• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Do I have diabetes or not?

But if I am not diabetic I should be able to eat all of the above and my sugars even if they spike should return to normal and as I understand it 11s, 12, and 15s is not something I thought you would see in a non diabetic regardless of what they ate? I absolutely understand what you are saying and low carb does seem like a good idea but according to the practice nurse, who incidentally was very angry at the Doctors diagnoses is adamant I should eat normally. I have been meticulous washing my hands and even bought a hand sanitiser to make sure they were spotlessly clean. I notice something is not right I can't explain the feeling but I feel really funny like I am going to pass out I have to lie down and when I test it confirms how I am feeling with a high reading. I am going to have dinner soon so I will test before and two hours after, but I am confident they will be high when I do. And there lies the problem? One other thing I haven't mentioned is that the previous blood test was because I have been having problems with my hands they are bright red sweating periodically and my sense of hot and cold very sensitive. I've been seeing doctors and consultants for months who are baffled? I had two cuts on the palms of my hands from gardening and didn't notice them until the following day..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Lucky you the stir fry sounds good! That was one of the things that disturbed me, the nurse telling me that monitors are not accurate. We had to adjust my sisters insulin according to her readings, I am not happy that there is a possibility I may have got things wrong.
 
This may have been said before, but wash your hand with soap and water and dry them well before testing. Do not rely on hand sanitizer. The chemicals could not interfere with the test.
 
Rosserk condolences...

The meters are not accurate....somewhere on this site they specify the ISA requirements which are 20% accuracy....this means if your BS is 5 the meter could read 4 or 6mmol....and non clean hands or sugar on your fingers can influence this reading....perhaps even the hand sanitiser (Who knows)

Your readings should be in this range
upload_2015-3-18_17-52-44.png

so if your monitor is reading 11....12...13 then there is an issue ....full stop.

Whats strange is that your HB1AC is normal....HB1AC measures the amount of glucose that has attached itself to your red blood cells....as your red blood cells die off and are replaced naturally in a 12 week cycle the test tells a lot about how you are managing to control your sugar.....

A bit like the instantaneous MPG in your car and the Avg MPG in your car.

What is confusing is that your "Instant" monitor measurements dont seem to tally with your "average" measurments.

So your meter....
hands clean (weve spoken about)
test strips....in date? purchased from a reliable source? Been kept in their vials? Not been exposed to major temperature fluctuations....from memory below 5deg C and above 30deg C...batteries new???
When you do the prick....do you go relatively deep....is the blood nice and red? or do you get more of a watery pink fluid which may be more plasma laden?

I think you can see why they are not so accurate....soooo many parameters.

Diet and exercise
Low carb is good....if you do it for two days maybe 3 you will see a difference immediately...no need to hunger...simply just cut out all sugar/carbs or anything that can be converted into glucose. Use myfitnesspal app its quite good for counting carbs. I have dropped my 7.2 fasting down to 5.6 simply by eating non insulin inducing/producing food.
Exercise will burn sugar and will remove it from your blood so is good too....however be aware a short intense burst can increase blood sugar as your liver dumps so by all means check directly after exercise, but also an hour later....yesterday I had 6.8 after the gym and 30mins later it was 4.4....fasting in the morning was 5.6 and I had not eaten till after all the blood tests.

Our body is crazy sometimes :)

HB1AC
as one of the members said....it could be that u are anemic....again discuss with the doc....something does not add up....one meter reading says nothing but if you are constantly having high readings then this should be mirrored in your HB1AC.

Good luck and dont get fobbed off, its your body your health and you make sure the doc and the DN do what you want them to do.
 
Thank you Brightside all excellent advice but still doesn't explain normal readings for everyone else except me I have just done a reading 5.1 off for dinner see what happens after 2 hours
 
rosserk said:
Thank you Brightside all excellent advice but still doesn't explain normal readings for everyone else except me I have just done a reading 5.1 off for dinner see what happens after 2 hours
Click to expand...

it may be they pricked harder than you ie a better sample...didnt use the sanitizer....who knows....theres a million and one things....you can prick your left finger and then your right and u will get different readings....
 
Brightside said:
it may be they pricked harder than you ie a better sample...didnt use the sanitizer....who knows....theres a million and one things....you can prick your left finger and then your right and u will get different readings....
Click to expand...
Brightside said:
it may be they pricked harder than you ie a better sample...didnt use the sanitizer....who knows....theres a million and one things....you can prick your left finger and then your right and u will get different readings....
Click to expand...


Then that would give even more variables, I did the tests as controlled as possible and I absolutely understand all the reasons offered up so far and trust me there isn't one I didn't come up with. I still can't reconcile that I was the only one outside the normal range which either makes me unlucky or there is an issue? I am off to wash my hands lol ... Ok 2 hours post meal 8.5
 
I had bacon liver sausage tomatoes and onions no chips no bread no sauces. Also I have had Metformin today
 
rosserk said:
I had bacon liver sausage tomatoes and onions no chips no bread no sauces. Also I have had Metformin today
Click to expand...

You were 5.1 before and 8.5 at 2 hours after bacon, liver, sausage, toms and onions. That is a rise of 3.4 and indicative that something is wrong. I have never had a rise in the 3's and am a type 2 diabetic. The sausage and onions could have caused a rise, and depending what the portion sizes were. (sausages are made with cereals unless you buy the 97% meat ones, readily available in all supermarkets). Liver and bacon have no carbs. Onions have a few.

I think you should keep a food diary, including portions, of everything in that meal - and how it was cooked. Write your before and after levels alongside. Also, your 3 hour readings. Do this for several days, then take your diary to the GP. Only he can diagnose you. We can't.
 
The Doctor did diagnose me the nurse over ruled him. I'm totally confused I thought that was a good reading because I would consider that an unhealthy meal. I had one sausage and three pieces of bacon quite a bit of liver and tomatoes. I thought I was supposed to do them after 2 hours not 3. I am grateful for all the advice everyone has been extremely kind advising me and whilst I know none of you would call yourselves Doctors you are all definitely more experienced than the professionals I have spoken to so far. I Would never normally eat liver. Can I ask, are you saying the rise should have been no more than two points I.e. 5.1 - 7.1 and that would have been acceptable for someone without diabetes? Both my husband and my daughters were back to what they were before they ate, they are done with being my control now so I will have to trust the meter is right, and mine are definitely better than they were before the Metformin. But I am not going to take any more see how I go tomorrow.
 
You certainly are have all the aspects of T2 but it's the hbA1c that is throwing things out, saying your normal, it's just a thought but I'm not a doctor & maybe completely off track but just maybe for some reason your blood cells die off quickly h thus affecting the hbA1c. As I said just a thought.
 
Paul59 said:
You certainly are have all the aspects of T2 but it's the hbA1c that is throwing things out, saying your normal, it's just a thought but I'm not a doctor & maybe completely off track but just maybe for some reason your blood cells die off quickly h thus affecting the hbA1c. As I said just a thought.
Click to expand...

Thank you

Someone else said the same thing and I read somewhere anaemia could have an affect on HbA1 c tests. My stress levels are also through the roof and getting steadily worse by the minute which can also have an affect on the tests. I dont think writing down my bloods sugars and returning to the doctors will work since they are ignoring the daily tests in favour of the HbA1c, it would appear I have to wait until something else happens either for or against a diagnosis.
 
Have you considered being tested at a Lloyd's pharmacy? It may indicate whether your monitor is a dud. According to their site, if they suspect you have diabetes, they will refer you to your doctor. This might qualify as the "something else happening" that you need.
 
Avocado Sevenfold said:
Have you considered being tested at a Lloyd's pharmacy? It may indicate whether your monitor is a dud. According to their site, if they suspect you have diabetes, they will refer you to your doctor. This might qualify as the "something else happening" that you need.
Click to expand...


Hi
Thank you it's certainly worth considering. Not sure I want to incur the wrath of the Diabetes nurse though, she was so angry and adamant that I should forget about it and not test again, it's not her organs that are at risk though. I felt so stupid and ashamed and I was only doing what the doctor told me to do. I didn't perscribe the Metformin myself the Doctor did!
 
Forget the nurse, put all her appalling attitude and comments behind you. Stress doesn't help blood sugar levels, and it is clear from what you write that you are getting stressed about all this. I would believe your doctor and your meter and ask to see a different nurse. The first nurse had no right to overturn a GP's decision. Please go back to your GP and get things sorted out once and for all. You can then make plans as to how you are going to control this disease.

Meat and fish will not have any effect on your BS levels after a meal. (protein can have an effect but not until many hours later, if at all, and fats have no effect). Only carbs and sugar will convert to glucose. You can eat bacon and liver till the cows come home. Sausages, toms and onions have a few carbs, but if you only had 1 sausage it is highly unlikely to have caused a rise of 3.4. (unless you coated the liver in flour????)
 
rosserk said:
Hi
Thank you it's certainly worth considering. Not sure I want to incur the wrath of the Diabetes nurse though, she was so angry and adamant that I should forget about it and not test again, it's not her organs that are at risk though. I felt so stupid and ashamed and I was only doing what the doctor told me to do. I didn't perscribe the Metformin myself the Doctor did!
Click to expand...
This horrible nurse is not the boss of you. When she gets her own diabetes she can not test herself. You have to do what is best for you. The only way you can get to the bottom of this and give yourself peace of mind is to revisit your doctor.
 
Now I didn't coat the liver in anything, at least I don't think so I never cooked it. I am drinking gallons of tea I can't drink enough! Would that send the readings up? I am now having a vodka and tonic because yes I am stressed out and I am getting more confused by the minute! Thank you so much for helping me, the loss of my sister has devastated me and I am still trying to come to terms with it so I am not coping well with confrontation at the moment
 
Too many imponderables here to see the solution. Stress throws a spanner in the works, you may be anaemic, your meal was quite low carb but high in protein which can also end up as glucose, the conflicting advice from your doctor and nurse is destructive. Maybe you can try to do something completely different for a while.
(I put too many garlic granules in the stir-fry :***: otherwise I'd have offered you some.)
Talk tomorrow.
 
@rosserk

Good advice from some REALLY experienced members. Something odd with all of this so please get that (re) checked :)

Mike
 
Rosserk, can you make an appointment to see a doctor as opposed to the nurse? My mother had all the classic symptoms, thirst, going to the toilet, weight loss, eye problems etc. she went to her GP who just told her it was her age. Then "luckily" she accidentally squirted some bleach in her eye and had to go to the eye infirmary, the person she saw had just come back from a diabetic retinopathy course & diagnosed diabetes. He said she must have had it for at least 10 years. They rang her GP and demanded that she saw someone immediately. She went to the surgery and saw the diabetic nurse. She said they had no right in interfering and she had to go and buy a litre of Lucozade, drink it and see what happened. She then did a test with a monitor and it read 28, this was about 2pm and hadn't eaten since 10pm the previous day. I think the diabetic nurse had an attitude because it was making her look like she wasn't doing her job. I think it's the same with you. Try and see a doctor and also tell them about your symptoms as well as showing them your readings.
 
Back
Top