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Not Diabetic: Morning glucose reading

T

TCad95

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Don't have diabetes
Hello! I have recently bought a blood glucose test as I am interested in tracking my results. I am not diagnosed as diabetic.

Yesterday I had a fasting test result of 5.7. Two hours after eating it was 6.7. I did a test as soon as I woke up this morning (13/14 hours since last eating) and it was 6.8. I'm not sure what is happening here and if it is anything to be concerned about.

Everyone on this forum has more experience with glucose tests and I was wondering whether anyone had any experience of this and would be able to tell me what was going on. Many thanks!
 
@TCad95 What do you mean by "tracking your results"?

I don't understand why you bought a glucose tester. Are you at high risk of diabetes?

In a person without diabetes, blood sugar moves up and down in a normal range between approx 3.5 and 8 with occasional spikes up to 10 after a big meal.
 
azure said:
@TCad95 What do you mean by "tracking your results"?

I don't understand why you bought a glucose tester. Are you at high risk of diabetes?

In a person without diabetes, blood sugar moves up and down in a normal range between approx 3.5 and 8 with occasional spikes up to 10 after a big meal.
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I am overweight and wish to know what my blood sugar level is. I am interested to see how my body reacts to certain meals and during fasting. I only see having more information about myself as a good thing and it has thrown up this anomaly of a fasting result being higher than a result after a meal.
 
TCad95 said:
I am overweight and wish to know what my blood sugar level is. I am interested to see how my body reacts to certain meals and during fasting. I only see having more information about myself as a good thing and it has thrown up this anomaly of a fasting result being higher than a result after a meal.
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Your after meal result is within the normal range :) Blood glucose meters have a margin of error so venous blood is best for diagnosing diabetes.

If you're concerned about diabetes then you should visit a doctor as they'll be able to do more accurate and more informative tests and give you a definite answer as to whether you have diabetes or not :)

The blood glucose meters on sale in the shops aren't suitable for diagnosing diabetes. The best thing to do is to,talk to a doctor about your concerns. You may also find that the Practice Nurse can help you. Only a doctor can diagnose diabetes, and random tests like you're doing won't really give you the answers you're seeking.

See a doctor for proper tests and let us know how you get on :)
 
Hi @TCad95 and welcome to the forum. The figures that you quote are nothing to worry about,and are well within ranges. As a non-diabetic I'm assuming from what you say that you want to take control of your life and way of eating, to avoid becoming diabetic, and I think this is a good thing. The thing to remember is that we are all individuals, and what is ok and right for one peson, may not be ok and right for another. The rise in your BS numbers on waking is something that is generally referred to as the "dawn phenomenon" and everybody experiences something like it. It is nature's way of giving us the energy boost to get up and face the working day (or maybe a lazy day, if you happen to be retired :D) The levels often reduce after a time of firm control of diet and appropriate exercise, (though some achieve their aims via diet alone) but unless and until you have a diagnosis of diabetes, or pre-diabetes, you don't need to be worried at this stage.

There is a lot of information on the various forum sections, (scroll down from the Forum start page) and on the Home pages of the main site, so have a good browse around and "get the feel" of what is available. You could start here: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html and then follow up with reading other items in that section and the rest of the home pages.

Another good site for info about low carb (carbohydrate) diets is: www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

My personal opinion is that low carb lifestyle is good for most people; but not everyone needs to be low carb. On this site there are many people who do very well on 'normal' diets - which means that ultimately each of us has to find what is right for ourselves.

One further thing I would mention, if you are going to continue testing, is to check your BS levels immediately before you eat, and then test again 2 hrs after start of eating. You should be aiming for your levels to have returned as close as poss to the start figure, or if not, then a rise of no more than 2 mmol/L. If you want to find where your BS 'spike' is highest, you could test after, say, 30min, 1hr, 90mins and then 2 hrs.; or every 15mins, or any other combination you choose. It will be expensive initially, using many test strips, but could give you a good idea of your base levels when eating certain foods.

Hope that helps a little, to give you a start on learning what's what. Happy hunting ....
 
TCad95 said:
it has thrown up this anomaly of a fasting result being higher than a result after a meal.
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Welcome to the forum, what you have noticed is not uncommon. I have read that the liver is most active between 1am and 3am and this can be explained depending on your belief in Chinese medicine and circadian cycles. One of the things it does is dump glucose into the blood, hence higher readings in the morning.

Personally, I'm following a low carb diet (less than 40gms per day) and I have been using the FreeStyle Libre to plot my BG every 15 mins. I eat an evening meal no later than 19:30, usually meat and vegetables (nothing grown underground which tend to be higher in carbs). There is hardly any movement in my BG, until midnight or even as late as 3am and up goes the BG.
 
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