Does this definitely mean T2?

[WelshSailor]

I had a routine ‘well person’ blood test earlier this week and I’m horrified that my random blood sugar was 8.8. I have to have a fasting test now and another test (HA something???). Will it definitely be diabetes? The random test was taken about an hour and a half after I ate porridge with honey on it. I’m feeling sick, was a complete shock. Is 8.8 terrible?

 

[Antje77]

I had a routine ‘well person’ blood test earlier this week and I’m horrified that my random blood sugar was 8.8. I have to have a fasting test now and another test (HA something???). Will it definitely be diabetes? The random test was taken about an hour and a half after I ate porridge with honey on it. I’m feeling sick, was a complete shock. Is 8.8 terrible?

Hi @WelshSailor , welcome to the forum.
A blood sugar of 8.8 an hour and a half after eating porridge is in no way conclusive for diagnosing diabetes, it falls within the normal parameters.

Please take a deep breath and try to patiently await the result for your hba1c test.
This test will tell you something about your average blood glucose over the past 3 months.

 

[WelshSailor]

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. Can you tell me what the normal parameters are? The nurse who phoned said ‘worryingly high’ so I’m completely bemused. She didn’t ask if or what I’d eaten beforehand, she just said it needed urgent investigation. I already do intermittent fasting and eat relatively low carb (the porridge was very unusual!) so I’m not sure where to go with it in terms of bringing it down.

 

[catinahat]

already do intermittent fasting and eat relatively low carb (the porridge was very unusual

This could be the reason for your raised levels. Our pancreas get used to the amount of insulin we need to deal with the usual amount of carbs in our diet. When we have more carbs than normal it can take the pancreas time to ramp up production.
That's why you have to increase your carb consumption in the few days leading up to a glucose tolerance test, otherwise the result of the test would be unreliable.
A random finger prick test is very unreliable for diagnosis that's why they are doing the HbA1c.
The HbA1c measures how much glucose has stuck to your blood cells. On average blood cells last around 12 weeks so the test shows how high your levels have been over a 12 week period. Much more suitable than a single random test for diagnostic purposes

 

[Antje77]

Can you tell me what the normal parameters are?

In the Netherlands, a random blood glucose of 11 is seen as a strong indicator of diabetes, I expect it's about the same in the UK.

The nurse who phoned said ‘worryingly high’ so I’m completely bemused. She didn’t ask if or what I’d eaten beforehand, she just said it needed urgent investigation.

At a guess, she assumed she was looking at a fasting number, and didn't realise you had eaten very close to your test.

 

[catinahat]

expect it's about the same in the UK.

It's a little different in the uk, Nice recommendation for non diabetic are

Before meals 4.0 to 5.9 mmol/l
At least 90 minutes after meals under 7.8 mmol/l

So 8.8 mmol/l is a little high, although by only 1mmol/l which could easily be explained by the +/-15% accuracy of the meters. It seems to me they are just being thorough by asking for the extra tests to double check.

 

[jjraak]

It's a little different in the uk, Nice recommendation for non diabetic are

Before meals 4.0 to 5.9 mmol/l
At least 90 minutes after meals under 7.8 mmol/l

So 8.8 mmol/l is a little high, although by only 1mmol/l which could easily be explained by the +/-15% accuracy of the meters. It seems to me they are just being thorough by asking for the extra tests to double check.

Alarmist comes to mind with the wording used, though...lol

But overall agree.

@WelshSailor ..
While high, I'd suspect a great many people would test high so soon after with the combo of porridge AND honey.

Normal testing for type 2's is at the two hour marker.

The intention being that we mimic the majority of the population without type 2.

Many who WOULD drop to the nice levels after eating.

But to mimic that , we need, ( as you probably know) to be aware that certain foods contain more carbs then our system can handle.

If you normally eat well as you suggest & the porridge was a one off event, I'd say your HBA1c, as @catinahat outlines, would come in lower then you suspect.

And if the worst happened, at just over the line, I think you sound the type to look at what you eat, test & lower or remove offending items.


It's always a shock when we think we're fine & healthy, to then be told we're possibly not as healthy as we think.

But I now think of such things as a good warning.

Gives me time to adjust & improve my health in whatever way I can.

So on the bright side, it's all under your control right now.

Good luck getting decent results on your HBA1c.

 

[WelshSailor]

That’s for all your helpful comments, they helped me scrape myself off the ceiling, and I do appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I’ve def had a real fright. I bought myself a meter this morning just so I could start to get a feel for what’s going on and my fasting BG was 4.7 on the meter, and 5.8 two hours after lunch. I hope that’s more hopeful and that everything will settle down but I’ve realised that I’m possibly not very carb-friendly and I may if I’m lucky, just need to ensure I stay on piste with low carb in the future. I’ve always suspected I like them a lot more than they like me, and this proves it.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. Can you tell me what the normal parameters are? The nurse who phoned said ‘worryingly high’ so I’m completely bemused. She didn’t ask if or what I’d eaten beforehand, she just said it needed urgent investigation. I already do intermittent fasting and eat relatively low carb (the porridge was very unusual!) so I’m not sure where to go with it in terms of bringing it down.

If you usually eat low carb the porridge with honey will almost certainly have caused a huge spike so your level is unsurprising.
The HbA1c test will show roughly what your levels have been like over the past 3 (ish) months as is far more revealing.
When you get that result come back and we can help dissect it for you.

 

[bulkbiker]

That’s for all your helpful comments, they helped me scrape myself off the ceiling, and I do appreciate you sharing your knowledge. I’ve def had a real fright. I bought myself a meter this morning just so I could start to get a feel for what’s going on and my fasting BG was 4.7 on the meter, and 5.8 two hours after lunch. I hope that’s more hopeful and that everything will settle down but I’ve realised that I’m possibly not very carb-friendly and I may if I’m lucky, just need to ensure I stay on piste with low carb in the future. I’ve always suspected I like them a lot more than they like me, and this proves it.

Yep those are perfectly normal levels looks like the 8.8 was an aberration.

 

[VashtiB]

@WelshSailor I think you are a great example of someone taking control of your own health. Getting the meter and testing gave you some information which in this case calmed your fears.

My belief remains that providing a person with information is the best way to allow people to make good decisions. I think that the nurse was unhelpful by causing you stress without giving you a way to relieve the stress. I don't blame the nurse as I suspect he/she simply doesn't have sufficient information and at the moment is probably too swamped anyway.

 

[Tamarillo]

I'm guessing the nurse thought she was looking at a fasting blood glucose number and not one taken 90 minutes after a carbohydrate containing meal? Could be wrong of course and she may just get startled easily.
The numbers on your meter are pretty stellar.