Hi out there! I haven’t posted in months but wanted to see if anyone had any words of wisdom for my endo appt. tomorrow. This is a second opinion appt because the first endo I went to didn’t think I needed to be concerned about my pre-diabetes. She didn’t even think I needed to check my sugar or watch what i eat! Anyway…my blood sugar is all over the place - from normal to mid 200’s. Some days I can eat carbs and it’s fine, some days, like last Friday it stays between 198 and 225 up to 3 and a half hours after I eat. That doesn’t sound “pre-diabetic” to me but i guess because those numbers above 200 are on my home meter and not in the dr’s office it’s not “official”. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to have diabetes, I just want to have a plan and know whether I should be concerned or not and how to take care of myself.
Anything I should say or do tomorrow to make the doctor take this seriously? Anything I should demand? I’ve already had a c-peptide, GAD test, and OGTT. I suppose just give him my story and see what he thinks. He’s been very highly recommended so I’m hopeful!
Hey Stranger! How are you? Words of Wisdom…Go in with a plan! Ask him plenty of questions and tell him your story. If he is a great Doctor he will listen and answer your questions. I hope can help answer the questions you need answered and I hope you don’t have diabetes:)…Keep us Posted!
One of the best things you can do is make up a log of all the blood sugar numbers that you have taken at home. Print them up in a nice orderly fashion or write in a pre-made log, and show him or her once you are in the appt. This will give him or her some basis for helping to determine where you are.
Oh, and BTW. I HATE it when the endo takes one finger stick reading in the office and tries to determine your entire life story from that one instance. Seriously, of all the people in the world, they should know that one reading tells you very very little!
You should definitely have your A1c (three month blood sugar average) measured. Also, OGTT is good if they will do it!
This may sound bad, but try going in there without fasting. Eat some carbs before you go in and see what it measures (if you do this, you should obviously tell the doctor that you ate). Non-diabetics do not go above 200, even after eating a lot of carbs.
So something is up! Hope that the doctor will be helpful! Let us know!!
I’ll probably get criticized for this, but here goes anyway… The less I rely on doctors, and the more I rely on my own research, the better I’m able to deal with my condition. Having said that, I certainly don’t recommend going into this unarmed. I’ve done a considerable amount of research into a myriad of sources… most of them, right here on the Internet. I also have a couple of books that I can refer to if necessary. The more you learn about caring for yourself from a wide variety of sources, and the more diligently you apply this knowledge, the less it is likely that you will ever need an endocrinologist.
As one poster suggested, go in with a list of questions and see how the doc responds. If you’re not satisfied, don’t get upset, just politely thank him/her and leave. Rest assured, that with a positive approach, a reasonable amount of effort, and a lot of patience, controlling your blood sugar isn’t as illusive as it might seem.
Remember Mr. Peachy’s favorite line: “You can never know too much when it comes to your health.”.
Thanks everyone for the advice!! I’m already nervous. : )
Kristin - I had an OGTT back in September and it came back high but at the pre-diabetes level. But they told me at the time to not worry about it and come back in a year. I didn’t feel comfortable with that, esp. since I’m having more and more sugars in the 180 to 225 range. I’m hopeful i get some support and answers today! I’ll keep everyone posted.
I definitely agree that everyone needs to do their own research, and not just rely on doctors. That said, I find a lot of misinformation out there, so you can’t believe everything you read. I think the trick is to do your own research AND find a good doc who will discuss your questions and help sort through what may or may not apply to your specific case. After all, we can’t prescribe ourselves drugs, we gotta get a doc on board for that part!
One thing I’ve learned for my job (I’m a software engineer) that also applies to doctors is if they can’t explain themselves in a way you understand, you need to keep asking questions until you get your answers. This can be really hard - sometimes docs (and engineers!) have really bad communication skills. Just keep at it, or, if you just can’t, find a new doctor.
So I had my appt today and I LOVED this dr. He was very “to the point” and direct, but I really liked him. So that’s the good news. The bad news is that he diagnosed me “officially” with diabetes, not pre-diabetes. He’s classifying me now as Type 2 and started me on Metformin but he’s not 100% convinced that it’s not LADA so he’s ordered a slew of tests that I will have done fasting on Friday (another c-peptide, GAD, Islet cell, etc.) I also have an appt with a diabetes educator on Friday.
Something else that is concerning me though is that my blood pressure was high today. It was 158/102 the first time in the office, the second time (the nurse thought maybe it was my nerves), it was 178/94. The dr is a bit concerned about that. What’s odd is that I eat super healthy, I’m 31, 123 pounds and 5’6". So not someone that you’d see with high blood pressure. So my mom (she’s a nurse) wanted me to stop by her house to have her check it tonight once I’d had a chance to decompress from the day and it was 179/95. Yikes. I’m wondering if my diabetes is causing the high blood pressure or what?? My mom is going to stop by and check my BP again in the morning and if it’s still elevated I’m calling the endo back.
So there you have it. I was feeling okay after my appt today but tonight I’m starting to feel pretty sad and bummed out right now. : (
Oh you poor baby! (And I mean that sincerely.) Today has been quite a drain on you from the get-go. But, fortunately for you, the BP problem was spotted by a DR, a nurse, and another nurse. In a situational incident of high BP, it usually goes down after a while. Now we see that, at least today, that didn’t fall back to normal. You may need some sort of mild BP meds to bring you into alignment.
I’m not glad that you do have T2 diabetes, but I am glad it was discovered early enough. Here’s another lesson for people to heed … you don’t have to be old and fat to develop diabetes! I know this doesn’t help with the bummed out feeling right now, but you should know that almost everyone responds temporarily with being bummed out at first. Take care and realize that we are all here to help you out. Step-by-step is you need us.
Hello! I am glad to see you finally have an answer. I am sorry that you have diabetes but the great thin about it all is you 1. Know 2. have a great community to vent to and ask questions. You are going to be bummed, we’ve all been there before:) we’ll be there for you 110%…I’ll keep you in my prayers.
High blood sugar causes a bad lipids profile i.e. high bad cholesterol and high tri-glycerides. when my BG is high I get a higher heart rate and higher blood pressure.
Smile you have years to enjoy the disease.
My friend Dr. Cox blood pressure should be measured after you have been sitting quietly for 15 minutes no talking. Dr. Office not the best place to measure and when you are about to be declared a diabetic is not a good time. Still a bit on the high side maybe. Should be 130/80 or less.
What is eating super healthy?
If the metformin does not get your blood sugar in the normal range get insulin stay away from the sulphonyl ureas they are really bad news. You want to keep your own pancreas working somewhat for a long while insulin will help the pills will probably kill it.
Ask for a hemoglobin A1c test, this will give you an idea of your BG average over the last 3 months. Look it up on Wiki.
By “super healthy” I mean a lot of veggies and fruit (mostly organic), oatmeal and other high fiber grains, lean meats, very little, if any sugary foods, low fat, etc.
As an update, I was put on Exforge last week for the high blood pressure and it’s really done the trick! My BP is now in the 120’s over 70’s or low 80’s.
I’m familiar with the A1c and mine is fantastic - 5.5%. We’re attributing this to lows that I get, as well as catching my diabetes in the early stages.
The metformin seems to be doing the trick, my BG is staying in the normal range 70 - 140 all the time but it’s making me sick - nausea, stomach cramps/upset, diarrhea, etc. Ugh. Not fun! I hope it passes soon!
Thanks everyone for your messages!! I very much appreciate the support. My appt with the CDE got re-scheduled for this Wed. so I’m looking forward to that!
Hi to all of you!I am newly diagnosed with pre-diabetes and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and have a suspicious thyroid nodule ( he is going to monitor it). I am a healthy eater and exercise, not overwight etc ( even though I am hypothyroid) so this is a bit of a shock. I went to an endo as I have had burning, tingling feet and hands ( now legs and arms) for 2 years. The nuerologist said I have diffuse nueropathy and to go and have my blood sugar checked. My GTT was 85, 201, 214, 198: hence the diagnosis. My sugar isn’t too high but it goes over 160 sometimes ( 2 hr test) so I guess it is ‘impaired’.Interestingly, my blood pressure was high for the first time in my life today! I ALWAYS have low BP!Anyone else have hypo as well as diabetes? I also have a positive antinuclear antibody test. My endo said to see the rheumatologist as it wasn’t connected to Hashimoto’s or diabetes.As BarbraW said, you need to do your own research. My research just takes me in all sorts of directions so I need to focus and start re-evaluating my diet! I have been so focused on ‘low-fat’ as I had a gallstone, that I may have gone a bit overboard on the fruit and veg!! Any dietary tips would be welcome. Glad to have found this site!Barbara in Texas