Diabetes?

[Jade Pray]

I am starting to feel like a hypochondriac here but I was

diagnosed in 2011, I have been gluten free and I still am sick every day.  I know I have celiac disease, I had
both the blood test and the biopsy to confirm, but the amount of symptoms I’m
still having just makes me wonder what else is wrong.  I’ve been researching Diabetes a lot lately and I do have symptoms
but at this point with all the crazy health problems I’m wondering if I’m
seeing more than there actually is. 
Some days I really feel like I’m going crazy.  How do you tell if you have Diabetes?  How severe do the symptoms need to be?

[GottaSki]

Welcome Jade

 

You ARE NOT crazy...you are likely having multiple symptoms from Celiac.

 

How long since you were diagnosed?

 

How long have you been gluten-free?

 

Hang in there...many doctors don't understand how many of your body's systems Celiac Diseae can impact.

 

How can we help?

[EricaM15]

I researched a lot of my own symptoms as well and found that I may have been pre-diabetic and hyper/hypothyroidic (had symptoms of both). My doctors never caught either, although I was asked many times about my family history with diabetes and I was taking a diabetes medication (Metformin) when I was diagnosed with PCOS. The symptoms have mostly gone away (in only 3 months) since I've eliminated foods that I'm intolerant to. Pay close attention to how you feel when you eat specific foods. Your symptoms may go away if you give your body time to heal.

[Juliebove]

I do not have celiac or AFAIK any gluten issues.  Daughter was the one with the gluten issues.  But I do have diabetes and daughter has pre-diabetes.  For both of us, symptoms were weight gain and darkened skin.  We also had extreme hunger.  When your blood sugar is high, your cells are essentially starving because they are coated with sugar and nothing else can get in.  Also a symptom for me was neuropathy in my feet and legs which would indicate that I had it for a long time. 

 

If you have type 1 diabetes, your symptoms could be different.  More likely you'll lose weight.  You'll be extremely thirsty and tired.  You'll probably pee a lot too.

 

It is easy to tell if you have diabetes simply by testing your blood sugar.  If you know a diabetic, see if they will test it for you.  Or buy your own meter.  These days they are cheap and you can get them for around $10.  It is the strips for them that are expensive.  Look for the Walmart brand and I think perhaps the Walgreens brand because their strips are cheaper.  Do check the price of the strips before you buy.

 

Test your blood sugar.  Normal would be around 80.  Any time of the day or night.  If you are much above that, there could be a problem.  Daughter was at 107 the other day and we were told that was high.  Seems they keep lowering the threshold as to what indicates diabetes.  110 or above?  Could be a problem.  140 or above?  Most likely a problem.  180 or above?  Really very likely to be a problem but...  Do not base this one one reading alone.  If your reading is good, then try again on a different day and time, perhaps after eating meal high in carbs.  If the reading is high, even slightly high then for sure try again after another meal, perhaps one high in carbs and again fasting.  Be sure to wash your hands well before testing.  I got one of my highest readings because my husband got pear juice on my hand.  And if you do see a problem, get to your Dr. ASAP!

[GFinDC]

Another test for diabetes is the A1C.  You can get test kits for A1C at some drug stores.

[Jade Pray]

Thanks for the replies. They are very helpful. I have a

really bad and intense sweet tooth and always have. I eat waay to much sugar. I
am constantly thirsty, I pee a lot, I get really hungry some days but often
have a bad appetite. I weigh more than I should by about 30 pounds and do not
lose weight it would seem.  I have
begun to have almost constant headaches, some dull but lasting a long time,
others sudden and sharp but short. I’m always super tired. I bruise really
easily and it never seems to go away.  I have really bad circulation in my fingers and toes (the
literally feel like ice cycles most of the time) these are the reasons I keep
wondering about diabetes. 

Juliebove your information
about what levels actually mean is very helpful (no clue about this stuff) and
I am thinking I might need to just test myself. I refuse to bother with the
useless money grubbing filth that is the doctors in this town until I have
something more concrete.  I might
also look for that A1C test to, thanks GFinDC.

[frieze]

I do not have celiac or AFAIK any gluten issues.  Daughter was the one with the gluten issues.  But I do have diabetes and daughter has pre-diabetes.  For both of us, symptoms were weight gain and darkened skin.  We also had extreme hunger.  When your blood sugar is high, your cells are essentially starving because they are coated with sugar and nothing else can get in.  Also a symptom for me was neuropathy in my feet and legs which would indicate that I had it for a long time. 

 

If you have type 1 diabetes, your symptoms could be different.  More likely you'll lose weight.  You'll be extremely thirsty and tired.  You'll probably pee a lot too.

 

It is easy to tell if you have diabetes simply by testing your blood sugar.  If you know a diabetic, see if they will test it for you.  Or buy your own meter.  These days they are cheap and you can get them for around $10.  It is the strips for them that are expensive.  Look for the Walmart brand and I think perhaps the Walgreens brand because their strips are cheaper.  Do check the price of the strips before you buy.

 

Test your blood sugar.  Normal would be around 80.  Any time of the day or night.  If you are much above that, there could be a problem.  Daughter was at 107 the other day and we were told that was high.  Seems they keep lowering the threshold as to what indicates diabetes.  110 or above?  Could be a problem.  140 or above?  Most likely a problem.  180 or above?  Really very likely to be a problem but...  Do not base this one one reading alone.  If your reading is good, then try again on a different day and time, perhaps after eating meal high in carbs.  If the reading is high, even slightly high then for sure try again after another meal, perhaps one high in carbs and again fasting.  Be sure to wash your hands well before testing.  I got one of my highest readings because my husband got pear juice on my hand.  And if you do see a problem, get to your Dr. ASAP!

actually neuropathy can be a presenting symptom for DM II,  have you tried benfotiamine?  That is fat soluble thiamine, it seems some diabetics and some alcoholics don't absorb thiamine in the usual fashion and need the fat soluble kind.  good luck

[nvsmom]

Since you have been gluten-free for so long, I think it is wise of you to look into other autoimmune causes.  A few other autoimmune disorders you might want to consider are:

 

Hashimoto's thyroiditis - can cause weight gain, head aches, appettite changes, cold intolerance, dry skin, fatigue, easy bruising and hair loss. If you get tested for this, your TSH (ideally) should be near a 1, free T4 and free T3 should be in the 50-75% range of your lab's normal reference range, and your TPO Antibodies should be almost non-existent. hashi's is the most common AI disorder and fits many of your symptoms.

 

Raynaud's syndrome - affects circulation and sufferers get such cold extremities that they actually turn white or blue.

 

Thrombocytopenia - (or ITP)  is low platelet count from nuritional deficiencies or an autoimmune attack on your platelets.

 

Best wishes to you. I hope you feel well soon.

[Juliebove]

Thanks for the replies. They are very helpful. I have a

really bad and intense sweet tooth and always have. I eat waay to much sugar. I

am constantly thirsty, I pee a lot, I get really hungry some days but often

have a bad appetite. I weigh more than I should by about 30 pounds and do not

lose weight it would seem.  I have

begun to have almost constant headaches, some dull but lasting a long time,

others sudden and sharp but short. I’m always super tired. I bruise really

easily and it never seems to go away.  I have really bad circulation in my fingers and toes (the

literally feel like ice cycles most of the time) these are the reasons I keep

wondering about diabetes. 

Juliebove your information

about what levels actually mean is very helpful (no clue about this stuff) and

I am thinking I might need to just test myself. I refuse to bother with the

useless money grubbing filth that is the doctors in this town until I have

something more concrete.  I might

also look for that A1C test to, thanks GFinDC.

Keep in mind that the A1c is meaningless unless it is high.  If high that clearly indicates diabetes.  But you could have an average or even low one and still have diabetes.  I have.