Insulin resistance symptoms

GinaII · 09-03-2009, 12:03 PM

For many years I have been having "episodes" where I feel really sick and sometimes faint and dizzy. They are resolved by eating something. Sometimes when I feel really really ill, I have to eat a spoon of sugar to get it over with quickly.

This normally happens in the mornings if I wake up early, although, if I wake up much later, I can go until about 2 pm before I need to eat. When it also started to happen in the evenings, even after I have eaten my dinner, I went to the doctor for a diabetes test which came back normal.

I know something isn't right here, so I was wondering whether this can be a symptom of insulin resistance. Also, can you have insulin resistance if your fasting blood sugar levels are normal? When I had my blood taken for the test, I was not having one of these episodes. I feel that if I were to have the test during one of these times, the test would come back differently.

I wan't to go to my doctor and ask about being put on metformin, but I don't want to sound like a fool! I have looked at Wikipedia for the symtoms. These are the symptoms listed there:

Fatigue.
Brain fogginess and inability to focus. Sometimes the fatigue is physical, but often it is mental.
High blood sugar.
Intestinal bloating.
Sleepiness. Many people with insulin resistance get sleepy immediately after eating a meal containing more than 20% or 30% carbohydrates.
Weight gain, fat storage, difficulty losing weight.
Increased blood triglyceride levels.
Increased blood pressure.
Depression.

I have fatigue, excess weight and depression, though I've never thought anything of this as they are associated with PCOS and just put it down to this. Recently I have been feeling frustrated by my inability to remember things and I have always felt sleepy after a meal.

The thing which throws me off is the high blood sugar. I understand the workings of insulin resistance, and it seems to me that a person with IR would have periods of high and low blood sugar.

Person eats
high blood sugar
excess insulin produced to cope with the IR
Plunge in blood sugar

So I guess my question is: does this plunge occur in IR or not? It doesn't actually explain the episodes in the early mornings though. Urgh, I'm so confused by the whole thing.

Smorgan128 · 09-03-2009, 01:10 PM

You need to ask your doctor for a fasting insulin level. Glucose levels don't matter with IR. It's your insulin levels. My glucose is in the 90s fasting but my insulin levels are in the 100s when they should be less than 10.

MelissaRyer · 09-03-2009, 03:29 PM

I have Insulin Resistance, and I do have ups and downs like you are explaining. When I eat anything with high-carb, or high fats I get very sleepy and basically disfunctional!! I also sometimes get the lows where I feel faint and dizzy... I've had more trouble tracking these. Sometimes after a light lunch I may get it (almost like I need more food) and sometimes in the mornings or evenings.

I wish I could give you more of a medical perspective on how these relate to my IR, but my doctors seem to be very uneducated and no help with the IR so far. I was managing it on my own for awhile, and decided to start the metformin because of weight loss issues.

If you read some more online about IR you will find it is amazing how much insulin and your blood sugars can really do to your body. I had almost all the symptoms listed above, and even after knowing I had IR for the longest time I didn't find out about the connection to my fatigue until this year. It's sad not to have help from QUALIFIED doctors. I am hoping to find a new specialist one day. 90% of the help I got was from the internet and support groups.

Not sure if any of that helps, but just wanted to share. Thanks.

Happy Wife · 09-03-2009, 04:07 PM

I only found out I had insulin resistance and pcos after not being able to conceive for 20 months. My ob/gyn began running blood tests. My thyroid, blood sugar, and blood glucose levels came back normal my insulin levels came back rather high (normal is below 17 mine was 26). I have many of the symptoms of pcos and insulin resistance.
acne
rapid weight gain
difficulty loosing weight
hair gorwth
fatigue
excessive hunger (need to eat right now!)
sugar/carb cravings (excessive)
I never knew there was anything wrong until my insulin test. I was put on metaformin 8/25 and as of 9/3 I have lost 7 pounds! I am not hungry all the time. I no longer crave sugars/carbs (I turned down ice cream last night!) I have more energy. I get full sooner when I eat and don't feel the need to eat as often.
The only way to know if you are insulin resistan is to get checked by your doctor. If left untreated it can cause other problems.

runner22 · 09-13-2009, 11:24 PM

Hey there. I have quite a bit of experience with diabetes as I have worked in the medical care team at a diabetes camp, and the subject has always been fascinating to me! So here is what I know...No, that plunge does not really happen with IR. But, yes, your body would make excess insulin to deal with what it perceives to be excess glucose. (In reality, that is a normal level of glucose but it is "stuck" because your cells are not responsive to insulin--i.e. they are insulin resistant.) Your body makes this excess insulin, but it does not do any good because those cells are still not going to respond well. Exercise (even small bouts) can make the cells of your body much more responsive to insulin (because they are literally starving--they need the glucose to give you energy). This is one reason exercise is so strongly recommended for us pcos-ers. You are probably not experiencing actual "low" blood sugars, but you may be experiencing a "lower-than-normal-for-you" blood sugar. If your body (particularly your brain) is accustomed to having lots of glucose hanging around and all of a sudden there is less than it is used to (because you ran up a flight of stairs or haven't eaten in several hours), you may experience symptoms of a low blood sugar (but it is probably not dangerous...just uncomfortable!) Your body also has its own natural rhythms that regulate other hormones that may inhibit or enhance the action of insulin. The fact that you are sometimes able to go without eating for long periods of time may have something to do with this, including that your liver has released its stores of glucose because it perceives that there is not enough.

It would be very interesting to be able to check your blood sugar throughout the day though! Hope that helps!

corbettd · 10-24-2009, 06:21 PM

Hey there. PCOS and insulin resistance go together. My fertility specialist has put me straight on metformin to regulate my insulin which will help me ovulate. I am jumping for joy as it will also help with my carb cravings and 6kg I cannot shift despite a super healthy diet and exercise. It is all interconnected. My blood sugar test came back completely normal which is great. I will be on metformin for the rest of my life and hopefully I will never develop high blood sugar or diabetes because of it. I would gently suggest you try another doctor who is more informed about PCOS.

Leopassion7 · 10-26-2009, 12:02 AM

I suffer the same my dear and let me tell you, personally what I suffer is many episodes of reactive hypoglycemia because of the IR. I'm still trying to learn the difference between IR and Impaired Glucose Tolerance but either way I've got it. Glucose fasting level was too high so I'm considered Pre-diabetic. You sound as if you're suffering from hypoglycemic episodes though I'd check with a doc first to confirm.

I'm still having a hard time making myself eat a breakfast each morning as I have a very bad habit of not eating until around lunchtime but since taking Met 2x/day I have no choice but to eat a breakfast and then I usually eat a lunch at work cause I work a 12hr shift and then when I get home I have to cook because the BF gets hungry so I guess the circumstances are what are making me eat 3 meals a day. Normally I'd eat only 1-2 and then no snacks.

But I'm working on it.

Roxxie318 · 11-19-2009, 11:42 PM

Hello lady,

Well, I was dx with PCOS due to the symtoms that I have:

Fatigue
Difficult to lose weight( never was a full-figured female)
Hair growth in different areas
depression
acne( a lil bit)
soft gray areas (ski discolorations under arms, breasts, and between legs,etc.)
cysts on my ovaries( very small where they dissolve on their own)
binge eating( gained 24lbs. in 4 mos., but lost 1 lb. in 2 days)

My doc did a blood check on everything that she can think of, until she did a ultrasound inside and outside of my vagina(TMI)!LOL! May be you should tlk to your doc, and see what the two of you can come up with.(Hint: keep up with the things that are happening to you until you go see your doc , and explain all of your symtoms to him/her). That's what I did!!