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Fasting blood test of 7.5mmol should I be worried?

gardengnome42

Well-Known Member
Messages
212
Location
Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
diabetes and dieting
I know I am already borderline T2D having had an HbA1c in March of 43 mmol and 6 months prior to that the same. That has been rising for several years but slowly. I was just rather surprised at this fasting test result having just returned from a week away.
 
7.5 is a diabetic FBG but you know that! (7 and over) Have you been relaxing your testing? Did you do a re-test after seeing the 7.5? What were you seeing previous to your holiday? Did you relax your eating regime on holiday?

So many questions!
 
7.5 is a diabetic FBG but you know that! (7 and over) Have you been relaxing your testing? Did you do a re-test after seeing the 7.5? What were you seeing previous to your holiday? Did you relax your eating regime on holiday?

So many questions!

Yes I guess I should have known, did know really, it must have been a senior moment and initial shock and disbelief when I saw the reading. No I didn't take it a second time and also I do know it's better to take a reading before a meal and 2hrs later.
I had an HbA1c in March which was 43, the same as it was 6 months previously and 6 months prior to that too; I kind of relaxed somewhat at that - wrong again?! Although I'm careful what I eat it obviously is too carb loaded, but I don't put weight on. Before having the last Hba1c I was testing before and after and getting between 5.6 and 6.5 before a meal [dinner usually] and 8.5 up to 9 or 10 afterwards. I didn't think that was too bad but perhaps that was wrong?

If I'm really honest I am finding the whole issue slightly unreal; it cannot be happening to me - can it? I felt the same when diagnosed over 5 years ago with high blood pressure because I thought I really was not the typical candidate for that either. At that time the Hba1c was 41 and having found hypertension the doctor dealt with that, not even mentioning the glucose level, technically it was still 'normal' then of course. It was only when I realised I could get my medical notes online that I realised the significance.

I've been away staying with my daughter in France for just over a week, not eating vastly differently to being at home although I did imbibe a fair quantity of wine which is something I don't do at home very often. Well, when in Rome etc .... I just ate the same as we all did but perhaps should have held back on the croissant at breakfast!
 
Please don't stress yourself out over one reading, which may have been a rogue one.

However, it has been a wake up call, so time to start another food diary and start testing your meals again. I have to disagree with you. Seeing between 8.5 and 9 or 10 after a meal is not good. There should be no more than a 2mmol/l rise between the before reading and the 2 hour reading, preferably less, and no higher than 7.8. More than 2mmol/l and there were definitely too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope with. That's where the food diary helps, because you can record your levels alongside, and then look for patterns and look for ways of reducing the carbs in that meal. Your personal danger foods will soon become obvious.
 

Thanks for your reply. Do you keep a food diary all the time or is it just to see initially what effect different foods have. I do know that rice and jacket potatoes will make my numbers rise, I don't much like rice anyway so no real problem there and pasta is something I don't eat at all these days. My husband doesn't like it so I don't bother. Do you - or did you - keep a diary and test at every single meal? Speaking of my husband - he is 87 and has near perfect blood pressure, yet he piles salt on everything [he likes the crunch ...] He did have a full blood count a year or so ago and his HbA1c was 38 or 39. He doesn't exercise at all these days, unlike me. It just isn't fair is it ?
 

I still keep a food diary and have done so since January 2014, although it is now just a basic one with nothing weighed or measured - just the name of the meal eaten, and yes, I still test regularly before and after meals, and everything is recorded on an excel spread sheet. It is my personal motivation. Not everyone does once their eating plan is established, but most people test at least once a day, or a few times a week, and when they eat something new or carby.

What sort of things are you eating in a typical day?. There must be a lot of danger foods for your levels to be up in the 9s and 10s after eating.
 
Good on you for posting here and taking a closer look at your BGs.

After 9 years I have learned that it's better to spend a little bit of time watching and adjusting things to manage my diabetes-related issues than to be a zealot for 3 months a year and completely let myself go for the rest of the year because I don't want to think about it.

An HbA1c of 43 is terrific but if you do nothing it will likely creep up over time. I was curious about your age so had a look at your profile and see you are 75, and I noticed this and smiled a bit:

Dislikes: diabetes and dieting

I couldn't agree more! Dieting is horrible. Fortunately with an A1c of 43, in my opinion you don't need to "diet" as such... you only need to make very small changes. This is the key. Don't make it so difficult that you want to give up.

If your next A1c is 42 or 41, that will be a sign that everything is working just fine. It it's 36 or something then, even better!

In case you haven't seen this website, here is a link. I found the information very reassuring and it helped me get my mindset in balance. No more beating myself up or ignoring my BGs. I hope you find it helpful:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/18217337.php
 

Well yes there must be a lot of danger foods but I wonder which are the worst. A typical day would start with a cup of tea and breakfast would be half a grapefruit, 2 boiled eggs and 1 slice of brown toast and butter. Lunch is usually home made vegetable soup or perhaps a salad, followed by some fresh fruit and coffee. Mid afternoon I might have a biscuit with a cup of tea. Dinner is often fish, 3 times a week on average, eggs [as in omelettes], occasionally chicken or other meat but not often, vegetables of all kinds and maybe a small dessert. By no means would I have potatoes, rice or pasta at every meal and I might have a little chocolate after dinner. Often the dark stuff but I do love that purple wrapped milk sort!
So not brilliant but not really bad either I wouldn't have thought. When told I had hypertension 5 years ago I gave up cereal and milk for breakfast, gave up bread at lunchtime and snacking generally throughout the day. I also gave up low fat skim milk in favour of semi skimmed, low fat fruit yogurts [of which I used to consume a huge amount]in favour of plain full fat Greek types. In fact anything 'Low Fat' went out of the window. I have always cooked virtually everything from scratch.
 
Low fat manufactured foods are not good for people at risk of diabetes. There are several items in your daily food intake that if removed or reduced would greatly help reduce your blood sugars. If done right, I don't think you would miss them at all.
 
Specifically which are the worst items? Chocolate apart! I have the feeling the fruit I eat does have an impact, I do love all sorts of fruit.
 
Specifically which are the worst items? Chocolate apart! I have the feeling the fruit I eat does have an impact, I do love all sorts of fruit.
I will list them here but it would be better for you if you read some of the info at the website I linked above, because then you will gain a better understanding of what's going on in your body and what you need to do.

Breakfast: I'd ditch the grapefruit and probably the toast - or at least eat only half a slice.

Lunch: Some vege soup can be high carb, so a different type may be better, such as chicken or beef, or vege soup with mostly above ground veges and no pulses or legumes. Again, ditch the fruit or replace it with berries and cream or low carb higher fat yoghurt.

Mid afternoon: Ditch the biscuit and replace it with something like a slice of ordinary cheese (not Edam) or something sweet but low carb.

Dinner: Try to have more above ground veges than below ground veges. If having dessert, berries are lower carb than other fruits. You might be able to get away with a small serving of potatoes.

Very dark chocolate is fine... for diabetics it;s virtually considered a health food in small amounts, LOL.

"Your mileage may vary" as they say. I suggest reading some of the subforums about food choices for more ideas. People have invented some amazing dishes.
 
Mid afternoon: Ditch the biscuit and replace it with something like a slice of ordinary cheese (not Edam) or something sweet but low carb.

May I ask why you exclude Edam from the cheeseboard?
 
Stay away from fruit potatoes pasta sweets bread etc
 
May I ask why you exclude Edam from the cheeseboard?
It's not a hard and fast rule... I was hesitant to even get specific about foods but was kind of asked to. It wouldn't matter if someone ate Edam, there are much worse things they could eat.

I mentioned it in the context of someone being used to the old advice to eat low fat, which I consider in most cases to be harmful. Edam is slightly lower fat than Cheddar so I used it as an example. I've since read that you can get much higher fat cheese than Cheddar, which I like the sound of.

I used to eat Edam but hated it and then realized "tasty" cheese tasted stronger so I would need less of it anyway.

Here's a comparison chart:
https://www.healthcastle.com/say-cheese-comparing-the-nutrition-of-different-cheeses/
 

Ah ok, I was thinking carbs and most cheese is virtually carb free. Give me an extra mature cheddar any day!
 
Ah ok, I was thinking carbs and most cheese is virtually carb free. Give me an extra mature cheddar any day!
Be careful with cheese, it is easy to overeat cheese on LCHF diet but cheese will elevate BG too, despite being virtually carb free. Kind of like a pizza effect. It is pure protein. Proteins do not spike but still elevate BG for hours. Eat cheese as a condiment, not a main meal. On average we only need 100-120 grams of proteins per day, 100g of cheese is something like 30g of protein or more... It's OK to consume more if coupled with strenuous exercise. And overeating proteins in the evening will def. have an effect on FBG.
 


Why don't you just start testing before and after, keep the food diary, and look for patterns. The meals that are sending you up to the 8s, 9s and 10s (and more than 2mmol/l above your starting level) need amending. Ideally you need to be under 7.8 at all times, and when you aren't, it is the food doing it. Only you can work out which foods by testing and recording.
 
7.5 is a diabetic FBG but you know that! (7 and over) Have you been relaxing your testing? Did you do a re-test after seeing the 7.5? What were you seeing previous to your holiday? Did you relax your eating regime on holiday?

So many questions!

Warrented questions have to say valid. I would be interested on comments curiosity nothing else, i.e.

Firstly, cut off numbers 7.5 or whatever, there has to be a set cut off that is undoubtedly clear and necessary for us all, we have to have a number to aim for and be diagnosed under, the question is perhaps we are having anxiety and stress worry unnecessarily, as sometimes those figures we trust to aim for can suddenly out of the blue change? i.e

I assume we are all in same boat trying desperately with or without meds, to aim for the cut off say fasting normal, up to 6.0 even though it does not elaborate if this means sitting ON 6 108mg/dl equal to? one is giving great efforts, motivation, will power to strive to ensure we try for fasting normal, for weeks months a year we have managed to stay in range, its not easy as we all knowj too,

THEN

Suddenly the cut off figure we were using, aiming for, lowers as now it has gone from fasting cut off guide, 6 mmol/l 108mg/dl to 5.5mmol/mol 100mg/dl.

A person whose numbers were for many months or more 100, 101,2,3,4,5,6,7 normal range, suddenly find if there results are any of these, they now fall under category of pre diabetes range, instead of previous normal range.

personally, I find this concerning especially towards ones general health, all efforts now need stronger efforts to reach the changed lower cut off.

I use this as example only. I worry about this, as I do not see any mention or raising of attention to this possible situation and how it can affect ones daily lives, when a lowering of cut offs take place, yes no doubt there is a valid explanation as to why, but that does not change the fact as I see it doubt concern that one can be NORMAL RANGE TODAY, tomorrow PRE DIABETIC RANGE?

I am sure will ruffle few feathers out there on the curiosity, but would Welcome any feedback on this curiosity concern raised, if anyone else has thought of this also? I may be the only one seems like it at the moment?
 
That's the beauty of extra mature aged cheddar. For me, 10g of it is enough to deliver one of the most delightful taste experiences I could possibly have without preparing an entire meal. It does take a lot of discipline to only have 10g, though. Thanks for the info, it's handy.
 


It would seem that whoever sets these number guidelines is possibly in league with big pharma? If you move the goal posts and make patients out of more well people = more profit. Call me an old cynic but I believe that is the case these days; create patients to take the medication that they don't need [and in the case of diabetes won't cure them either] and you have guaranteed profit.
I think in particular of statins when they lowered the threshold of the Qrisk overnight from 20% to 10% with no real explanation.
 
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