Do I have diabetes?

Question

Im 13 years old and i kind of think that i have diabetes. Im 5'2'' and weigh 116 pounds. I pee once in about 1-3 hours. and recently I lost 5 pounds and i cant explain why. I went to magic mountain the past day but i dont think that explains it. also my hand got weakened a few months ago for like 1 month. I couldn't write good in school sometimes( could be cause of my sitting position) I started exercising more and its gone. But now i read many articles about diabetes and i have a feeling i have diabetes. Please tell me.

I eat ALOT of fruit and I dont want diabetes so im cutting down on snacks. just additional info.

Answer 1

eat loads of chocolate and find out

Answer 2

Probably not. The best way is to get a blood tests to test the H01AC enzyme. You'll have to go to the doctor for that.

You are not giving certain key symptoms which are often seen with diabetes. That is good news, but not conclusive.

Ok, lets go a little further. There are only so many symptoms to go around, so each disease shares them with some others. As you pointed out, the weakness in your hand may have been from something else.

Losing 5 pounds isn't a big deal. It could have been from a number of other causes, including more exercise, some growing, hot weather, etc. Losing 15 pounds or 20 pounds is an issue.

Best bet is to eat properly. Not too much, not too little. Exercise well, get plenty of rest. If you are diabetic, that will help. If you aren't, it will help keep diabetes at bay for some time. If you are still worried, talk to your doctor. A few simple tests can tell what the situation is.

One more thing. There are urine tests for diabetes. You can try them, but they really won't help much for mild cases. They only show fairly severe cases of diabetes because the kidneys start to dump sugar with levels over 240. Normal is under 120.

Incidentally, if you have a bit of caffeine, chocolate, or other stimulants in your diet, you will urinate more frequently. Also, if you have a small bladder (or are female), urination frequency can be high.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

The only way you can correctly find out if you have diabetes is have your Doctor (MD) authorize for you to have a blood and urine test. I was losing my energy in the afternoons, many times taking a nap. I had never taken naps in my life (I'm older than you). During my annual check-up two years ago, a routine blood test revealed I have diabetes. Of course I was stunned, but not surprised. Diabetes has been in our family for generations.
Your size and weight sounds right. Weakness is not from diabetes.
Anyway, Type II diabetes is controlled with a pill called Glucophage. Again, I recommend you have your parents take you to see a Doc. Diabetes will not change your life.

Answer 5

There are two tests the doctor does. The quick test requires you to fast for 12 hours before the doctor visit. They prick your finger and put a drop of your blood into a scanning machine, which tells them what your blood sugar is and whether it's at a normal level. But that test is only approximate.

The more careful blood test requires them to get a sample of blood about 10 cubic centimeters. It's not a big amount but it's more than the easy test uses. The careful blood test relies on how the cells in the blood sample use sugar over a period of time, so it takes a few days for the results to be ready. The careful blood test will tell you definitely whether or not you are diabetic.

If you are diabetic, the doctor will want to examine your urine to see if there's protein in it, which would mean your kidneys have been damaged. Damaged kidneys have to be really nursed along so they don't fail completely. If they do, you'll either need dialysis or a kidney transplant.

And if you need a transplant there's no telling how long you'll have to wait because every illegal immigrant who needs one will be shunted ahead of you in line just like Jesica Santillan was. Somewhere between two and six American children died because that Mexican girl was jumped to the top of the heart-and-lung organ transplant list.

Answer 6

Perhaps you are worrying too much. The weight loss is probably from cutting back on your snacks or hitting a certain age in puberty. Good for that but be careful how much fruit you eat. Some of it is high in sugar. I have attached Canada's food guide to tell you how much you should have.

You don't mention any of the other symptoms of diabetes that are listed on the web site I have attached and i don't think that the temporary weakening of a hand is an issue.

Perhaps you have some emotional stuff going on and this is causing you to obsess a little? Maybe you need to talk to someone or spend less time on the computer reading about diabetes and more time doing some healthy stuff.

Answer 7

the signs of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes are: excessive thirst, excessive urination, weight loss, fatigue (tiredness). also if you have a strong family history (your mum, grandma etc) then that increases your chances. what you eat plays no part on whether or not you have diabetes, as it is an auto-immune disease that causes your pancreas to stop producing the hormone insulin which in turn transports glucose (energy) into the tissues such as the brain.
stop worrying- diagnosis is simple with a finger prick test to start with, followed up with a blood test if the finger prick is abnormal.
good luck, if it turns out you have diabetes, please e-mail me (through this system), i'd be very happy to talk, i have been a type 1 diabetic since i was 17, i am now 32, and live a completely normal life, always have! trust me, you will be fine! you do sound a bit symptomatic, go and get seen by a doctor, it will put your mind at rest either way. :)

Answer 8

To decide if you have diabetes, you need to have blood and urine tests to find the sugar levels. Diabetes does not affect activity but other diseases could. Does anyone in your family have diabetes? A 5 lb weight loss in a short time is not good but it doesn't mean very much too...we would need to look at the foods, exercises, etc to judge it the loss had any importance. However I suggest that you are worrying a lot about things you have read that may not be a real health problem to you. In Medical School, as we study different diseases, many students imagine that they have those symptoms so as a medical student, I had tuberculosis, beri-beri, leprosy, all sorts of strange worms, horrible skin diseases, and I may have died too...I am not sure if I did...but probably. If your symptoms continue (thirst and frequency of urination...peeing often...dizziness (feeling light headed) or shaky after exercise) then you should go to a physician for evaluation and perhaps treatment.

Answer 9

There are many symptoms to diabetes. One is does your urine look cloudy and not clear?

Are you thirsty all the time, but no matter how much you drink you are still thirsty?

Do you have scratches and/or sores that take an exceptionally long time to heal?

Are one of your parents TYPE I diabetes; in other words, has one of your parents had diabetes since childhood that they must take insulin for?

These are all tell-tale signs of diabetes, and if you exhibit any of these by themselves, tell your mother. If you have a relative with diabetes who also tests their blood sugar, ask them to test your blood sugar after having not eaten ANYTHING for about three hours. If your sugar is higher than 120, go to a doctor. If it's not, don't worry about it. The blood test is extremely accurate.

Don't skitz out. Just based on what you said, it sounds like you don't have diabetes, but good for you for being consious of your health.

Good luck to you!

Answer 10

Most people with diabetes have other major symptoms, like an extraordinary thirst for water, vision suddenly out-of-wack, losing weight rapidly, and being very tired. Only a doctor can diagnose diabetes. Have a parent take you to a pediatrician for a check-up. Good luck!

Answer 11

these symptoms really do not sound like diabetes. a lot of the previous answers here are from people who apparently know nothing about type 1 diabetes! do you have to get up several times during the night to pee? are you really thirsty and hungry and peeing all the time? talk to your parents or the school nurse or both. it is very nice to see a 13 year old who's concerned about health, though. good luck. let us know how this turns out!