November 17, 2002
Complications, Diagnosis and Symptoms
Question from Shelbyville, Kentucky, USA:
During my first pregnancy, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, and during my second and third with “carbohydrate intolerance”. During all three pregnancies, I dropped sugar and watched my diet, but I am still 50 pounds overweight, fatigued all the time, and have been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. I have had a three month test that is normal, and they also tested for B-12 deficiency and hypothyroidism.
I really feel that something must be wrong, but most everyone chalks it up to the fact that I’m a working mother of three. However, however, I am in so much pain with the neuropathy, I often find it hard to keep going without major amounts of ibuprofen. Is it possible that I have a mild form of diabetes? Are there any other routes to go when talking to my doctor?
Answer:
Diabetic neuropathy usually occurs in people with longstanding type 1 diabetes, not gestational diabetes. So those symptoms may have a separate cause. If your glucose testing is normal, then you do not have diabetes.
OWJ
