Hi, I’m new here. Here’s some background. I had never had my blood sugar checked until I had my son and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. 2 years later my A1C is right below the prediabetes cut off. I recently started taking Seroquel for sleep and started to feel the effects of diabetes similar to when I had gestational diabetes (discontinued the Seroquel as it can affect diabetes). Fasting sugars are around 112 and goes as high as 197 on days I eat carbs. Days I avoid carbs I feel much better and fasting the next day is 91. Days without carbs I can think more clearly and my mood is stable. I have also had problems in my life with gastropareisis and a failed gallbladder 5 years ago with no apparent cause. I am 5’2 and 94lbs (unintentional weight Loss of 10lbs in a year. I don’t fit the bill for type 2 diabetes. I am not looking for a diagnosis, but have any of you guys had experience with any of this? I have told doctors and keep getting told my A1C is still fine and they brush it off. I have received a diagnosis of mood disorder not other wise specified due to major mood swings throughout the day. I follow up with my doctor In a month and plan to demand a glucose test. I’m honestly feeling quite scared and I’m just searching for information on your experiences with LADA and possible effects of it on mental health. I fear this has been going on for about 10 years but is getting worse. Thank you for your time.
edited to say my doctor appointment was moved up and I’ll follow up with you guys! I appreciate the information and the concern.
Definitely high or low blood sugars can effect your mood. It can vary person to person how much or what causes what. For example one person might get combative with a low and another just incapacitated and another not even know. High blood sugars can cause depression in some, sleepiness in others and some no change at all. We really can vary person to person how we are affected by so many things.
The only way to know if it’s type 1 is to get an antibody test and a c-peptide test done. 40% of type 1/LADA’s are misdiagnosed as a type 2 at first. One of the reasons is you still make insulin for a while sometimes 8 years or more until you completely stop.
That time frame you still make insulin is called the honeymoon phase and drugs and change of diet works at first because you still are making some insulin. It’s also why the doctors can be very dismissive of the symptoms until one finally decides to test you or you get really sick.
So I have no clue if you are, Some of the symptoms fit, but I think some would fit for a type 2 too. Gestational diabetes is a sign you are prone to either one. So ask for the tests to see. You would need an antibody test, if positive it’s a sign of type 1. Some type 1’s test negative and still don’t make insulin and they don’t know why. So you also need a c-peptide test. Low or low normal is a sign of type 1 as you are lacking insulin. High or high normal is a sign of type 2 because your body is actually making extra insulin to make up for not using it well.
Thank you for answering. I appreciate you telling me what tests to request. Just to clarify is it possible to be underweight and have type 2? My A1C (Now one point below prediabetes) has been going up for years and it seems like my sugars have drastically gotten out of wack in a matter of days. It’s never gone so high. I do have an appointment with the doctor set up soon.
A1Cs are averaging, so can hide any high bgs you have (after meals and fasting). I suggest you log bgs, with notes, before/after meals, carb counts, fasting bg, etc to discuss at next appointment.
A search on Seroquel shows it may be related to triggering diabetes, although sounds like you no longer take it.
There is a small percentage of people who get type 2 and are skinny. It’s not common, but it does happen. I think we have at least one person on this board that fits that. It is more common to be underweight with type 1, because you stop making insulin and people lose weight because they aren’t metabolizing the food they eat without the proper amount of insulin to do so. Then there are a few that don’t fit into any easily defined category and that’s rare too, but it also happens. It’s the unknown factor. @CJ114 is one. My DE also is one, she is a type 1 that doesn’t have the antibodies but doesn’t make any insulin.
If you feel that you are eating a lot but still losing weight, have your doctor check your thyroid in a blood test. If you thyroid is overactive, it has this symptom. I was diagnosed with overactive thyroids, I didn’t have the weight issue but I know this is one of the symptoms. Apparently thyroid issues are common in people with diabetes.
When my sugars are low or high, I feel like crap. I become quite agitated and easily irritable. When I feel the agitation go away, I know my sugars are back in range. So yes I believe there is a correlation with mood and sugar levels.
High blood sugar makes me feel very bad, but people have varying levels of sensitivity to this. It certainly affects my mood. I try to drink a lot of water to recover. I hit 197 every day and have managed to survive for decades.
However, if they think you might have a mood disorder, its probably more productive to investigate down that path before investigating the diabetes.
When there are multiple illnesses, you deal with the more serious one first in order to make progress as fast as possible. Since your A1c isn’t that bad, I would focus on investigating the mood disorder first. That will take the longest to figure out and if that stuff is in check, it will make the diabetes much easier to deal with.
I think Seroquel is a mood stabilizer, so if that works, it might be important to continue that medication and just keep an eye on the BG. That is what I recommend. If you get diabetes, then you get diabetes. Mood disorders are no joke and by and large, way more critical, especially if you have kids that depend on you. If the mood disorder isn’t under control, you will never be able to manage the diabetes. The first step in diabetes management will be mood disorder management.
This is a tricky thing with multiple chronic illnesses. I have diabetes and epilepsy, but the epilepsy isn’t that bad, so I started with the 'betes. Often people try to manage one illness and fail because the other illness is a nail in the coffin. The order that things are combatted is pretty important. Sounds like you have some room for flexibility in the 'betes space. If you start getting a high a1c, check back with us.
We used to have a diabetic on here with untreated mood disorder. I don’t even know if he is still alive. Things went very bad, very quickly. It has been my experience that the illness people least want to deal with is the one that they need to deal with first. For some reason, it just always comes out that way in the wash. I dont know why.
They definitely do, but that is not the primary factor here.
The primary factor is that she’s not taking the Seroquel.
I don’t want to discount the uncomfortable affect of high BG. I’m sure she can feel it.
Let’s say she started running 220 regularly…what would be the prescribed course of action? Metformin?
What sucks about brain stuff is that if diabetes malfunctions, you can get things back on track in 15 min or 4 hours. Brain stuff goes bad and its a 15 day or 15 month recovery.
Epilepsy and mood disorders use lots of the same/similar meds. Another similarity is that sleep is critical. Bad sleep is a warning sign of impending problems. Sleep and brain are related like carbs and blood sugar.
I completely agree with you on the importance of taking care of mental health. The Seroquel was low dose (7.5 mg) prescribed for sleep only. The mood disorder was “not otherwise specified” because they couldn’t find a cause- for example it doesn’t fit the criteria for bipolar disorder. While I do wonder if the mood swings are a result of blood sugar issues, I am taking the meds that I have been prescribed. I would never advocate for self adjusting medication. I appreciate your explanation of treating the most serious issues first and your concern for my health. I know I found a good forum!
