Hands and feet swollen diabetes?!
Question: My hands and feet get swollen and it feels like im having not very good blood circulation going on. I live in a small town and to be honest I dont think the doctor office I go to is testing me r for it the right way. I dont have other options to see another dr unless i drive to the hospital and go into the er room or drive abt an hour from home to another dr and ask to be tested for it there. I have been asking for a test done every year at my dr office just to be safe because it does run in my family. Every year when they test me for it they just draw blood. Recently someone told me they should have had me fast and then give me this drink THEN draw blood to test me for it. Does this sound right to you?
Answers: My hands and feet get swollen and it feels like im having not very good blood circulation going on. I live in a small town and to be honest I dont think the doctor office I go to is testing me r for it the right way. I dont have other options to see another dr unless i drive to the hospital and go into the er room or drive abt an hour from home to another dr and ask to be tested for it there. I have been asking for a test done every year at my dr office just to be safe because it does run in my family. Every year when they test me for it they just draw blood. Recently someone told me they should have had me fast and then give me this drink THEN draw blood to test me for it. Does this sound right to you?
Hey, friend! You have paid to have the blood draws done. Ask the doctor's office for copies of all the results as far back as they go.
You have paid for them and are entitled to them. So get them!!
Look specifically at the HbA1c line! it should be 5.5 or under for normals!!
Swollen hands and feet are not a symptom of diabetes, but of heart disease, and water retention!!! Go to a cardiologist and have this checked out!!!
Some of our family doctors don't have all the latest info. They are way too busy seeing as many patients as they can in a day. This is the way their offices work. Especially in small town. Too many people, too little time, absolutely no time to do research like you and me have. Don't blame them, just blame society!
You don't need to do the syrup test, but you do need the fasting blood draw! Syrup test is officially known as Glucose Tolerance Test.
Tell the doctor you want a fasting blood draw done for several reasons.
1. diabetes in family
2. swollen ankles
3. blood draw non fasting won't check for cholesterol either.
You can be diagnosed with a blood test. If one test is inconclusive, say, it's sort of high, but not extremely, then they schedule more tests and might have you come in first thing in the morning before you've eaten anything. The test your friend described sounds like a glucose tolerance test, which is something they do during pregnancy to determine if a woman has gestational diabetes, but it is not usual done to diagnose diabetes in a non pregnant person. If you have several slightly out of range blood sugars consecutively, your doctor might recommend that you buy a monitor and check your blood sugar at home for a while, and keep a record of the readings and other pertinent information such as meal times, etc. A diabetes diagnosis is pretty straightforward and hard to screw up. Your hands and feet swelling are not really symptoms that would make someone suspect that you have diabetes. Diabetics sometimes do have poor circulation, but that's not usually a symptom that people present with prior to being diagnosed as diabetic.
What they are talking about is a glucose tolerance test. It proves the bodies ability to deal food that you eat. It is a good test and takes about 4 hours to do. The other test your doctor should be doing is a H A1C which shows what your average glucose level has been for the past 3 months. Should be below 7. To be diagnosed as a diabetic you should take your glucose level twice a day for 2 week. Upon waking and before the evening meal. If any level is above 170 you probably are a diabetic. As for you hands and feet swelling, sound like it could very well be bad circulation caused by diabetes. See when the glucose levels go up the circulation gets sluggish and swelling occurs. You really need to have a full physical by a doctor you trust as swelling can come from many different disorders. also do you have other symptoms like excessive thirst, nighttime bathroom calls, Any discolored areas around you neck or chest, unexplained weight loss. See a good doctor.
You can be diagnosed with a blood test.