I was listening to the radio the other day and Dr Michael Mosley was talking about diabetes and prediabetes. I decided to buy a home testing kit and the 8 week blood sugar diet and I tested my blood this morning after fasting and it was 5.6... I'm getting conflicting information from the web about whether this is just inside the normal range or whether it is an indicator of pre diabetes. I am 43, normal BMI, not overweight, make home cooked food most nights with the odd takeaway. I walk my dog a lot, doing between 10,000 and 17,000 steps a day, have an active job and go to the gym (occasionally!!). My big downfall however is chocolate and red wine, oh and biscuits etc.....I'm not the kind of person who can just have one portion of these items oh no, I have to have the lot. I have been worried for some time about the risk to my health especially with the alcohol but seem to be in a rut and can't get out. The only symptom I can see which may apply to me is that I do seem to urinate a lot compared to friends and family but I don't have excessive thirst. This is the kick start I need to sort my addictions out - should I be worried about a 5.6 fasting reading and do I need to go and see my doctor? Thank you!!
Should I be worried - just done a home blood test.....
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Bluetit1802
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There is nothing at all wrong with a fasting of 5.6.
However, we can't diagnose you, so if you are concerned, see your doctor. He is the only one that can advise you.
However, we can't diagnose you, so if you are concerned, see your doctor. He is the only one that can advise you.
I wish I had regular readings of 5.6 being a IDD for over 40yrs. Just do what you enjoy and don't worry about it. A lot of our problems are created with the way we think and worry too much. However, if with your freq urinating and thirst, I would get to the DR's and get him to do some proper tests.
You get a normal fasting BG and you're wirried??
Test yourself 2 hrs after some meals before you send out an alarm!
micksmixxx
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Hi loobylou72,
As absolutely NONE of the previous respondents are correct in believing that a fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l [that's 100.8 mg/dL for our American cousins] is within range, I thought I'd give you the CORRECT fasting blood glucose levels.
A non-diabetic's fasting (after not eating or drinking overnight) blood glucose level should be between 3.9 and 5.5 mmol/l (millimoles per litre) [that's 70 and 99 mg/dL (milligrams per deciLiter) for those using the American Standard for blood glucose measurement], though some laboratories now accept 3.6 mmol/l [65 mg/dL] as being the acceptable lower limit.
Having said that, there's really no need to start panicking. As you can see, your 5.6 mmol/l is only just above what is considered the 'normal' non-diabetic range.
As you suspect, your fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l is just inside the pre-diabetes range. We must, however, assume that you carried out the test correctly, that the blood glucose meter used was calibrated, AND that the test strips used were within their use by date. For instance, did you wash and dry your hands immediately prior to testing? I ask this as remnants of food(s) and/or drink(s) can affect the results obtained, as can various creams/moisturisers/emollients, cleaning products, scents/perfumes, etc. There are also various medications which can affect the results you obtain from blood glucose testing, and we don't know whether you're actually taking any.
Also, a single blood glucose reading is NOT definitive that anything is wrong at all. Even your doctor would request you to attend on two or more separate occasions to repeat the initial blood test ... especially with the level being as close to the 'normal' range as yours.
IF you did actually decide to see your doctor, s/he would invariably carry out their own blood glucose test as it wouldn't be safe to assume that you'd tested correctly.
At such a very marginal increase in blood glucose levels your doctor would ask you information with regards to your diet, level of activity, the type of work that you do, whether you have close family members that are diabetic, whether you have ever developed gestational diabetes during one or more pregnancies (I'm assuming, though maybe wrongly, that you're female here), whether your mother developed gestational diabetes during the pregnancy when you were being carried (some doctors believe that this MAY increase the risk of the child developing type 2 diabetes at some point in their life), whether you're going through a particular period of stress at the moment. All of these can have a bearing on whether you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. S/he MIGHT advise you on the sorts of things you should try avoiding in your diet, to take more exercise ... even though you say you are already active in your job ... and MAY request that you return for another test in say 6 months time, just to make sure that things are as they should be, and not 'progressing'.
You don't mention the amounts of alcohol that you do imbibe, my friend, but this COULD have an effect on the functioning of the pancreas ... the organ that produces the hormone insulin. If you've been drinking a lot, for a number of years, there is a possibility of developing pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) which, in SOME cases lead to problems such as diabetes.
As absolutely NONE of the previous respondents are correct in believing that a fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l [that's 100.8 mg/dL for our American cousins] is within range, I thought I'd give you the CORRECT fasting blood glucose levels.
A non-diabetic's fasting (after not eating or drinking overnight) blood glucose level should be between 3.9 and 5.5 mmol/l (millimoles per litre) [that's 70 and 99 mg/dL (milligrams per deciLiter) for those using the American Standard for blood glucose measurement], though some laboratories now accept 3.6 mmol/l [65 mg/dL] as being the acceptable lower limit.
Having said that, there's really no need to start panicking. As you can see, your 5.6 mmol/l is only just above what is considered the 'normal' non-diabetic range.
As you suspect, your fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l is just inside the pre-diabetes range. We must, however, assume that you carried out the test correctly, that the blood glucose meter used was calibrated, AND that the test strips used were within their use by date. For instance, did you wash and dry your hands immediately prior to testing? I ask this as remnants of food(s) and/or drink(s) can affect the results obtained, as can various creams/moisturisers/emollients, cleaning products, scents/perfumes, etc. There are also various medications which can affect the results you obtain from blood glucose testing, and we don't know whether you're actually taking any.
Also, a single blood glucose reading is NOT definitive that anything is wrong at all. Even your doctor would request you to attend on two or more separate occasions to repeat the initial blood test ... especially with the level being as close to the 'normal' range as yours.
IF you did actually decide to see your doctor, s/he would invariably carry out their own blood glucose test as it wouldn't be safe to assume that you'd tested correctly.
At such a very marginal increase in blood glucose levels your doctor would ask you information with regards to your diet, level of activity, the type of work that you do, whether you have close family members that are diabetic, whether you have ever developed gestational diabetes during one or more pregnancies (I'm assuming, though maybe wrongly, that you're female here), whether your mother developed gestational diabetes during the pregnancy when you were being carried (some doctors believe that this MAY increase the risk of the child developing type 2 diabetes at some point in their life), whether you're going through a particular period of stress at the moment. All of these can have a bearing on whether you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. S/he MIGHT advise you on the sorts of things you should try avoiding in your diet, to take more exercise ... even though you say you are already active in your job ... and MAY request that you return for another test in say 6 months time, just to make sure that things are as they should be, and not 'progressing'.
You don't mention the amounts of alcohol that you do imbibe, my friend, but this COULD have an effect on the functioning of the pancreas ... the organ that produces the hormone insulin. If you've been drinking a lot, for a number of years, there is a possibility of developing pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) which, in SOME cases lead to problems such as diabetes.
Since meters have a 20% margin of error, she has nothing to fret about especially at her age.
Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app
David_A_Hughes
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My BG this morning was 13.9 - how do you think I feel about that!? If I had readings like 5.6, I'd be back on the bread, beer and chips!
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply - much appreciated! I do have to make an appointment with the doctor soon for something unrelated so may see about getting a proper blood test done! A bit of a wake up call really though in terms of my diet and alcohol consumption. I can see that this is an early warning to do something now or risk problems in the future. I am going to take it slowly though, cutting red wine out till just Saturday night, the same with chocolate and general lower carb diet the rest of the time. Bit of a lifestyle change really so here goes....
Bluetit1802
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@loobylou72 Yes, this is a warning sign, but the situation is not urgent. Being a prediabetic is like being chubby. Both increase the risk of serious chronic disease in 20 years, but illness is not guaranteed.
Maybe the reason you've seen conflicting information is that the U.S. has a stricter standard for using fasting blood glucose to diagnose pre-D: 5.5 mmol/l. Sometime after the year 2000, the U.S. diabetology profession departed from the international standard of 6.0 mmol/l. Research has established that in the range of 5.0 - 6.8, the risk of progression to diabetes rises gradually, without jumps. The fasting level of 6.8 is diabetic, in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. The merit of the American standard is to get people's attention earlier.
At the same time, the upward progression of blood glucose is usually at a creep, and just like being chubby, the rises are self limiting in many individuals.
Maybe the reason you've seen conflicting information is that the U.S. has a stricter standard for using fasting blood glucose to diagnose pre-D: 5.5 mmol/l. Sometime after the year 2000, the U.S. diabetology profession departed from the international standard of 6.0 mmol/l. Research has established that in the range of 5.0 - 6.8, the risk of progression to diabetes rises gradually, without jumps. The fasting level of 6.8 is diabetic, in Europe, Canada, and the U.S. The merit of the American standard is to get people's attention earlier.
At the same time, the upward progression of blood glucose is usually at a creep, and just like being chubby, the rises are self limiting in many individuals.
Well, just because it has a 20% margin of error doesn't mean that you just assume the reading is always 20% too high... it could be 20% too low as well.
A single test doesn't tell you what's your meter's margin of error. It's a series of tests that will give you trend numbers. Plus, if you go for regular (every few months) lab tests, then you can sort of gauge how accurate your meter is.
5.6 is borderline ok, according to most national guidelines, although many diabetes sites would categorise that as being a tad over the normal range. Taking it as a simple warning sign is the correct way to go about it, but I agree that it's still low enough to not have to be overly worried about it.
Pinkorchid
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I would not think you have any worries with a fasting level of 5.6 and many here would love to have those levels but only a proper blood test will tell you for sure. Most doctors will say that BG levels in the 6's are prediabetes and 7 and anything over that is classed as diabetes. Your doctor may not even want to do a blood test as you really have nothing that points to diabetes, peeing a lot without the excessive thirst is not really a symptom you are not overweight and it sounds like you have a pretty healthy diet and lifestyle. Yes cut down on the wine and the sweet stuff if you feel you need to but a glass of red wine sometimes is not bad thing plenty here drink that
