Question:
It seems that as I surf the internet reading about my conditions, I am find
more and more that there is some sort of correlation between all my
particular health concerns:
hypothyroidism (diagnosed 27 years ago)
polycystic ovarian disease (Stein Leventhal syndrome)
(diagnosed 20 years ago)
diabetes (type 2) (2 weeks ago)
sleep apnea (diagnosed 2-3 years ago)
I am also subject to frequent migraines, PMS, chemical sensitivity (such as
perfume, soap and airfresheners), and have an acute sense of smell (which
may somehow play a role in these last symptoms).
Very curious - how many of us are there with more than one of the above
conditions? Also, do your family members also share some of these? In my
case, both my brother and father are apneacs and diabetics.
Answer:
Ahhh, yes seems most conditions are related to or a result of other
conditions.
When Mom was dx'd T2 last March, she received a multiple whammy...
hypothyroid, hypertension, decreased renal function, ventral hernia.
Several months later we were finally able to get her well enough to get her
eyes checked...
cataracts and diabetic retinopathy.
Mom's first experience with diabetes was like hitting the go to jail square
on a monopoly board...
the same time she was being dx'd she was also living one of most diabetics
worst fears - amputation.
She had gangrene and osteomyolitis (sp?) when my brother took her to the
hospital for what she thought was the flu and a swollen foot.
I spent untold hours at her bedside watching her rest and recover. I had
taken off work, so I had nothing else to do but learn about what was going
on with her body - and what I could expect once she was released from the
hospital since she would be moving in with me.
One of the things that made me sit up straight and pay attention was a
newspaper article about pre-diabetes. The article stated that hypothyroid,
low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (sp?) were indicative of
pre-diabetes. I have seen the same thing mentioned several times since then
in a variety of sources.
I knew that I had a genetic disposition to diabetes because so many of my
family on both sides developed it as adults. The article really made me pay
attention because it spoke directly to my own health. I had been dx'd
hypothyroid about a year earlier, and the doc was doing frequent labs and
directed me to a nutritionist to raise my HDL and lower my triglycerides.
She never mentioned pre-diabetes...even though she had been doing annual
fasting glucose on me for years.
So, now I eat what Mom eats, and I test my bg periodically. So far no trend
of high bg numbers - although I did have a couple several months ago that
were high enough for me to prompt the doc to give me another fasting glucose
(95).
Polycystic Ovary Disease is now understood to be linked to severe insulin
resisance, which is the precursor to diabetes for many people. Many people
with PCOS can control it and even get pregnant by taking Metformin (a drug
that reduces insulin resistance) and cutting their carbohydrates to a low
carb level (60 gms a day, say).
Thyroid disease can result in higher blood sugars too. In fact, high
cholesterol and high blood sugars are symptoms that suggest that you should
have your thyroid checked, though lots of us who have the high cholesterol
and sugars are not hypothyroid.
Sleep Apnea is linked to overweight, not to type II diabetes, but as we all
know, people with type II diabetes are more likely to be overweight.
Neither of my parents (now in their late 80s and 90s) have diabetes. But
I've been dealing with abnormal insulin resistance since I was in my 20s and
first had an abnormal glucose tolerance test despite weighing all of 108
lbs.
