Went to a walk-in clinic for a skin infection (it was the weekend) and found out my blood pressure was high. Made an appointment with my regular dr for the high BP and had a full physical. That is how my d was caught. I take adderall for ADD that causes dry mouth and high blood pressure so I attributed the excessive thirst to the adderall. my A1C was over 11 at dx so my dr suspected I had been diabetic for some time.
I was DX’d in my 30’s when I was going to have minor surgery on my hand. My BG was in the 300’s. I told the doc it was unfair because nobody told me to fast (it was right after lunch). She then had me fast and the test turned out about the same. (Denial right there!) Put on oral meds which didn’t work well with my irritable bowel. Eventually put on insulin and then in April 2008 went on pump. Much better control.
Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI
For me, a bunch of symptoms kind of hit at once:
- Blurred vision even with glasses on.
- Going to the restroom every 30 minutes.
- Constant thirst.
- Lost 30 pounds in one month.
- Visiting my parents one day, someone mentioned how irritable I was.
My father has diabetes, and I knew enough about it to be suspicious that I did too. I asked to use his meter and my BG was over 400. The doctor confirmed it two days later.
My son is type 1. I was away for work for two weeks in Texas where the water tasted horrible. I drank soda instead and after a while my vision was foggy. When I got home, I asked my son for a blood test strip and I was 400+. That was the beginning.
It was Sept of 2007…My Dad cooked pasta for me (which I rarely ate) and I felt really sick afterwards…I felt weak and I couldn’t move my arms. Then I got sleepy and my vision was blurry too, as if I was in a “fog” My Dad (being a Type 2 himself), got his glucometer and checked my blood. It was 170. I called my Doctor… and the next morning I had a fasting blood sugar which was 126 and then I had an A1c and it was 6.9…I was officially a diabetic.
Hi kelly! I was diagnosed after a regular check-up in which I revealed to my doc that I was truly & unusually fatigued … and I had gained a LOT of weight. BG was 292 fasting. What about you?
I didn’t have the known symptoms (but I always felt thirsty). I exercised regularly and I had diet to reduce my weight but I got ‘fatter and fatter’. Finally, when I had + 10 kilograms just in a week I went to the doctor. The level of HbA1C was 7,3%. Now I’m OK, I’ve got a special diabetic diet (I eat 6 times a day) - and my weight is normal. Now my HbA1C is 5.5%
Oh, and maybe it’t important: the members of my family are NOT diabetic - just me.
The person who spotted it was my eye doctor believe it or not. Was a routine exam but he saw pressure in the eye and my complaint going in was I thought I needed glasses. I was 40 so figured it was just that time.
There were a host of other symptoms that I was filled in on after seeing the family Doc too and the Diabetic education course… I had lost ALOT of weight over the 2 previous years. I explained that away to myself that I work out frequently and my work is of a physical nature. And people were telling me I looked great. So the weight loss is a good thing lol. (yahoo…my workouts are starting to really payoff) I was constantly thirsty. Constantly going to the bathroom. Really fatigued at times; often suddenly and without explanation. Like when driving. Mood swings. Always a happy person after a liter bottle of Pepsi…not so happy later without Pepsi.
There is a family history with grandmothers I think. My maternal grandmother had it, knew she had it, but wasnt on top of it like she should have been. There were frequent complications I remember.
Have been diabetic for almost 4 yrs now. Just found out a couple weeks ago it’s type 2. I had symptoms for about 3 months but didn’t tell anyone. Then my sister came home(she’s type 2) and she was testing my families sugars for fun.It was my turn and I put up abit of a fight cause I was scared.It turned out to be 277 ( 15.4 ). I was diagnosed with diabetes a couple weeks later, but they didn’t know what type till afew weeks ago after lots of testing for afew years.Was on insulin but got off this past summer.
Oh also, I noticed my tolerance to alcohol was suddenly low. Like after 3 or 4 beers I was VERY buzzed. Became quite the cheap date lol.
Dx’d in 2004 after being treated for a toxic thyroid nodule. Thyriod hormone labs done every month along with a FBS . My sugars started rising and after 3 months of elevated sugars they made the DX and started me on meds.
passed out at work, woke up the next morning in a hospital bed and the wornderful news
Gosh mine sounds different than the other replies. I had itching, tingling feet – sporadically but definitely there. No thirst, no having to go to the loo all the time and otherwise I had plenty of energy and never had the big weight loss either. Well, I decided to have it looked at by my doctor when it just kept coming back and sure enough, it was diabetic neuropathy. When my blood sugar is under control it cools down a bit and other than that has been OK.
I had no symptoms and I’ve always had regular medical checkups. Then 18 months ago I had a regular checkup and my A1c was 8.2. I couldn’t believe it and I was angry. How come the doctor never mentioned bs levels before at previous check ups? I read Dr. Bernstein’s book, checked out websites (like Blood Sugar 101) and got my own BS under control. My doctor never did diagnose me as diabetic but I knew I was. He never suggested ways to learn controlling it with diet and exercise either. I figured it out on my own. (By the way, I’ve changed doctors). TuDiabetes is the first time I’ve sought any outside help/support. I like this group - it’s been great. The curious thing is that NO one in my family is diabetic. There’s no family history that I’m aware of. Also, initially all my lipids were wacky but again, a lo carb diet has helped to bring all my BS and lipids into line - all with diet and exercise, no medication. I’m still a bit overweight - I’ve lost 40 pounds but need to lose another 25. So maybe things will continue to improve? Who knows?
But whatever happens I’m clear that regardless - I am diabetic for the rest of my life and I’ll continue to test my BS several times a day. It’s the only thing that helps me to keep my BS under control.
LouiseG
I was at work and was so sick felt horrible couldn’t focus, confused and can I say so thirsty I was constantly drinking water loosing a lot of weight (not a bad thing so I thought). Thought I had the flu went all weekend long and finally went to an urgent care by my house told the doctor my symptoms and he took my BG and it was 590. Guess I found out what was wrong with me. I also think this was going on for awhile but I ignored it and just kept going until it finally got me.
I had all the symptoms but didn’t bother about it… it was at a pre-employment medical checkup that I found out that my bg was very high and subsequently dx as T2
You had to have a medical check-up to get a job? Isn’t that a human rights violation?
My wife, not in the medical biz at all, diagnosed me in 98 as I acquired pretty well all of the symptoms, one by one, and then my GP confirmed the diagnosis.
I developed an infection and didn’t think it was a big deal until it started to get much worse. This all started on a Thursday night and I went camping with my son at a Boy Scout camp. About half way through the camp, I started to really feel worse and the site of the infection seemed to be growing and getting worse. I had planned to see my primary doctor on Monday morning, but by Sunday morning, I knew I had to do something. I went into the local ER to see a doctor.
I assumed that I would wait for a long time and then the ER doc would give me some oral antibiotics and send me home. The doctor took one look at me and had me transferred up to a room to get me on IV antibiotics. I was pretty surprised. I ended up spending 5 days in the hospital.
During my stay, they ran a number of blood tests on me, usually at least one battery of them everyday. My doctor noticed abnormally high glucose levels in my blood and suggested to me that when I get out of the hospital that I go see my primary doctor because I might be a type 2 diabetic. He suggested I get an A1C test.
I got the A1C test from my primary and it came back at 8.2%. This clearly put my in Type 2. I made an appointment with an endocrinologist and she confirmed the diagnosis.
Looking back I realized that I am constantly thirsty and have to use the bathroom frequently. I also have been tired.
I am now setup to go into a Diabetes Educator series of classes and am getting set up with a Diabetes counselor. I am looking forward to going through the classes and learning how I eat right, exercise, and manage this disease.
In the meantime, I have been trying to control my carb intake and testing my blood sugar frequently. I have been able to keep my numbers between 95 and 140.
The biggest surprise to me has been how much even a moderate amount of exercise can do. I have been walking 30 minutes a night and its been interesting to see what my numbers look like before I walk and after!
Anyway, that’s my story 
–> John
I had blood work done for an unrelated problem (I get petechiae when blood pools in my arms during exercise), and was very surprised to get a call from my doc’s office saying that my fasting blood glucose was a little high. This was a new doc & the first time I’d ever had a fasting test. My previous doc only ordered non-fasting tests & never said anything about my numbers being out of range at about 160 mg/dL or so midday. I guess it wasn’t what he was looking for, so he didn’t see it. As long as my platelet count looked good, he was happy.
I had no obvious symptoms of diabetes & didn’t know at the time that I had one major risk factor (genetics), so there was no reason for my doc to look for it.