Diagnosed Potential Risk, But Maybe False Positive???

Codex

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I recently was getting checked out for something else when my blood work came back with a 7.4 for glucose. My father was a type 2 diabetic however he lived a 'very' unhealthy lifestyle and for decades was 3-400 pounds. My doctor went a bit crazy which isn't so bad since he was really just trying to encourage me to exercise and eat properly. I'm cool with this. Maybe I've gained a bit too much weight over the past year (weighed myself today, eek, 230, I'm 6'2" and a taller guy so it's not 'that' overweight).

Anyway, as I was saying I was getting some blood work done for some other things when this result came back. Then I read that the result is supposed to be my fasting glucose level. Thinking back to the afternoon I got tested I was literally in a fog and stressed with the original issue/work issues. We couldn't find the blood clinic and my GF and I stopped and ate some french fries. It was a really large portion and the both of us couldn't even finish it but suffice to say I ate a solid helping of fries, ketchup and loads of sour cream and onion powder they put all over the fries at this place.

Anyway, that was about an hour maybe before they drew my blood and I'm wondering if eating that soon before a test like this could alter my results. My doctor is behaving as if I'm a confirmed diabetic and said if I can't reduce my weight and control the levels in 3 months I'm going straight to medication. Then he basically told me I need to go see a naturapath (which is not covered) instead of a dietitian as my father had done. I feel like I need more tests to find out exactly what is going on.

I hope no one feels that I'm looking for an out here to delude myself or sub-consciously employing some kind of denial device. That's not the case. I have decided no matter what the future results come back with I'm going to make changes in my life as if the diagnosis was positive. I'm really not a guy who's into sugar at all and eating right/exercising is something I 'want' in my routine anyway.

So I don't know what to say. I'm hoping to hear from some people who have experience here I guess. I'm a bit confused/overwhelmed and I don't have a feeling of confidence in my doctor. Can anyone offer advice?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people

CraigDT

Well-Known Member
Messages
56
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Insulin
Did you get a finger pick test where they test your blood sugar at that moment using a little device that gives you a number right there? The other thing they might have done is an hba1c test that measures your average blood glucose over the last 3 months. They take blood for that one.

The hba1c would not be affected by the fries, the finger pick test would.

If you are uncertain then talking to the doctor and telling him about the fries would probably be the best way to know whether it influenced the results. The normal range of blood glucose for a non diabetic before meals is 4 to 6.8. After meals it can rise as high as 7.8.

Some type 2 diabetics on here have had great success in reducing their medication through diet and exercise so there is a lot you can do.

It is a scary thing to be told by your doctor but it is a totally controllable condition and you can do a lot to reduce your chances of any long term complications.

I am type 1 but I am sure some type 2s will be along soon with some more relevant thoughts. :)
 

noblehead

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
23,618
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Dislikes
Disrespectful people
Make your Dr aware that you didn't fast for your blood test and see what they have to say, but if you have type 2 in your family and are currently overweight then a few lifestyle changes would help if you have diabetes or are pre-diabetes, I'll tag @daisy1 as she has some great advice that she offers to new members of the forum.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 people

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Codex

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information, as mentioned above, that we give to new members. You will find it helpful to follow the advice on diet and carbs in here. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 140,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. Yes, the fasting test would be invalid but to be honest it's not a very useful test anyway; the HBa1C is and it isn't fasting these days. Try to get further tests done and an Hba1C would be good. My own advice would be to avoid a dietician or a naturpath as some of the advice given can be totally wrong. Follow the advice on this forum and Daisy's info above is well worth following. Keep the carbs down and don't worry about anything else other than being sensible with portion sizes
 

Codex

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
How can you get a three month average with one test? I didn't finger prick actually. Just got standard blood work done and this came back. I'll attach the results tho it doesn't say what kind of test was performed.
 

Codex

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
NRQuwYS.jpg
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi. Yes, the HBa1C test is quite strange. By analysing the red cells it is possible to determine the average blood sugar over the preceeding 3 months but it is weighted to the last month or so based around red cell lifetime. It looks like they didn't do an HBa1C test. The random blood test which you did have according to the form is a guide to diabetes if it's quite high but you do need another test and/or HBa1C to really confirm. I'm not sure what to suggest. I would have the right low-carb diet and return to the GP after 3 months and ask for another test including HBa1C. Once diagnosed at you appear to be, then it is normal to be given an Hba1C test after 3 months and then annually together with other checks at an annual review.
 

Codex

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
So what I'm really curious about is if the fries I ate an hour before w a decent amount of ketchup could have affected these results.

Btw. I got on a better scale today and realize the other one yesterday was way off. I'm not 106 kg 233 lbs. Totally and utterly shocked to see that. I'm 216 lbs which I believe is around 95-96 kg. At 6'2" it's certainly not my ideal weight but not as bad as I thought yesterday.

o that's relieving but no excuses to be fat, not eat right or out of shape. This just means my path is easier.
 

CraigDT

Well-Known Member
Messages
56
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Insulin
7.4 is in the normal range for post meal I think, perhaps at the high end of normal. I would go back to the doctor and ask for an hba1c.
 

CraigDT

Well-Known Member
Messages
56
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Insulin
Fries have carbs as does ketchup. Carbs are converted to glucose so the fries could well have influenced the blood glucose reading.
 

Codex

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
So my friend had a kit ad I tested my sugar a gaiters morning after fasting for 10 hours. got a 4.6.

Wenot to see another doc today. Ordered up a new battery of tests including hba1c. Much happier with this docs lack of knee jerk reactions.

How many readings can I take to test my sugar to "trust" the results? im
 

daddys1

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,353
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi @Codex , once you have your HbA1c results that should tell you whether you are Non, Pre, or Diabetic.

The numbers you have presented so far don't mean much. Sometimes a combination of a Fasting and an HbA1c may conclude diabetes.

I am out of the diabetic range now since changing my diet..

Neil