Type 2 Are BG readings conclusive?

[TuTusweet]

If in the minds of the medical folk consistent BG readings of ,say 11 or 12 "prove" you have diabetes do readings of between 5.2 and 5.8 "prove" that you do not have diabetes. Or can you possibly be diabetic even if your BG readings are between 5.2 and 5.8 ?

 

[ringi]

Yes may readings are in those ranges, but if I was to dink a can of coke they would go up a lot, hence I am still clearly diabetic.

 

[miahara]

The generally accepted test is a HbA1c test which measures average BG over the last few months. If you are measuring by finger-prick tests and getting 5.2 to 5.8 regularly through the day then your average is likely to be pretty low and probably non diabetic. However a test that returns 11 or 12 is high and certainly in the diabetic range.
One-off tests don't really tell you much apart from a snapshot, the HbA1c test gives a better picture as to how your BG levels are.

 

[ringi]

My next HbA1c will be very good due to eating few carbs, that does not make me none diabetic. To be none diabetic I would have to get a "normal" HbA1c while eating the same food as most people do.

 

[Mbaker]

I do not think it as as conclusive. Non-diabetics spike over the guidelines as well and may also have foods that spike them longer than average; I believe it is more bout the length of time a spike remains and what the starting reading is.

My wife measures blood glucose of those on her weight loss program, so far no one has a lower blood glucose reading than me, and my wife has not had a lower fasting blood glucose than me on the 2 times we have tested at the same time, she has been in the 5's (but I am stricter low carb and I train more).

 

[pleinster]

A random reading of 11mmols plus certainly indicates (rather than proves) an issue with blood sugar levels..and would generally result in further testing to make a diagnosis. That said, much depends on what was eaten before the test and how long after eating. Also...although readings above 11 might suggest an issue..one reading on its own could never be conclusive. As for somebody getting readings between 5.2 and 5.8 mmols...like @ringi...I regularly get these kinds of levels if I am not eating carbohydrates, but if I do, my levels will go right up. Like many of us here (particularly those who have chosen to try control by diet alone rather than meds), it's only by eating a low cab diet that I keep my levels in the "normal" range...however, I am definitely diabetic and expect I always will be - bit I intend to be one who stays in control of my levels.

 

[Squire Fulwood]

If in the minds of the medical folk consistent BG readings of ,say 11 or 12 "prove" you have diabetes do readings of between 5.2 and 5.8 "prove" that you do not have diabetes. Or can you possibly be diabetic even if your BG readings are between 5.2 and 5.8 ?

Since you say readings and not Hba1c then it is possible that readings can be taken at times that are favourable to the results. I am imagining someone who finds that their readings are good at a certain time and therefore only tests at that time.

Apart from that, if your readings are always below the (arbitrary) limits then you do not have diabetes. A line has to be drawn somewhere for the purposes of diagnosis and that's the point where you officially have diabetes.

 

[andcol]

If in the minds of the medical folk consistent BG readings of ,say 11 or 12 "prove" you have diabetes do readings of between 5.2 and 5.8 "prove" that you do not have diabetes. Or can you possibly be diabetic even if your BG readings are between 5.2 and 5.8 ?

As a mathematician all I can say is the absence of proof is not proof of the absence

 

[woodywhippet61]

Is there a reliable home BG meter? By which I mean one that doesn't consistently read a bit high or a bit low but gives readings the same as the lab that our blood is tested at. I am not expecting my BG monitoring to be the same as the A1c results. The last fasting blood's I had taken my Libre read 7.9 when I went into have the bloods taken and the result from the lab was 6.6. I use the Libre (backed up by a Agamatrix Jazz) to monitor the effects of food and exercise.

 

[Mike d]

A 1.3 differential can be explained away by any number of issues. Easily happens

 

[Alison Campbell]

Hi @woodywhippet61 have a look at the research. Someone posted this on another thread recently, it is a bit out date but maybe helpful as many of the meters are still around.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3570840/