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C-peptide

R

rach

Member
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17
Does anyone know either what units are used or what the normal range is? Mine came back as 986 recently (think that is pmol/something but not totally sure).
 
Hi Rach,
You might find this link useful as I think it will probably answer all your questions about C-peptide.
http://health.yahoo.com/diabetes-diagno ... u2817.html

I am intrigued as to why your doctor arranged for you to have a C-peptide test. This is normally used to determine whether a patient is type-1 or type-2. In your case there can be no doubt that you are type-2 because you are taking gliclazide, which is forcing your pancreas to produce insulin and, as you have mentioned elsewhere, this is causing you multiple hypos. If you were type-1 then your pancreas would not be able to produce insulin no matter how much gliclazide you were to take.
 
Thanks for your very quick reply Dennis - that site looks really helpful. The C-peptide itself was actually done a few months ago, I just only got the results at my last appointment! It was done to check I was not a LADA - which was ruled out in the meantime with GAD65 and response to gliclazide, since I am extremely untypical type 2 I think the doctor just wanted to check. So now it has no bearing at all on my therapy, I just wanted to know out of interest! Particularly intrigued that if I'm right and it's pmol then by the yahoo site it's 0.9pmol/L which is high and suggests reduced insulin sensitivity... Typical for type 2 but I'm a suspected MODY which I thought were supposed to have low/normal levels... So perhaps I'm not MODY at all!

Ah well - I guess if my doctor is happy with the result the numbers don't really matter, it's whether the medication is keeping my glucose levels normal, regardless of the cause of them being high. And it seems to be (given hypos perhaps too much... but that seems to have settled now) - last HbA1c 6.2% :)
 
Hi Rach,
Don't forget that link to C-peptide also mentions that people on a sulphonylurea (e.g. gliclazide) can get unusually high C-peptide readings.

Good HBA1C by the way - wish mine was that low!
 
Hi,

I have had diabetes since last year but because of my age at the time (34), the doctor wasn't sure which type I was saying I was a bit old to get type 1 but because my symptoms occurred over a short period, I was likely to be type 1. I was told by the diabetic nurse that my local hospital didn't do the blood test to differentiate between the types and that "I think we can be fairly certain you are type 1", so I've never officially been diagnosed.

I've read the yahoo webpage and I'm just wondering whether the local doctors can just do a blood test and send it off to the appropriate hospital and what I was told was a load of rubbish?
 
C-peptide bloods tests are sanctioned by the consultant, who will arranged this via the hospital or send you the paperwork for your doctor to to take the blood samples and send off... This is mainly to the cost of carrying out these blood test, so they don't actually like doing them without good cause to do so...
 
jopar said:
C-peptide bloods tests are sanctioned by the consultant, who will arranged this via the hospital or send you the paperwork for your doctor to to take the blood samples and send off... This is mainly to the cost of carrying out these blood test, so they don't actually like doing them without good cause to do so...
Click to expand...

And hence Type 1/LADAs end up on metformin and then in ER with ketoacidosis, yeah I'd say that saves money eh?

<sigh>
 
I had a c-peptide test and then afterwards a GAD test, which confirmed I was a type 1. Luckily because there is type 1 in my family already, the doctor didn't waste time putting me on tablets, instead I went straight onto insulin, but she still wanted to make sure there hadn't been a mistake in diagnosis.
 
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