TJ

I have blurred vision,dizziness,sweatiness and eye pains after I eat so I went to the Dr. for a glucose test and they did not give me anything at all just told me to fast over night then drew my blood once when I got there, have they changed the way they diagnose this?

Wow, they really did the minimum for you considered your symptoms.

When I go in once a year, I do the fasting glucose test (which you had), then I drink a glucose beverage (very thick and sweet...yuck), then have blood drawn at the 1 hour and 2 hour mark.

There are ranges you need to under to be considered normal, then a range that would be pre-diabetic, and anything over that range would be full-blown diabetes.

[zelia]

Originally Posted by Joy-FL

But I'm wondering if I should test earlier for diabetes. Would that even WORK? I mean, I'm in ketosis, and not eating many carbs. Would a diabetes test even show diabetes if the diabetic is doing LC?

Yes, you should test sooner for diabetes, even if you're in ketosis and not eating many carbs. Yes, a diabetes test will show diabetes even if the diabetic is doing LC. When you have an annual exam, they'll check your blood sugar. Fasting sugar >126 on two different occasions is diagnostic of diabetes. You need to do this because rising numbers mean that your body's ability to regulate blood sugar is deteriorating and you need medical help to protect your blood vessels and organs from damage.

What counts is how high your blood sugar gets. You can be eating very low carbs and still have diabetic blood sugars, because your liver manufactures too much glucose from the protein you eat.