I MAY have diabetes? Could use some insight..Pretty desperate

Type 1 and LADA New to Type 1 Diabetes
1

Hello, I just joined this site in hopes of maybe getting some help or answers to some questions I have..I have quite a few but really it comes down to: Do you think it's likely I have diabetes? I'm sorry for the REALLY long and detailed post...

I know you're probably thinking, well if you think you have diabetes, get to a doctor and get tested!

The problem is I don't have any health insurance and spent 5 hours at a walk in clinic exactly one week ago in hopes of getting answers but am left with only more questions..

I'm a 27 yr old female. About 5 years back I had some blood work done for a job and on one of the results sheets it basically stated I am high risk for diabetes/had pre diabetes? This was a while ago and I didn't take it too seriously since I felt great and didn't really know what it meant, just thought I basically have it in my genes since my maternal grandfather and grandmother both have it.

Well fast forward a couple years ahead,(about 3 yrs ago) I was put on meds that made me seriously crave sugar/sweets. After about 3yrs of taking the meds and being addicted to sugar and gaining 50 lbs, I decided I have had enough. I used to feel like I was beautiful and was very happy with my normal weight which ranged between 120-135 lbs at 5'7". A little over a month ago I weighed in at 170 lbs and started a hard core diet. On the hcg diet (taking rx hcg drops and on a very low calorie diet of 500 cals a day) I lost about 21 lbs in 25 days.

First Symptom Maybe?
A month before I started the diet I noticed a rash around my lips, thought I was allergic to a certain chap stick. Only over the past 1-2 months the rash constantly clears up then appears again gradually spreading over other areas of my face and body. Right now it's on my eye lids, under my nose, lips, back of my neck and chest but is starting to clear up again. Very itchy, red and irritating, even leaks clear thin fluid sometimes if I scratch it. Using benadryl and other creams only seem to spread it and make it worse. This may be the first possible symptom?

After 2 days of taking the hcg drops and being on the very low calorie diet, I woke up early one morning out of a deep sleep with my heart racing like crazy. I felt starving and was craving salt so I ate a bunch of crackers and the next thing I know I'm violently throwing up for hours until around noon I have a couple bites of an italian ice and suddenly start to feel fine.I'm guessing this was due to really low blood sugar?

Decided to continue the diet, thinking I'll just have some fruit if I start to feel sick again. Well over the past month other symptoms have been starting to show up besides the rash that comes and goes. Feel very weak, very tired constantly. Thought it was the diet. A week ago, right after I stopped the diet and drops, I notice fingers on both hands (except my thumbs) get numb and tingly and it lasts over an hr. A couple days ago, I notice my feet and lower legs will feel the same way, it comes and goes but will last a long time. I'm also getting migraines these past couple days. I feel dizzy when I get up, once I kind of blacked out for a second.

Last week I went to a walk in clinic in hopes of getting a blood test to see if I have diabetes and find out what this rash is. The day before I went, I stopped the diet and started eating more carbs, so my blood sugar for the day was fine, at 71. The doctor saw me and said she thinks my rash is an allergic reaction to something but I really don't think it is. There really is nothing I've been using consistently and I started the diet after the rash appeared. Also, I have tried using allergic reaction creams and stuff, but none work. Regardless, she prescribed me steroid creams for the rash and ordered for me to have blood work done. The total amount of time it took at that office was around 5 hrs but I was glad I'd hopefully be finally getting some answers from the blood work. She said it would take 2 days for the diabetes test to come back. I call 3 days later only to find out they never even tested me for diabetes! She only ordered a blood count!

Here's the thing..diabetes is basically when your blood sugar is too high right? So why do I seem to be getting all these symptoms after I start the diet when it's way more likely my blood sugar is too low than too high? That's what doesn't make sense to me..

Also, if I do go back and get tested for diabetes, doesn't it get my average blood sugar for the past 3 months? Wouldn't me being on a very low carb diet for a month affect the test, even if I do have the test done? If it's not diabetes, then what the heck could be wrong with me?

I'm sorry for the super long post, but I would greatly appreciate any input, advice at all!

2

The first thing that crosses my mind is that a diet, for however long, of 500 calories per day is extremely unhealthy. A diet like that can sometimes provoke low blood sugars in a person without diabetes, which explains that morning of low blood sugar.

Honestly, though, short of the rash, your symptoms could be of fluctuating blood sugars OR low blood pressure. It's common for low calorie/low carb diets to cause low blood pressure. It could also be dehydration.

Yes, the A1c test shows three months' worth of blood sugars and yes, the last month would greatly affect it. However, if your blood sugars were sufficiently high before this past month, it should reflect somewhat.

All in all, I think you should have the A1c done. It won't be definitive, but it might shed some light.

Also, now that you're down to a healthy weight, please, please, please get off the crazy diet.

3

You should read this link from webmd about HCG diet: LINK Whatever you are spending on hcg is a waste of money. And the very low calorie part of your diet, although effective in helping you lose weight, is undoubtedly causing most or all of the symptoms you are experiencing (weak, tired, rash, tingly, dizzy, heart racing, starving, craving salt, etc.)

If you had undiagnosed diabetes, you would certainly never get a low blood sugar - your blood sugar would be high, and NOT low. And your blood glucose test would not be 71, as yours was a week ago. I think it is safe to conclude that you do not have diabetes. It wouldn't hurt to get a HgA1c test (the three month blood sugar test you are talking about), but it is highly unlikely to show much of anything and probably isn't worth it if you have to pay for it out of pocket.

You should be very glad you don't have diabetes (it sucks), and you should stop taking hgc (it's a waste of money). It's great that you were successful in losing weight; that is extemely hard to do! But your diet is almost certainly not healthy for you in the long-term, so you should try to improve your diet and add calories and nutrients as needed. When you do that your symptoms should disappear; any that remain (rash?) can be treated.

4

BG of 71 isn't diabetes, it's a shade towards the low end of the scale and can feel edgy if you're not used to it. I've read too that hypoglycemia can be a precursor to diabetes, maybe T2 although perhaps the other kind. I don't think the A1C is beatable by cooking your diet, it's totally BG based. It's possible to run high on low calories, if you don't have enough insulin or have insulin resistance or some other phenomenon going on.

I agree 500 calories isn't enough. If you google "concentration camp diets" working inmates were fed 500-800 calories/ day to keep them going, although at a much higher risk for typhus, dysentery and death. Many folks here eat less carbs but make up the difference with protein and fat.

5

That diet doesn't sound very healthy...also a lot of that sounds like low b12/iron not diabetes though. Hope you get it sorted out:)

6

Also people with eating disorders gravitate to extreme diets which keep them from dealing with the real issues. Not saying this is the case for you, but it's something to consider.

7

I suffered from shakiness , wanting to start a fight with anyone prior to supper :) etc etc when I was in my late twenties , thirties and forties ...it was suggested to eat 6 small meals daily ...then in 1983 I was diagnosed with diabetes ...actually called type 1...BG was HI ...I did not have an eating disorder...but it's very easy at that age to forget to stay focused on a proper , well balanced meal ...mho ?? please do eat well balanced meals ( at least 3 times daily , including exercise ) ...I wish you well Ray1001

8

I suspect your symptoms are due to the crash diet and not to diabetes, but its a simple enough theory to prove. Just go buy a home a1c kit if its not well over 6 you don’t have diabetes. If it’s a little over 6 but not much, you may have to investigate further…

9

Since you were told you were at risk for diabetes and pre diabetic, I think you should go to an endo and have testing done and be followed. You need to have an a1c, c peptide, blood chem, blood count and a glucose tolerance test. Since you don't have insurance now, you can also do some of these yourself. The a1c, get the walmart a1c test, the most accurate home a1c, and get some cheap strips and a meter there too.

First get off that diet, that is crazy and will cause problems for anyone. When you're off it for a while and eating a normal diet for you, test yourself in the am fasting bg, before meals and 2 hours after meals. For a glucose tolerance test I think you consume 60-80g of liquid sugar and then test every half hour. If you go above 180-200 you prolly have diabetes. Diabetes is strange and come out in many ways, over a period of time. No one is the same. No one here can diagnose you but you can prolly diagnose yourself, a lot of people have done that. I tested myself 10 years or so before my D diagnoses and found I was hypoglycemic then, prolly a sign of what was to come. Unfortunately I didn't test myself when I started having high bg symptoms and neither did a few doctors.

As for the rash I would go to a dermatologist and see if they can figure it out. It is common to have itchyness and yeast rashes when you have high bg, I had both of those going into dka. The itching was so intense for 2-3 days I had to take benedryl.

Good luck :) Hoping you don't have diabetes.

10

Diabetes is all about improper regulation of your blood sugar. An extreme diet like the HCG diet can set off both strange lows and strange highs when your body doesn't regulate your blood sugar correctly (and I do hope you are doing the HCG diet under a doctors supervision). And as others have suggested, an early sign of potential diabetes is lows, often after meals. To really get an idea of whether you have had problem you should get an A1c test. Rather than another doctor visit you could either go a CVS minute clinic and get the test (about $30), purchase an A1cNow (about $40 for two tests) or you can purchase an over the counter A1c test at Walmart, that although it is a little more difficult to use and you have to mail in the results, only costs $9.

11

There is some research and anecdotal evidence (not my own) that suggests that lows often precede diabetes--even T1. I even heard one story of a child diagnosed with T1, but caught very, very early who had both highs and lows.

I'm not saying that's what's happening here--and I don't think it is--but it's possible.

12

i do not think that you're diabetic. especially cause you haven't mentioned any thirst. i have never heard of any diabetic (t1) that hasn't been thirsty before diagnosis. i can tell you it is not really cool. i got up up to 10 times at night to drink water, and went to the restroom all the time. as long as you don't feel these symptoms, i would not consider you having diabetes. although i could be wrong.

13

First of all, the genuine sympathy: I'm so sorry you're sick like this. I went through a year and a half of diabetes denial while clinically depressed, and was "sick" with symptoms all the time. Sugars were running 200-300 all the time (but I wasn't checking). Ended up in the ER beginning of last June, had my diabetic "come to Jesus" moment, and am now pumping with a CGM.

Given your description of things above, I will guarantee you can be much healthier, and feel much better, regardless of whether or not you have diabetes.

Now for the "tough love": Others have been more gentle -- I won't be so much. Stop being absolutely stupid beyond foolishness and starving yourself. Re-learn patience. The reason professionals counsel that 1-2 lbs a week is the maximum healthy rate to lose weight is... because IT IS. With weight, you do the crime, you gotta do the time. Losing 50 lbs will take 25-50 weeks -- that's right, 6 months to a year.

You went for the, "starve myself like an 1980's Ethiopian and hope I don't die" approach. Is impatience really worth it?

If you do have diabetes, patience is an essential character trait. It is almost a "skill" when it comes to this disease. If you can't learn the patience to lose your weight safely, you won't be successful controlling blood sugar either. Inpatience will send you hypo and hyper all the time over-correcting, for example.

I wish you well, and really hope things get better for you. However, the big elephant in the room with these symptoms is all you -- the way you are abusing yourself nutritionally.

Now, all that scolding out of the way, check out a free application called MyFitnessPal. It's available for both iPhone and Android. And, there is a companion website where you can access all the same functionality if you don't have a smartphone.

This app will guide you to proper calorie intake based on weight loss goals, then make it easy to track everything you eat, your progress, etc. I use it for just that purpose.

www.myfitnesspal.com... check it out!

14

You're most likely not diabetic, especially if you had a blood sugar of 71. Undiagnosed diabetes runs blood sugars that are very high- like 500+ high.

Sounds like your body is "freaking out" because you've been starving it for so long. A weakened immune system (caused by malnourishment) will allow weird rashes and other conditions to occur. You also lost the weight way too fast. Whoever told you to go on a 500 calorie diet is stupid. If you put yourself on it, you're stupid.

Now, I'm no doctor, but I know a lot for your average citizen. Get some health insurance because you're going to need it to cover the many clinical visits you'll be having soon to fix your various issues. PCP, dieticians, exercise physicians, etc. are pricey.

15

I appreciate the insight, I've definitely got a lot more from this post than my dr visit, which I'm grateful for.

I knew by posting every single detail, especially about the diet I was on, I would be basically begging to be called stupid, etc, (I knew going into the diet how controversial it was and it's so easy calling someone you never met dumb, through a computer screen) BUT I'd rather be called an idiot and be honest about it if it meant getting more accurate feedback here. "Tough love" and all though, I do appreciate ALL of you taking the time to respond and I'll even go as far to say hey, you're right it was very stupid to go on such a crazy diet and it is very likely it's what caused whatever is going on with me and I may end up paying for it more than I realized I would.

I most definitely don't have an eating disorder, although I can see why such a crazy diet would suggest that. Basically I was just used to being able to eat whatever I wanted my whole life and was always very confident in my appearance and such, actually there was a time I felt like I was a little TOO skinny so when I first started gaining the weight I was excited to get some curves back. Only the weight kept on coming and me going from feeling very confident about my appearance to really, just embarrassed I let myself go, yeah, I felt sorry for myself and was desperate enough to try something crazy.

In the back of my mind I have a feeling whatever is going on, I did this to myself with the diet and if that does end up to being the case I just want to figure it out so I can get right again. I've been off the diet for about 9 days now, eating normal except watching the carb/sugar intake. I do feel dehydrated and am constantly drinking water, at night my mouth gets so dry that my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth when I try to talk. I know this is a side effect of the hcg though and once my body gets used to it being out of my system, I highly doubt I'll feel so dehydrated all the time.

I agree that this isn't likely diabetes but just wanted to see what you all thought about it since honestly, I don't have much of a clue except what I've looked up online about it. When I looked up my symptoms the 2 things that really stood out was diabetes (since I had that test done a while back) and the B12 vitamin deficiency (which would be caused by the diet). Only diabetes didn't seem to make much sense since I was more likely suffering form low blood sugar and B12 deficiency didn't seem too likely since I have been taking a multivitamin daily.

Just to be safe, I will get the AC1 test done. I had no idea I could get the test from Walmart, thank you for that suggestion! I really thought I would have to get that done in a dr's office. There were some links that were suggested as well that I will check out, including the myfitnesspal :) so thanks for those as well. And as much as it will suck going back to that walk in (on the bright side the visit only cost me $20) I'm going back Friday since the dr wanted me to come in to check up on the rash anyways to see if the cream has been working.

I really, really appreciate all of the responses and if I do happen to have diabetes or get it in the future, I'll be back because like I said, I know nothing about it except what I looked up online which can be really confusing. Thanks again for all the input.

16

I'm glad you're going off the diet and I don't think you're stupid. Keep in mind since you were already told that you were prediabetic, your bg probably has been higher. Just because it was 70 doesn't mean you're not diabetic. My bg was 106 non fasting only 6 months before I went into DKA and it was fluctuating for at least 2 years I'm sure now. 2 years before the DKA I has a severe yeast infection with a rash, but the doctor treating it didn't do a blood chemistry and bg. I'm sure my bg was sky high then. Then a few weeks before DKA I had another one, my A1c at diagnosis was 13%, in the 300's. No one here can diagnose you or tell you for sure you don't have diabetes, so please do as many of those tests as possible and maybe you can figure it out yourself and avoid a crisis. I'm still hoping of course it is the diet that caused all of these symptoms and not Diabetes. Btw, I also was on meds for several years before D and the hypoglycemia, for chronic pain, that made me crave more sugar, I still ate relatively low carb. I'm not overweight but I gained 10 pounds or so on them and when I went off them my body went through a withdrawal and I lost 15-20 pounds. I think they messed up my whole endocrine system and helped bring D out for me unfortunately.

17

When it comes to nutritional abuse, the body can take A LOT without incurring any significant, permanent damage. With this sort of thing it's more about chronic abuse than acute. I'd bet you'll be just fine without any lasting effects from the starvation diet if you quit after a month.

Healing, on the other hand, may take some time.

As for the diabetes, a better check would be to see how you respond to a heavy carb load... How high does your BG peak? If you or friend has a BG meter, fast overnight, then have a big bowl of Captain Crunch (substitute your favorite super-sugary cereal). Then, check you BG every 30 minutes after you eat (up to 3 hours) until it peaks.

If you are completely free of any diabetic problems you won't see it go over 120-130, and probably not even over 100-105.

If you go over 140, you're on your way to diabetes, some would even say you are technically diabetic already and should start making changes to treat it.

18

I agree, I think you will recover from this diet, you're young and you will bounce back. And I agree a glucose tolerance test will show more than an a1c at this point probably. But I would wait until you're on a normal diet and you have stabilized for a while.

19

Stabilized -- good point :thumpup:

20

@meee, at the time I had no idea what pre diabetic really meant. My boyfriend actually pointed it out to me but I thought it just had something to do with carrying a gene for it. I wish I had known more at the time because I probably would have been much more hesitant to binge with the sugar once I was put on the meds. I was just so used to eating whatever I wanted that I went crazy with the sweets. I most definitely would like to educate myself a bit more on diabetes whether it turns out I have it now or not. I'm slowly coming off the meds now but I know once I'm off completely I will lose all the extra weight I gained which is why I'm not stressing about dieting too much anymore. What is DKA? I agree that I can't know for sure until I get tested. From what I've read so far though, I figured the A1c test is the most accurate but was just concerned if the dieting would affect that. I also agree it might make more sense to wait until I'm more stablized on a regulated healthy diet for a while longer. For now I'm thinking I will get the A1c test at Walmart just to see (or when I go back to the walk in clinic, ask them once again to test me for it), get some test strips to check my blood sugar regularly, then in a couple months get the a1c test again.

@dwallersv, what is a BG meter? Is that the same thing or similar to the test strips? And if not do they sell them at Walmart or over the counter? It's definitely something else I'd be interested in trying for now just to see, until I regulate a healthy diet for a while longer. Now would I test myself before I ate high carbs as well to get my fasting BG?

Sorry for all the questions, it's nice to at least feel like I can do something for now at least if nothing else to eliminate the possiblity of diabetes for right now.