Is it possible to have diabetes with normal blood tests?

Diabetes
1

My blood tests came back normal but I am having so many of the symptoms of diabetes that I'm worried. I'm 53 years old, 5' 7" and weigh 225 lbs. I also have a pacemaker. With my weight, diabetes is not out of the question.

I am starting with a new family dr next month and I'm wondering if I should bring it up again with this dr or if I'm just being a hypochondriac. Here are a list of the main symptoms I found online, how they manifest in me and why else I may be experiencing that symptom:

INCREASED URINATION: I have had the urgent need to urinate every hour or two for at least 2-3 years. I get up once or twice during the night as well. I can't hold it for more than 10-15 mins. I have twice had accidents on road trips when I wait more than an hour to make a stop! have usually joked that this is a result of my having vaginally delivered 8 babies. My ObGyn says my bladder is not prolapsed and calls it overactive bladder. The medicine he gave me didn't improve anything and after a few months I stopped taking it. I don't remember the name.

DRY MOUTH/EXTREME THIRST: For the last two years I am always thirsty. I have water bottles by my seat on the couch, in my bedroom, and in my car. I used to have one at work but I'm retired. My daughter bought me a table top water cooler because she was tired of filling my water bottle for me (in my defense, I really didn't ask her as often as it seemed to her!). If I don't drink huge amounts of water I have a very dry mouth. However, I'm on a lot of meds mostly for hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, and depression. All of these conditions could alone cause fatigue and just taking that many meds can also cause a dry mouth.

FATIGUE: I'm always sleepy. I can lay down anywhere, anytime and go to sleep. I have sleep apnea and have had a CPAP for around 5-6 years and I wear it religiously. I can't sleep without it. I sleep on average 9 hrs a night and try very hard not to take naps during the day. I go to bed at the same time each night and around the same time every morning. But I am still so sleepy during the day that I have no energy at all and find it difficult to stay awake. My sleep dr even tested me for narcolepsy (Negative).

DRY, ITCHY SKIN: My skin has been dryer the past 5-6 months than normal even though I drink so much water. Does that even effect skin dryness?

INCREASED APPETITE: Definitely! But that may just be due to the fact that I'm retired and not as busy so I eat more. I definitely need more food to fill up than I used to eat. In fact, opposite of weight loss, I have gained weight since I retired 3 years ago. 10-15 lbs

I also found these symptoms but don't have them.

SLOW HEALING CUTS/BRUISES

WEIGHT LOSS

IRRITATED GUMS

NUMBNESS/TINGLING

Also, interestingly enough, my neurologist and my eye doctor have both found something within the last two years that caused them to ask me out of the blue if I had diabetes.

I'm sorry this post is so long but I wanted to include everything you might need to know to answer my question.

Thanks in advance for your answers and advice!

2

Hello "summer".   I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes back in Sept. of 2006.  I had all those symptoms that you have.  It took some lab work and also a glucose lab test, that determined that I diabetes.  Some people are "pre diabetic" and are put on meds like "Metformin", to help keep the blood sugars down to more normal levels.  My doctor says that a range of 75  - 150 is good.  If a person gets at 70 or below, it can be dangerous (low blood sugar) and that person needs sugar to bring it back up.  My Blood sugar at the time of diagnosis was 550.   Very bad.  Today, I am on medications plus diet and exercise.   I wish you well!

3

Thank you for your reply! I will definitely bring it to my new doctor's attention then. My previous Dr just brushed everything off. There is a reason I'm changing Drs after all. He totally missed a serious problem my daughter had and wouldn't order the tests she needed until I insisted.

Thanks

Summer

4

Generally a simple blood test that evaluates your current blood glucose level is the initial stage in diagnosing diabetes.

If the blood test shows that your sugar level is above 125 mg/dl then your doctor will tell you to repeat the test on a different day to confirm a diabetes diagnosis. Or your doctor may immediately command an A1C test, which measures your average blood sugar levels during the last three months. The test found the amount of sugar that has connected to the red blood cells as they move through the blood. The more glucose in the blood, the higher the A1C percentage in a body. The higher the A1C, cases to your large and small blood vessels. Hence every one must go for regular health checkup for keeping their health track.