newbie hypoglycemia or early diabetes?

2627 Views 3 Replies 2 Participants Last post by Terrie, Mar 26, 2008

bluesky

Discussion Starter · Feb 26, 2008

Hi I'm new here and thought I'd ask those who have diabetes and I gather 'experts; on diabetes...
For about 5 years now I've had or been prone to hypoglycemia. The last few weeks though I've had both lows (in the 3's) and highs (10-11.5). I have symptoms of both to go with the number, when I'm in the 3's which only happens with long periods of not eating or exercise, I get bad headaches, tired, sweaty, , confused, lack of concentration and feel very weak.
With the higher numbers I feel quite thirsty (usually find I drink 4-5 glasses of water in one go) and sick.
The highs however only tend to happen when I eat and am low at the time. E.g. the other day I was 3.6 after 7 hours of nothing to eat from lunch to dinner as well as exercise (one 30 min jog and 1 20 min walk jog after lunch and walk before dinner) in between. I ate dinner (only 16g of carbohydrates sweet potato, capsicum and fish) and 2.5 hours later I was 11.1 I washed hands and double checked and got 11.3, this is certainly not the first time. This has never happened in the past I?ve never gone even above 6 even with low numbers, normally I?d stay 3-5mmol.
Anyway, I'm active, jog 30-40 mins most days, play tennis twice a week 2 hours on a Wednesday night and 2 hours on Sunday morning but cut down the last 10 days or so b/c of being really tired and no energy. I eat between 80-90g carbs a day (none from sugary food or soft drinks though), am not overweight (5ft 2 and weigh only 88lbs) actually nearly all bone really I?ve lost 3 kilos in 2 weeks. I have a pretty strong family history of type 2 diabetes and type 1 though the type 2?s in my family have a really hard time losing weight. I also in the last 2 years have a hx of steroid induced diabetes where my numbers go into the high teens and 20?s and have used/been prescribed insulin for it but im guessing that is a common problem anyway??
Could it (now) be an early stage of diabetes or still a problem of hypoglycemia??

See less See more

Save

1 - 4 of 4 Posts

Terrie

· #2 · Feb 26, 2008 (Edited)

Hi There Bluesky. It's Nice to meet you.

Sorry, there are no experts here....just People living and learning
with Diabetes. Even the Drs. and Scientists have changed their
theories and opinions so many times through the years.

There are the different types of Diabetes but half the People do
not fit into the nice little plastic mold they are supposed to. That
is the same with Hypoglycemia.

I'm sorry to hear that you have been so proactive but are still not
achieving a steady blood sugar level.

Gee whiz, at 5' 2", you should weigh in the low hundreds. How long
have you been losing weight? 88 lbs. is scary low. I'm 5' 2 and a
proud 1/2". I weigh 125 lbs. which is a Good weight for me.

You do know weight loss is a sign of Diabetes in most cases. We
couldn't find any Type 1's in our Family but yet here we are. Type
2's on my Dad's side many years after I got. They were heavy though.

Anyways my Dear, you must be feeling awful with your sugars like that.
I would be the first to tell you to get to your Dr. and get tested.

Take Care and we hope to see you back.

See less See more

Save

bluesky

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 26, 2008

Hi and thanks for your reply.
I'm still regularly exercising, it's odd though I went for a long run over the weekend and normally that would send me low however I was high (10-12) with ketones most of the time.
I did have another low (fasting) I had yogurt and SF jelly for breakfast (total 10.4g of carbs and 8am and nothing to eat till 4:30pm as I was busy with some work for university. When I checked I was 3.9, had 10g carbs (plain biscuits) and 2hrs later (dinner green beans and chicken) I was 12.7 with .9 ketones, now 3h ours later since dinner and lots to drink I'm 10.7. But anyway, sure is much better than the lows, just very very thirsty!
Anyway thank-you and thought I should let you know I certainly be making an appointment to see my dr within the next week!
Just hoping *and I think it will be* it's a perfectly normal hypoglycemic reaction and not diabetes (either type 1 or 2) !

See less See more

Save

Terrie

· #4 · Mar 26, 2008 (Edited)

Hi There:

I'm sorry to hear that you haven't made it to the Dr's yet.
There are several reasons that a Person could have ketones
including a Very low-carb diet. I missed the line about you
having steroid-induced Diabetes and you were on Insulin.
That may be your answer right there.

Normally, a Person's blood glucose usually rises while using
Prednisone but especially for someone who has Diabetes.

Since you unfortunately had Diabetes during steroid treatment
that can mean you are bound to get it. In that case, considering
your symptoms, it is likely that you may have Diabetes. You
didn't say when the steroids were discontinued. Please do see
your Dr. this week.

See less See more

Save

1 - 4 of 4 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month