Diabetes
 

Any GCers out there that have diabetes?

I was just curious as to when you were diagnosed, what type you have, and are any of your family members also diabetic?

If you can remember, what were some of the symptoms that headed you to the doctor?

Thanks.

I'm not diabetic, but my aunts and living grandparents are, including my maternal grandmother who has it severely. So I know a lot about it.

The symptoms that headed my grandmother to the doctor was: Loss of vision, unintentional weight loss, unusual craving for water/liquids, and frequent urination.

I'm not diabetic, but my husband, father, late grandfather, and mother-in-law are all Type II diabetics.

My grandfather was diagnosed before I was born, but I do remember when my father and husband were diagnosed. Both were really struggling with excessive thirst and urge to urinate. And when I say excessive, I mean *excessive.* In the months before they were diagnosed, I vividly remember that they had to use the restroom every 15-20 minutes during the day and would get up several times a night.

Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation's focus is on diabetes research and education. If you go to the website, you should find some interesting links there.

Thank you greeklawgirl and dionysus.

I checked out the AGD website and it has some good information on there.

My father, my uncle, my grandma (dad's side), my great-grandmother (dad's side), and my great-grandfather (mom's side) were/are all diabetic.

I'm am thirsty ALL the time (I quit drinking pop so I pretty much drink water 24 hours a day), I have to make a pit stop in the bathroom at LEAST once an hour, I have night sweats, and my skin is so severely dry I think that it is going to fall off my body. In the past three weeks I have come very close to passing out four or five times.

Yesterday was my dads birthday and for some reason I started thinking about this. Have I been chosen for the family plague? I am planning on heading to the doctor on Monday. Maybe I don't have West Nile after all...

Go immediately to the emergency room and have them check you. They can do a very quick urine test and know in minutes. You are exhibiting signs of Type I Diabetes in which your antibodies have killed all of the cells in your pancreas that make insulin. Your family history indicates that you are susceptible. My daughter was diagnosed with Type I at the age of 9. She was thirsty, and had to go the bathroom constantly. She lost an incredible amount of weight and she was a toothpick to start with. She began sleepwalking around the house which she had never done before. Let me just say when we brought her to the doctor, she was a week away from going into a diabetic coma. That is why you have to go to the emergency room ASAP!!!

rubyrose: I was in the hospital back in February for kidney stones and I had two urinalysis tests done. (I used to work in a lab and I know they run a glucose test in a routine UA). Do you think that it could have been negative six months ago and positive now?

AOX, I suppose that *anything* is possible. It is your family history that concerns us.

If you are very worried and you can't get into a doctor's office right away, borrow your dad's glucometer tomorrow morning and check your levels before you eat breakfast. He can show you how to use it.

My dad lives 5 1/2 hours away :(

I already know how to check my blood sugar. My grandma taught me when I was around 5 years old plus I worked in a laboratory for 6 1/2 years. If I had a glucometer handy that would be great.

rubyrose: thank you for the PM. I just sent you one back. :)

AOX and any other interested parties reading this,

I thought it could be beneficial for people to know that Type I (Insulin-dependent) diabetes develops quickly with symptoms exhibiting over the course of a few weeks. In my daughter's case it took us 5 weeks for us to realize she had a problem.

I also want to make sure to say that I hope people would not have fear about getting this kind of diagnosis. The technology available to deal with Type I is AMAZING compared to what it was 10 years ago and it just continues to improve. Type I diabetics are living long, healthy lives as long as they take really good care of themselves! There is even talk of a possible cure within the next 5 to 10 years. The most important thing is to monitor your blood sugar a lot to make sure it is in a healthy range. With proper diet, exercise and medication, diabetics can live healthy lives and sometimes even healthier lives than those of us without diabetes who are not the best at the diet and exercise part. This aspect of it has turned out to be a positive for our whole family because we have certainly improved our eating habits, and we are more active than we used to be.

AOX, if it does turn out to be diabetes, it is certainly not the end of the world! A lifestyle change yes, but not the end of the world!

Also, its much more likely to be the type II variant which is much more common and controllable.

The biggest risk factos for males is of course family history, "stomache fat", eating alot of carbs, and a sedentary lifestyle.

Many times if those factos are taken care of the man will cease to be in a negativ condition.

When I say stomache fat, I am talking about even a relatively small belly. Stomache fat for some reason encourages insulin resistance.

Yeah... they even have a new ditty out now that'll monitor blood glucose levels without the need for all that nasty, constant finger pricking. It's a watch! It monitors your skin secretions and reads your blood sugar from that. You set the timer to do it at certain points of the day, and you can also do it manually. My uncle has one. He loves it.

Hi AOX81,

I am so sorry to hear you are not feeling well. If you cannot get in to see a doctor quickly and the symptoms continue, please consider going to an after-hours clinic or the emergency room if need be.

I am a type II diabetic, diagnosed at age 21. Both of my paternal grandparents are diabetic, as are several of my cousins. More and more young people are getting type II (mostly because of poor diet, lack of exercise, etc., but I always had a "normal" build). I did not have a lot of classic diabetes symptoms, and in fact, I score "low risk" on the American Diabetes Association's risk factors test. I realized something was wrong when I passed out suddenly at a political event I was attending. I landed on my state legislator. :eek: I didn't really have the sudden weight loss, but I had a milder variant of some of the other symptoms. Dizziness and occasional loss of consciousness was a bigger problem for me.

While technologies and treatments have improved tremendously, diabetes is still a VERY serious disease that can cause major health complications if not carefully controlled. Please do not delay treatment. If the doctor you talked to cannot see you right away or does not consider your symptoms to be that serious, please consider calling another doctor. It is so important to have a health care provider who is accessable and who will listen to your concerns!

If you need someone to talk to, please feel free to PM me. I am brand new to GC, but not to diabetes.

Hugs,
McGee

I am a Type I diabetic. But I wouldn't remember the symptoms I had because I was a lil over a year old when I was diagnosed. (I am now 21.) No one in my immediate family was a diabetic. I have a great uncle that is Type II but i figured that was a far stretch.
Hopefully you find out what is going on with you. Going to the bathroom a lot and waking up in the middle of the night are symptoms I still get. usually do to high blood sugar/low bs. It can be a hassle but you get used to it.
ANd there are so many advancements out there now. Depending on where you live, you have many opportunities for support groups, counceling, classes, and new technology.
I met another GCer on here that is also a diabetic and it's fun to swap stories.
Good luck and if you need any tips or have questions, pM me.

info about the GlucoWatch
 

The device is called the GlucoWatch Biographer (http://www.glucowatch.com/us/default.html). It measures the glucose levels in your interstitial fluid through iontophoresis. It was approved by FDA in April although it's been available in Europe for a few years. It's pretty comparable to more traditional glucose measurement methods, but one drawback is that 80% of people who use it develop skin irriation from the adhesive that's used to keep the sensor in place. Also, it requires a very high level of committment and upkeep and I'm not sure if insurance covers the cost. (Disclaimer: I work for a company that evaluates medical devices. This isn't an expert opinion and I can't make recommendations, but it's what I remember from reading the evaluation on this product.)

Also, there are newer devices that only require a tiny sample of blood, and they can take the samples from your arm or other areas that are less sensitive than your fingertips.

AOX81, good luck at the doctor! Once you know what's wrong, I'm sure you'll be feeling better soon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Hon, if you have any doubt in your mind, Damn go see a Doctor ASAP!

If nothing is wrong, then mo the better!

Better Safe than sorry!

Do Not Wait! We love ya and want to keep Ya around for a lot longer!!!!!:)

You are to neat a lady to lose! Do IT!:D

Diabetes can be such a debilitating disease.
My great aunt and great grandfather had it. My grandfather died from it when I was 3 so I don't remember what it was like for him. My aunt had a severe form of Type II. She was always in and out of the hospital. About ten years ago, she got an infection in her foot. The antibiotics would not work so they had to amputate her leg. Last December, she got sick again. An infection started in her other leg and the antibiotics would not work. Her other leg was amputated. By then, it was too late. She had pneumonia. From December until March, she was in the hospital. She died in March.
The problem was that she didn't take care of herself. She ate all the wrong foods and never exercised. She was extremely overweight.
My boyfriend's roommate has diabetes and never eats the right foods and drinks like a fish. I told him that he needs to take care of himself better. I just can't watch another person go through what my aunt had to go through.

My grand mother has it. :(

I'm a diabetic. I have been so for 10 years. It'll be 11 in february. My symptoms were, frequent urniation, tired, thirsty. AT first my parents thought it was the flu because my brother was sick. But he got better and I kept getting worse, as it got woirse, I had trouble breathing, then I had terrible pains in my sides and legs. The night before I went into the hospital I slept with my mother so she could keep an eye on me, and I was in terrible pain I could barely walk. The next morning I couldn't move. I couldn't get out of bed. My mum had to dress me, and they took me to the hospital. by the time I got there I couldn't walk, stand. I had my parents and the nurse hold me up, so they could do triage. The nurse actually knew what it was right away and asked my family if there was a history of diabetes in the family and my parents said they didn't know. I was rushed into a room and I was on insulin with in half an hour. Later the doctor said that if my parents had waited another day to bring me in I would have been in a comma. I had really bad symptoms.
So that's my story.

Emily

This disease runs in my family.

I don't know a lot about it, but was wondering if there are certain lifestyles that can lead to diabetes? Such as poor health, smoking, sweet tooth, history of high bloodpressure, stress????

I'm just curious!

Hootie

Yep, yep and yep!! Diabetes runs in my family and I've already been told by my doctor that I need to watch what I eat, quit smoking, need to work out and also need to lose some weight b/c if not, then I will soon become diabetic. What he told me is that EVERYONE is diabetic; it's just a matter of becoming "very diabetic." :rolleyes: I guess!

Well I was supposed to go to the doctor this morning but they just called and moved my appointment to 4:15.

Just a side note...

I think it's important that we remeber what kind of diabetes we're talking about here. There are 3 different kinds. There is type 1 (usually called Juvenille Diabetes), type 2 (adult onset) and type 3 (maternal diabetes). I think AOX81 is worried about type 2, which is ususally a result of a poor lifestyle...obesity, poor eating habits, etc There is also some evidence that it is genetics and those from certaine thnic groups are more likely to develop it than others. Another risk factor is giving birth to child that is 9 pounds or more. Type 1 is...well no one knows how it occurs...I can tell you at 11 I didn't smoke, have high blood pressure, I know it wasn't sweet tooth...sorry I'm ranting now, but I just want to make sure that people know the difference...type 2 is very much a lifestyle disease...type 1 may be more genetic or due to a virus...there is no known reason why it occurs. Maternal, well it occurs when a woman is pregenant. I honestl don't know too much about it.

AOX81, to you I'm sure everything will work out fine If not, remeber it's not the end of the world, just a lifestyle change. Remember, type 2 can easily be treated and controlled with excersise, a healthy diet, and if medication is involved it's usually a pill. Very few type 2 diabetics are required to take insulin shots unless their diabetes is extremely out of control. But there are lots of people here to talk to if you need to and I'm sure there are a few diabetics here if you need to talk to them, including me. Take care and I know everything will be fine.

PPL,

Emily

I agree with the majority of what everyone is saying here, but I also want to point out that Type 1 has developed in people as late in life as their early 30's. This happened to a friend of our family.

What they told us when our daughter developed Type 1 was that she probably had a virus and when her body went to fight it, it went too far by killing cells the body needs to make insulin. (It sounds very similar to what happened to you, Emily.) Since she has no insulin at all, she gives herself 4 shots of 2 different kinds of insulin a day and she pricks her fingers about 5 times a day to test her blood sugar. (This sounds like a big deal, but it is very routine at this point.) She was genetically predisposed to developing it, and it was really just a matter of time before it happened. She has always been thin and active, and we were told her weight and activity level had nothing to do with it coming on. We had instances of Type 2 diabetes on both mine and my husband's sides of the family although no Type 1. As a matter of fact there is a test that we were told we can have for our younger daughter to see if she is predisposed for Type 1 although we haven't decided yet if we are going to have the test.

If you have children and there is a family history of ANY kind of diabetes on both you and your spouse's sides of the family, you need to be alerted if your child experiences excessive thirst and urination, extreme weight loss, and periods of inchohesiveness and exhaustion.

As others have stated here, Type 2 can be brought on by poor eating habits and excessive weight or possibly just genetics. In this case the body does not stop producing insulin but instead the body becomes resistant to the insulin that is produced. That is why pills and not shots are generally enough to control it although, my dad is Type 2 and after 20 years of pills, he moved to shots. The effects and symptoms of Type 2 are essentially the same as Type 1 except that they may develop over a longer period of time. Unfortunately, the media has been reporting that more and more children are developing Type 2 when typically it has developed in middle age to elderly age groups. This is clearly a danger sign for our society!

My sister had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with 2 of her children and it promptly went away in both cases as soon as she gave birth. But her doctor has told her that she is in danger of developing Type 2 if she does not take care of herself now through healthy diet and exercise.

Once you have diabetes in any form, eating right, exercising, and keeping your blood sugar in the proper range at all times becomes the key to long-term good health. You really have to be vigilant about it. A message for all of us to take out of this is that eating right and staying active is so much more important to us than simply how we look. It truly is a matter of health.

AOX, please update us after you go to the doctor. I hope it is not diabetes, but if it is, you are not alone, as you can see from the responses here.

One more hour until I go to the doctor. I'll let you know how things turn out.

Thank you everyone for your support and concern.

AOX, What did the doctor say?

Well the doctor said that it sounded like I was diabetic or I was borderline diabetic. He said that I pretty much exhibited every symptom except for the issue about weight. He said my weight was good (I've gained 30 pounds since 1994 which is good because I only weighed 100 pounds when I graduated high school) but he said I should start working out.

I'm going back in tomorrow at 7:15am to get poked and prodded. He said that if I don't have it now there is a very good chance I will develop it somewhere down the road. He gave me a list of foods that I should stay away from or should eat in very small portions. I'm glad that I already cut fast food, pop, and red meat out of my life...this will make things somewhat easier.

It's great that you are confronting this because the earlier you know about what could happen, the easier it is to take the steps necessary to stay healthy. I hope the testing goes well tomorrow!

Well I just got back from being poked and prodded. The phlebotomist and the doctors office pretty much sucked. I worked in a hospital for 8 1/2 years and for 6 1/2 of those years I worked in the laboratory. Not once has anyone ever missed my vein!! The chick at the doctors office kept complaining that my arms were too small, my veins were too small, blah, blah, blah. Please...like I'm the first person she's ever drawn with small arms! After she got done I told her that I did not want tape or anything because I am allergic to it...what does she do? She slaps a piece of 1950s medical tape on my arm.

Okay I'm done griping for now....

Ugh, that's terrible! I hope your reaction to the tape wasn't too bad. You should sue the nurse for negligence! Do you know when you get your test results?

I've worked in a lab before so I know that my test results should be done by now. I think I'll call my doctors office around noon. Hopefully I'll hear something today.

UPDATE:

Well apparently my sugar is okay, but he is going to keep me on a watch because of all my symptoms and family history. It is my blood pressure and cholesterol that is giving me problems! My total cholesterol level was well over 200 and my LDL (bad) was 36 points too high!!!! Last time I had my cholesterol checked it was close to 100!!!!

He also told me that my iron was way too high which boggles my mind because I don't eat red meat. So he told me to cut a little iron out of my diet because if I don't I could end up with liver damage.

He is giving me three months to get my shit together or he is going to start me on medications. :(

So I think that is all for now...

I was just diagnosed with diabetes this morning. I feel like my whole world just got turned upside down. I was prepared to get it at some point in my life, but I honestly expected that point to be when I was much older, not in my mid 20's....

(((Beta Rose))) I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I definitely understand how you feel. When I was diagnosed at 21 it turned my world upside down too.

You said you were prepared to get it later in life... does diabetes run in your family? Were you diagnosed with type two?

I know that the initial diagnosis is hard, but trust me, it DOES get better. I started out on 1500 mg a day of oral meds and am now off them completely! It's amazing what a little diet and exercise can do! I managed to drop my cholesterol more than 30 points in six months just by changing my diet and exercise regimen. My HbA1C is now at the level of a normal, non-diabetic person.

I know it seems like a diagnosis of diabetes is the end of the world, but eventually you do adjust (a period of denial is definitely normal -- trust me), and you figure out the best way to manage everything. The hardest part for me was learning to take care of myself, even though I didn't feel "sick." It's hard to think about 20-40 years down the road sometimes! My grandmother helped tremendously though. Sadly, she has suffered diabetes complications because she hasn't taken the best care of herself, and seeing that has helped me to make positive changes in my life.

My advice is to give yourself plenty of time to grieve and be angry about the diagnosis, and then go out and get a bunch of books on diabetes, research on the internet, and become an expert on how best to take care of yourself. After a while, you do get used to it, and it isn't as hard as you initially thought it would be. If you ever want to vent, feel free to PM me. :)

oh BetaRose, I am so sorry. Diabetes is so devastating. Which type do you have?

Basically every one in my family expect my generation has it (yet). But I am test yearly, and the doctor told me that because of my family history I will most likely get it unless I change my way of living. So now I don't drink soda (as much, I have cut down) and she (the doctor) gave me a long little talk about what will happen. I am now on a diet, and going weight watchers (I am slightly overweigh, not fat but it will help me eat healthier)


I hope you can be one of the lucky one who just has to watch what you eat and can live a normal life.


Chris

BetaRose, I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I know when I was diagnosed it also turned my world upside down, as well as that of my parents (I was 11 years old).

Just remember that there are worse things out there and you can live a normal healthy life if you take good care of yourself. There's lots of suff to do, and sometime you may not want to do it because it can feel like such a burden. But try not to let it get you down. I did and I'm only now starting to turn my life around.

What type were you diagnosed with? Just remember you're not alone. There are a few diabetics on here and I'm sure we'll all be more than happy to talk and help you out if you need it.

Take care.

I was diagnosed with Type II. I have a long family history of diabetes, but none of my relatives managed it well, so I've seen what it can do when left untreated. I refuse to let myself get in to the same condition as my father, who didn't take care of it, and is now blind, on dialysis, and very close to losing a foot. I'm starting oral meds in the morning, and an aggressive diet and exercise routine as well.

If anyone knows of a good website/board for diabetes info and/or support, I'd love it if you could share the links. Thanks :)

You should probably check out The American Diabetes Association website ( I don't have a link but I'm sure a quick google search can take you right there). The Canadian Diabetes Association website has good information too.