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Am I Diabetic?

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dan16101

Newbie
Messages
2
Hi all, just to give a little bit of background. -
I’m 19 years old and I suffer with extreme health anxiety, recently I spent a lot of time with my Grandad who is a type 2 diabetic and it got me thinking about how poor my lifestyle is. I have been improving my diet and exercising far more but I am overwhelmed by worry. I have done two hba1c tests, one in January which gave me a result of 31 and another a few days ago which gave me 32, I was told that anything between 28 and 41 is a non-diabetic level so my doctor says I am safe. However, out of curiosity I tested my blood sugars 2 hours after eating a small burger and found that my result was 6.5, which seemed strangely high considering it was such a small meal. Much less than I usually eat. Does this mean my post prandial blood sugars are likely spiking to above the cut off of 7.8 when I’m eating larger meals? Would anybody here take this as a cause for concern? My fasting blood sugars when tested in the morning are always 4.5. I am incredibly anxious, I spend my entire life trying to cope with my anxiety and having another condition on top would just be too much. I understand type 2 diabetes is rare in younger people but I am overweight and for a few years my lifestyle has been incredibly poor as I am very inactive.

For reference:

Jan Hba1c: 31
May Hba1c: 32
8 hour fasting: 5.5 mmol/L
1 hour after eating (small meal): 5.8
2 hours after eating (same meal as above): 6.5

Any help would be appreciated. Would you recommend I go back to my doctor and tell her about the 6.5 result or would the size of a meal not create that much a difference? If I was spiking to diabetic levels regularly would this be visible in my Hba1c results?

Thank you
 
Hello @dan16101 Welcome to the site However it will be a brief visit for you as based on what you've mentioned there is no reason to suspect diabetes, so the 6.5 is well within the non diabetic range. However as you're consciously thinking about it then it would be a good idea to looking at making some lifestyle changes to ensure you stay healthy in the future, have a read around the forum and see how members here manage their diets.

For your information:

NICE recommended target blood glucose level ranges Target Levels
by Type Upon waking Before meals (pre prandial) At least 90 minutes after meals (post prandial)
Non-diabetic* 4.0 to 5.9 mmol/L under 7.8 mmol/L
Type 2 diabetes 4 to 7 mmol/L under 8.5 mmol/L
Type 1 diabetes 5 to 7 mmol/L 4 to 7 mmol/L 5 to 9 mmol/L
 
First off, breathe. Anyone here would be over the moon with such numbers, as they are firmly, and absolutely, non-diabetic. T2's can't process carbs properly. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so even a small burger, meaning, the bread and possibly sugar-laden condiments, would make your bloodsugars go up. For me, I'd hit double digits: the last time I ate bread I got 18-point-somethingorother. So, two things: First, it's not the size of the meal, but the amount of carbs in it that affect bloodsugars. Second, if you were diabetic, you'd be seeing much higher numbers due to the bun. I know, I know, it's against forum rules to diagnose anyone, but there's nothing to diagnose. You have a beautiful insulin response, and a perfect HbA1c. It took me three years of eating low carb to get a HbA1c of 33. You haven't had to change a thing to get stunning numbers.

Since you mention weight problems, and having another condition, well... I have several, and was morbidly obese when I started the low carb journey... It is a way to lose weight, should you choose it, and some conditions are helped by low carbing, because carbs tend to cause inflammations. My rheumatism is a lot better, as is my cholesterol etc. I don't know what your issues are, all in all, but you could always have a look around over at dietdoctor.com, or read dr. Jason Fung's The Obesity Code. Some ailments are made worse because of our inflammatory western diet, some are made worse when you have extra weight to haul around. (Joints and backs don't like it much, after all.).

I do understand your anxiety, as every time I see a doc I get a new diagnosis to add to my rather long laundry-list, but for the moment... This is one thing you don't have to worry about.

Hugs,
Jo
 
It might help you and your grandad to consider lower carbs in your meals, and particular snacks - I started eating low carb in my early 20s as a way of countering the low calorie diet I was put on - I had a 24 inch waist when I was declared overweight, but I was very athletic and quite muscular so the numbers did put me in the overweight category.
There seems to be no more certain way to lose muscle, fitness and general joy than eating too many carbs.
 
I just read somewhere on the diet doctor website that OPTIMAL blood sugar is in the 4s to low 5s. And rises of no more than 2 mmol after meals is better with between meals and fasting being back under 5 mmol as optimal. So while readings in the 6s are still normal, you could consider that you may have a little insulin resistance making fasting and post meals above 5.5 and in the 6s and try eating lower carb as a precaution. It's better than pretending everything is perfect until one day it's not. Respect that everything we put in our mouths counts and eat carefully, but don't worry yourself about it. You are safe and have the advantage of being able to stay safe by making smart choices now.
 
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@dan16101 Whilst your numbers do not suggest diabetes, we cannot (and absolutely should not) diagnose - we are not doctors.
If you are concerned, you should talk to a doctor.
 
Thank you all, you’ve all been very reassuring. My concern is that if the carbs in that burger caused my blood sugars to hit 6.5 then for example, if I ate two of those could it cause a spike that would potentially be over 7.8 or does the body still manage to deal with it in a similar way? That result may have also been exaggerated by the fact that I had possibly the worst panic attack of my life that evening between the 1 hour and 2 hour readings!
 
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It is not uncommon for someone without diabetes to see a spike up to nearly 10mmol/l when eating a carby meal. As long as your body naturally returns your BG to lower levels within an hour or two, this is nothing to be concerned about.

These Libre* graphs shows some results for a student without diabetes doing typically studenty things such as drinking beer and eating pizza. The results are shown in mg/dl which can be converted to the mmol/l you are familiar with by dividing by 18. You can see his BG reach about 9mmol/l.

*I am not sure if you are aware of the Libre - it is a sensor (as modelled by Theresa May) which monitors BG at all times.
 
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