Question
Hi Nurse Red,
After Waylon's passing from diabetic related causes I am wondering what are the signs/symptoms one would have if they unknowingly have Diabetes.
I have heard they are sleeplessness and frequent urination but I only drive a truck.
Can you tell me the warning signs here?
Thanks
Big Joe
And thats the bottom line because Big Joe said so.
Answer
Big Joe:
Excuse me for butting in. I know your question was addressed to Nurse Red, and I know she'll answer with her usual extraordinary knowledge and writing skills. But this is something I am very pasionate about, and I would like to offer some observations after my 20-years of Type II diabetes.
The sad part is that there are very few (none in some people) signs of diabetes. Some people have had diabetes for 10 years without knowing it. When mine was diagnosed, I didn't have to urinate any more frequently than the norm. I felt fine. The Doc checked me as a matter of routine during a diabetes awareness campaign.
As far as I'm concerned, the frequent urination and the fatigue associated with untreated diabetes occurs in the late stages. That is, I believe if a person actually has symptoms of diabetes, it's been there a long time.
The best advice I've heard is this:
1. If you are overweight (15-20 %) over the ideal weight for your hight, weight and bone structure, you should be checked every year.
2. If someone in your family, especially a grandparent, has or had diabetes, you should have it checked once a year. It is a simple test, usually blood drawn from a vein. If that test shows positive, then they (or used to--Nurse Red can fill you in on this) do a Glucose (sugar) tolerance test, which involves drinking a sugar drink over a period of about two hours and taking blood samples at various intervals.
This might be more than you wanted to hear, but here it is anyway. You can tell that undiagnosed diabetes is a pet subject for me.
There are two major types of diabetes. One is called Type I and the other Type II. Type I usually occurs in children and used to be called early or child-onset diabetes. In Type I no insulin is produced by the body, so the person has to inject insulin daily for the rest of his or her life. Type II occurs later in life (usually after age 30). In Type II either the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin or the cells of the body do not efficiently absorb or use the insulin that is produced. So, in most Type IIs there is a breakdown in sugar metabolism somewhere.
There are several levels of treatment for Type IIs:
1. Sometimes it is controlled by diet alone. If it's caught in the early stages, this is the usual prescription.
2. Pill plus diet. A myth is that a pill is an insulin pill. There is no such thing as an insulin pill. You can't take insulin by mouth, because it is a protein that the digestive system can't absorb. It would go straight out of the body in urine. So it has to be injected directly into the bloodstream. A pill, depending on what your doctor thinks, works in one of two ways: (1) it helps the body produce more insulin, or (2) it helps the body use more of the insulin it does produce.
3. Insulin. Even some Type IIs eventually have to inject insulin.
It is common for people in the media to refer to Type I as the "serious" type and Type II as the less serious type. But you rarely hear of Type I diabetes dying at an early age. It is the the Waylons of the world that have the problems associated with Type II: heart attack, amputation, stroke, blindness. So, while Type II might be considered the less serious, it cuases more death than Type I, mainly because many of those who have it don't take it serously or it isn't discovered soon enough.
The short answer is: if you are overweight or have a family history, get checked.
Charles Cox
[This message was edited by Cox on February 19, 2002 at 13:27.]
Answer
You gave an excellent reply and I deeply appreciate it.
I am still anxiously waiting for Nurse Red's reply.
And thats the bottom line because Big Joe said so.
Answer
The info provided above was right on target.
The most common signs are excessive thirst, excessive urination (especially at night), shakiness and/or clamminess releived by eating.
It is a very simple test. It can sometimes be initially identified with a urine dip test which shows excessive suger and/or ketones in the urine.
A simple finger stick to test a drop of blood for sugar can be a clue as well.
But to be sure, a lab sample of blood drawn after 8 hours with no food intake is the best diagnostic tool.
Any abnormal results, especially when accompanied by any of the symptoms, warrants further studies.
Now Joe, why do you ask?
Keeping you safe, healthy and on the road.
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