Anybody here have Diabetes?

[Domino]

This is starting to scare me.

After my last blood test in November my doctor told me my blood sugar was high. I was in the mild low diabetes range, but said i have Type 2 Diabetes: Controlled.

But lately, I have had such a bad thirst that i can't stop drinking pop, water, iced tea..etc. I cannot quench my thirst and i am going to the bathroom non-stop.

Tomorrow, i go in for another blood test and i am scared to death of the results.

I really don't know what to do if this becomes uncontrolled. Am i going to have to take insulin shots for the rest of my life. (my cat is diabetic, so i know how to administer insulin shots) But now i am getting really depressed.

I have also been feeling really tired lately also. Please god tell me everything will be okay!!

I'm just typing this worried out of my mind.  If anybody has any advice, i would surely appreciate it.

Thank you,
Shawn :'( :'( :'(

[RetroJay]

I can't offer any advice.
But I am now worried myself as many of the symptoms you are getting sound like ME!! :o
Do you feel hot all the time when people say it's cold?
In the morning does your mouth feels like a deep pile carpet and you could drink an industrial sized vat of pepsi?
Perhaps I also should vissit the doc.
I haven't been for ages unless I have lost a leg or something!!

I hope you are O.K. and my thoughts are with you.
Please let me know how it goes.
JAY.

[LimpingFish]

I know it's easy for me to say, but what you need to do is relax, take a deep breath, and wait until you see your doctor. If modern medicine has taught us anything, it's that the human body is remarkably resilient. If you do have diabetes, there's nothing to stop you treating it and keeping it under control.

Good luck with the blood test, and try to remain positive.

[Domino]

In the morning does your mouth feels like a deep pile carpet and you could drink an industrial sized vat of pepsi?

Yesterday at work i drank so much water in such a small amount of time that i vomited it all back up.

After that, i was still thirsty.

Whatever happens, i should be able to take care of it, but just finding out you have this disease makes me kind of scared.

[Ghost]

I am diabetic, Type 1, and this was found out when I was 18. They found out during army physical, and heck, that was a surprise since no-one else in the family had problems with that so far. I'm 32 now and do take insulin shots three times a day, plus a nightly dose of depot insulin, and I am living quite well with that.

Thirst, and the feeling that you cannot quench the thirst, are *one* sign of diabetes. But it could also be something else. Do you also feel nervous, tired? Do you wake up with leg cramps often? Is your urine extremely yellow, almost orange? Does your vision flicker occasionally? Do you get hungry often, and seem unable to quench that hunger? These are signs too, and especially the leg cramps are a sure sign of your blood sugar being too high for a long time. People can be "high on sugar" though occasionally without being diabetic, so you need more than just one symptom to be entirely sure. Your blood sugar changes every few minutes, and within an hour you can get all sorts of readings from average to high to extremely low, so, best to have the professionals have a look.

By all means visit a doctor and let a test be taken, it takes only a few minutes, and after that you'll at least be sure.

Also, let me add that today's medicine allows you to live well with diabetes (If you take some care, where I must admit that I could've done better  ). The treatment I get has been improved a lot since I was 18, 19. Chances are I'll see another, even better type of insulin in my life.

I wish you luck, and Don't Panic!

[SSH]

If the doctor thinks you have type 2, then you'll probably stay type 2. That just means your pancreas needs a boost, not that its completely gone. However, high blood sugar can kill of pancreatic cells so make sure you stick to the diet, pills, etc. that the doctor gives you. And quench your thirst with water, not sugary drinks!

Both types of diabetes are with you for life once you get them. In some ways type 1 is more hopeful in the long term as the search for an cure is concentrating there, but the risk of hypoglycaemia is higher if you use injections.

I find it wierd that some people don't like diet drinks becuase they are worried about aspartame, etc. Any risk of artificial sweeteners has never been proven, while its plain scientific fact that non-diet sugary drinks can basically kill your pancreas and leave you diabetic for life. Go Nutrasweet!

[Ghost]

Any risk of artificial sweeteners has never been proven, while its plain scientific fact that non-diet sugary drinks can basically kill your pancreas and leave you diabetic for life. Go Nutrasweet!

Sorry, but that's wrong. A healthy person drinking diet drinks sends the signal that "sugar" has arrived to the pancreas, resulting in it dispensing insulin- so in fact you waste the stuff when there's no need for it. Too many diet drinks can result in Type 2 quite easily, because after a couple of years you've "spent" a lot of insulin on sugar that was never there.

[Emerald]

Don't worry, the thirst and tiredness will go away after a while. It doesn't happen overnight, but the sugar in your blood will settle down and you'll feel better.

Type 2 diabetics usually don't inject insulin.

In fact, my mother has it, and she functions fine. You even can still eat stuff like cake (especially when you're on the pills) as long as it's all in moderation. But stay away from bread, cereal, etc, and exercise as much as possible.

[SSH]

Any risk of artificial sweeteners has never been proven, while its plain scientific fact that non-diet sugary drinks can basically kill your pancreas and leave you diabetic for life. Go Nutrasweet!

Sorry, but that's wrong. A healthy person drinking diet drinks sends the signal that "sugar" has arrived to the pancreas, resulting in it dispensing insulin- so in fact you waste the stuff when there's no need for it. Too many diet drinks can result in Type 2 quite easily, because after a couple of years you've "spent" a lot of insulin on sugar that was never there.

Can you post any reputable links that can back this up? I mean, ones not sponsored by sugar companies (which a LOT fo them are...)

[Ghost]

Can you post any reputable links that can back this up? I mean, ones not sponsored by sugar companies (which a LOT fo them are...)

It's a fact I learned during some training, but it's also discussed on many forums that focus on diabetes. And when you think about it it makes sense. Insulin is the enzyme needed to transfer sugar from the blood into the cells. Each time food is eaten, the body produces insulin; the sweeter the taste, the more insulin is produced. And the pancreas isn't build to last forever, over the years the production of insulin grows weaker, and enforcing insulin-production by sending false signals, well, will drain your supply faster.

So, basically I can give you my doctor's word for it And a useful link I found...
http://www.gesundheit.de/krankheiten/diabetes-mellitus/insulin-suessstoff/index.html

German, unfortunately, but should be translatable...

[Jack Sheehan]

Well if it is type 1 then i assure you that it's totally manageable. My dad's had type 1 since he was in his mid twenties and hes never had a real problem with it. The injections are such tiny needles that they barely hurt at all and you dont inject them into your veins.

[Domino]

The needles that i inject my cat with are the 30cc short needles (5/16").

I tried one on myself and there is no pain at all, i tried it on my belly. (My ex-girlfriend was a type 1 juvenile diabetic and i watched her take her insulin shots.)

I only did that to see if my cat was experiencing any pain.

I will know Monday about my blood work.

Thanks everyone.

[Emerald]

So, basically I can give you my doctor's word for it

That doesn't sound right.
If what you're saying is true, then consuming sweeteners should make your blood-sugar levels drop considerably (since insulin is released). Which could be very dangerous for diabetics who are on insulin already (not to mention all those sweet things like 'diabetic chocolate' that are falsely advertising being 'safe for diabetics')

However, my mother drinks and eats sugar-free stuff all the time, and she never notices her blood-sugar crashing because of it

[Ghost]

Do not even try to compare the metabolism of a diabetic and a "normally functioning" person. It's tricky. But yours, being healthy, corrects its level of blood-sugar constantly. It's fine-tuning all the time because you can produce insulin and insulin-blockers. A type 1 diabtic cannot control with such precision. To take me as an example, I test my blood sugar three times a day, before each major meal. I take insulin depending on the current state of my sugar level, trying to "hit a certain mark" for the next time. In the meantime I just have to hope that I'll be somewhat average.

But basically you are right, a healthy person drinking a diet drink or similar will have a decreased level of sugar, but not for very long because it's corrected.

[Blackthorne]

Hey Buddy,

I'm not diabetic, but I have End Stage Renal Disease, which means my kidneys have failed and I'm on dialysis.  I can say that diabetes is managable, and it's not as bad as you could think.  Make sure you take care of it, if it is diabetes, or you could end up with failed kidneys and on dialysis, which sucks a major dog bone.

The small diabetes needles are WAY better than the 15 gauge needles I get every other day for treatment.  Two of them, into an A/V fistula (google it) in my arm.  Not fun!


Bt

[Emerald]

A type two diabetic could still produce enough insulin naturally to be dangerous if combined with insulin supplements. In other words, it would be noticeable by anyone keeping tabs on their blood sugar levels...

[Ghost]

A type two diabetic could still produce enough insulin naturally to be dangerous if combined with insulin supplements.

Agreed, yes. Hence the saying: Too *much* of a good thing...

Strangely enough, this thread has made me wondering, or better, being a bit more aware of the whole diabetes issue than I usually am. And, when I consider Blackthornes post, that I am a very lucky bastard.

Hope it turns out all right for you in the end, Domino.

Ghost out.

[Emerald]

The small diabetes needles are WAY better than the 15 gauge needles I get every other day for treatment.  Two of them, into an A/V fistula (google it) in my arm.  Not fun!

Congratulations, you've just earned my admiration 
I'd probably go supernova if I had to be on dialysis.

[Jack Sheehan]

Hey Buddy,

I'm not diabetic, but I have End Stage Renal Disease, which means my kidneys have failed and I'm on dialysis.  I can say that diabetes is managable, and it's not as bad as you could think.  Make sure you take care of it, if it is diabetes, or you could end up with failed kidneys and on dialysis, which sucks a major dog bone.

The small diabetes needles are WAY better than the 15 gauge needles I get every other day for treatment.  Two of them, into an A/V fistula (google it) in my arm.  Not fun!


Bt

This may seem a bit rude to ask but are you on the transplant lists? If so how long will you have to wait for a transplant?

[AGA]

I'm a type 1 diabetic, and have been for more than 20 years now. It doesn't really affect my life in any huge way, other than having to pay more attention to what I eat. With good control you can basically eat anything 'healthy' people do.

Ghost: I've been drinking diet drinks in huge quantities all my life and they've never affected me in any adverse way. It has certainly never been mentioned by the many diabetic specialist doctors I've had over the years.