• Guest, the forum is undergoing some upgrades and so the usual themes will be unavailable for a few days. In the meantime, you can use the forum like normal. We'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Has anyone ever done a DIY glucose tolerance test and is it possible to do so?

gardengnome42

gardengnome42

Well-Known Member
I just wondered if it was a good idea or not. I believe Lucozade is what is used yet I understand Lucozade has changed its formula slightly and now contains less sugar. So what's the best thing to use and how accurate is it?
My reason being that as a borderline diabetic I want to know where I am at, so to speak, before having another HbA1c test and possible finding myself on the register.
 
Quite a few of us have done a home OGGT. It is very difficult to use Lucozade these days, but very easy if you buy the ready mixed glucose called Rapilose.

https://www.gpsupplies.com/rapilose-ogtt-glucose-solution-300ml-pack-of-1

It contains exactly the right mixture, and is used by a lot of doctors.

These are the instructions for use:
http://penlanhealthcare.com/uploads/Rapilose-OGTT-Instructions-For-Use.pdf

You need to be well prepared - as per instructions, and have a timer, your meter and loads of test strips in front of you, with something to record things on. To get the best advantage you need to test at least every 15 minutes from finishing the drink for 3 hours, and must sit still for the whole of that period.
 
gardengnome42 said:
Thanks Bluetit, sounds a lot of faff, perhaps I won't go there!
Click to expand...

I found it easy. I planned it for a Sunday morning when I knew I wouldn't be disturbed provided I had warned Mr. Blue. I had the drink sitting at my desk with my testing gear to hand, and played on my PC for 3 hours, checking emails, browsing and chatting on the forum and elsewhere, and generally having a pleasant relaxing time! You can cut the time down to 2 hours if you prefer. It was my choice to do 3 hours.
 
Is a home OGTT test very good only using finger pricks tests during or after it as we know they are not 100% accurate. I had to go to the hospital to have mine done to the department where they do blood tests. I had to fast for 12 hours before I went then at the hospital I had a blood test then the glucose drink then a wait of two hours another blood test then went home The first one was not conclusive so I had to have another one
 
Pinkorchid said:
Is a home OGTT test very good only using finger pricks tests during or after it as we know they are not 100% accurate. I had to go to the hospital to have mine done to the department where they do blood tests. I had to fast for 12 hours before I went then at the hospital I had a blood test then the glucose drink then a wait of two hours another blood test then went home The first one was not conclusive so I had to have another one
Click to expand...
What kind of blood test did they give you?
A finger prick or a full blood draw?
 
Pinkorchid said:
Is a home OGTT test very good only using finger pricks tests during or after it as we know they are not 100% accurate.
Click to expand...

Each individual measurement you take with your meter will be subject to an inaccuracy such that if you connect the dots directly on the graph, you are unlikely to get the true curve.

E.g. on the up-slope, if you get unlucky, you may see something like:

(Edit: spaces are lost when posting! I've had to use underscores to move the points to the right, ignore underscores!)

___________________*
_____________*
_________*
____*
______*
__*
**


But you can be sure that's not what's happening for real, so you can draw a line through the noise to be more like:

___________________*
_____________*
_________*
_____*
__*
*


There will be enough samples to average out any inaccuracy.

My guess is you can be sure that the shape of your 'cleaned up' curve will be accurate, then it's just a case that the whole graph may be slightly higher or lower than reality, but very informative either way.
 
Last edited:
Pinkorchid said:
Just wondered why anyone already having diabetes do home OGGT tests what does that tell them
Click to expand...

If you do, say, one every three months while embarking on a campaign of lifestyle change such as losing weight or starting to eat LCHF, you can compare one to the previous one to see if your curve has a lower peak and comes down quicker, both of which I'd take as a sign you are doing something right.

What they won't show you is how much insulin was needed to deal with the glucose; two people with the same healthy looking curve could be producing very different amounts of insulin - the person who produces the least insulin probably having the healthiest metabolism.

Either way, I'd say that if you can do something to lower the peak and reduce the duration, your metabolism is probably improving.
 
Well you all make it sound fairly straightforward if a little involved so perhaps I'll give it a go. I had an HbA1c taken in October and was told to go back in a year but feel sooner might be a better idea. Meanwhile I'd like to see for myself how things are going before committing myself to another official test at the surgery.
 
Pinkorchid said:
Just wondered why anyone already having diabetes do home OGGT tests what does that tell them
Click to expand...
Because its more data. You can see how you react to various inputs to see how much better (if you are getting better) you are getting. That's why we record our blood sugars and weight and HbA1c or at least I do.
 
Pinkorchid said:
Is a home OGTT test very good only using finger pricks tests during or after it as we know they are not 100% accurate. I had to go to the hospital to have mine done to the department where they do blood tests. I had to fast for 12 hours before I went then at the hospital I had a blood test then the glucose drink then a wait of two hours another blood test then went home The first one was not conclusive so I had to have another one
Click to expand...

When OGTTs are done at the GP surgery they use finger prick tests.
 
gardengnome42 said:
Well you all make it sound fairly straightforward if a little involved so perhaps I'll give it a go. I had an HbA1c taken in October and was told to go back in a year but feel sooner might be a better idea. Meanwhile I'd like to see for myself how things are going before committing myself to another official test at the surgery.
Click to expand...


you can actually do an at home hba1c test if you like . I use these ad they are pretty close to the surgery result
the outfit that sells them is called A1cNow
 
Its quite old post, but was just wondering how sooner you should be doing an OGTT after diagnosis and lifestyle changes? Secondly, i was reading on NHS website, you need to start eating normally (including carbs) three days prior to testing because otherwise you will shoot up. Now that means you will have to deal with high sugar levels for 3 days of food and then a sudden rise on the day of test. Now my question is, is it worth the spikes? Happy to start a new thread mods?
 
zamalik said:
Its quite old post, but was just wondering how sooner you should be doing an OGTT after diagnosis and lifestyle changes? Secondly, i was reading on NHS website, you need to start eating normally (including carbs) three days prior to testing because otherwise you will shoot up. Now that means you will have to deal with high sugar levels for 3 days of food and then a sudden rise on the day of test. Now my question is, is it worth the spikes? Happy to start a new thread mods?
Click to expand...

Prof Taylor measured maximal insulin secretion rates back to normal at 12 months post remission in the follow up to his Direct Study.
In his previous smaller study, Counterweight, he subjected his 11 "successsful" candidates to a 75g OGTT at 12 weeks & the results were pretty dismal.
Recommendation is to eat 150g of carbs per day for 3 days prior to test.
One off spikes, as you'll experience perparing & conducting this test, are unlikely to contribute to complications.
The advantage is that it establishes a baseline for your insulin sectretion/sensitivity for you to track your progress in the future.
 
Back
Top