Fasting glucose test for diagnosing people with diabetes (Reversing diabetes)

[AzureDan]

My situation: My doctor is quite convinced that I have reversed my diabetes due to my diet control, however i'm confident that I haven't because of my high glucose levels when eating a high carb meal or dessert etc. The tests she is observing is my fasting glucose tests which I take every now and then.

I'm not entirely sure of the concept of testing your glucose levels in the morning. Usually this test is for diagnosing people with diabetes, but say you already have diabetes....

My questions/made up examples (For people with diabetes):

You eat a cake before bed: You test your blood sugar 2 hours later and it says 8.0mmol/l. Your body will obviously try to get your glucose levels to normal in your sleep, however when you wake up your blood sugar is high 7.5mmol/l, therefore you have diabetes. I can make sense of that situation because it is quite straight forward.

However,

You eat a salad for dinner: You test your blood sugar 2 hours later and it says 4.5mmol/l. Will your blood sugar be lower or higher in the morning?

If it is higher: why?
If it is lower: According to my doctor, diabetes cured?

 

[Deleted Account]

My simplistic understanding is that a body without diabetes releases hormones to maintain a BG of about 5.5 mmol/l. Sometimes this body's BG maybe slightly higher such as just after eating or in a fight or flight mode; sometimes this body's BG may be slightly lower such as just after some strenuous exercise.
One of the key hormones it releases (as needed) is insulin. Another is glucogen which increases the BG in our blood. There are others, such as adrenaline which is an insulin inhibitor.
So, if a body without diabetes goes to bed with a BG of about 4.5mmol/l, it may release some glucogon to raise the BG to about 5.5 by the time it wakes. I would be surprised if it wakes with a lower BG ... but I guess if it does, it may have some other issue. If its BG is significantly higher than 5.5, it probably has diabetes.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi,

Are you in the UK?

I ask because in the UK and most of the rest of the world the fasting blood glucose test is no longer the main test for diagnosing diabetes. The diagnostic test is the HbA1c. A doctor may well do a fasting test but if this shows anything suspicious it will be followed up with an HbA1c.

Your doctor should be testing your HbA1c levels when you have your reviews. A fasting blood glucose test is nonsense. The HbA1c calculates your average blood glucose levels over the previous 2 to 3 months. The fasting test is just a snapshot of what your level is at the time of the test.

Are you sure these tests of yours are just fasting blood glucose, or could they be HbA1c? (which you may have been asked to fast for, although it isn't necessary)

What have your results been?

Even straight after diagnosis I never had a problem with my fasting tests. They have always been in the lowish 5s. This is where my body wants me to be. I often go to bed with highish 5s or even up to 6 but my body brings me back down to my normal base level by the time I get up. My morning levels are mostly less than my bedtime ones, sometimes by as much as 0.8mmol/l. This is a long term trend, so not anything to do with meter inaccuracies. But ..... I am diabetic.

 

[Mr_Pot]

My doctor is quite convinced that I have reversed my diabetes due to my diet control, however i'm confident that I haven't because of my high glucose levels when eating a high carb meal or dessert etc.

This confusion might be to do with the use of the term "reversed". If the doctor means "cured" then you are probably not unless you can eat whatever you want with no medication and keep within a non-diabetic BG range. If the doctor means "well controlled" which means you keep within a non-diabetic range with diet and exercise only, then you probably are.