I thought this would be an interesting topic to post, because when I think about it, there must have been many of people that have expierenced this. When I was going through my little sick stage before I was diagnosed, I dont remeber the name of the stage, I just wanted to know what was wrong, because I did not feel right, at all. Well, it was about a week into it and my moms friend and her daughter came over to visit, they had noticed I had lost so much weight, and was very pale, and drinking alot of water. My moms friend said “How are you feeling?” I said “Like sh**” so she asked me what my symptoms were and I told her and she said “Well mikey, I am no doctor, but I have been around alot of diabetics in life, and I think you might have diabetes” So, that night, I researched online the symptoms, and almost all of them, I had, except for blurry vision, and dry skin. I knew to myself that I had it, but I was then again thinking that I was being over dramatic, and it was probably just the flu or some other cold like illness. So, I have a question to the “Tu Crowd”, Have any of you been diagnosed by a person who wasn’t a doctor, like a grandparent that tested your glucose? Or just a diabetic friend? I wasnt exacly tested by her, but she told me she thought I did, so whats your story or having an out of hospital diagnosis.
Thanks,
Michael
Michael,
The same thing happened to me. The week before I saw my doctor and received the diabetes diagnosis, I was over at a friend’s house for dinner. When I listed my symptoms she said it sounded like diabetes to her and she encouraged me to see a doctor. She was right.
I couldn’t, however, go home and research on the internet; in January 1984 I didn’t own a computer and had never even heard of the internet! Times have changed for the better, both for easy information access and diabetes treatment tools.
Terry
My mom diagnosed me… she said she figured it out after watching the Godfather. Which I am not sure how she came to this conclusion, since I think he was low in the movie, not crazy high…
She didn’t tell me until she got confirmation from the doctor, so as not to freak me out.
~Jen
I diagnosed myself with diabetes. I had frequent urination and thirst and was losing weight, and at my age you DON’T lose weight without trying! So I asked for a blood glucose test but knew what the results would be.
Then a year and a couple months later with my numbers climbing I started to do research to see what was wrong and realized I had been misdiagnosed and was Type 1.5. By the time an endo confirmed I had no doubt.
So yep, somebody other than a doctor diagnosed me twice…me!
No one around me ever notice the changes. Full DKA, but that was a long time ago. T1 38 years. But I have notice it in coworkers, friends, groups of people that described the symptoms. Just recently I notice my own husband taking a little bit longer nap, falling asleep in the chair, requesting the waitress to fill his glass of tea 3-4 time during a meal. On Christmas day I “Pulled the Meter”! on him. His BS was elevated. Others I ask of all the sypmtoms. They go to there Dr. and get tested and come back and say, “How did you know?” Diabetes symtoms are very obvious to all of us.
About 3 months before diagnosis, I already have some fears. based on personal knowledge on the symptoms (what little of it) of diabetes. My mother, a dietary nutritionist by profession, already warned me of underlying “common” symptoms of diabetes. Plus the fact that it runs in the family. I must have just been so stubborn! Until DKA at the emergency room with all the flu-like symptoms.
I diagnosed my son, but like you, I spent a week trying to talk myself out of thinking it was true. It wasn’t till my daycare provider called and said, “you know, Eric’s been thirsty all the time, isn’t that a symptom of something serious like diabetes?” that I finally broke down and called the pediatrician. When I brought him to the doctor and said, “I’m pretty sure he has diabetes,” I got a cautionary tale about how it was possible he had something with similar symptoms, but then was proven right with a simple urine dip.
So don’t discount the value of a non-professional diagnosis. Anyone with a certain amount of medical knowledge and good instincts can figure these things out. Other than Eric’s diabetes, I’ve also diagnosed 3 bad appendixes, iron-deficiency anemia, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in various friends and relatives. It’s easy enough to figure out relatively common maladies if you know what the signs & symptoms are and have a good instinct for what questions to ask… and, knowing the person reasonably well helps. THat’s really where our current healthcare system falls down.