Diabetes question....Can You Get This at Any Age?

Hey K.,
The best thing you can do is go to the doc and get a test done. It's really important to do that. Diabetes can show up at any age. It is more usual to develop it if you're overweight, but if the pancreas stops working right, it can happen no matter what you weight or age.

You should also have your thyroid checked.

Hugs!
D.

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Well, to answer your title question.... yes, you can get it at any age.

There are 2 types of diabetes.

Type 1 is just that your pancreas stops producing insulin. Not really about your "lifestyle" - just about your pancreas. You get it if you get it. And it's the most difficult to manage, in my opinion.

Type II diabetes is basically about your lifestyle is inhibiting your bodies ability to metabolize your insulin. Most of the time (but not all) this is lifestyle dependent, ie if you lose weight and eat healthy this will be managed. My daughter's dad is Type ll diabetes. It is totally weight dependent. If he goes above 275 then his body "forgets" how to process insulin. If he looses weight and drops below 275 he can go off meds and everything is fine.

You should go to your Dr and have a glucose tolerance test. It's the only way you can be sure.

Good Luck.

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My husband was 29 and began dropping weight rapidly without changing his eating or exercise habits (he was a little overweight at the time). He lost about 20 pounds in two months and became very thin. At the same time as he was losing the weight he began urinating excessively and was extremely thirsty all the time. Other than that no real complaints--maybe a bit tired. It turned out he had acquired Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes at age 29. So, I think it is probably worth a visit to your family doctor to get checked out. Good luck!

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It could be anything from a vitamin deficiency, hypoglycemia, anemia, to thyroid levels.... Hypoglycemia can turn into diabetes. I would get bloodwork done just to make sure everything is balanced. Also, try eating small snacks throughout the day.

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well, yes it could be diabetes....you present classic symptoms & it can develop at any adult age.

BUT, one more thought, you are also describing the early signs of pregnancy as I have experienced them......
* you're peeing like crazy
* you've been feeling loopy
* craving water (no, not really a symptom)...but "something a lot more"....is
* you're tired & need to sleep more
* sometimes you can't sleep

I can honestly say "yes" to all of the above when I am pregnant!

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Get some bloodwork done. I just went through all the same symptoms you have. I am 36..and I had first started experiencing the symptoms a couple of years ago...but only had bloodwork done this year. I eat a whole foods diet.(have for many years) I exercise about 1-2 hours a day. I am really healthy. I have excellent blood pressure and very low cholesterol. My bloodwork showed that I am very very close to being type 2 diabetic...by .02 percent. My doctor (and all the research I have been doing) says that diabetes can be totally genetic, even when someone is completely healthy..that it has to do with a gene that is altered..that aids in the production of insulin. Some diabetes can be prevented by lifestyle choices, but apparently mine cannot. It is scary, but I recommend finding out for sure so you can make the necessary changes in your life. Good luck!

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You can get it at any age. Common signs are drinking a lot, peeing a lot, eating a lot, and loosing weight, increased fatigue, acting strangely, and a funky fruity breath. type 1 is more common in children but type 2 is common in adults. I would go to the doc just to get your glucose checked. Who knows, maybe you have diabetes insipidus, which is slightly different but characterized by wanting to drink constantly.

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Some people are born with it, sometimes healthy kids get it. So yea you can get it anytime. If your concerned I would go to the dr and get your glucose checked. But just because you pee alot doesn't mean you have diabetes. See a dr even if it's for peace of mind :)

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My 22 year old daughter was just diagnosed a month ago. =(
The extra urinating and unquenchable thirst were symptoms she had, but also, if she didn't eat, she would get shaky until she ate. Sometimes an irregular menstrual cycle (missing for several months at a time, having it for several weeks in a row) tend to be linked also.
With you living a healthy lifestyle, I kinda doubt diabetes is your problem. Not exactly sure what it would be, or if you actually have a problem at all. I drink coffee and tea, which makes for many trips to the restroom for me as well. =) The loopiness could be a concern tho.
Maybe you should keep track of the loopiness, the times of day you feel loopy, and if it's before or after you eat, and also if it happens near the time you exercise.
If you continue to have problems, it wouldn't hurt to get a check up. I would be interested in your outcome-I do hope it is something simple, and not diabetes.
But on the plus side, if it is diabetes, if you do your part, it doesn't have to be a life altering illness that takes over your life. Ever since my daughter has been diagnosed, she has followed her dr.'s directions, and she is getting better and better. She should be able to go to pill form insulin in December, and since she started eating according to her body's needs, her sugar has stabilized beautifully!
My best wishes to you! I do hope you'll let us know!

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Hi K.,

Extreme thirst, drinking lots and subsequently weeing lots are a common sign of diabetes as is fatigue. Yeast infections and cuts that don't heal are also signs.

If you don't have a family history of it and it appears you do not have any of the risk factors I wouldn't be too concerned. Did you have GD while pregnant? Woman that have had GD are something like 50% more likely to develope type 2 diabetes. If you are still worried, just ask your doctor.

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Diabetes can develop for a number of reasons, not just being overweight. Definitely get checked out if you're concerned, though, because if left untreated, there can be VERY serious issues. Found this online, and it sounds like the more likely type if you WERE to have it. HTH!

http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/type-1-diabetes

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At your age you can have type1 as well as type2. Simple accucheck blood sugar test can tell if you are at risk. If you at any time (before or after meal ) higher than 200 - you are or you are developing it. You can also test your blood in the morning before eating (fasting), if you are higher than 110 - you need to see the doctor. Accucheck can be done in small clinics, Walgreen, at your doctor, you can even buy the machine over the counter.

When a person starts having excessive urination, thirst, dry mouth and tiredness those are advance stages of diabetes. If it is on your mind - check it out. By what you are describing, I cannot tell yes or no.

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There are two forms of diabetes. Type One usually comes on during childhood, occasionally later, and is an auto-immune disease resulting in the body attacking and disabling the pancreas. The outcome is an inability to produce insulin and shuttle digested sugars into the muscles that need them for energy. No insulin eventually results in death, and in Type One, this can happen in a fairly short period of time. A common side effect is production of huge amounts of urine as the kidneys attempt to dump some of the sugar from the blood. Thirst, hunger, weakness and weight loss are common, too. Insulin must be injected daily to maintain life.

Type Two is usually later onset, though many obese younger kids with poor diets are becoming victims. For this one, you need a diabetic gene that disrupts your body's ability to regulate how much insulin is released in response to eating carbohydrates, resulting in too much insulin being released too often, in essence "wearing out" the cells that produce that hormone.

Very early (pre-diabetic) Type Two symptoms include blood-sugar crashes (hypoglycemia), with weakness, headaches, and light-headedness. Later on, the body becomes insulin resistant and it takes more and more insulin just to ferry the sugar from the blood into the cells, further taxing the pancreas. Eventually, it stops making insulin from overwork, and insulin is needed as injections.

Since you are young and fit, Type Two is unlikely, but not impossible. If you are genetically predisposed, you can still get that. But either form of diabetes is dangerous, and you really should see your doctor right away if you have any reason to suspect this is your problem. Wishing you luck.

Go get yourself checked out. It doesn't hurt especially if there is family history of diabetes.

My husband was just diagnosed with Type 1 adult onset of Juvenile diabetes. He was 34. Apparently there are now 3 types, the Juvenile one get you get as a kid or early teens, adult onset and then Type 2. Get tested and good luck. He is compeltely under control and lives a normal life, he eats and drinks whatever he wants. All in moderation of course.

Sometimes when you drink more, you pee more. However, one of the signs of diabeties is excessive urination, feeling thirsty all the time, fatigue, excessive hunger, hypoglycemia, blurred visions, change in mood,etc. if you have more then one of these symptoms most of the time i would go to your doctor and get a glucose blood test, just to check it out.

I absolutely agree with Sue H on all points, she said exactly was I was about to say. Hope you get it figured out!

Hi! You should go to the Dr. and get a blood test of your hormones, maybe a urine test. Could be Thyroid, or something that mimics diabetes (with the thirst), but if really caused by missing a hormone. I'm forgetting the name of it, but they can test for it with a urine test (first thing in the morning).
Good luck!

A friend of mine recently got the autoimmune diabetes mellitus ("Type 1" "Juvenile-onset" ) and he was 25 years old. GET TESTED - the sooner the better.

Peeing like crazy and being tired can also be a kidney problem, or something called diabetes insipidus which is NOT "diabetes mellitus" but rather, has to do with sodium regulation and water retention (or actually, not retaining it). That can be a problem in the kidneys or a problem in the pituitary/brain.

And here is a "funny" (not). Some in my family have a quirk and always did need more water perhaps than some others, but my water consumption and peeing went through the roof, and here I was like you - eating healthy, exercising, no junk food. Well, you know how all the doctors say, "Cut down salt, cut down salt" - I NEEDED more salt! It took a while to get my mind wrapped around the idea that if I ate more salt I would be LESS thirsty and pee less. Huh??? Well, apparently you need enough salt to balance our water levels in our body, and we cannot retain the water we NEED if we don't have enough salt. After 2 doctors and a dietitian said to purposely consume more salt, I did, and voila - problem solved. Oh - I had needed more sleep because I kept needing to get up and pee.

So there you have it - 3things I know of that can cause this, and maybe there are more reasons that I just don't know... so it is imperative you see a doctor.