Recently I’ve begun to suspect that I might have diabetes. First of all, I’m a very clean person and I eat a diet that contains very few sugars. I only eat stuff like candy and pastries maybe a few times a year. Even so, I’ve had reoccurring yeast infections for years, which neither a series of doctor-prescribed medications nor over-the-counter treatments have solved for any length of time. Recently, I noticed that my gums are starting to look weird and bleed when I brush them. I don’t have money right now to go to the doctor, so I read up on gingivitis, started treated for it with antibiotic mouth wash +brushing and flossing 3x a day, and it appears to be clearing up.
Also, my energy levels fluctuate A LOT in terms of whether or not I’ve eaten recently, I seem to go through phases of constantly having to drink water, and when I’m tired or haven’t eaten my vision gets blurry.
However, I have always had low blood pressure and a low resting heart rate, a low BMI, and a medium body fat percentage (it hangs out around 20-25% and keep in mind that I’m a woman). My body responds in a regular amount of time to exercise and I haven’t had problems dropping my body fat percentage when I follow a low-fat, high protein, medium carb diet.
Based on the above, I’m not sure whether or not the repeated infections and other symptoms are really cause for concern in terms me having diabetes. The problem is, I don’t have medical insurance or very much money. The question is: does anyone here have diabetes or know much about it?
If I have mild diabetes, which considering I’m not passing out, seems most likely, would it really be worth it money-wise to go in and get tested for it? Is there a cheaper way to test for it on my own? If I did get tested and it was mild, wouldn’t the doctor just tell me to start eating a diet to control it?
If it’s most likely that the doctor would just tell me to eat a diet to control the diabetes because it’s not that serious, what harm would be done if I just skipped the doctor and went right to eating the diabetic diet?
On that note, I’ve seen a lot of information out there about how diabetics are supposed to eat low-glycemic carbs. Then I also see other information saying they shouldn’t be eating many carbs to begin with. What’s the deal? Who do I trust here?