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Could I be diabetic?

C

chris79

Newbie
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I have been testing my blood sugar levels in the morning using an Accu-Check Aviva Nano. I test about half an hour after I wake up, before I eat anything. This will be about 10-12 hours after I last ate anything. My average over a month is 6.8 - the range is between 5.9 and 7.4.

I went to my doctor and he said those numbers were completely normal. However, your website suggests they're not normal.

Normal: 3.9 to 5.5 mmols/l (70 to 100 mg/dl)
Prediabetes or Impaired Glucose Tolerance: 5.6 to 7.0 mmol/l (101 to 126 mg/dl)
Diagnosis of diabetes: more than 7.0 mmol/l (126 mg/dl)
Click to expand...

My result this morning is 7.2. If I'm reading your website correctly, I could be diagnosed as diabetic.

Can anyone help me to understand?
 
Some more info:

As a child, I really craved sugar. I think I only felt human when I had sugar in my system. I'd neck bottles of syrup from the cupboard - I even drunk cough syrup when it was all I could get. As I got older, I had lots of sweets and fizzy drinks - then energy drinks. If I didn't have sugar in me, I'd be grumpy, irritable and sluggish. As soon as I had sugar, I felt alive again.

About a year ago, I cut out all refined sugar and began focussing on low GI foods. After a few days of hell, I began to feel alive all the time. It was great! However, there was no middle ground. As soon as I had a bit of sugar, I went into a cycle and then felt terrible if I didn't have more.

I feel good now. I have occasional sugar (like a squirt of ketchup) and I'm mostly sticking to a low-GI diet while occasionally having white bread or pasta.

I actually feel really healthy now. My blood pressure is perfect, my BMI is perfect and I have lots of energy. But I worry about my high numbers in the morning.

I guess my fear is I've damaged myself in some way from all the sugar in the past.

My numbers before and after dinner seem ok. (6.2 average before and 6.4 two hours after.)
 
Hi Chris and welcome to the forum :)
You didn't say if you had the full tests done by the Doctor? These are essential to determine whether or not you have diabetes. We cannot tell you that. I don't think you can have damaged yourself by eating sugar unless you were diabetic. Also, the fasting test should be done immediately on waking. Please come back here if you are diagnosed - we will be able to help you gain control of your levels if you have diabetes.
 
Hi Chris! Yes, you definitely need a proper test, normally an HbA1c is done which looks at different measures to your one-off tests. Your fasting levels suggest to me that you may well be diabetic or pre-diabetic, but fasting tests aren't conclusive. If you ARE diabetic, don't panic. Some simple changes to your diet and lifestyle could well be enough to stave off any problems.
Good luck, but INSIST on an HbA1c
Malc
 
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