Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

gynoceros t1_j6c9v0d wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in ELI5: why do our bodies randomly act like we haven’t had water in days and that we need to chug a bunch randomly? by Serratedlily

> you might want to buy a glucose testing kit to see if you have diabetes.

Just come to the fucking hospital and don't dick around with that.

For real, most shit people come to the ER with is such bullshit but sugars causing polydipsia and polyuria (excessive thirst and urination) actually count as an emergency and aren't going to magically fix themselves if you just wait it out.

I get that healthcare can be prohibitively expensive in the US. But if you fuck around mulling over what to do with the "maybe I have diabetes" armchair doctor shit, you're just going to get sicker and sicker, possibly to the point of being in a coma in the ICU or even dying.

91

Morvictus t1_j6carzn wrote

While you're absolutely correct, I think you're underestimating just how fucked up the US healthcare system is. You could probably give hundreds of thousands of Americans free evidence that they need medical treatment, and many of them could still rationally decide not to get it because they can't afford to miss a day of work.

The US is a developed country living on top of a developing country. It is one of the best countries in the world to live in if you are rich, but it is horrendous to live in if you're poor.

131

gynoceros t1_j6cbqgf wrote

> many of them could still rationally decide not to get it because they can’t afford to miss a day of work.

I totally get that.

But what I'm saying is that if you leave sugars that high untreated, you're going to wind up wishing you'd only missed a day of work.

30

Morvictus t1_j6cc0x2 wrote

Oh I absolutely believe that your assessment is spot-on. My point is that seeking medical attention that will stop you from dying a couple of years from now is stymied by the fear of being evicted two weeks from now.

The fact that any non-millionaire American can unironically claim that they live in the greatest country on Earth is a parody of reality.

47

gynoceros t1_j6cddow wrote

> stop you from dying a couple of years from now

I totally agree with you that American exceptionalism is a fucking sham but I've had patients go to the ICU the day they first got diagnosed with diabetes after they came in complaining of thirst, frequent urination, and fuzzy vision. And had they continued to ignore it, they wouldn't have lasted a couple of years. Maybe not even a couple of weeks.

10

Morvictus t1_j6ce7yr wrote

Hey, I wish as much as you do that people would or could seek medical treatment that could save their lives, but there are millions of Americans that cannot make it to next week if they spend any time not grinding for the machine. The current state of the average American worker is a disgusting indictment of unfettered capitalism.

I have socialised medicine, and I can't convince many poor Americans without health insurance that they'd be better off not voting for the Republican party.

I know political discourse on the internet is not generally productive, but some of the people I'm talking about are people I have known for years. Extreme American capitalist propaganda is so permeating that it has poor Americans unwittingly advocating for their own early deaths. Shit is wild.

26

Boagster t1_j6cmees wrote

But but but... death panels!. And my taxes going to the mino... the poors.

9

chadenright t1_j6clztl wrote

It's not unwitting. Tens of millions of Americans are fully cognizant of the fact that their politics will put them in an early grave, harm their kids, their parents and their spouse - and these Americans don't care so long as the politicians hurt the people those voters want them to hurt.

6

ListlessLink t1_j6clnsx wrote

Ended up getting sent from work after boss (with diabetes) heard my comments about whats wrong. That cost about $2300 i didn't have.
With later refusals for tests I'm supposed to have a couple times a year, because they wanted it paid in advance since I was in collections.

This was with health insurance that I was paying per 600 a month to have (not use)

15

NefariousIntentions t1_j6cog0e wrote

What do I do if I have seemingly had most of the symptoms for diabetes since childhood, but supposedly blood sugars have been fine all the time?

Peeing gets 3x worse when having alcohol, and no not the normal person more fluid in - more fluid out. Non-American, been tested multiple times since childhood.

4

gynoceros t1_j6coseh wrote

Alcohol suppresses secretion of antidiuretic hormone, which is what keeps you from pissing away a bunch of your volume.

So by not making ADH, your body pisses way more than usual. That's how alcohol works, that's not a medical emergency.

If you've had symptoms since childhood and it's been worked up, that's also not an emergency.

6

[deleted] t1_j6cpgf0 wrote

[deleted]

1

copycatcactus t1_j6cubxn wrote

I experienced these symptoms my whole life too. My parent had diabetes and would frequently test my blood sugar because they were sure I must have it too, but it was always normal.

I finally got diagnosed with Sjögren's syndrome a few years back. Might be worth looking into!

4

Shellbyvillian t1_j6cnskp wrote

I kind of get what you’re saying - but there are lots of reasons OP could be having these symptoms. Why would you go to the ER when you can go to a 24hr pharmacy and buy a 40 dollar glucose meter before you waste hours and thousands of dollars?

I’m in Canada. It would be absolutely free for me to go to the ER. I would still do a quick sanity check before going for a reason like this.

23

RedPetrichor t1_j6ctqcn wrote

Where I live (UK) you'd be laughed out of the hospital if you came to A&E because you're feeling thirsty. The place is overrun and people with imminent life-threatening issues such as strokes and heart attacks are made to wait for hours in ambulances. The official advice if you're felling thirsty ( https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/thirst/ ) is to drink more (duh) and call your GP if it doesn't get better.

6

gynoceros t1_j6d0lte wrote

I'd bet you a hamburger that if you went in and said "I've been incredibly thirsty and urinating a lot, and my vision is fuzzy" they would at the very least check a fingerstick sugar before laughing at you.

1

86rpt t1_j6disck wrote

Yup. We would be very concerned until that glucose came back 106. Then we chuck a water bottle at you and laugh you out the door.

3

Vladimir1174 t1_j6cstbz wrote

I ended up in the icu almost dead to DKA for exactly this reason. Type 1 don't fuck around

4

deirdresm t1_j6eguuk wrote

Had a friend who suspected he might be diabetic, had an appointment several weeks out. Died before the appointment.

2

gynoceros t1_j6fnnxw wrote

Sorry to hear it.

That sucks. Shit like that really makes me want to leave healthcare for something more ethical like the legal field.

1