In December i went and saw a doctor for the first time in 10 years because I was constantly feeling nauseous. He run some blood tests and found out i had high blood glucose which indicated diabetes around 17.9 mmol/L (322mg/dl). He said unusual for a healthy looking person to have type 2 so had another test for type 1, that took a week.
I am 32 and think I have been undiagnosed for around 4 years, which is when I lost a lot of weight. Consequently I think my body is used to a higher than normal level of blood sugar. When I get down to a level of 9 (162) it feels terrible, let alone the 7 (126) I got to once.
The lows scare the hell out of me, but the side effects of the highs are causing me issues. I think I have early stage neuropathy. My legs and stomach are ultra sensitive, a shirt rubbing across my stomach causes low level pain, same with my legs.
Has any other late onset people had these issues and can help me.
You are drinking from the firehose right now, but over time all the information being thrown at you and the reactions of your body will become more manageable.
You have already figured out that because your body is used to a higher blood sugar level, you feel low at what is clinically a still high level. I needed my endocrinologist to explain that to me.
You need to wean yourself off the highs in a rapid, gradual manner. You will be able to have blood sugars in the low and also sub-100 range without feeling low.
Your neuropathy symptoms need medical review. Some may lessen with better control, some may not, each of us have our own journey. Get your medical team together and remember, that they have a lot of expertise, but you are the head of the team.
I agree with everything Mike said. The best thing you could do for your health going forward is to restore your blood glucose values to a more normal range.
While you are in learning mode, I would recommend keeping a written log of blood sugar levels, what you eat, and the timing and dose of any medications taken. As Mike said, the information overload in the beginning can feel intimidating but things will become more familiar with time. We've all been where you're at now; it does get better.
Pay attention, be disciplined; you will feel better soon.
I've just really started having normal sugar levels myself after having not taken care of my diabetes for the last 15 years. When I first started running normal levels again, I felt horrible. I won't lie, it sucked. I kept waking up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat like I had just been low, was feeling shaky, and had kind of that drained post low feeling a lot of the time. As you start to have consistent readings in a lower range, these symptoms ease. I got to a point where low 200s felt ok, and then kept pushing on, and finally now, low 100s feel normal, and highs feel way worse than they had when my body was used to them. As much fun as it might not be, in the end it is well worth it. I feel better physically then I have in years. My mind is so much clearer, and I'm not doing damage to my body with high sugars anymore. It takes time, and I think each of us is different, not to mention I'm sure how much time a person spent high can affect how long it takes to feel normal, but the body does adapt and readjust. Keep pushing, it will be worth it.
Hang in there! I would go to a neurologist and have your symptoms assessed. I wouldn’t try to drop your a1c too rapidly because in some people that can cause retinopathy and maybe it will be easier on you with all of the symptoms returning to lower ranges of bg. Eventually 162 will not feel low. I have found my symptoms are so variable, lately milder highs feel worse than lows to me but I’m dealing with vertigo so I think it’s confusing things for me.
Your story is very much like mine except that I was undiagnosed for about 10 years as far as I can tell. I most definately had neuropathy and retinopathy at DX.
Everyone so far has given you spot on advice in my experience. The most important being that YOU are the team lead for your treatment. That is because every one of us is different. I could tell you exactly what I do to achieve an A1c in the low 5's. You could follow it exactly and it may not work for you at all. You MUST study, experiment and learn what works for YOU. There is not a doctor in the workd who can do this for you. This is a 24/7, 365 deal. For the rest of your life. You will be the ONLY one there all the time.
I can tell you with certainty that if you are diligent and consistant you CAN reverse many of the affects of you complications. I know this because I have done it. But, this disease is relentless and you must be honest and faithful to yourself.
I forgot one very important thing. You are in exactly the right place to learn and get support. TuD was my life line. I knew NOTHING when I started. The wonderful people here gave me the support and information I needed to make my quest so successful.
Squeeze -- what everyone else said. I've been there.
Your brain has been marinating in syrup for years. It's used to it, even though it's not healthy (the high glucose is generally mildly toxic). It's truly a physical addiction -- suddenly lower the amount of the drug (sugar) and your brain reacts as if it is in a hypoglycemic state, when it isn't.
Two ways to do this: Gradually, which will be easier but take weeks, or slam it down to normal and ride out the (sometimes significant) discomfort for 2-4 days. I chose the latter path, and I'd recommend it for anyone that has a tough psychological constitution and isn't too bothered by feeling bad.
Regardless, any BG over 100 is absolutely safe from any concern of hypo. So please relax a little, and don't worry so much about the hypo issue. You have a glucometer, use it! If you decide to go the slam-bam, thank you ma'am approach to normalizing your BG, do it on the weekend, and just test a lot and you'll be fine.
The long time you've been chronically high has caused your body to become accustomed to the highs which is why you feel low when you are actually normal. The longer you maintain a normal blood sugar the more your body will be able to adjust to being there.
I'm sorry you are having so much trouble. As for the neuropathy, there are medications that can help lessen the symptoms. Most of these medications come with possible side effects so be aware if you go that route. There are many natural symptom managements as well. You can check the neuropathy group here on TuDiabetes to get a lot of help and advice. The number one thing you can do to manage and reverse the symptoms of neuropathy is to get your diabetes under control and keep it there.
Hi, Thanks for all your responses it is good to know other people have gone through the same or worse.
Yesterday I got my BS down to 8.4 (150) for about 6 hrs. I was at work and was all but useless. I ended up eating something to get it back to 10s (180) to feel a lot better.
Might take a few more days off work and do the rapid decrease in BS and deal with it.
Hi vp, thanks for your concern, yes I'm still having vertigo... it has improved quite a bit but it's not gone unfortunately and I never know when it will get worse again. I'm having testing done soon, first for the inner ear and I will also see a neurologist soon too. Bright lights and noise as well as motion seem to intensify it as well as bg shifts. I'm wondering if it may be migraine related due to the light and sound sensitivity since I have chronic migraines.
Squeeze I can also tell you that I've had permanent damage to my vision in dka, not retinopathy yet and although it improved a lot in the first 3-4 months it has not gone back to what it was. I need 2.75 reading glasses to see any details in close/medium range now, and sometimes 1.25 for distance. Before I only needed 1.25 for reading only. So be very careful with your eyes. Normalizing bg ranges gave me improvement but it didn't reverse everything that happened, so make sure you avoid dka etc. also or any big trauma's like that.
