do i have type 2 diabetes?

[mimi-moomoo]

now i could just be being paranoid but lately (over the past year or so) i've noticed my sugar cravings go up massively. i always eat a well balanced diet considering my lack of exercise so i've ruled out the possibilty of aneamia. at first i thought it was me being piggy but now i'm realising that i can eat a nice meal and be full up but still needing a sugar fix. i ask whether it is diabetes because i recently read an article saying that you often feel quite tired which i'm noticing a LOT lately. can anyone help me? at the tender age of 15 i can't say i'd love to make a doctors appointment :S.

[redcrx]

Many people dont even know theyve got it and the test is so simple.

Ive got a glucose tolerance test tomorrow morning in fact (i got gestational diabetes when pregnant and now need it checked to make sure its gone now ive given birth)

Its 12 hour starvation from tonight then a blood test at 8.30 in morning. I then have to drink 410mls of lucozade and wait at doctors for 2 hours and then have blood taken again.

the results are back in a week

At 15 many things can make you feel tired, one of which is just the downer you get after a sugar rush. as well as hormones, growth spurts and general diet.

Have a word with your GP and see what they suggest

[sqad617]

No, you say that you are 15yrs old and that answers your question. Type 2 diabetes or late onset diabetes occurs from late miidle age.

[mimi-moomoo]

thanks a lot :) i think i may get checked out just to see whats causing my munchies

[Ethel]

You can get Type 2 diabetes at 15, and younger:

Who is at risk of type 2 diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes usually develops in people over the age of 40, and the risk of getting it increases with age. However, it is becoming increasingly common among overweight children in the UK.

http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/diabet es2.html

Speak to your GP

[Abdulmajid]

I think Lloyds Chemist/Pharmacy do a quick free check now.

[Jugglering]

Please make an appointment to see your GP (or your practice nurse if they have one) and get some proper advice on what is causing these cravings and the tiredness. Two of the other symptoms of diabetes are a severe thirst (and hence going to the loo a lot because of the amount of water being consumed) and being very tired. Your symptoms could be caused by any number of problems, not just diabetes, so don't guess, go get it checked out. It may well turn out to be absolutely nothing to worry about, but until you have a proper check up you won't know. Don't worry about *bothering* the GP - that is what they are there for !

[foodluva]

Your practice nurse can dip stick your urine to establish the presence of glucose. Why don't you make an appointment? Sugar cravings can also be a sign of vitamin deficiency!

[Abdulmajid]

I appreciate I am not the most listened to person in the world, but as I said LLOYDS do it for free, there and then.

Why waste the tax payers money on going to a quack???

[bednobs]

gtting cravings for sugar is NOT a symptom of diabetese, either type 1 or 2

[pink_chick]

Are you having enough carbs in your diet? are you over weight? does it run in your family (type 1).
Moreover, what makes you think it is type 2 apart from articles on the internet?

Like most of the replies, go to Lloyds chemist and get the free check hun, and tell your parents if you are really worried as they might help a lot in regards to family genetics and illnesses!

Joanne, Adult Nurse.

[Jugglering]

The reason I would suggest you actually do go to your GP rather than a pharmacist is that they will take some samples of your blood and test for a range of potential problems, rather than just diabetes. Your symptoms do NOT sound like diabetes to me but since there is obviously something up, please get it checked out correctly.