Yeah, see a doc. But this thread reminded me – I go through a phase where for a few days just past the middle of every cycle I get hungry. It happened last Tuesday and Wednesday. Then it went away again. Today I felt a bit of creeping anxiety, again, normal for a week or so before my period. Not to hijack the thread, but does anybody else’s hormones do that to them?
No weird weight loss involved, just an odd cyclical appetite thing. My guess is that hormones are weird. I’m 33 and have only noticed this in the last year or two.
The majority of diabetics have no family history, there doesn’t appear to be a genetic link. Many pharmacies offer “minute tests,” which you can get without buying a machine.
Another possibility is that you’re not “hungry” (i.e., craving food) but craving specific foods which contain something other than sugar that you’re not getting enough of. Have you had any dietary changes? It can be as simple as the utter lack of tomatoes in my dorm’s menu for a year, which had me assaulting cans of sardines in tomato sauce like they were going out of fashion (normally my opinion of those is “bleh going on bleagh”).
Is it a certain time of day? I tend to get hungry late at night. (And usually for sweets, too). During the day, my appetite is normal, but at night, I’m usually jonesing for ice cream. And my weight is fairly the same.
(And I’m not diabetic, because I recently had to have a pee-test, since I thought I had a UTI, and the doctor tested it for diabetes, or sugar or whatever, just in case. She said it was normal)
No, you just ***turn into ***that guy with the moustache.
Seriously . . . I’m diabetic, and I’ve noticed that my appetite has increased since I’ve been on insulin. My doctor says not to worry, since it makes you gain weight around your hips (where it’s “harmless” :dubious:) rather than in your belly.
It’s not boredom hunger. I don’t boredom eat. I never have. I have been exercising more for the past month or so, and usually when I up my exercise regimen I do get hungrier, but not this much frickin’ hungrier. Also, I suppose my diet has changed slightly. My old man hasn’t been cooking for me anymore lately, but I cook basically the same stuff he does (though unfortunately not as well). I smother meat in shit tons of garlic, then make it spicy.
I’m not running off to a doctor any time soon. While I understand that is possible for a young, fit, healthy person with no family history of, well, any illness really, to suddenly wake up with diabetes, I’ll roll the dice with this one and bet that I haven’t been stricken with it overnight. I am eating more, but the amount that I’m eating right now falls within the bounds of healthy. I’m nowhere near 6 meals a day, and am not losing weight rapidly. I just find it odd that I am noticeably hungrier, am consuming more food, and my weight hasn’t increased. Even though ordinarily losing 4 measly lbs wouldn’t be anything to get excited about, I’m just surprised by losing any weight at all when I’m consuming more food. I actually wouldn’t have noticed the weight loss had I not gotten on a scale. I remember thinking to myself, “Lady, you’ve been stuffing your face. Are you getting fat?” so I weighed myself and then said, “What the hell?”
Dont rule out menopause. The only advice you should listen to is “go see a doctor if you are alarmed by this,” and “go see a doctor if you are having any other symptoms.” Early menopause can occur as early as 25 years old in some rare-but-not-extreme cases.
Also, you could be pregnant. Not REALLY pregnant, but a condition known as hysterical pregnancy, where your body ramps up for a pregnancy that isn’t actually happening, which fucks your hormones up real good. Also, you could be the real-deal pregnant. Don’t rule it out for silly reasons like your husband having had a vasectomy or you not missing any periods or not having had sex in a few weeks or the doctor telling you you’re infertile or any reason other than “I haven’t had sex in the past 9 months” or “I have had a hysterectomy.”
Your doctor will likely refer you to an endochrinologist if the problem isn’t something easily apparent, or something he can do an easy test for. Diabetes or something closely related would probably be the first thing your doctor suspects if you tell him what you tell us, and a hormone issue (like early menopause) would probably be another suspect.
If you’ve always been that way; if you aren’t excessivly thirsty; if little wounds heal in normal time; if you don’t feel extremly tired or extremly hyper - then you probably have neither a thyroid disfunction nor diabetes, simply an unusual metabolisation that burns off a lot of calories quickly.
Do you also feel very hot a lot of the time, like running around in a t-shirt at 10 C?
However, the OP said that it changed recently. Sudden changes are always warning signs and best checked out by a doctor. Unusual body activity should at least be checked out during the regular bi-annual exam (or whatever you have) to make sure it’s not some long-term condition (cancer of the thryroid or similar).
Whyever not? You have been given several serious possible diseases that could cause great harm to your body, along with some more harmless ones. If you go to a doctor, you can either rule out the serious problems, and leave with a huge sigh of relief; or you find out that it’s indeed diabetes/ thyroid/ graves, and get started on treatment before worse problems develop.
Another doper told of how he ignored warning signs of diabetes - raging thirst, going to the toilet 60 times a day - for several days because of busy schedule, until he keeled over into diabetic coma at work! Luckily for him, an ambulance was called quickly, and he got treated in time, but as he said: if that had happened at home, with nobody to find him, he would have slipped from coma to death.
I always have a hard time understanding why so many people are reluctant to go to the doctor because there might be bad news. I prefer knowing and doing something now much much more to finding out things when it’s too late to undo the damage, whether it’s cancer prevention or diabetes.
If one of the doctor dopers wanders by, they can certainly explain better than me, but yes, we are seeing more and more cases of this happening overnight. It can. That doesn’t mean it has, but it should be ruled because the consquences of ignoring it can be severe. People with diabetes can face loss of feet or of sight because of reduced circulation in small blood vessels. The heart can also be affected.
I really don’t understand why you would want to roll dice with your health!
The Doper Athena posted something very similar about a year ago, about how she was always hungry, always eating and yet not gaining weight (and losing slowly). She was advised to go to the doctor. She did and was diagnosed with Type I diabetes (yep, Type I, as an adult). AFAIK she doesn’t have a family history of it other than a cousin.
It could be one symptom of any number of serious medical conditions. But I wouldn’t worry unless it goes on for a while and you are losing more than 5 pounds or so. It’s probably just one of those normal bodily fluctuations.
You mentioned that you have been exercising more - when I exercise I get REALLY hungry. I have always had a very fast metabolism but never a huge appetite, unless I am really active, than all of a sudden I enjoy food so much more.
If you have any other symptoms (extreme thirst, lethargy, pounding heart, dizziness, anything like that) go to the doctor right away!
People just randomly come down with diabetes all the time, tis true. Type 1 diabetes is really an autoimmune disease - your body attacks and kills the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. The trigger is unknown, although I suspect diet plays some role. Type 2 is all about diet (although there is debate on this in the medical community. However, all the type 2s I know used to eat the same way- most of their diet was grains, sugar, and alcohol).
If you are ever feeling like crap and violently hungry and thirsty while losing weight, please don’t waste time getting to a doctor. I know someone who died from untreated type 1 in their 20s.
I think I’ll rule it out considering I just had lady time about a week ago, which was during this whole hunger business. In fact, I remember thinking, “Okay, I know I usually get hungry like the wolf during this time, but I’m usually full afterward.” If my next scheduled lady time doesn’t show, maybe I’ll consider it.
No. I could not. Seriously. It is impossible. Unless someone broke into my apartment in the middle of the night and had sex with me without me knowing it. So you’re right, I could be, but I would bet my right arm, hell both my arms, that I am not.
I’m a little surprised by how alarmed everyone is. I’ve been hungrier than usual, and everyone starts with the “You have all these serious diseases!!” Do you go to the doctor every single time anything changes, no matter what, or how briefly? The thought “I’m hungry. I should see a doctor about this.” never occurred to me.
Right, I’m not worried. It’s not been anything severe, and it’s only been a couple of weeks. I have been exercising more, so I don’t know if that can be it. There are no other symptoms, I’m just hungrier than I usually am. Re: weight loss, I just got on the scale this morning and am exactly at playing weight, so I don’t know what that’s all about. I mainly surprised that I’m getting hungry at all. Usually I eat food because I’m supposed to, stay sated, then eat again later because I haven’t eaten in six hours, and should probably have dinner.
My husband had a very healthy diet - whole grains, vegetables, meat infrequently, a teetotaler - and after a round of pancreatitis wound up a Type II diabetic. So bad diet and overweight is not the only way to wind up a Type II, or even a Type I. It “merely” increases the risk, that’s all. Data is not the plural of anecdote, either for you or for me.
Bottom line, you can be very healthy with very healthy habits and still wind up diabetic. Which is why, despite having no blood relatives with diabetes, a good weight, moderate exercise, and healthy eating habits I still get myself screened for diabetes when appropriate. It is unlikely I’d get it - but not impossible.
Well–it could be diabetes, menopause, or whatever, or it could be the time change. I’m not kidding! I notice that every time the time changes, I feel hungrier at odd times. My body is used to, say, eating breakfast at 8 every morning, and then the time changes and I feel hungry at what used to be 8 but is now 7. Or 9. Whatever.
I also go through hungry and not-hungry phases. Some weeks, I am hungry all the time, and some weeks I can go hours and hours and hours without food and not feel hungry at all.
