Comment from: fwoodswoman, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: January 07
I did not have the frequent thirst that most people have. My first symptoms were extreme tiredness. Believe or not, I was first diagnosed with Narcolepsy; a sleep disorder where a person falls asleep uncontrollably throughout the day, even during normal activities. I was "passing out" while working at (of all places) a fast-food establishment. Normal blood tests did not show diabetes. Until I had a glucose tolerance test which showed I had developed diabetes, nothing else was evident. There was also no known diabetes in my family except for what was known back then as "senile diabetes;" my grandfather and my mother were diagnosed after age 60. I was the youngest of my family to be diagnosed with Type II Diabetes at age 19. However, I will also note that I was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia when I was 17 (that's low blood sugar, not high). Therefore, my doctor was quite surprised that I had developed Hyperglycemia (diabetes). I guess I'm just weird many of my friends and family would agree.
Comment from: katfish, 45-54 Female (Caregiver)Published: November 14
My oldest son has type 1 diabetes. He is in his late 20's. He thought he had the flu and laid on the couch for 3 days until his girlfriend took him to the hospital. They finally took his blood sugar and it was 6oo. I do not know where he could have inherited it. I saw on another page that there are related articles on Hashimoto disease and Diabetes. I have Hashimoto disease. Could my son have developed Diabetes from my thyroid problems?
Comment from: KJBB, 55-64 Female (Patient)Published: November 14
When I first had signs of diabetes years ago, it was during a pregnancy. My blood sugar readings were high and I was put on insulin during the rest of my pregnancy. Six years after I had all 4 of my children, the disease came back to stay. I started losing weight, feeling fatigued and eating more, but still losing weight. I seemed to be hungry all the time and always had to urinate. When working out in the yard, I'd work till I was ready to drop. I experienced the shakes, became disoriented, light headed and hungry. For some reason, after I ate I felt much better. Now that I have had this disease for approximately 25 years, I understand what was going on. This is nothing to ignore.
Comment from: Curly, 65-74 Female (Patient)Published: October 13
I did not know I had diabetes till my doctor said so - e.g. I had no symptoms that I recognized. I was sent to have a blood test (annual event), asked to monitor blood sugar over a month or so and was consistently over 5.0 (whatever this means in my instrument).
I did notice that I was thirsty more often than in previous years; I am 67 years old now - diagnosed at 65. I am a bit overweight: 5 ft and 63-64 kg, stopped smoking. Joined Weight watchers and lost 4 kg. My lowest was 60 kg. I worry sometimes about checking my levels: can't seem to get enough blood out of a finger! My hands 'shrink' e.g. they look and feel as if I'd spent hours in water: all shrunk.
My symptoms began with “hot flashes.” I thought I needed to increase my dosage of Premarin. I am the first person in my family ever to be diagnosed with diabetes. I am also the first one in my family to become obese.
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If you think you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
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I did not have the frequent thirst that most people have. My first symptoms were extreme tiredness. Believe or not, I was first diagnosed with Narcolepsy; a sleep disorder where a person falls asleep uncontrollably throughout the day, even during normal activities. I was "passing out" while working at (of all places) a fast-food establishment. Normal blood tests did not show diabetes. Until I had a glucose tolerance test which showed I had developed diabetes, nothing else was evident. There was also no known diabetes in my family except for what was known back then as "senile diabetes;" my grandfather and my mother were diagnosed after age 60. I was the youngest of my family to be diagnosed with Type II Diabetes at age 19. However, I will also note that I was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia when I was 17 (that's low blood sugar, not high). Therefore, my doctor was quite surprised that I had developed Hyperglycemia (diabetes). I guess I'm just weird many of my friends and family would agree.
Related Reading: Narcolepsy | glucose tolerance test | Hyperglycemia