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Blood Tests used to diagnose Diabetes.

R

rossmcd87

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
I do not have diabetes
Hi All,

I was at the Doctor's for unrelated reasons a month ago & thought I should mention I had been going to the toilet 8-10 times a day & once every single night for the past few months. I ended up getting a Blood & Urine test which both came back "Satisfactory". Now, having done a bit more research on Diabetes since then, I found out the 2 usual tests are Fasting & GTT. However, in my case it seems I was just given a generic test with no guidance as whether or not to eat beforehand.

Was anyone else given a generic test like that here?

Over Christmas I seem to have developed more symptoms (thirst & tiredness) & going to the toilet more despite eating less carbs & avoiding high GI ones. I already eat 5 times a day rather than 3 big meals because of weight lifting.

I called my Doctor again today expecting an informed discussion & he barely made any comments other than telling me to get another regular blood test. I mentioned the GTT because my Sister had had one whilst pregnant but he said they don't do them initially. My concern is that if I have Pre-Diabetes, it might get missed depending on the time of day I have the blood test - I tend to urinate & feel most tired in the late morning & afternoon. I booked my blood test for 12:00 this time to try & get around that. (My last test was at 09:30.)

Is my Doctor right to be giving me a generic blood test rather than a Fasting or GTT?

Thanks Guys!
 
Hi

ask your doctor for the glucose test ( its a string cordial like substance) you drink, they take your blood 1 hour then 2 hours after.
you need to fast from 8pm the previous evening if you have it in the morning. if he cannot be bothered ask to see another doctor or contact the board of governors for that doctors district. good luck.
 
Thanks.

I really was not impressed with how the Doctor handled me. I kept asking him informed questions & he just repeated over & over that it was best I got another blood test. I could barely understand him because of his accent either.

I may well make a complaint, although probably just to the Practice Manager.

For now I will just go ahead with that generic blood test.

I will make a point of wanting to talk in person about the results whatever the outcome & with a different Doctor.
 
I was given a speculative test some years ago. Apparently the doctor had left a note in the computer saying that I was the wrong shape and should be tested. Anyway, a nurse asked me if I minded her taking a blood sample and I agreed.

The blood tested at 13 mmol/l and I now understand that a speculative test of over 11 is considered. worth following up.
 
Squire Fulwood said:
a speculative test of over 11 is considered. worth following up.
Click to expand...

Having just looked over the figures, if I am not mistaken, 7.8-11mmol/L is considered Pre-Diabetes with the GTT. Considering blood glucose levels would likely be lower with a speculative test, over 11mmol/L would be a definitive indication of Diabetes.

I will have to ask for the exact results of my previous test - I never queried what the precise figure was. I was a little confused as to whether "satisfactory" was the same as "normal".
 
rossmcd87 said:
Thanks.

I really was not impressed with how the Doctor handled me. I kept asking him informed questions & he just repeated over & over that it was best I got another blood test. I could barely understand him because of his accent either.

I may well make a complaint, although probably just to the Practice Manager.

For now I will just go ahead with that generic blood test.

I will make a point of wanting to talk in person about the results whatever the outcome & with a different Doctor.
Click to expand...

Good, dont be bold over, well known fact that doctors are under strain as there is not enough of them and too many patients, one could assume that there skills would need a brush up too considering correct diagnoses these days is far and few between no matter what the case is. I must admit however i had mine done where my midwife was stationed which was at a different doctors, try your community midwife number explain to her/him your situation, they have the power to move things along. They wanted me to go for an emergency scan once, they asked me to call and book in with the hospital myself, when i called the very rude receptionist refused to book. i called the community midwife who called them and gave them what for. had the scan the very next day. just an example of the power of complaint.x
 
There is no such thing as a 'generic' blood test for diabetes. A spot finger prick test done in the surgery or pharmacy may give a hint if it is way over 10mmol; it depends how long after a meal it is done. Having that test done 2 hours after a large meal is better. The standard diabetes tests are the GTT and the HBa1C. The latter is normally only done after diagnosis. A fasting test gives a guide if it much higher than, say, 7mmol. So, as others have said, try to get a GTT done as your symptoms could well be diabetes. As a last resort buy your own meter which you will need anyway if you have diabetes. Make a note of readings 2 hours after each meal for few days plus a fasting reading and show these to the doc.
 
GDBABYBORNHEALTHY2013 said:
try your community midwife number
Click to expand...

I will just clarify that I am not in the same situation as my Sister. a) I am male b) last time I checked, I wasn't pregnant :D

Daibell said:
There is no such thing as a 'generic' blood test for diabetes.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clearing that up. All my research has been around symptoms & diagnosis - so that explains why I hadn't come across that type of blood test yet!

So you are saying a blood test done with no regards to meals would be the HbA1c? My diabetes, if I do indeed have it, is likely a side effect of other medication I was on... that could explain why they did that test before a diagnosis. Neither of the Doctors who have dealt with me have gone into any details.

Again, I will have to make enquires about the nature & results of the first test.

My symptoms have only got bad after that initial blood test, so I guess it might well have come back as acceptable.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi, no let me clarify. The HBa1C test which all diabetics have at least once a year shows your average blood sugar over the previous 3 months. It is not normally given until around 3 months after diagnosis. A finger prick test done at a random time is only useful to indicate diabetes if it shows a very high reading into the teens. A finger prick test done around 2 hours after a meal should indicate your 'normal' blood sugar; if it's too high it's another indicator. I can't tell what test your GP did and you need to ask if you can. Some meds such as steroids can result in short-term diabetes, but most don't.
 
Ok Thanks.

It seems odd that they would give me that test. I'm going to call the Doctors today to clarify & find out the figures from my last test.

The medication I'm referring to is Antipsychotics. I was on Olanzapine for a while which can cause T2D. Strangely I was on a different one called Amisulpride which isn't meant to until recently.

I should have been getting more regular check ups but I might have had Diabetes since the start of the Summer. I dismissed the tiredness as the medication as did others. I didn't think much of the thirst or urination at the time so never told anyone.

A study I read followed 6 people with AP induced Diabetes & it cleared up in all but 1 within 3 months upon coming off or changing meds.

I came off my medication 6 months ago (Symptom free now :) ) & the only thing that remained was urination until now. It was only around Christmas I twigged that I might have had Diabetes whilst on my medication.

I'm not sure what caused it to get worse again.



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Last edited by a moderator:
An update.

I am now extremely confused.

I ended up talking to the same Doctor as yesterday & after asking him three times what type of blood test my previous one was, (he kept replying - "you have a blood test tomorrow") he said "it was a fasting wasn't it?". Now, why was that a question & not a statement? I pointed out the Doctor had not said anything other than I was going for a blood test & mentioned nothing about fasting. Equally, the nurse never asked me if I had eaten when taking the bloods. Surely they would make it clear & double check when taking the bloods? All I know for sure is that I am getting an Hb1Ac blood test tomorrow.

I will be talking in person to a different Doctor about the results of the blood test I'm having tomorrow & my pattern of symptoms - hopefully he will then clear up what's happened previously.

It would certainly be odd if a fasting blood test came back in acceptable levels having eaten breakfast before it.

Regardless, I didn't have the thirst or tiredness when I had the previous blood test so things might have changed.

If my blood sugar has only been noticeably higher for 1 month, & even then variable, would the Hb1Ac necessarily show anything?

I might go & get one of those home blood sugar checkers from Boots. Would be interesting to see what happens after meals & at any time when my symptoms are particularly bad. I might as well wait until my Hb1Ac results come in though.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Useful link.

I've got my results.

My fasting was 4.2mmol/l.

However, my Hb1Ac was 38. Now the link above says <42 can still be at high risk of Diabetes & I found another that said 38.8+ is Pre-Diabetes.

I was a bit confused as the Doctor said the Hb1Ac is an average over 4 months, to which I said I only had symptoms for 1 month, to which he said that wouldn't make a difference. I don't understand how that makes sense?

Considering I've cut the amount of carbs in my diet by a large amount over the last month, if I'd kept up a high carb diet, I've no doubt my Hb1Ac would have come back in Pre-Diabetic ranges.

A couple of things on my liver function test raised red flags. They would have been missed if I hadn't asked to talk to the Doctor about results as the results were marked "Normal" despite this.

I'm getting blood tests to check for other things now too but as far as my Doctor is concerned I don't have Diabetes in any shape or form.

I still think my Hb1Ac was a bit high, so I've picked up a blood glucose checker to see what is happening day-to-day. What would be sensible times to check? Like 2 hours after Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner over a few days?
 
rossmcd87 said:
Useful link.

I've got my results.

My fasting was 4.2mmol/l.

However, my Hb1Ac was 38. Now the link above says <42 can still be at high risk of Diabetes & I found another that said 38.8+ is Pre-Diabetes.

I was a bit confused as the Doctor said the Hb1Ac is an average over 4 months, to which I said I only had symptoms for 1 month, to which he said that wouldn't make a difference. I don't understand how that makes sense?

Considering I've cut the amount of carbs in my diet by a large amount over the last month, if I'd kept up a high carb diet, I've no doubt my Hb1Ac would have come back in Pre-Diabetic ranges.

A couple of things on my liver function test raised red flags. They would have been missed if I hadn't asked to talk to the Doctor about results as the results were marked "Normal" despite this.

I'm getting blood tests to check for other things now too but as far as my Doctor is concerned I don't have Diabetes in any shape or form.

I still think my Hb1Ac was a bit high, so I've picked up a blood glucose checker to see what is happening day-to-day. What would be sensible times to check? Like 2 hours after Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner over a few days?
Click to expand...

Hi, looking over these posts it seems more like you almost want diabetes more then you think you may have it.
You have been told you don't and have been tested and your blood sugar reading it 4.2 this is normal for a none diabetic. I have type 1 diabetes and when I was first diagnosed JUST a month ago I was taken to hospital as my blood sugar was 27.5! and in the hospital it was HI which means it's unreadable on a glucose meter.

I was taken in and told to go in my GP and placed on a many drip's as I have been terribly ill and feeling tired and being sick and losing a over stone in weight (am a Slim dude anyway) this is how It can make you feel and things you can go through,when your blood is too high and your body isn't getting the correct amount of insulin/glucose I had to stay in hospital for 3 night as I had ketones and very close and **** lucky i didn't go into a DKA coma!

I now have to do daily injections and checked my blood up to 8 times a day and eat set meals and cut out things i used to eat and drink. I work out myself and this can make your blood sugar really high and you have to monitor your glucose levels and adjust your insulin just because I lift weights which I don't want to do because I've never had a hypo were the blood sugar drops to low which can also lead into a coma.

I noticed you said you cut things out of your diet too and had been eating alot more which would result in you drinking more surely? E.g more going the toilet.

Anyway I'm only saying this as I wish I didn't have it and was told my sugar levels where at 4.2 I would be over the moon! I bloody wish my doctor could say to me I don't have diabetes!

Be Happy man why would you want to starting testing your blood when you've been told you've fine! If you do test over the next few days tho I test if when you get up and when go to bed too! so at least 5 times and all is is good which it looks 99.9% like it would be! we could swap pancreas!

Am having a tough time believing I have this for the rest of my life! But you seem to have a hard time believing you don't it!

Dude Picture me confused :/
 
Nix_101 said:
But you seem to have a hard time believing you don't it!

Dude Picture me confused :/
Click to expand...

I understand what you mean!

It's not that I want it, it's just that I feel really off & Pre-Diabetes isn't a great thing but possibly better than the alternatives the Doctor is looking at. I just want to know what is up so I can fix it. My symptoms really seem to fit Pre-Diabetes & it would make sense considering certain risk factors, so it's just disheartening to think I have to go another round of tests & wait longer.

It's still possible to have low fasting & have Pre-Diabetes. The last thing I want to do is go away & start eating more carbs again & feel worse.

Plus if I find I do have impaired glucose tolerance, I can probably reverse it completely.

There's no harm in checking. :)
 
rosscmd87,
Safest way to take it is that you have a risk of developing D and develop a WOE that reduces the risk of further developing this further.
I have a HbA1c 0f 5.4 and a fasting ~ 4.2, I can come out of an OGTT with a +2hr of ~ 4.4, but my initial insulin response is shot and I AM A T2 DIABETIC. I will use diet & exercise to ensure my D does not progress any further than neccesary.
Give thanks tat you are no worse and ensure that it doesnt progress. GOOD LUCK
 
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