Just wondering if anyone has ever managed to get one of these. I'm interested to see what my fasting insulin level is but have just been informed by my surgery that this test os not available on the NHS and ... wait for it.. the Diabetes Nurse couldn't see that it would be any use to my condition. So either she is covering her ignorance, genuinely thinks that it won't be useful or doesn't want to let me have it. Hence my question.
No-one that I have spoken to so far in the HCP realm seems to have ever heard of it although I do believe that it is fairly common in the US.
Looks like more private medicine for me if I want one.
I have never had this done on the NHS. I did organise it privately. It was one of the figures that the Prof Tim Noakes asked me to get as part of the study I took part in.
the test came back at 20 - which my doctor said was within "normal" range at the time - that being upto 25.
As I understand it the correct ideal range is something like 3-6 and thus my 20 indicates significant insulin resistance.
Summary of that study
29 patients on LCHF composition average 68% fat, 12% carbs,20% protein
all participants had lost weights average 21kg
18 participants had hab1C under 42m only 4 above 48 ( 1 still 70 and 1 at 90)
15 participants had fasting glucose levels that day of 6 or under , 2 above 8 ( 1 at 13.5 and the other at 16)
Fasting Insulin was particularly interesting
Only 4 participants had a fasting insulin level under 6 ,
5 had fasting insulin over 15 - including me - one had fasting insulin of about 28 .
Thus despite normal glucose levels and near normal Hba1c' the cohort still have relatively high fasting insulin compared to normal.
I am assuming that my own high numbers are a function of relative time on the diet and as such should come down over time ( I was the shortest duration participant i.e. 6 months since diagnosis and 6 months on LCHF.
The study itself considered that 8 individuals could effectively be in " remission" i.e. no actual signs of diabetes and none of fasting insulin, hba1C or fasting glucose tests outside the normal ranges .
Of the 11 participants who were taking insulin prior to LCHF 8 of them have come off it entirely, 2 reduced their dosage and 1 had not changed it at all.
One area that now interests me a great deal is the two participants on the LCHF diet but still with very high Hba1C and fasting glucose numbers. There figures seem rather similar to my friend who I have written about on another thread.
These appear to be individuals who do not respond to LCHF , however looking at the interim data they do not appear to have responded to insulin either .
This makes me wonder if in fact the issue is that it is not that there are individuals with T2 diabetes do not respond to an LCHF diet, it is instead that these individuals may not in fact have T2 diabetes. instead they have type B insulin receptor antibodies - an auto-immune disorder with an entirely different treatment protocol. Maybe this is not quite as uncommon as suggested . Given the standard way that anyone presenting with high blood sugars is treated - it would seem entirely possible for this to be the case. I have sent the details to the Tim Noakes study for investigation.
