Hyperglycemia / diabetes and symptoms

[heyitsme]

I've had my blood sugar checked several times over the past 12 months in relation to my frequent lightheadedness / imbalance. My fasting bloodsugar seems to be around 120-130 usually. I had a glucose tolerance test and it came back "normal". A new doctor just ran an a1c test on me and it came back as 6. I am over weight (not losing weight as I often read about when looking up diabetes).

Does above normal blood sugar always mean diabetes? And could this range (which seems to me to be on the borderline) cause me to feel lightheaded off and on throughout the day most days? My blood tests don't really show anything else out of range (such as TSH). The doc says diabetes is the reason (but I'm a little concerned that it could be unrelated to my symptoms).

Thanks for the advice!

[JDRF Team SGG]

That feeling of hypoglycemia is no fun, so I imagine that you feel pretty crummy when it hits you several times a day. You might want to try keeping some 6-oz. juice cans or small juice boxes handy for those times. You DON'T want to drink a tall glass of juice when this happens, for if your body is over-correcting spikes in glucose,  a tall glass of juice or a soda may stimulate the body to just produce MORE insulin, causing a snowball effect. But a little 6-oz. can of juice may make you feel better by providing a little bit of quit carbohydrate to help even out the glucose levels if they have dropped too low. It can take about 15 minutes for this to raise the glucose levels to normal, but usually, I feel better almost immediately after drinking the juice. Certainly you don't want to be driving a car when feeling this way, for reaction times are slowed when the brain is not having access to enough sugar. It might be wise to keep a small can or two of juice in your car at all times just in case you start to feel this way when on the road.

[JDRF Team SGG]

Your light-headedness and imbalance could be caused by a number of things. You may want to ask your doctor how your blood pressure is running, and if it is high or low, perhaps make some dietary changes. And if blood pressure is normal, it is possible (this is just one possibility, so please don't take this suggestion as a definite answer to your symptoms) that you are feeling funny when your pancreas is working hard to lower elevated glucose levels.

I can feel it when my blood sugar levels are dropping quickly even if they have not reached hypoglycemic levels, and I have heard other diabetic people say the same thing. If your glucose levels rise above the norm a lot during the day, your brain is reacting by asking your pancreas to secrete more insulin in order to lower those levels. When this happens, your glucose then drops either back to normal, or in some people, a little lower than normal. This process can cause a light-headed feeling, sometimes in combination with other symptoms of hypoglycemia:

fatigue
irritability
sleepiness
inability to concentrate
yawning
headache
hunger or nausea
dry eyes and mouth

So if this is the cause, the solution is to keep the sugar levels from spiking higher than normal during the day. It may be a good idea to talk with a dietician to find out what kind of diet might help even out the glucose levels.

If you lower your weight, your body will not need to produce as much insulin in order to keep sugar levels normal, so this probably is indeed the goal you should aim for. We wish you the best.

[heyitsme]

Thank you very much for your comment, I have a feeling this is what my doctor was thinking but he did not explain it any sort of detail (don't get me started about doctors today). Blood pressure is ok (slightly higher than it should be, but nothing to note) and your symptoms do match how I feel. I have been on a lower calorie diet for 3 months now and have lost 18 lbs. So lets hope I can continue that trend (I could stand to lose about 30 more).

Also, the doctor set me up with Diabetes training at the hospital too, so hopefully I can learn some things from that.

Thanks again.

[JDRF-Team-cb]

I am a Type 1 diabetic, so I am not as familiar with Type 2 diabetes-which I think you are describing.  I did look up on http://www.diabetes.org/about-diabetes.jsp, American Diabetes Association website, to make sure I had correct information. It was informative if you want to take a look. It had information about pre-diabetes, when blood glucose levels after fasting are between 100-125.  It says diabetes is indicated when fasting blood sugars are 126 or higher.  Yours are in between those with 120-130. So, this may be something to ask your doctor about. Are you seeing an Endocronologist?-that is a diabetes specialist-sounds like you are, but I wanted to make sure.

Losing weight is not easy!  Are you walking or doing some other activity?  I try to go on my treadmill for 1/2 an hour everyday.  I have several friends who had success with weight watchers.  Have you talked to a dietician?  I was pregnant 2 times and gained 45 lbs. with each and lost the weight-through exercise and healthy eating habits-so it is possible!Hard!!!  So, try and find an activity that you enjoy and speak to someone, ask your doctor for a referral to a dietician.