A little help with test results please!

Lelliee · Nov 25, 2020

A bit of background-
I was contacted during my booking bloods of pregnancy at 10 weeks and told I needed to urgently get to the hospital, my Hba1c was 76. I had no idea what this meant! I was put on insulin 4 times a day- novorapid and levemir and told I was almost definitely type 1 diabetic. During my pregnancy my levels fluctuated and I was given a freestyle Libre to help monitor my levels, my Hba1c mid way was 36. My insulin requirements fluctuated too- by mid pregnancy I was on metformin alone and no insulin, the type of diabetes I had was still considered unidentifiable. Towards the end I required levemir again and novorapid with breakfast and my Hba1c was 42.
I had my baby boy 22.7.20 weighing 7lbs 13oz at 38+5 emergency c-section due to fetal distress. His blood sugars were monitored and 24hrs later we were both discharged home. My Hba1c a few weeks after birth was 49.
A few weeks ago I had my first full panel of diabetes blood tests post pregnancy, which I was told would decipher which type I had. Today I had my consultation over the phone and the consultant told me my numbers... Please help...
They were drawn fasting at 10.20am and are as follows:
Hba1c- 42
Glucose- 8.8
Insulin- 29
C-peptide- 846
Antibodies- negative
I understand the first two, however after that I'm a bit lost!
Thank you for any help.

ianpspurs · Nov 25, 2020

Lelliee said:
A bit of background-
I was contacted during my booking bloods of pregnancy at 10 weeks and told I needed to urgently get to the hospital, my Hba1c was 76. I had no idea what this meant! I was put on insulin 4 times a day- novorapid and levemir and told I was almost definitely type 1 diabetic. During my pregnancy my levels fluctuated and I was given a freestyle Libre to help monitor my levels, my Hba1c mid way was 36. My insulin requirements fluctuated too- by mid pregnancy I was on metformin alone and no insulin, the type of diabetes I had was still considered unidentifiable. Towards the end I required levemir again and novorapid with breakfast and my Hba1c was 42.
I had my baby boy 22.7.20 weighing 7lbs 13oz at 38+5 emergency c-section due to fetal distress. His blood sugars were monitored and 24hrs later we were both discharged home. My Hba1c a few weeks after birth was 49.
A few weeks ago I had my first full panel of diabetes blood tests post pregnancy, which I was told would decipher which type I had. Today I had my consultation over the phone and the consultant told me my numbers... Please help...
They were drawn fasting at 10.20am and are as follows:
Hba1c- 42
Glucose- 8.8
Insulin- 29
C-peptide- 846
Antibodies- negative
I understand the first two, however after that I'm a bit lost!
Thank you for any help.

Can't help with results but congratulations on your baby boy. Better people than I will help with your query.

Lelliee · Nov 25, 2020

Thank you! His name is Edward and he's a little pudding, although I may be slightly biased!

Ronancastled · Nov 25, 2020

Lelliee said:
My Hba1c a few weeks after birth was 49.
A few weeks ago I had my first full panel of diabetes blood tests post pregnancy, which I was told would decipher which type I had. Today I had my consultation over the phone and the consultant told me my numbers... Please help...
They were drawn fasting at 10.20am and are as follows:
Hba1c- 42
Glucose- 8.8

Ok, first congrats on the birth, so much going on at once, you must be overwhelmed.

So, you dropped from a diagnostic diabetic Hba1c of 49 (48 & up) to the cutoff of being a pre-diabetic (42 - 47) in a matter of weeks.
As those bloods are meant to reflect a 3 month average it's a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time.
Are you off all meds as those results are remarkable.

Only thing of concern is your FBG (fasting blood glucose) @ 8.8, ideally this would be under 5.6 to be considered normal or at least 7.0 to put you in the pre-diabetic range.
Are you sure it was after fasting & you didn't have a cuppa or something prior to the test.

Lelliee · Nov 25, 2020

Ronancastled said:
Ok, first congrats on the birth, so much going on at once, you must be overwhelmed.

So, you dropped from a diagnostic diabetic Hba1c of 49 (48 & up) to the cutoff of being a pre-diabetic (42 - 47) in a matter of weeks.
As those bloods are meant to reflect a 3 month average it's a remarkable turnaround in such a short space of time.
Are you off all meds as those results are remarkable.

Only thing of concern is your FBG (fasting blood glucose) @ 8.8, ideally this would be under 5.6 to be considered normal or at least 7.0 to put you in the pre-diabetic range.
Are you sure it was after fasting & you didn't have a cuppa or something prior to the test.

I currently take 500mg Metformin with breakfast and 500mg with tea and limit carbs to about 40g a day. My initial hba1c was 76, so thankfully getting to 42 is much better.
I'm absolutely positive I didn't eat or drink anything before my blood test except water. I have this problem most mornings, my sugars tend to be on about 5-6 at bed time and then I see an increase to between 7-8 when I wake up or during early morning...
My libre reckons my average glucose is currently:
00.00-06.00- 5.9
06.00-12.00- 7.2
12.00-18.00- 6.1
18.00-24.00- 6.4
I tried to upload a photo but it won't let me
Thank you for your reply, I feel at a loss... The consultant said I'm one of the best results she's seen on her libre system and that I'm merely borderline type 2, but I'm unsure.

DCB 2 · Nov 25, 2020

Lelliee said:
Thank you! His name is Edward and he's a little pudding, although I may be slightly biased!

Congrats on Edward !!!!! You being biased about him is expected !!!! Just remember one day he will become a teenager ... Contracts again

I agree your fasting numbers seems a little off. Do you have a meter at home? You might want to test over a couple days to see what is going on

What you are seeing with your numbers is the dawn phenomenon, looking at your A1C it is pretty close to normal. The dawn phenomenon is where the the liver releases glucose to wake you up in the morning. It looks like you have been recently diagnosed, it took me about 6 months after I was diagnosed to remove the dawn phenomenon. I would take your A1C numbers because they are showing things over time.Just give it time ........

What works for me is that I take walk in the evenings to manage it. Once Edward starts crawling you will have plenty of opportunities for exercise.

Lelliee · Nov 25, 2020

DCB 2 said:
Congrats on Edward !!!!! You being biased about him is expected !!!! Just remember one day he will become a teenager ... Contracts again

I agree your fasting numbers seems a little off. Do you have a meter at home? You might want to test over a couple days to see what is going on

What you are seeing with your numbers is the dawn phenomenon, looking at your A1C it is pretty close to normal. The dawn phenomenon is where the the liver releases glucose to wake you up in the morning. It looks like you have been recently diagnosed, it took me about 6 months after I was diagnosed to remove the dawn phenomenon. I would take your A1C numbers because they are showing things over time.Just give it time ........

What works for me is that I take walk in the evenings to manage it. Once Edward starts crawling you will have plenty of opportunities for exercise.

I do have a meter! I use my freestyle Libre l the time and do occasional finger pricks to check how the libre is running.
In a typical day I have eggs and ham for breakfast, meat and cheese and salad for lunch, sometimes a bit of bread, then usually salad and meat or fish or cauliflower cheese or veg for dinner. For snacks I usually have fibre one bars, cheesestrings, Lindahl's kvarg yogurt, sometimes I'll share chocolate etc with my partner, popcorn, I usually keep my carb about 40g a day like I said above, around 10g per snack! I'm also a sucker for croutons!
I was diagnosed as diabetic back in January through my pregnancy booking bloods, however the type was only clarified today, even then the consultant said 'probable, very mild type 2'... My fasting glucose is always the issue! The consultant said there is definite insulin resistance based on the numbers I put in my original post above... Other than that, I'm a bit lost... There has been mention of PCOS or hormonal imbalances but because of giving birth only 18 weeks ago, it is considered too early to test.
Sorry for rambling! Just very confused!
Edward definitely helps with getting out! All through pregnancy I walked every day. I still walk everyday, usually around 6000 steps!

Ronancastled · Nov 25, 2020

DCB 2 said:
It took me about 6 months after I was diagnosed to remove the dawn phenomenon.

Snap, exactly the same experience here.
I initially managed to get my FBG from 7.5 to 5.1 in the 3 weeks post diagnosis but it crept up slowly for the next few months, as if my body was trying to find it's level.
Then it started to stabilise in the low 5's.
Then I had a further stepped drop into the high 4's & finally into the low 4's where I am today.

They say FBG is the last one to go up & conversely the slowest one to come down.
Stick with it but it could take months.

Dark Horse · Nov 25, 2020

You need to quote the units as well as the numbers. C peptide, for example could be measured in pmol/l, nmpl/l, nmol/ml or mg/nl, each with a different normal range. (Omitting the units is a bit like saying something is 12 long and leaving people to guess whether it's centimetres or inches.)

This page gives some information about interpreting C-peptide results but note that the units they are using are pmol/l so you need to check whether your units are the same:-
https://www.exeterlaboratory.com/test/c-peptide-plasma/

DCB 2 · Nov 25, 2020

Lelliee said:
I do have a meter! I use my freestyle Libre l the time and do occasional finger pricks to check how the libre is running.
In a typical day I have eggs and ham for breakfast, meat and cheese and salad for lunch, sometimes a bit of bread, then usually salad and meat or fish or cauliflower cheese or veg for dinner. For snacks I usually have fibre one bars, cheesestrings, Lindahl's kvarg yogurt, sometimes I'll share chocolate etc with my partner, popcorn, I usually keep my carb about 40g a day like I said above, around 10g per snack! I'm also a sucker for croutons!
I was diagnosed as diabetic back in January through my pregnancy booking bloods, however the type was only clarified today, even then the consultant said 'probable, very mild type 2'... My fasting glucose is always the issue! The consultant said there is definite insulin resistance based on the numbers I put in my original post above... Other than that, I'm a bit lost... There has been mention of PCOS or hormonal imbalances but because of giving birth only 18 weeks ago, it is considered too early to test.
Sorry for rambling! Just very confused!
Edward definitely helps with getting out! All through pregnancy I walked every day. I still walk everyday, usually around 6000 steps!

Hang in there kiddo you are are doing fine. Just stay with it, you just produced this little human being, it going to take some time for you body to readjust to things. But A!C is good and your other reading are excellent so I would not worry that much. Stressing out on things also raises ones numbers. You are doing great. Trust me if I saw something wrong you would know,

Lelliee · Nov 25, 2020

Dark Horse said:
You need to quote the units as well as the numbers. C peptide, for example could be measured in pmol/l, nmpl/l, nmol/ml or mg/nl, each with a different normal range. (Omitting the units is a bit like saying something is 12 long and leaving people to guess whether it's centimetres or inches.)

This page gives some information about interpreting C-peptide results but note that the units they are using are pmol/l so you need to check whether your units are the same:-
https://www.exeterlaboratory.com/test/c-peptide-plasma/

Yeah, this is what I'm struggling with... Going to phone the clinic and confirm tomorrow as I wasn't given any kind of units, just that number and I can't find anything online that corresponds with the figure of 846
It is specifically the insulin and cpeptide values I'm confused about

New Haven Neil · Nov 25, 2020

Congratulations! Enjoy Edward, they never cease to amaze. Somehow my daughter is 32, no idea where that went!

I also have dawn readings in the same range as you are seeing on your Libre, and at almost 2 years on, with A1C's constantly around 37, they are still the same. No change at all, despite low-carbing. I accept it is 'just how I am' now.

Ronancastled · Nov 25, 2020

Lelliee · Nov 27, 2020

Thank you everyone! I guess I just need to try and embrace that it's part of who I am now. 27 with type two diabetes seems scary.

New Haven Neil · Nov 27, 2020

It was a little scary at 60 too.....but as you learn about it, and how to manage it, it becomes more normal. Just watch the carbs!

OB87 · Nov 27, 2020

Lelliee said:
Thank you everyone! I guess I just need to try and embrace that it's part of who I am now. 27 with type two diabetes seems scary.

I was 32 and I felt scared too. I haven't been diagnosed long only 8 weeks but I'm trying to be positive and think this new lifestyle will enable me to be healthier overall, not just with what I eat but stress and exercise too. I have a 4 and 2 year old and the future worries me so much but I'm glad I found this group and I have reduced my carb intake. Testing has been very motivating hoping for a lower hba1c next time x

Lelliee · Nov 27, 2020

OB87 said:
I was 32 and I felt scared too. I haven't been diagnosed long only 8 weeks but I'm trying to be positive and think this new lifestyle will enable me to be healthier overall, not just with what I eat but stress and exercise too. I have a 4 and 2 year old and the future worries me so much but I'm glad I found this group and I have reduced my carb intake. Testing has been very motivating hoping for a lower hba1c next time x

I understand what you mean! I'm always here to talk about anything if you want a diabetic buddy!
I've reduced my carb intake massively too, how is your hba1c?

Lelliee · Nov 27, 2020

New Haven Neil said:
It was a little scary at 60 too.....but as you learn about it, and how to manage it, it becomes more normal. Just watch the carbs!

Thank you, you're very kind it's been a difficult year, back in January when I was pregnant and just being diagnosed, particularly as probable type 1, it was very scary. It's such a complex subject! I try and limit my carb intake a lot, just can't get rid of that stubborn morning spike.

OB87 · Nov 27, 2020

Lelliee said:
I understand what you mean! I'm always here to talk about anything if you want a diabetic buddy!
I've reduced my carb intake massively too, how is your hba1c?

It was 76 when I was diagnosed but I haven't had one since. I was a massive carb eater probably had 300-400g a day. I havent given up them but now aim for maximum 100g a day. I prob could go lower but I'm not seeing spikes yet . I will book another blood test in a few weeks I think. Congratulations on your baby and dont worry you seem like you are doing well x

Lelliee · Dec 2, 2020

OB87 said:
It was 76 when I was diagnosed but I haven't had one since. I was a massive carb eater probably had 300-400g a day. I havent given up them but now aim for maximum 100g a day. I prob could go lower but I'm not seeing spikes yet . I will book another blood test in a few weeks I think. Congratulations on your baby and dont worry you seem like you are doing well x

Thank you for being so kind! I used to eat so many carbs too! I loved them! Little did I know ay...

A little help with test results please!

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