[wwsquad]

Hi. I'm a 22yr old male(going on 23 soon) and have been scared of Diabetes for a long time. I don't know why, just I am paranoid about eating bad things as I get older. But as I get older more things start to get me worried and I start freaking out.

Here are the things that worry me mainly:

I have the go to the bathroom many times throughout the day, sometimes twice in the same hour. I have to get up to go to the bathroom maybe 3 or more times every night.

I have had thinning hair since around 16. I hear this can be a
symptom.

I have trouble keeping myself warm. My limbs are always cold, hands like ice. I see nobody else around me with this problem no matter how cold it is.

I am fatigued all the time. I live a very sedentary life so I'm 100% sure that has a lot to do with it since I feel better once I've actually been out or I bother to eat(I get real lazy at preparing my meals...). However, I do feel seriously tired often and as I've gotten older I've gotten to the point where I feel too tired and depressed to get out of bed. This has seriously affected my sleeping habits but I can't help how weak I feel.

I weight only around 112lbs(height 5'6 incase it matters). I have been terribly underweight ever since adolescence. I try to gain weight occasionally by increasing calorie intake and eating 3 meals 3 snacks a day. I've tried this like 5 times already in the past few years and it always fails. Mainly the problem is I will always eventually after a couple weeks of this diet break out in red spots all over my body that itch. This makes me freak out since I worry it has to do with too much blood sugar or fat, causing something with Diabetes to go off. Also although I am terribly skinny my waist area and stomach suffer the same problems anybody else has(love handles, beer belly). Really odd to me.

End of last year I said no more and made a resolution to goto the doctor. I told him all my concerns and immediately he said he doesn't think I'm diabetic. Maybe it's because I simply said I have no family history of it but I thought it was really too early for him to say that. He ran blood tests and showed me next visit that my blood sugar level was normal. Only problem that came from the blood tests was low Vitamin D so I took Vitamin D for a couple months but then stopped. He told me I shouldn't worry about sugar so much(I'm too paranoid to even touch it much except for breakfast cereals, which I avoid the sugar filled ones), and suggested I try taking protein shakes for gaining weight.

Here it is a year later and I attempted my diet of drinking lots of milk each day and having tons of nuts, meat ect and still I always eventually break out in the red spots and freak out. This past week I tried my diet again and then started getting somewhat lazy with it. Mostly just having lots of milk and banana's and that's it. Then the other day I drank a whole lot of alcohol and got drunk to the point of almost passing out. I felt miserable for the next couple of days but am back to normal now. However, yesterday I woke up with an itchy bump on my face like I used to get when trying to gain weight. This was different from the other spots though in that it's not a kind that lasts for a couple weeks but this time it was one that seems to grow right after I notice it, then die down in the same day. Today I woke up and found an itchy bump on the back of my hand and then after that it started growing. After a few hours it has died down but this seriously makes me worry that it is "Eruptive xanthomatosis." I looked around on the internet and this seems to match is, although mine come and go in the same day rather than staying.

I'm sorry if this got long but I'm trying to get out as much info as I can. I'm wondering if I should go to another doctor and get more specific tests done. I had the blood test done twice by the last doctor and he didn't find anything wrong. I asked if I should get a urine test and he said no. Is it possible that my paranoia was keeping my blood sugar level down conveniently to the point that it wouldn't show any problems I have on the tests? If I had diabetes would it most definitely without a doubt show up on the blood tests no matter how controlled I had it that there is in fact a problem? I'm so confused about how that could have worked out to possibly mislead my doctor.

Please I hope you can tolerate my long post and give me sound advice. Thank you all very much.

 

[Richard157]

Hello, and welcome! All of your symptoms are ones commonly experienced by diabetics with poor control, except for the red spots. But that does not mean that you DO have diabetes. There are other diseases or conditions that have these symptoms. I think you should see an endocrinologist (diabetes specialist) for a diagnosis and treatment that you can trust. Too many doctors know so little about diabetes that they make incorrect diagnoses.

You might also see an allergist to test you and find if you are allergic to something. An allergy could possibly explain your symptoms.

I have had occasional problems with anemia nd had to take iron and vitamin B12 supplements. My symptoms included fatigue and wanting to sleep much of the time. Blood tests would determine if you have anemia.

I hope you will find a solution to your problems soon!

Richard

 

[wwsquad]

Thank you Richard for your reply.

I forgot to mention that I also do not have frequent thirst despite how often I need to go to the bathroom. The only time I ever am thirsty is pretty much after I eat. Is frequent urination in diabetics caused by drinking a lot from uncontrollable thirst or does it also happen without the thirst?

As for allergies I rule it out. I rarely try anything new in my diet and know for sure nothing can possibly have affected me recently(or any other time I break out in the spots).

My two blood tests showed no problem with Anemia which was also something I was wondering about at the time I had the tests done. I notice that many other people mention Vitamin D deficiency when talking about diabeties symptoms. Is it one that would concern people? I expect it's caused mainly by my extreme lack of outdoor exposure.

Also I'd like to stress I'd appreciate an answer especially for the last part of my post about how diabetes shows in blood tests. I'm really unclear about just how certain someone can be in such tests, even though they're supposed to be the answer.

 

[Richard157]

Your endocrinologist will decide what blood tests should be given and how they should be interpreted. There will probably be blood tests to see if you have antibodies. A C-peptide test might also be given to see how much insulin your body is still producing. The outcome of these tests will help in diagnosiing and then determining appropriate treatments. Even if you have good control the outcomes of these tests will determine whether you are diabetic and what type you are, if any. There are also other tests such as the glucose tolerance test to help in diagnosing. I don't know that you need that one since you are having good control.

Diabetes can drain the body of liquid even if a diabetic is not drinking a lot of water. That causes a lot of weight loss. I was very much underweight before I was diagnosed in 1945.

 

[isisagate]

Definitely get a second opinion. I know when I was diagnosed I was constantly thirsty and taking naps right when I got home from school. No matter what I drink (usually was sugar intensive drinks) I was still thirsty. For me it was an easy diagnosis, My blood sugar was 600. They initially put me on Type 2 Meds, but a few days later I crashed and ended up in the hospital with DKA. By the time I left was on shots.

Diabetes is nothing to mess around with. So if you think it's the problem get a second opinion. Consider even forking out a little cash at the pharmacy and buying a testing meter and some strips. The next time you feel an unquenchable thirst test your sugars and see if they are high. I know how that my brother doesn't have diabetes but he can show some sensitivity to sugars. Where he gets some of the effects I do. The difference is his body controls the levels properly.

Seek a specialist for a second opinion. If it comes up negative try making some changes to your lifestyle and see if it helps. Get out and get more exercise would be the first thing. You have to burn energy to have it. Your body is telling you something you just gotta figure it out... Too bad we didn't come with owner's manuals and diagnostics programs.