So confused....

How am I supposed to figure out what to do when my doctors can't even agree? 

My internist sent me to a neurologist as my left thigh is totally numb.  She wanted to rule out diabetic neuropathy as my blood sugars were borderline and have been for a long time.

He says - probable neuropathy and sends me for an oral tolerance glucose test.  I do the fasting, didn't cheat at all.  Go in and drink the horribly sweet glucose drink.  Get lightheaded and nearly pass out 45 minutes later, and the lab tech makes me lie down.  Go back to the neurologist 3 days later - he says I'm diabetic.  2 hour oral glucose tolerance test showed 132 fasting blood sugar, and 208 2 hours later.

I go back to my internist to ask what to do next - what kind of diet, what to avoid (other than sugar and most carbs), how often to test, etc.  She insists on doing another test - fasting blood glucose.  I got the results today.  She sent me the actual sheet from the lab showing fasting glucose of 87, underlined it, and said it was NORMAL.

Ok, so the docs don't agree.  I've been using a monitor for three weeks now, testing daily.  I'm all over the place.  Average is 131.  I am now testing first thing in the morning, and 2 hours after dinner.  Sometimes my numbers are real high in the morning, and sometimes they're real low.

The neuro also ordered an A1C - it was 5.9 which is normal.  He said that just means that I have recently crossed the line from pre-diabetes to diabetes.

Just wish I could get a definite answer here.  In any event, the neuro said that surgery will definitely take care of it. 

Ugh...  just wish I had a surgery approval and date.  I'm impatient, but must learn to sit tight and hurry up and wait.

Sorry for the rant - just had to get it off my chest. 

 

 

Hang in there.  If your are diabetic now, then that is one more co-morbiditiy that the insurance company can look at to determine that you are a candidate for surgery.  If you are not diabetic, then thank God that you don't have it yet, as it is so often a side effect of the weight.  In either case, having weight loss surgery eliminates diabetes so often and so quickly.  So hang in there and let the insurance company do their thing.  Your date will come soon enough.  From the tone of your letter, I assume that you are waiting on insurance approval.  They often take their sweet old time.  Karen

Yes, I am waiting on insurance approval.  My packet should be going to the insurance company any day now.  Dr. E's office said they are about 2 weeks behind, and they'll send me a letter when they send it off.  You can bet I'm checking the mail first thing every evening to see if I have a letter from his office.

The encouraging part is that I was told by their insurance person that my insurance usually approves people pretty quickly with little or no "strings" attached if BMI is over 40 or there are co-morbidities. 

Sigh...  thanks for your words of encouragement!

I took an A1C test a couple of months before surgery, and was 6.0. My doctor told me that 6.1 indicates diabetes. So I thought I was just really close to having it. If I were you, with all the different information you have been getting, I would want the opinion of an endocrinologist. They usually know more about diabetes than other doctors. Good luck.

Although not officially diabetic, you appear to be pre-diabetic or glucose intolerant (or insulin resistant, whatever you want to call it).  Basically, you're on your way to diabetes.  But that doesn't explain the thigh numbness.  Diabetes tends to cause peripheral neuropathy, affecting the feet and hands first ... and usually only after you've had diabetes for awhile.  The neuro or internist should've suggested an MRI of the lumbar spine and possibly an EMG to test the nerves.  Docs don't always get it right the first time, and the tests aren't always 100% clear and concise.