Blood Sugar Question

[Eve]

I had some bloods done for a consultant and my blood sugar came in at 8.1 so GP has been asked by them to follow it up.

Could this be just a blip or normal as had had breakfast about two hours before including a small bottle of orange juice.

Am booked in for a fasting test and HBA (something like that) next week so hopefully it's all normal, got more than enough on! From bits I've read it doesn't seem too high?

[Sqad]

Well, it sounds as though that was NOT a fasting blood sugar and 8.1 i would;d have thought would have been a modest reading after that breakfast.

The fasting blood sugar and the HB1Ac ( which is an average blood sugar reading over a period of about 3 months) should put the diagnosis or otherwise, to rest.

[Eve]

Noooo I don't want another diagnosis!!! I think I would actually cry.

Thanks for that, hopefully just the result of my breakfast then as definitely not a fasting one and orange juice is full of sugar (does that count?). Treated myself to a bigger than usual breakfast out as at the hospital first thing (any excuse ;)), more than my usual porridge and apples :)

[Sqad]

LOL.....it might well be your breakfast...........but wait and see ;-)

[Eve]

That we will! Thanks for your advice.

How does the HB1AC rest do a reading over a period of time, sounds very clever. Can't get my brain around that one! My brain is not very science though to be fair :) Or is it like a median figure? I'm confused!

[Eve]

Or that I will even! No internet on laptop (!!!) so typing on my phone in the dark.

[Sqad]

Hb1ac IS clever.......simply speaking it calculates the average amount of glucose that "sticks" to the Hb (hemoglobin)molecule.
That's all we both need to know..;-)

[ladyalex]

Both lordalex and I had to have fasting blood tests after having tests done on early appointments just after we had had breakfast. (He has orange juice, a bowl of muesli and an unsweetened cup of tea, I have a slice of toast with marmalade and an unsweetened cup of coffee.)
Both of us had no trouble after the fasting blood tests.
I think the GPs are over-testing for diabetes....perhaps because they have some sort of cash incentive to pick it up? I don't know this, but have my suspicions. My suspicions started when they suddenly started asking if I was a smoker (I'm not) when this bore no relation to what I was consulting them about. I'm sure they had some sort of cash incentive then,either to find out how many smokers they had on their books or for referring them to stop-smoking clinics.
Just my rant for the night.....
But ignoring me...wait and see what the fasting bloods say before getting yourself het up about it....might be just like us and it's all a test anomaly...or a cash cow....

[Jackdaw33]

You could be right there, LadyA. Whenever I go for my diabetic check-up they always ask how many I smoke a day (I am a smoker). I never knew that there was any sugar in tobacco. They then invite me to join a stop smoking course. They also ask me how many units I drink per week. I can see that being more to the point but I haven't a clue. Apparently the bloke who originally specified the 'safe' number of units admitted much later that he he had just plucked the figures out of thin air. with no data to back him up.

[ladyalex]

:-)) Jackdaw.

I have to say that I think that these incentives are generally a bad thing. They cause me to lose trust for my GP....I now tend to think about every question they ask me and wonder if they are asking for my benefit or for theirs.
I have to say that I've been tempted to ask why they are asking me stuff like this ...or indeed to either refuse to answer or to lie.....but that would be churlish..
And I suppose being honest, I think they are paid plenty without going for these incentives as well....looks like greed to me...not a quality I find likeable.

[Clanad]

You may find this article from 2011 enlightening concerning smoking and diabetes...

http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/27/why-smoking-is-a-bad-idea-for-diabetics/

[ladyalex]

I'm neither a smoker nor a diabetic, Clanad....which is why the questioning and the unnecessary fasting blood test annoyed me.

[hc4361]

Two hours after eating a non-diabetics glucose reading should be under 7.8.

You're not much over that so don't worry.

[woofgang]

I have been retired from the NHS for eight years now and even then the Community Services Trust I worked for had a Smoking Cessation service uptake target and a success target (defined as IIRC 30 days smoke free after the course ended) I am fairly sure that there are now also targets for Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

btw I am not saying that we ever got non smokers to sign up for the cessation course nononononono never would do that.

[Sqad]

\\\\Two hours after eating a non-diabetics glucose reading should be under 7.8. \\\\

That's fine for a NON diabetic, but what about an undiagnosed DIABETIC?

[hc4361]

I believe the highest ever recording is 147.6 mmol/l which makes my highest reading of 25.6 seem reasonable :D

[henry1938]

my healthcentre is paid £2000 for every one that is diagnosed as a diabetic
.

[woofgang]

henry that may sound like kerching profit but its actually to cover the purchase of the increased services that someone with diabetes needs.

[wolf63]

Do you have PCOS? I was prescribed Metformin as a treatment for this year's prior to my official Diabetes diagnosis. I was prescribed a higher d9se of Metformin for that.

With PCOS you can suffer from various Insulin related problems.

[Eve]

Hi and thanks for all your answers. Yes Wolf I do have PCOS, diagnosed over nearly 10 years ago now I think. Am on the implant to try to minimise the pain. Also have Hidradenitis Suppurativa which can be linked, I've read, to PCOS too but the Enbrel I'm on for RA is apparently also used to help with that according to my Dermatology consultant and it has calmed down to more minor abscesses and not as often which is good, especially as infections and RA drugs aren't a good combination.

To be fair it was Rhumatology bloods which picked up the blood sugar result, I had no idea they were even testing that. I guess though that if they are actively testing then it hopefully means less undiagnosed diabetics out there and earlier diagnosis before complications set in. Just hope I'm not one of them!!!

Have a yeast infection too so being cautiously optimistic that that is just a random coincidence. Everything crossed so. With all the bloods I have done though and having been tested for it a number of times previously, if not really recently, it's never showed up before so that can only be a good thing I hope.