So...Could I have diabetes?

[David H]

I'm 17, almost 18. I'm about 5' 11" and I weigh about 200 LBs. I have a decent amount of body fat(it was measured at about 16% during wrestling season a few months ago.)

At my worst I weighed 250 LBs. I lost 60 Lbs in approximately 7 months(gained some back after wrestling season).

Anyways, last week I was having some weird appetite problems. I had about a 30 hour stretch where I had no desire to eat at all. After that my appetite was back to normal. My appetite is all over the place, some days I can eat non-stop, other days I am barely hungry at all. My girlfriend joked that I might have diabetes...I'm kind of worried this could be the case,

There's a history of it in my family. My aunt and my grandma(both on my dad's side) have it, and I believe a few people on my mom's side had it. Looking through the symptoms, I feel like I have a few.

Frequent urination, definitely.
Excessive thirst and extreme hunger, at times. I usually blamed this on my physical activity(boxing, running, etc) but even when I have a rather lazy day I can still be quite hungry. when working out, I get very, very thirsty. I attribute this to the fact that I sweat profusely.
Unusual weight loss, not so much. Like I said, I lost 60 LBs in 7 months last year(from February to September of '06, but I dieted and worked out a lot)
Increased fatigue. I am tired ALL THE TIME. My friends make fun of me for it, but I'm always tired. Today I woke up at 11:30 AM, and at 2:15 I felt ready for a nap.
Irritability, at times. I feel like there is external factors for this more often than not (IE hunger, fatigue). Not too often am I irritable for no apparent reason
Blurry vision. I have this, but I wear contacts. I always thought my prescription was slightly outdated. I also don't really know how blurry we would be talking here. If anything, I feel like my vision is more fuzzy than blurry.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm kind of worried, I really don't want to find out I have diabetes. I am planning on boxing rather seriously, and it would really suck if this stopped me from pursuing my dream.

If I do have diabetes, would kind of effect would it have regarding my boxing training? Would I still be able to box? I know Adam Morrison has diabetes and he's been successful playing college and NBA basketball. What effect does diabetes have on athletic training?

Yeah so I have a lot of questions I guess and most would be better for a doctor, but I figure there are some doctors here, and there are bound to be some diabetics here that could help.

Please don't just tell me "go to a doctor", I'll probably go in a week or two(I'm kind of scared what I'll find out, to be honest), but for now I just want OOT's input. On this note though...if I DO have diabetes, how much harm could I be doing to myself by not seeing a doctor ASAP?

Thanks a lot.

[mbillie1]

Diabeetus. At least [censored] spell it right.

[skunkworks]

[ QUOTE ]
if I DO have diabetes, how much harm could I be doing to myself by not seeing a doctor ASAP?

[/ QUOTE ]
There is absolutely 0 reasoning behind avoiding a doctor's visit. You need to go now so that the doctor can evaluate whether you're just on the road to diabetes or already there. If you're on the road, then you need to change your fatty ways, fatty. Really though, clean up your diet: go visit the health and fitness forum and take a look at what other people are eating.

[David H]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
if I DO have diabetes, how much harm could I be doing to myself by not seeing a doctor ASAP?

[/ QUOTE ]
There is absolutely 0 reasoning behind avoiding a doctor's visit. You need to go now so that the doctor can evaluate whether you're just on the road to diabetes or already there. If you're on the road, then you need to change your fatty ways, fatty. Really though, clean up your diet: go visit the health and fitness forum and take a look at what other people are eating.

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm I definitely have weight to lose but I wouldn't really consider myself a fatty. Right now I'm working on losing about 35 LBs. I'm overweight but I'm not a huge slob. I eat pretty healthy, almost never eat fast food and garbage like that.

[David H]

[ QUOTE ]
Diabeetus. At least [censored] spell it right.

[/ QUOTE ]
You know, I wasn't quite sure how to spell it the way Wilford Brimley pronounces it. Thanks for clearing that up.

[bawcerelli]

the biggest sign is a huge increase in thirst. your body isn't processing sugar, so it responds by increasing water take to flush the sugar out. another sign is significant weight gain in a short period of time.

[hobbes9324]

Uhhhhhh.....no.

A significant weight LOSS over a brief period of time may indicate diabetes - fat people get type II diabetes due to insulin resistance, but it's a long term problem.

Try the poor man's test - go out in the back yard and piss on the patio - if flies swarm around your urine, there's a lot of sugar in it.....


MM MD

[swingdoc]

Lol. Actually, the poor man's test is tasting your own urine. Tastes sweet? Diabetes. This is actually the way docs tested a LONG time ago. Fairly unlikely that you have diabetes just based on what you told us. I'd give it something like 15% chance you do, 85% you don't.

[guids]

[ QUOTE ]
Uhhhhhh.....no.

A significant weight LOSS over a brief period of time may indicate diabetes - fat people get type II diabetes due to insulin resistance, but it's a long term problem.

Try the poor man's test - go out in the back yard and piss on the patio - if flies swarm around your urine, there's a lot of sugar in it.....


MM MD

[/ QUOTE ]


did the op lose the weight on purpose, or did it just happen? does this matter?

[joel2006]

[ QUOTE ]

Try the poor man's test - go out in the back yard and piss on the patio - if flies swarm around your urine, there's a lot of sugar in it.....


[/ QUOTE ]
Gives new meaning to the phrase 'sweet pea'