Why Don’t I Feel Worse?

We don't always have symptoms. I was "surprise-diagnosed" with type 2 and 350 blood sugar at age 55 twenty-seven yrs ago. I took it seriously and controlled it with diet and exercise for 23 yrs.

No. It's not a scam. I too have numbers the docs are unhappy with. At the same time, I have never been stronger. I am finding that everyone's system is different and complex. 5.4 A1C does not work for everyone. 120/70, same thing.
My body knows what it wants, and reacts badly when i gets tweaked with medication (and more tests to find out what's "wrong").
But I respect my (brilliant) doctors and work with them at every turn to keep me going.
As my wife says "Sometimes my body has a mind of its own).
Ya can't service these the same way.

@tiger14 the jelly sandwiches may have triggered the spike. Whatever you may have eaten or whatever supplement you may have taken a few hours before a blood test could result in false numbers. I would suggest they do a repeat glucose test - this time staying off any sugary foods.

And if your second test comes back as high, get tested for LADA as well. Given you’re age, they’ll assume type 2.

My BG at diagnosis was up in that range too, but I'd felt terrible for a couple of weeks. I didn't just eat four bad sandwiches, when I felt bad I consumed more carbs for weeks, and then didn't understand why I felt worse. If you get an excursion to that level but it goes back down then you're getting away with it. Since I've known about any of this I've never used my little strip meter to see how high it gets when I cheat! For an hour or two it might get towards 200 anyway, but if it's back in range by morning I suppose I've gotten away with something, too. And the A1C stays down below 5.7 too.

That doesn't mean we should ignore it.

BUT, then I have a friend who I've mentioned before, diagnosed twenty years ago, and been treated ineffectively by his previous doctor(s). He's been running around town with an A1C up in the 10 range for years. He generally feels fine. His weight is good. His energy is good. No obvious symptoms of any kind. He's just turning 60 now. His doctor never talks to him about diet and he eats too many carbs. Is he some kind of special case? I don't know. He's finally gotten on Ozempic shots and his BG is way down now, I'm guessing his A1C will be below 7 next time he's tested. But he doesn't seem to feel any different.

I still try to convince him to work on the diet and then he can get off the Ozempic, and at least I make him aware of things, but he doesn't see much urgency either I guess.

@shmerdloff Is it possible the standards are too homogenized? Like the silly BMI scale? I’m about 6’4” and 250 lbs., but wear 34 waist pants. The BMI scale says I am grossly obese, but I am far from that. Is it possible higher blood glucose is normal for some?

The "science" of medicine can take us just so far (saved my life more than once). But there is infinitely more that is not known. For example, acupuncture cured for centuries, but it was condemned in the west until medicine science did it's head to head double dummy placebo controlled study proving that it works, which everyone knew before.
No one understands the placebo effect, yet it's so powerful that billions spent on a new medication can be discounted when the study shows taking a sugar pill works just as well. Same with spontaeous remission. The person declines chemo treatment for cancer and uses prayer, then one day, the cancer is gone.
Everyone knew they got depressed in the winter when it was dark, so they vacationed closer to the equator. It was a long time before morning light boxes were accepted (insurance will pay) when medicine officially recognized Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD 😪. (I turn on my Sears Worklights).
People's intestines can become porous letting toxins into the blood which carries them all over the body making you feel really sick. Your gut is leaking. Until the research is done, Leaky Gut Syndrome is not recognized as a treatable condition. Take some citrate of magnesia. The gut "thinks" like the brain, also runs our immune systems.
CBD is an anti-inflammatory. Either it works or has a placebo effect. I stopped taking it and could hardly move, but No Study? It doesn't exist.
How the human mind/body works is still a mystery and a miracle.

BMI is for finding out in large Populations if a TYPICAL person is outside of the Healthy ranges, which are for 'overweight' and 'obese' categories.

Always, the common sense makes most sense -- those in the professional football, just a few hundreds maybe out of the adult population of a little under 300 million is NOT what people need to feel concerned about.

Actually it gets worse if one -- again -- uses the BMI for a five feet ten inch person: It is NORMAL if your BMI is within 18.50 and 24.90. All the more reason to use good judgement, one can't be generally in healthy weight with some 50 lbs difference in one's weight.

The reason in the affluent West, there is Increasingly More Obesity and Overweight compared with the numbers a few years earlier is a Population concern. Funny people, 'cook' both their heights and weights, to appear not as 'bad.! That should tell us more about our true fears. THAT is a subject more interesting, isn't it?

In the meanwhile I hope you have a Purpose that helps you stay in good shape and mind, all thru your life. It has been what spurs me in my octogenarian body/mind. Good luck!

I experience some symptoms when my levels fluctuate. I get hot and sweaty when higher, but otherwise, I feel fine. Low blood sugar definitely affects me more – I get headaches, feel cold, and start shivering. I have Dexcom that alerts me at 70 and 180, so these days I never feel anything prior to these alerts.

Diabetes is not a scam. If you have been diagnosed with this condition it’s quite serious. In some ways it’s similar to hypertension in that you might not “feel” as if anything is wrong. But, when blood sugar is high for long periods, damage is occurring in the body. That’s why regular doctor visits are required to check kidneys, eyes, skin, heart, etc.

Unawareness of lows is particularly risky for those who take insulin. I recall the days before cgm devices were common. Wonderful technology. I don’t necessarily feel highs, but do still feel a 60, though I rarely get either due to my fully integrated insulin pump/cgm system. The pump determines how much insulin I get. When my numbers are good I feel so good!

Ref BMI. I discuss mine with my PC, endocrinologist and nutritionist. It does provide some guidance. I actually paid for an in person test (InBody 570) that calculates many details about your body and the right range for my body. My gym is getting one soon. I think the information can be useful. I’m trying to stay as healthy as possible with nutrition, weight and good blood sugar numbers.