[DalaiLama'sCat]

I was tired. Incredibly tired. I dreaded getting out of bed because of the effort it took. I couldn't do anything remotely physical without having to sit down and catch my breath every 10 minutes. I could have cried with exhaustion.

I started getting boils, skin infections, a gum abscess that wouldn't go away despite 4 visits to the dentist and 2 weeks on anti-biotics in the same week of being prescribed anti-biotics from my doctor for these weird red boil type things on my stomach and a weird peeling rash on my palms.

My eyesight was blurry in one eye. Eye specialist did every test known to mankind and couldn't tell me why. Glasses didn't help.

I finally dragged myself off to another doctor who did a whole battery of tests.Dx Pre-diabetes. I think I'm Type 2.

5 weeks into LCHF no more weird skin problems and eye sight and energy levels gradually improving.

I did lose the tooth though. The infection ate through the bone and the tooth fell out. The gap reminds me why I'm sticking to LCHF.

 

[DalaiLama'sCat]

Its funny how your mind tries to rationalize when things don't seem right.

Looking back now I also had:

Unquenchable thirst. Craved Pomegranate Juice (I don't like OJ lol) and Mineral Water. It had to have bubbles to give me the sensation of taking the edge of my thirst. Even took a glass with me to bed and would drink during the night. I thought I had a dry mouth because I was taking anti-histamines for another condition.

Large babies, over 8.5 lbs. Stillborn baby, large for term. Tested for gestational diabetes many decades ago. There's a clue.

The more carbs I ate the more carbs I craved. I used to joke that eating carbs was my drug because after a carb binge I'd feel really spaced out ... man ... whoa I feel so reeeeeee-laxed. I mean, seriously? You'd think being an intelligent woman I'd wonder "hmmmm carbs are my drug. That could be a sign there's something wrong. Seriously wrong". But no. After a stressful day at work I'd come home and scoff a whole packet of dry salty crackers then polish off a family block of chocolate. All for the 'drugged' out feeling and falling into a deep coma like sleep.

Total lack of energy. I was a vegetarian. Started eating meat again because I was so desperate to feel better. Took me a month of eating meat again to stop gagging on the smell and taste. Bought an expensive juice cause juicing was going to fix me. Yep, all those beets and carrots.

Kind of funny thinking back now how much in the dark I was.

 

[sanjeetdevgan]

I felt a bit drained but the real give away was excessive thirst and dryness in the mouth. I looked up web md and there it was! Went to the doc and had a 319 reading and 12.5 for hbA1C. Went on medication within 3 days. After 6 weeks, and diet control reading down to 130 but hbA1C still high at 11

 

[thatladyiris]

I was tired and thirsty, and peeing all of the time, but I would rather have died than admitted that something was wrong with me.

My mother eventually scheduled my first physical with a new family doctor. The doctor diagnosed me as an anorexic (no blood or urine tests were done) because I was 14 and avoiding starchy foods.

She prescribed a high-carb diet, and I wound up in a coma a few weeks later.

 

[shari81]

Mine was routine blood work. I didn't have any ongoing symptoms but when I thought back I remembered how when I would get french onion soup (with a big hunk of bread) I would have unquenchable thirst - I thought it was because it was too salty. I knew that it had only happened the last couple times I'd gotten it so I can kind of see a timeline on when my sugars went out of control. I was tired a lot the year before - but I know a lot of it had to do with ongoing migraines that made me feel like crap and imitrex that often made the headache go away but left me feeling tired and achy all over. Tried several different solutions and most made it worse. I had thought maybe they were related to high bs or something but nope - still have them. I also had dizziness when waking up - thought maybe from high bs? But I've had it a couple times since then and tested and I was not high or low so... idk about that either.

 

[Roe72]

Diabeties runs in my family so that in itself put me at a higher risk, I started having excessive dry mouth and drinking a lot, was dizzy first thing in the morning upon waking up. Blood work, confirmed it Type 2

 

[Mary]

I was tired and thirsty, and peeing all of the time, but I would rather have died than admitted that something was wrong with me.

My mother eventually scheduled my first physical with a new family doctor. The doctor diagnosed me as an anorexic (no blood or urine tests were done) because I was 14 and avoiding starchy foods.

She prescribed a high-carb diet, and I wound up in a coma a few weeks later.

Oh wow ... dislike! I am so glad that you survived through all of it, and now have things under control!

 

[thatladyiris]

Oh wow ... dislike! I am so glad that you survived through all of it, and now have things under control!

Well, don't you know that all thin teenage girls are anorexic? That's just a medical fact.

That family doctor is still practising, too. My parents still go to her. Insanity!

 

[Mary]

I agree. I struggled with bulimia for most of my teen years and into young adulthood. I will say, the doctors are mostly incompetent when it comes to eating disorder diagnosis. They're so blind - young girls pull all kinds of antics to hide eating disorders, and so many of these doctors are so unwise. They then see a young lady that's thin and assume she has an ED. It is crazy.

 

[thatladyiris]

I agree. I struggled with bulimia for most of my teen years and into young adulthood. I will say, the doctors are mostly incompetent when it comes to eating disorder diagnosis. They're so blind - young girls pull all kinds of antics to hide eating disorders, and so many of these doctors are so unwise. They then see a young lady that's thin and assume she has an ED. It is crazy.

My current doctor's first question was "So, did that doctor set you up with an eating disorder group, or with a social worker, or a psychologist, or..." Of course, the answer was no. The solution was "EAT MORE" because teenagers love being told what to do.

Although, now that I think about it, I wasn't set up with any of these types of supports when I was diagnosed with diabetes, either. I could have used a psychologist then!

I wound up becoming a compulsive over-eater rather than an anorexic. Binge without the purge. Eating disorders are complicated enough without having a disease that is directly related to what you eat!!

 

[Mary]

My current doctor's first question was "So, did that doctor set you up with an eating disorder group, or with a social worker, or a psychologist, or..." Of course, the answer was no. The solution was "EAT MORE" because teenagers love being told what to do.

Although, now that I think about it, I wasn't set up with any of these types of supports when I was diagnosed with diabetes, either. I could have used a psychologist then!

I wound up becoming a compulsive over-eater rather than an anorexic. Binge without the purge. Eating disorders are complicated enough without having a disease that is directly related to what you eat!!

Oh geeez ... tell me about it. I have been eating very low carb, high fat to try and keep my blood sugar under control. Even though I haven't struggled with an ED since my early 20's, (am almost 40 now), I still catch myself in moments where I have to push away all of the feelings and "ick" that came with what I did or didn't eat back then, as I am preparing food now. It's mostly easier now, but I still have my moments!

 

[thatladyiris]

Oh geeez ... tell me about it. I have been eating very low carb, high fat to try and keep my blood sugar under control. Even though I haven't struggled with an ED since my early 20's, (am almost 40 now), I still catch myself in moments where I have to push away all of the feelings and "ick" that came with what I did or didn't eat back then. It's mostly easier now, but I still have my moments!

No kidding. I either hated food or loved food, depending on the time of day and what part of me was more dominant at that time - the diabetic or the binge-eater.

Did you have to keep a food diary? I remember a dietician making me do that, and I hated it. I would just make up the entries because I didn't want to admit to myself what I was/wasn't eating.

 

[Mary]

I did the same thing - I had to keep a food journal and then after a few months, I lost interest in doing so (I was a kid, my attention span wasn't all that long)! I always wrote down what I thought she'd want to hear. After a few months, she told my mom that she didn't need to see me anymore, as she thought our sessions weren't really productive. (really, you don't say!)

Anyway, she had me always fill up on high carb foods. She totally pushed whole grains, potatoes, cereals, and all things high carb. She told my mom they'd give me energy. I wasn't diagnosed as diabetic at the time, so it wasn't a factor then.

 

[thatladyiris]

I did the same thing - I had to keep a food journal and then after a few months, I lost interest in doing so (I was a kid, my attention span wasn't all that long)! I always wrote down what I thought she'd want to hear. After a few months, she told my mom that she didn't need to see me anymore, as she thought our sessions weren't really productive. (really, you don't say!)

Anyway, she had me always fill up on high carb foods. She totally pushed whole grains, potatoes, cereals, and all things high carb. She told my mom they'd give me energy. I wasn't diagnosed as diabetic at the time, so it wasn't a factor then.

My mother once took me to the emergency room because I didn't want to eat potatoes. I met with a social worker, and she said "try to eat potatoes sometimes," and that was that.

It's insane when you think about how much we are pushed to eat things that are high in carbs, "just because." It's on the food group chart! They drew a potato on there! You HAVE to eat it!

 

[Mary]

You through the ADA in the mix, and they keep pushing diabetics to eat carbs. The entire carb pushing has gotten way out of control, in my opinion. We have all of this knowledge now of the impact that carbs make on BG and in general health, yet they're still being pushed, just as they were when we were kids.

Well, it's good to meet you, Iris.

 

[RCG]

Mine was neuropathy, but I had no idea what it was,

I had the sensation that my sock had a hole in it, and a few of my toes were sticking through the hole.

When I subsequently went to a physician (initial visit) he calmly informed me that my blood sugar was "over 200". (BP was 230/160, I was afraid to bend over to pick up my socks.) Both are fine now.

Then my life changed.