I am an overweight 18 year old female who has been told that my mom’s father had very bad diabetes and lived with seizures for most of his life. Although I am not aware of anyone else in my family having diabetes, my mother has told me I should go to the doctor. I get irritable, depressed and sad, urinate frequently, drink a lot and crave sweets. I become tired and weak often, getting headaches, chest pains and pain in my arms, shoulders and back. I have a fairly balanced diet, although sometimes I am not hungry at all, and other times where I feel I need to keep eating. Could I have diabetes, or something else? Due to past experiences, I’m not entirely fond of doctors, tests or hospitals.

You have asked a very good question. Certainly, due to your genetics you are set up at risk for diabetes. Your symptoms that you list are very often seen in people with above normal blood sugars. Do you have diabetes? The only way to find out would be to have your blood sugar checked. I can understand your reluctance to do this, both because of the medical office issues (we have them here in the States, too!) but also because it’s not easy to believe you might have diabetes in the first place. I really hope you will be able to get a blood sugar test done and know the answer.

If the blood test is normal, it would be wise to have it checked yearly since you are genetically at risk. If the blood test says yes, you have diabetes, I would encourage you to seek the help of a diabetes educator. I know there are several in your area who could help you take charge of this now. It’s not about rules and diets anymore — it’s all about matching diabetes to the life and person you are. We have better medicines than what was available even five years ago, and we know that you must be the diabetes expert. That takes education and skills that only come with experience.

KS