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Confused about diabetes appt.

coby

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,092
Location
Cheshire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Social mixing most sport, Soaps!
Hello everyone,
After two years of not seeing a diabetic nurse, I now have an appointment for the blood test. However it's at 11am tomorrow so does that mean I cannot eat or drink anything prior to then please? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
Hi @coby. If it was to be a fasting test you ought to have been told not to eat. Generally, for HbA1c test you don’t need to fast before.
 
 
Hi Coby it is usual to test for cholesterel, kidney function, etc at the same time as drawing for an A1c so I would ring them and find out. As @Pipp has said you don’t need to fast for an A1c but there are advantages for fasting for cholesterel though my DN says its no longer necessary, I always fast. Can I tag @bulkbiker who is the maestro on this to elaborate please. Best wishes.
 
Hello Coby
I recently had my blood check and it was around 11 am; I asked the doctor about the time and if the test should be done fasting, he "NO" it is ok. I had breakfast that day, the only thing different on my results was that my glucose levels reflected the food intake in the morning. However, the A1C test will tell the doctor how your blood has been averaging on the last 3 months. Base on that information he will increase your medication or reduce it. Your nurse or doctor, will tell you how your blood is doing. When I discover my condition the first thing I did was reading and searching for more information. I felt blind in a new world. I have been doing this for two years and many discoveries about myself has open up. There is plenty information available. Embrace it, make it yours, this is a long lasting ride. Stay well
 
Hi @coby
If you are having a cholesterol blood test it's best to water fast for 12-14 hours beforehand to get a "clean" reading that won't be influenced by what you have eaten/drunk beforehand. My surgery usually sneaks one in without telling me this very useful piece of information. But if it is purely an HbA1c then no fasting required.
If you do decide to fast beforehand it's worth telling the blood taker as they can then do a "full lipid panel" for cholesterol and you'll get results for HDL and triglycerides too (as well as a calculated LDL number) rather than just total cholesterol which is a relatively meaningless number anyway.
 
Thank you so much for the advise It is much appreciated. I am in a new area, with a new GP practise so that in itself is confusing enough! Haha
 
I don't know what test it is other than blood and urine test, so I should perhaps fast?
 
coby said:
I don't know what test it is other than blood and urine test, so I should perhaps fast?
Click to expand...
Won't do any harm.. and if they do carry out a cholesterol test then you'll get some useful readings as a baseline.
 

99% of my blood tests are non-fasting..
i think the only fasting one ive had was the second blood test after diagnosis where they also wanted a fasting BG.. in general fasting test will be pre 10am if had a few for non diabetes related stuff
 
I have passed my 7th diabetes anniversary and had 2 blood checks a year since then. I have always fasted - water only - for 12 to 14 hours beforehand.

Originally we were told to fast for cholesterol/lipid tests, but in its wisdom NICE advised this was not necessary a few years ago. The reason being purely logistics. Fasting tests were always carried out early morning, which made waiting lists for the tests longer or required extra nurses. However, to get a more realistic triglyceride number and LDL, it is necessary to fast. These levels are likely to be raised if you have recently eaten as the lipids will be swimming about in the blood stream doing their job. As these levels are important, and may trigger the prescription of statins if the nurse considers them too high, it is essential to fast.

As said earlier, it is not necessary to fast for an HbA1c test, but it will be unusual if that is all you have. I always receive the full works - HbA1c, cholesterol and lipids, liver and kidney functions, and full blood counts.
 
Personally i fast.

waste of a good blood test otherwise, imho.
(what would a full blood test cost privately ..mmhh?)

SO much in what they test can be analysed and measured.
why even bother trying to muddy the scene,

if you think you can replicate every pre draw scenario, go ahead, by all means.
me i doubt i could remember what i had for breakfast last week ,
let alone. what i ate or drank 6 months ago at previous test

Your HBA1c, will be available , but the trigs which i think ARE important
will be skewed..( maybe ?..not sure..but why risk it / )

For me fast, after 7pm and every test is as close as i can get it, to the conditions for last time.

Good luck
 

and one wonders if the PUSH for statins IS a part of THAT decision

so sorry, you type 2
too much trigs, bad cholesterol.
go straight to statins, do NOT pass Go

Maybe we ARE winning the INFO war..
 
I would recommend fasting if they are including lipids as the results will look better (even though the GP's are supposed to be able to interpret non-fasting lipids). They don't recommend I take Statins when I've fasted but do otherwise with higher results.
 
My surgery always tells me not to fast, they dont do fasting blood tests for diabetes review, even though they test cholesterol, but only as a whole number, no breakdown. I always fast. I suspect they dont differentiate between types of diabetics.
 
lucylocket61 said:
My surgery always tells me not to fast, they dont do fasting blood tests for diabetes review, even though they test cholesterol, but only as a whole number, no breakdown. I always fast. I suspect they don't differentiate between types of diabetics.
Click to expand...
My blood test always includes a full lipids panel but I'm told it doesn't need to be a fasting test. I usually do fast to enable better lipids results.
 
ShelleyMcD said:
Hi,
I work in a GP surgery and they dont really do fasting bloods anymore.
Click to expand...


That is possibly the case in most surgeries, but they should do them if they follow NICE guidelines when someone is found to have extremely high triglycerides. The guidelines say the test should be repeated after fasting. This indicates that a test for triglycerides should be fasting in the first place.

Edited to correct grammar
 
Last edited:
ShelleyMcD said:
Hi,
I work in a GP surgery and they dont really do fasting bloods anymore.
Click to expand...
Our surgery and hospital both do fasting blood tests, so it would seem that different surgeries and maybe hospitals have different policies.
 
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