Pre-Diabetic?? Excuse Me....

[mufasas-mom 170]

Ok - little background. Last year i had knee surgery and the dr. at the hospital said I have pre-diabetes..they tested me several more times while i was at the hospital but nothing further was mentioned - so I assumed that my blood sugar level had spiked then went back to normal. Fast forward 1 year later - was hospitalized with pnumonia, for 5 days and on short term disability for 5 weeks going through breathing treatments - feel terrific now as this was about 2 months ago.

Then this morning - I get a call from my Carewise nurse following up from my recent hospital stay and such and asked how I was doing with my diabetes.....I was like - um....I don't have diabetes as far as I know of - told her about the prior year when dr. mentioned pre-diabetic then nothing since then. Apparently my blood sugar was elevated while i was in the hospital and nobody noticed it - although I was being seen by a pulmonary dr, maybe he didn't notice it or didn't look at those results....Had the insurance nurse not looked at my records.....well who knows. So i promptly phoned my doctor and asked about it - they requested the testing results from the hospital and Lo and behold....they were elevated.

Going in tomorrow for all sorts of blood work to find out what's up....THANK GOODNESS I've started this journey w/lapband and hope to be banded by August 2012 - so I can get rid of this excess weight....

Thank goodness for insurance....although I complain about it - I'm so thankful I have it.

wonder if I do have diabetes (which I hope i DO NOT) if that would get my surgery pushed up a couple of months? I'm in month 4 of my 6 month wait-a-thon.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

Your story just goes to show that patients need to be their own advocates regarding medical info and care. When I was in the hospital a few weeks ago, waiting to be taken to surgery prep, I started feeling dizzy and sick and called a nurse to ask her to check my blood sugar (since I'd been on a clear liquid diet the day before and had nothing to eat or drink since midnight). The nurse who answered said, "Your blood sugar? Are you diabetic?" Well, yes, isn't it in my patient file? Isn't that kind of important for y'all to know?!

I've never heard of someone's surgery getting moved up because of a diabetes diagnosis. Not impossible, but unless you have uncontrolled diabetes with serious complications like neuropathy, vision loss, kidney failure, etc., I don't think anyone's gonna get excited about it. Which is kind of sad when you think about it, but diabetes is getting to be such an epidemic in the US, it seems to be losing its power to frighten people.

[kmt1973 92]

You can be so called "pre-diabetic" (theres really no such thing) for years and years. Your sugar spiking while in the hospitl is usually a false high brought on by medication. If you are concerned have your dr. prick your finger for a simple hemoglibin A1C. It will tell what your blood sugars are averaging over a three month period. Insurance won't rush you up for surgery bc of diabetes, however, it will help w getting approved. Good luck, with it all. If you are a diabetic then simply cutting out carbs or most carbs will bring it under control most times.

[kmt1973 92]

Sorry, I meant hemoglobin* c:

[mufasas-mom 170]

thanks - that's one of the tests they are doing tomorrow morning - have to fast tonight after midnight....no coffee in the morning so i feel sorry for those nurses - I'm gonna be quite the grumpy old lady....

[jen_1381 446]

My first thought - you said you were in the hospital for pneumonia and breathing treatments - most likely they had you on steriods to help your lungs. Steroids can greatly raise your blood sugar. Do you feel like you have any symptoms of diabetes? I know there is a huge debate on whether "pre-diabetes" even exists among doctors, most believe that you either are or aren't. It will be interesting to see what your A1C is.

[mufasas-mom 170]

i'm sure i was on some type of steroids during my treatment - although they only took blood from me the day I arrived at the hospital - after that I had one more blood test the next morning. however, the year prior when i was in the hospital and had knee surgery that's when the doctor told me i was pre-diabetic - I was not on any steriods and such, as i was admitted for chest pains and vision loss (which went away). But they never came back and told me that I needed to be seen on any basis for diabetes - so i thought i was fine.... oh well - guess we shall see tomorrow when i go in for these tests.

how long will it take I wonder to get the results back on my bloodwork.....

[Lilbelly 31]

I am Diabetic. I think it might take a week or possibly 2 days to get your results back. It all depends on how quicky your medical center is. I am hoping to lose my diabetes after I lose my weight. We will see. I am sure I will always have to be careful. Good luck at your appt.

Why don;t you just ask your surgeon is he will operate on you sooner. You never know til you ask!

[justathing2me 146]

I was recently told that I was pre-diabetic with an a1c of 5.8.

[Bjc1227 64]

My regular doctor told me last fall that I was pre-diabetic. I was somewhat freaked out, so I did some reading on what foods to avoid. I did't really change much except eating fruit instead of drinking juice, and cutting back on breads. The next time I saw the doctor he said all my levels were normal. Now, if I could only do that with my blood pressure.

[kmt1973 92]

Thats crazy, an A1C of 5.8 means your sugars have occasionally got in the 120's which is pretty normal. You want your sugars to be between 80 and 120. That is normal. And A1C's of 5 or under are excellent. I hate when drs scare people with pre-diabetes diagnosis. Oh, and if you do have diabetes MAKE SURE YOU SEE A DR THAT HAS EXTRA TRAINING AND IS UP TO DATE ON DIABETES. I've found myself, on several occasions telling or correcting the drs on information. Like someone said, "be your own advocate."

[kmt1973 92]

P.S. I'd rather have my diabetes than any other disease.....at least its something that you can control and ALL side effects are preventable.

[Jean McMillan 2,973]

I am Diabetic. I think it might take a week or possibly 2 days to get your results back. It all depends on how quicky your medical center is. I am hoping to lose my diabetes after I lose my weight. We will see. I am sure I will always have to be careful. Good luck at your appt.

Why don;t you just ask your surgeon is he will operate on you sooner. You never know til you ask!

Weight loss alone can stop diabetes in its tracks. In July 2007 (2 mos before my surgery) my A1C was 7.4. In December 2007 (2 mos after my surgery) it was 5.9.

[m1aman 944]

Weight loss alone can stop diabetes in its tracks. In July 2007 (2 mos before my surgery) my A1C was 7.4. In December 2007 (2 mos after my surgery) it was 5.9.

Weight loss can help with type 2 diabetes.

[mufasas-mom 170]

went to the doctors office this morning and they drew 3 vials of blood - they said they would get the results by Friday. I'm ok with that. I have one of the one touch meters at home when my boss bought me one when i got the 'pre-diabetes' chat last year. I tried using it last night - but it kept giving me errors. oh well....just have to wait and see. Least my dr office has an online lab results website where i can log in and check for my results. I'm sure all will be fine....was just a little disturbing getting a call like that from my insurance nurse