You asked:
What everyday symptoms would someone have that has a problem with insulin? If my results come back off, is that the same thing as saying I am a diabetic? Or what would it mean I should do about it? I have heard of a glucose tolerance test but not this. So glad you've brought it to my attention.
Here are the symptoms of excess insulin: hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), pallor, weakness, pounding heartbeat, chills/sweating. I have felt no hunger for several years – I attribute this to my high insulin levels. Since insulin is quite caustic, I suspect it is the source of the pain in my lower legs – like glass cutting the inside of my blood vessels as it travels in my circulation.
High levels of insulin are a major cause of elevated cholesterol and plaque in the arteries (having a role in cardiovascular disease).
Diabetes is defined by excess glucose (hyperglycemia); the defining blood sugar values for a diagnosis of diabetes have changed in the last few years, but I believe today a fasting blood sugar over 110 mg/dl indicates diabetes (About 10 years ago 126 mg/dl was the established point.). 100-110 mg/dl is called pre-diabetes.
During the prediabetic period cells are becoming resistant to insulin; as insulin becomes less effective at reducing glucose, the pancreas secretes more and more of it. This process continues until the pancreas cannot secrete enough insulin to maintain normal blood sugar. At this point blood sugar levels rise and type II diabetes is diagnosed. (Early on the blood sugar appears to be normal, but only because of the excess insulin.)
Unfortunately, there is no medication to treat excess insulin at this time. The only recommendations I have found are in diet – keeping the blood glucose levels low so that the pancreas does not respond with lots of insulin. I suspect this is the reason some people with MS see improvements with low-carb diets. For the same reason calorie restriction results in improvements for some.
At the end of insulin's usefulness, excess is supposed to be removed from the bloodstream by the Insulin-Degrading Enzyme (IDE) I do not know if there is a blood test to measure IDE; perhaps my body is not making enough of this to clear my excess insulin.
