Am I diabetic?

[GM1986]

I’m a 36 yr old male, very overweight 250lbs and inactive due to illness. I’ve been monitoring my fasting blood glucose levels for a while as I am concerned about the possibility of having type 2 diabetes. I’ve been getting readings of 6.0-7.3 for over a week now when previously they were around 5.7-6.0. My doctor did an HbA1c test months ago and it came back satisfactory, I think it was 33 but I can’t help but feel the fasting levels are more important in diagnosing me? Can anyone help? How are you diagnosed? What should I be asking my doctor?

 

[filly]

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I would stop worrying for a start You have age and good numbers on your side. Ok you may already have other health issues which may be prohibitive but lets look on the bright side. You aren't diabetic and that is very good. Even though you are inactive (and I know about that) you can help yourself. Eating low carb is really helpful to losing weight. It is a start. Just see what you can do and focus on that and if lucky you may not become Diabetic ... The very best of luck. There are lots of folk on here who can help.

 

[catinahat]

Finger prick tests are just a one off snap shot of blood sugar levels. Blood sugar just like blood pressure goes up and down all day depending on lots of factors, food eaten being only one.
The Hba1c measures how much glucose has attached to your blood cells throughout their lifetime of around 12 weeks and is the main tool used for diagnosis.
If your levels had been consistently 8 or over for the last 3 months the Hba1c would have been much higher than 33.
It's difficult to compare finger prick results with Hba1c because they are measuring different things, but a Hba1c of 33 would give you an average finger prick result of 5.7, which as you probably know is absolutely normal, not even close to pre diabetes let alone diabetes.
As you know the extra weight you are carrying puts you at a greater risk of T2, along with a long list of other medical conditions far worse than T2, at least with T2 I have control over what I eat and how high my blood sugar gets. Liver, kidney problems, Cancer, heart attacks all possible consequences of carrying too much weight.
You know you're not diabetic, time to switch your focus to shedding some weight.