A woman who suffers from type 1 diabetes has issued a stark health warning after her symptoms developed suddenly, leading to her diagnosis. Lucy May Freer took to social media platform TikTok to share that her first symptom of diabetes appeared just 10 weeks before she was diagnosed by a doctor.
“Increased thirst – it was an unbearable feeling – I was drinking over five litres of water a day and just couldn’t quench my thirst,” Lucy May began. “I was waking up in the night and downing bottles of water.”
Naturally, increased fluid intake results in increased urination, which started at the same time as her thirst. However, she confessed: “To be honest I’ve always had a bad bladder so it wasn’t that noticeable – except at night when I would have to get up for the toilet five or six times, which wasn’t normal.”
Eight weeks before her diagnosis, Lucy May said she noticed her mouth was often dry. “It was so bad sometimes that I couldn’t even talk until I had a drink,” she revealed. Alongside the thirst, she noticed her appetite increase significantly too. “I was craving anything sweet,” she admitted.
“I would wake up and just eat chocolate first thing in the morning. But I’m not sure exactly when this started, maybe six weeks before diagnosis.”
Then, five weeks prior to her diagnosis, Lucy May also noticed an increase in fatigue and lack of energy – around the same time she began experiencing weight loss too. “I was eating so much more and not putting weight on – instead I was losing weight,” she said.
Moving on to the the week leading up to her diagnosis, Lucy May experienced blurred vision for the first time, noticing “black spots” in her field of view. She also felt a tingling sensation in her feet during this period – the final symptom before she sought medical advice.
“I had similar symptoms, no thirst though,” one of her followers said in response. “Itchy skin, weight loss, blurred vision and tiredness. An overwhelming tiredness.” A second shared their own version of events: “Mine was the same. Went to the doctors, they said it was hot outside. Next thing I had a stroke, turns out everything was high. Blood pressure, cholesterol, sugars.”
A third TikTok user wrote: “My son and I both had same symptoms. That thirst is mad. I was in M&S an big queue so I just took an orange juice from fridge an drunk it there an then. I did pay after but that thirst is unquenchable.”
Whilst a fourth follower revealed: “My opticians actually diagnosed me, it was the last piece of the puzzle. I lost my sight. Thankfully all resolved once diagnosed and started on insulin.”
The NHS has the following advice regarding diabetes: “Visit your GP as soon as possible if you experience the main symptoms of diabetes, which include:
- feeling very thirsty
- peeing more frequently than usual, particularly at night
- feeling very tired
- weight loss and loss of muscle bulk
- itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush
- blurred vision
“Type 1 diabetes can develop quickly over weeks or even days. Weight loss is common in people with type 1 diabetes when it first develops and before it’s treated, but it’s less common in people with type 2 diabetes.
“Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general, or there are no symptoms at all.”