Do I have diabetes or not?

A1c of 38 is non diabetic so relax
Just try to reduce some weight if you have any excess and go for walks or run if you can it should be fine.

Also there is sometimes a big difference in when you test on monitors and the blood that comes straight from veins, you might not have washed your hands and the readings can be funny, also since your monitor is old, there could be a problem.
Reading of 5.8 and a1c of 38 is perfect.

I'm no expert, but the fact that I had some of your symptoms pre-diagnosis (i.e. blurred vision and thirst) would lead me to the type II diagnosis. However, your HBA1C reading is at the worst pre diabetic, so It's difficult to reconcile that with your high random readings.
Whatever the issue, one thing that you can take from this site is not to always take Diabetic Nurses at their word and their lack of current information is staggering sometimes.
I'd go back to your doctor with your IPad again and ask him to carry on investigating.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Hi and welcome. The HBa1c test is very reliable and indicates overall you don't have diabetes but it may be that you are seeing the beginning of spiking that may or may not get worse. Currently you have nothing to worry about but may be very occasionally checking with the meter 2 hours after a meal will see if there is an ongoing trend. As you are thin if anything is happening it may be you are producing just a bit less insulin than normal. The Metformin will have had very little if any effect on your HBa1C. I would adopt a diet with low'ish carbs and adequate protein and fat as this will reduce the impact of any spiking. May be one day you will move into the full diabetic range but your meter will guide you. The fasting figures would indicate diabetes but due to the liver's overnight glucose dump can be confusing. Use the 2 hour after a main meal as the guide.

Hi and welcome, @rosserk. Very sorry to hear of your loss.
Your experience is all very confusing for you and us actually, but what stands out to me is this bit
" I have a constant headache, and difficulty focussing because my vision keeps going blurred, hot flushes, nausea and I drink constantly, my lips are permanently chapped. I wake every night about 3am and feel really poorly, I am constantly exhausted."
So you're really not very well, apart from the stress and grief of losing your sister. As a diabetic (not a doctor) I'm thinking that along with those high readings you took it has to be considered that you are diabetic, regardless of the usually more reliable HbA1c. Would you consider working on that basis and trying a low-carb diet as described on this forum?
As pointed out above, your "expert" NHS advice is hopelessly muddled and diet is something you can manage yourself.

I'm told metformin doesn't alter BG much. But you never know.
You are not a fraud.
Repeat
"I am not a fraud"
Good.

OK, that's beginning to fall into place.
Assuming the fish wasn't battered, the lentils should be ok (I prefer puy since they don't mush up in cooking) and they raise my BG just a bit. 6.8 is diabetic, but acceptable (well, I would say that because it's around my post-meal level lately).
Need to know more about what you eat. Sensible for non-diabetics is not altogether the same as sensible for us.
Do you need to lose weight?
*EDIT* Sorry, missed your post about being thin

Hi,

No wonder you are confused. Your readings are high and show diabetes is likely, despite your normal HbA1c. I think you need to see your GP and insist on an oral glucose test. HbA1c tests can be skewed if you are anaemic or have similar issues with red blood cells. Metformin does very little to decrease general BS levels - it won't stop the post meal spikes for example. It does help to a limited extent with morning fasting levels as it discourages the liver from sending its own glucose into the blood stream. (Dawn Phenomenon or liver dump).

If you are intending to eat like a type 2 diabetic, at least for the time being until you get a proper diagnosis, I am afraid you are going to have to change your habits a tad. Special K should be on your "never eat" list. It is very high in carbs and sugar. That is what will be causing your spikes, particularly if you have it with milk.

Type 2s need to reduce all carbs to as low as they can manage. All carbs convert to glucose once in the system, not just sugar. We also have to be careful with milk and fruit as they are also full of sugar. Cereals (all cereals), potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (all bread) are the worst culprits, also anything made with flour such as pastry and gravy. Any of those foods are likely to cause spikes. The good news is that you can eat as much meat, fish, cheese, eggs, dairy (except milk), full fat yogurts, oils, butter, cream, most vegetables, and salads as you wish. Many of us have a good old fry up (bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms) for breakfast, or eggs cooked any which way, or a full fat plain yogurt with a few berries added. (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries).

Missing meals is also not a good idea for us. It is best to have 3 meals a day, as evenly spaced as possible. Any snacks should be as low carb as possible, such as cheese or a small handful of nuts.

Test immediately before you eat, then again at 1 hour and 2 hours after your first bite. If the rise is above 2mmol/l there are too many carbs in that meal and you need to adjust the portion size or do without. Ideally, any spike should be on its way down again by 2 hours (sometimes 2.5hrs depending on what you have eaten) Don't worry about any 1 hr spike - everyone will spike after eating carbs, including non-diabetics. The trick is to get back down again by at least 2.5hrs.

I think you can trust your meter readings as it works on members of your family. Remember to wash and dry your hands first.

Hi @rosserk, welcome.

I agree that whilst the HbA1c of 38 is fine, your high spikes on the meter may indicate that some tipping point is near. An OGT as Bluetit suggests would help determine what is happening.

As for meters, there should be a test strip with it that just checks that the electronics are working and that it is within specifications. Other than that they are never fully accurate but +/- 10% is normal so those high readings you got are definitely high (unless you had a bit of dirt or grease on your finger which can affect them significantly, make sure hands are spotless).

Either way, a low(er) carb diet would help. Have a read of the top item linked in my sig below and keep in touch.

What I really need to know is can I trust the meter readings or not?
Yes, just as we do. We know they have a wide variable (about +/-15%) and you can get different readings from different fingers but we really do find the meter useful until we get to know what's ok for us.
Excuse me, got a stir fry on the go