Possible symptoms of diabetes?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi. For a while now (at least a 2 years probably longer) I've been having some odd symptoms and I've just been wondering if they can be symptoms of diabetes. One of the most concerning to me is visual abnormalities. For example earlier on today I was walking through town feeling a bit off. A sort of hard to explain feeling of almost feeling like I'd had a burst of energy but not in a good way. It made me feel sickly and unwell. This was followed a few minutes later by coloured spots infront of my eyes. Very similar to when you look into a strong light in the dark and the colours have burned into your eyes but stronger and slight dizziness. Along with the strange sort of energetic feeling. I had just eaten a subway. I often get these symptoms. Along with others. For example some days needing to urinate frequently (at least once an hour, occasionally more often than that) and sometimes feeling unwell in a way I can't quite put my finger on. Lately I have been eating an unusual amount of sugar (stuff leftover from Christmas that I want to eat before I start a diet) I'm a 32 year old male approx 11st . I'm very active now and have slashed the amount of sugar in my diet compared to 6 years years ago when I was 17 stone and used to live off cola and lucozade and sugary junk. I worry that although I'm alot healthier now maybe my rediculous eating habits when I was younger could have done some lasting damage. Thanks for any advice.
0 likes, 3 replies
Guest No1much
Posted
Hey there!
I'm sorry to hear that you've been having these problems....no fun.
Well, diabetes insipidus is not the same as diabetes mellitus. Diabetes insipidus is when your pituitary isn't producing enough of the hormone called Vasopressin which tells your kidneys to recycle some of your water back into your bloodstream instead of pee it all out.
Diabetes mellitus is a blood sugar regulation issue...maybe you're familiar with it? It is MUCH more prevalent than diabetes insipidus (which is VERY rare...about 1 out of 25,000 people have it).
So....you might want to google your symptoms or even better yet go see an endocrinologist, a specialist who deals with the endocrine system, which is the master of both issues above.
But I can tell you that my symptoms (diabetes insipidus) leaves me feeling very fatigued and very thirsty. Because I pee a very large volume of the water out that I drink instead of retaining it and recirculating it back into my blood, my electrolyte balance becomes way off...probably the reason I get so tired and feel like crap...and become sooooooo thirsty.
I can also tell you that some of the reasons people get DI is either from a blow to the head, which damages the pituitary or hypothalamus (hypothalamus makes the Vasopressin, but the pituitary releases it to the kidneys...so they work together)....or inflammation of the pituitary or hypothalamus.....or a tumor that grows on the pituitary or hypothalamus. These seem to be the more well known origins....or if you've ever had brain surgery or a bad fever/infection...that has also been related to this issue. This has all been things I have honestly done my own research on, since again this condition is so rare and the docs don't know any more than I do after spending some time on google. Sad but true. Actually I'm sure there is an endocrinologist who does have experience with DI, but even I will have to do some research to find one. There are centers that specialize in the endocrine center, worst case scenario....
I am on a drug now called Desmopressin....basically a synthetic version of Vasopressin, and I am honestly just having to experiment with it so far. I have an appointment to get a brain MRI this Tuesday to see if anything is visible that might be affecting my hypothalamus or pituitary like a tumor or inflammation.
As far as your vision issues....I can say that if you do have a tumor growing on your hypothalamus or pituitary, then this can cause vision issues as the tumor takes up space and pushes on your brainstem/etc. Don't let this freak you out, but it is a common thing apparently with DI. Also surgeries are done often in the brain and technology is getting SO GOOD now....so don't worry. Just try to get to the bottom of it.
And perhaps you have diabetes mellitus...in this case high blood sugar can also cause vision issues. But you'll have to do more research about that one. I would definitely get the ball rolling if I were you and go see a doctor. ASAP.
No1much Guest
Posted
Hey wow thanks alot for your detailed reply ! Way above and beyond anything I expected ! Yeah I don't know alot about diabetes to be honest. I just know my nan has it so it's in the family and these symptoms seem to have a correlation to when I've had a meal. They're really odd symptoms and kind of difficult to string together into a Google search hence I thought it'd be easier to go to a forum haha.
It's funny you should mention a blow to the head. I've had a few of them over the years. Including a bicycle accident that cracked my skull a few years back so maybe my symptoms do actually warrant a trip to the doctor. I tend to not really go to the gp tbh because I tend to just get ushered out of there feeling a bit daft like I've wasted their time, but yet I'll definitely do some research on what you've said and try and get an appointment asap. Thanks alot for your response 🙂
Guest No1much
Posted
We all get the same feeling about doctors....believe me!
You have to MAKE them listen to you.
You have to not leave the office until you feel HEARD.
You need to think for yourself and seek out whatever it is that you need, and write down the connections you've made with your symptoms so that YOU are better armed to help arm your doctor with the info that will get you to where you need to go faster.
If you're ushered out of the office don't have an answer yet, then MAKE ANOTHER APPOINTMENT! Do not take that one appointment as an "answer". Be PERSISTENT until you get the answer and SOLUTION you need!
If you are experiencing symptoms around your consumption of food, then it's very likely you may have diabetes mellitus. But go see a doc....and get some answers.
All the best!