Not yet diagnosed with diabetes but large variations in fasting blood sugar levels

[Nickyboo]

Hi everyone

I hope it’s okay to post on here - I’ve not been diagnosed with diabetes yet but am pushing my doctor to have a blood test ASAP.
I woke up last Friday feeling awful. Really thirsty and a dry mouth, feeling like I wanted to urinate all the time ( although sometimes only feeling like urinating rather than urinating) and generally really fatigued and nauseous. The symptoms came on very suddenly- I was running around the previous day absolutely fine.The symptons continued over the weekend and on Monday I phoned my doctor. They are not seeing people at my surgery unless an emergency so I spoke to a paramedic over the phone and described my symptoms. She said it sounded more like a UTI so prescribed a 3 day course of antibiotics and to call back if no improvement.
I was worried myself about diabetes and purchased a BG monitor to test blood sugar levels. I tested first thing yesterday morning and fasting BG was 5.4. 2 hours after lunch it was 7.1. Both seem to be within the normal range levels so I felt happier.
Tested again first thing this morning however and the reading was 7.3!!! I am confused as to how there can be such a variation morning to morning ( in one day).?
I ate hardly any food last night for dinner as the antibiotics I am on are very strong and I had no appetite at all and felt very nauseous and just went to bed. Could the lack of food yesterday evening actually be a reason for the spike this morning?
Sorry if this is a silly question( it just doesn’t make sense to me).
I have eaten breakfast so will test again in a couple of hours and will speak to my doctor again about my concerns but just wanted to check as why there might be high morning levels from one day to the next with very little food eaten?
Thanks for your help!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi everyone

I hope it’s okay to post on here - I’ve not been diagnosed with diabetes yet but am pushing my doctor to have a blood test ASAP.
I woke up last Friday feeling awful. Really thirsty and a dry mouth, feeling like I wanted to urinate all the time ( although sometimes only feeling like urinating rather than urinating) and generally really fatigued and nauseous. The symptoms came on very suddenly- I was running around the previous day absolutely fine.The symptons continued over the weekend and on Monday I phoned my doctor. They are not seeing people at my surgery unless an emergency so I spoke to a paramedic over the phone and described my symptoms. She said it sounded more like a UTI so prescribed a 3 day course of antibiotics and to call back if no improvement.
I was worried myself about diabetes and purchased a BG monitor to test blood sugar levels. I tested first thing yesterday morning and fasting BG was 5.4. 2 hours after lunch it was 7.1. Both seem to be within the normal range levels so I felt happier.
Tested again first thing this morning however and the reading was 7.3!!! I am confused as to how there can be such a variation morning to morning ( in one day).?
I ate hardly any food last night for dinner as the antibiotics I am on are very strong and I had no appetite at all and felt very nauseous and just went to bed. Could the lack of food yesterday evening actually be a reason for the spike this morning?
Sorry if this is a silly question( it just doesn’t make sense to me).
I have eaten breakfast so will test again in a couple of hours and will speak to my doctor again about my concerns but just wanted to check as why there might be high morning levels from one day to the next with very little food eaten?
Thanks for your help!

Morning levels, especially in your case, mean exactly nothing. You see, when you have an infection, blood sugars go up, in healthy people as well as diabetics. And in the morning, your liver dumps glucose to help you get started, especially when you haven't eaten. Again, something that happens for people whether they're diabetic or not. So the numbers mean little at this moment, as you're experiencing a bit of a perfect storm for *slightly* elevated blood sugars. A diabetic would see higher numbers than you are, under these circumstances. Your numbers are still in the normal range, while you're fighting off an infection. You can assume that means you're not diabetic. Hope that helps. One more thing: frequent urination, in large amounts, would be a symptom of diabetes. Feeling the need to go when nothing or very little comes out, is more of a UTI thing. Rest easy, after the antibiotics do their work, you should be fine. If you want to give them a hand, try D-mannose/cranberry capsules, maybe drink some diluted apple cider vinegar to up the acidity of your urine (bacteria hate acid!).

Good luck, and I hope you'll feel better soon!
Jo

 

[Nickyboo]

Morning levels, especially in your case, mean exactly nothing. You see, when you have an infection, blood sugars go up, in healthy people as well as diabetics. And in the morning, your liver dumps glucose to help you get started, especially when you haven't eaten. Again, something that happens for people whether they're diabetic or not. So the numbers mean little at this moment, as you're experiencing a bit of a perfect storm for *slightly* elevated blood sugars. A diabetic would see higher numbers than you are, under these circumstances. Your numbers are still in the normal range, while you're fighting off an infection. You can assume that means you're not diabetic. Hope that helps. One more thing: frequent urination, in large amounts, would be a symptom of diabetes. Feeling the need to go when nothing or very little comes out, is more of a UTI thing. Rest easy, after the antibiotics do their work, you should be fine. If you want to give them a hand, try D-mannose/cranberry capsules, maybe drink some diluted apple cider vinegar to up the acidity of your urine (bacteria hate acid!).

Good luck, and I hope you'll feel better soon!
Jo

Thank you for your reply- I really appreciate it. I’ll keep going with the antibiotics and have purchased some cranberry capsules so will take those too. Hopefully they’ll start to kick in soon, if not I’ll go back to the doctor.
Thanks again

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and welcome,

It is also worth bearing in mind that it is perfectly normal for blood glucose levels to fluctuate through the day.
this fluctuation is affected by a great deal more than just whether we ate.
It also depends on stress, activity, fatigue, what we ate, when we ate, other health conditions, fitness levels and exercise levels.
The meter that you are using is not going to be 100% accurate or consistent, either. Sometimes people test the same drop of blood a couple of times and get different readings each time. It is, quite simply, the nature of home testing, that the machines are somewhat inaccurate.

So far, your readings are in no way unusual for someone on antibiotics with a possible infection.
So please take reassurance from that, and wait until your antibiotics and the infection are well past, before drawing any conclusions about other health conditions.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[mouseee]

Echoing what the others have said. Weeing as a symptom of diabetes as it's your body desperately trying to get rid of the excess sugar in the blood - and you find yourself weeing alot and not just being a thirsty, excessive thirst, I was drinking 3 or 4 litres before lunchtime and still being thirsty.
Let's hope it's a UTI, the antibiotics work and you find that everything feels normal again soon! UTIs are not fun and you can feel dreadful. Your blood sugars are certainly in the normal range.
Hope you feel better soon!