Diabetes in the Blood?

Type 1 and LADA
1

I am the only Type 1 in my entire bloodline. There is only one other Type 2 diabetic in my family. So, it's not a common thing in my genetics.

I was diagnosed at age 14. That was 12 years ago.

My brother is currently 28. He is 6'3" at 220 llbs. He has a beer belly, but eveyrthing else is muscular and thin.


He is sort of a hypochondriac so I'm going to ask you guys to see if there is anything that I can convince him to do.

He has been complaining of hypoglycemia for a few years.

One day I was tired of hearing him complain about it, so I whipped out my meter and tested him. He was at 56. (Not as low as I've seen mine, but keep in mind he's not on insulin)

So hypoglycemia actually runs in the family. My father has tested multiple times at 60 and he felt fine. I've tested him many times throughout the years and he's always around 60.
I got to test my mom only once, and she too was about 60-70.

But, a few days ago, my brother ate some pasta. Then after 2 hours after eating a huge bowl of it, he tested. He was at 140.

Isn't 140 HIGH for a normal person? I would cry with joy at the number, but isn't that uncomfortably high for someone wihout diabetes?

Is he on his way to becoming diabetic?

I asked him to call his doc to have some bloodwork done- checking for beta cells in his pancreas, etc. Especially since I'm the first generation Type 1, I figure it's more likely to happen within our generation than after.

He isn't listening to me.

If I had any way of giving this disease back, I would. And I would die if I had to watch someone that I love go through the stuff that I have to go through.

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2

Yeah, while it’s not the highest number in the world for a D, non D and non pre-D people rarely go over 120… It might be wise to start changing some habits, for sure… If he’s always low, going from such a low to a 140 is NOT normal, at all… and he might definitely be pre-D… Maybe if he just had his A1C checked for peace of mind, or something… I dunno. At some point, though it’s painful, and people don’t listen… we may give info, but then let go to their own decisions :(… It’s so very hard for me to let go, cus I don’t want them in my boat… :frowning: Maybe leave some pre-D laying around the house. lol

3

I’m the only T1 also. There aren’t any T2s in my family either.

I had hypoglycemia for ages. No one told me this was something to be concerned with & I wish they had since it can be a predicator of diabetes later. I figured low blood sugar was ok, as long as it wasn’t high. I’d get cranky, depressed & ravenous. Soon as I ate, I’d feel instantly better. Typical low, right.

One high reading doesn’t mean much. It depends on how long your brother’s BG stayed high. Non-diabetics don’t typically get as high as 140. If they do, they come down quickly.

Hope he’ll let you test him again. Wish he’d listen to you & get tested. Maybe take the route that it would put his mind at ease (since he’s kind of a hypochrondriac) & yours to find out everything is ok. If you got him a meter, would he test on his own?

4

I used to have a lot of lows, when I was a teen and in my 20s… I even got to 40, once. :confused:

5

I’m not sure about Type 2. My hypoglycemia crankiness was known also. My family knew to offer food as soon as I acted strange.

6

That’s my brother now. It’s been this way for years. I didnt realize how much he swung back and forth.

My dad and mom are consistently LOW, so I guess it doesn’t really mean anything so long as they don’t swing back and forth. But my brother gets really cranky when he has hypos.

I gave him one of my old meters and some old test strips a while ago. Maybe 6 months? Gave him some glucose tablets too. Just hope he isn’t making up excuses to feel sick. I don’t even use my D as an excuse. He shouldn’t be either!

If he ended up getting Type 1 LADA, or else… I’d die.

7

Maybe your parents being consistently low shows there’s something going on in your family. Would be interesting for those of us who are the only T1s to know if hypoglycemia runs in our families, even if diabetes doesn’t. I’ve tested my mother a few times & she’s always normal. My father’s been dead for many years, but I question now if he didn’t have hypoglycemia with his mood swings.

Your brother may not be making up excuses. I think back on my former lows & I felt crappy. It was easily fixed with food, but no fun to feel weepy & out of sorts. No fun for my family either.

8

Hi
I was diagnosed at the age of 4 a long time ago and was the only Type1 in my entire close and extended family. Then 10 years ago, at the age of 36, my brother was diagnosed as Type 1 and he now thinks that he may have suffered with hypos for a few years before that, but had no idea. I don’t know much about hypoglycemia as a condition, but I am sure that being aware of what is the best plan in that situation could only help. I too would encourage your brother to seek medical tests, if only to reassure him.

9

I have to tell you reactive hypoglycemia is considered a precursor to type 2 diabetes (http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/122122-overview). There is really little to connect it with type 1 (see http://www.docstoc.com/docs/15083462/Approach-to-Hypoglycemia, slide 12). Some people just hang out low. And going to 140 mg/dl at 2 hours may be just an emerging carb intolerance, he may turn out to be a type 2 diabetic later in life, but only time will tell.

We all worry about our families. There is a clear genetic risk, both for type 1 and 2. If you have diabetes, your family members is at higher risk. But remember, even having an autoimmune condition confirmed by antibodies does not mean you have or necessarily will ever get diabetes. Note in the chart below, some patients with multiple positive antibody tests are still diabetes free after 15 years (http://diabetesmanager.pbworks.com/Pathogenesis-of-Type-1A-Diabetes)

10

my mother’s side of the family has always had hypoglycemia problems, and i’m the only type-1 in the family, no type-twos on either side…weird.

11

Sylvie- Is there anything your brother COULD have done to prevent his occurence? Just no carb-overloading? I dont know… move south to soak up the Vitamin D? I want to prevent my brother from having to go through what we go through. I just don’t know if he’s strong enough to do it. I love him to tears and I couldn’t stand it if something like this happened to him. It’d kill him.

12

Put your CGM on him for a few days and ask him to pig out on carbs and see how his profile behaves. That would be the best way to put your doubts to rest.

13

J Smith- That’s a good idea. I was going to do that to my father anyway. haha. I’ll see if he will do it. I’m not sure if he WANTS to have his doubts confirmed or not. But… it’s worth a try. Thanks for the thought!