Suggest Ways To Diagnose Diabetes

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 5 Nov 2015 Answered on

Wed, 25 Nov 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi. I am a 45 year old woman 5'4" and 195lbs. All my life I have been hypoglycemic needing to eat every 3-4 hours or I would pass out. Now my Dr. ran an A1c test and it came back as 6.8. So that's it? I am diabetic? He wanted to put me on meds immediately but I requested a GTT test first. I'm pretty upset about this. There is no history of any diabetes in my family but I feel like that one test has just changed everything. Obviously I am traking my calories and working out more but honestly, at 1,400 cals a day, I still don't lose weight.

Answered by Dr. Shehzad Topiwala (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Diabetes

Detailed Answer:
Sorry to note your distress. An OGTT is a good way to confirm whether or not you have diabetes. All these years when you experienced hypoglycemic symptoms , did you ever check your glucose levels at the time of the episodes ? If yes , how low did it go? When I see someone like you in my practice I order the following tests in addition to a thorough physical examination: CBC, CMP, TSH. I would also look for other medical conditions that cause diabetes such as Cushing's syndrome and Acromegaly

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar