PCOS, fainting episodes, headaches... is it diabetes?

[meghan82]

hi. i'm a 22 year old female who was recently diagnosed with PCOS. i've heard people with PCOS may be at risk for diabetes, and this may fit with my past and recent medical history. since i was about 13 i can recall about eight instances where i have come very close to passing out, and two where i have. the two where i actually have were supposedly the flu according to doctors... the others occurred in different situations but i usually guessed it had to do with not eating (although in one case i had just eaten a huge meal about 1/2 hr before it happened). what worries me is that the last two incidents have occurred within the past six months of each other, the closest i have ever experienced two very-near-fainting episodes (cold sweats, extreme dizziness and blurred vision all coming on very suddenly)... knowing what was happening each of these times i have been able to stop from fainting by sitting down and drinking water or soda, and cold air also helps. i am wondering if everyone thinks this might be hypoglycemia, if this means i have diabetes or not necessarily, or might be something else entirely? within the past month i have had frequent awful headaches, within the past year i have developed severely dry skin, especially on my feet. is an endocrinologist the best person to consult in this situation? (i was blood tested when i was diagnosed with PCOS and had moderately low levels of HDL.) thanks for your help.

[JDRF-Team-SS]

Hello Meghan82,

I am one of the volunteers here, so please keep in mind that I am not a medical professional.  My son, now 10, was diagnosed with type 1 at age 3.  My sister is also a type 1 diabetic and was diagnosed 2 yrs. before my son.  She was 24 at the time of her diagnosis.  

WHen searching for PCOS, I found a list of symptoms that you are probably already familiar with.  The one that jumped out at me was:
"Elevated insulin levels, Insulin Resistance, or Diabetes "

I do want to point out that there are people who are hypoglycemic that never go on to develop diabetes, however, hypoglycemia can be prevalent in the early stages of diabetes.  My sister experienced this before she was ever diagnosed.  

Here are symptoms of diabetes:  (It does not mean that someone with diabetes will have all of these)

- Frequent urination
- Excessive thirst
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme hunger
- Sudden vision changes
- Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
- Feeling very tired much of the time
- Very dry skin
- Sores that are slow to heal
- More infections than usual

I suggest that you request to be tested for diabetes.  Make an appointment with your doctor as soon as you can just to be safe.  Eventually a person who has diabetes or is at the very beginning stages will start having high blood sugars consistently.  I have been told because of some concerns with my daughter that insulin production would have to slow down by 80% to really see consistent highs.  With high blood sugar comes *Extreme thirst *Hunger *Excessive urination.  This is what I noticed in my son before he was diagnosed.   However, it is true that someone with pre-diabetes could experience lows.  I have confirmed this with my son's endocrinologist when talking about my daughter.

Take care and keep us posted.

Warm Regards,
SS