What should I do next if I'm worried that I have symptoms suggestive of diabetes?

Doctor's Answer

Thank you for your question and I can understand your concern.

The simplest way to check whether you have diabetes, is to arrange a fasting blood test with your local GP surgery. You will need to fast for 10-12 hours (overnight) and then have the test done prior to consuming any food or drink.

There are some risk factors that come to mind, namely, do you have a family history of diabetes, are you carrying more weight that you should be (i.e. elevated BMI), have you been taking any supplements or medications, such as steroids, to help your gym activities? While none of these might apply, it is important for a clinician to ask these.

Equally, there are other symptoms to consider such as night time and excessive urination, weight loss and fatigue.

If it turns out that you have developed diabetes, it is important that you continue to exercise, as this has been found to help with control of blood sugars - indeed, some people who develop pre-diabetes, can reduce their risk of developing diabetes by taking up exercise.

Overall, I think the most sensible thing to do is check if you are concerned by taking this relatively simple blood test.

BW

Dr Dinesh

Ask any health question for free

I’m not so sure about a procedure...

Ask Icon Ask a Question

Join Human

Sign up now for a free Human account to get answers from specialists in Singapore.

Sign Up

Get The Pill

Be healthier with our Bite-sized health news straight in your inbox