Hi All, need help or guidance

[Vanessa Ola]

hi there i am new to all this. i am 53 and lately had all the classic symptoms of either pre-diabetes or diabetes, i get tired after meals to point i could easily sleep in my dinner! i had a prick finger test by ambulance staff when i had headache with eye haemorraging and was 2hrs after eating food and read at 11.6mmol! he said was high but nowt else was said, but promised i see dr, this morning saw dr whom just doesn't seem impressed at all my problems and said yes bit high but i suppose we do HBA1C test but 2 week wait plus results wait, am so worried as when i was at college in my late 20s i had episode where was shaky n dizzy and chap did my blood sugars and was 1.5mmol! he was worried sick gave me a banana i was fine 20mins later, anyway i had few such episodes where i know have to eat sweet stuff fast but apparently not diabetic at that time, but anyhoos so self treat as drs do not seem to care, they put everything down to my fybromyalgia! I acquired a blood glucose machine, lancet and test pieces. today at 8am i ate 2 pieces of white bread cheese on toast, 4hrs later did test i read at 7.6mmol, at 6hrs later was at 5.8mmol, then 3.30pm i ate main meal of handful brussel sprouts/6 small meatballs homemade 5% beef mince, handful cooked brown rice - 2 hrs later i read at 8.1mmol is this okay or not as not officially diagnosed diabetic, my last HBA1C was 6 months ago and was 5.6. please help i am so worried

 

[jonathan183]

Suggest you log what you eat and blood glucose levels just before you eat and 2 hours after you eat. You will start to get an idea of what is happening when you eat different foods. If you start feeling shaky then check your blood glucose levels. A rapid fall in blood glucose can make you feel hypo symptoms but you may find the blood glucose concentration is above 4mmol/l. At this stage its collecting data so you can see if patterns of what you eat/how you feel/blood glucose correspond.

 

[Vanessa Ola]

Suggest you log what you eat and blood glucose levels just before you eat and 2 hours after you eat. You will start to get an idea of what is happening when you eat different foods. If you start feeling shaky then check your blood glucose levels. A rapid fall in blood glucose can make you feel hypo symptoms but you may find the blood glucose concentration is above 4mmol/l. At this stage its collecting data so you can see if patterns of what you eat/how you feel/blood glucose correspond.

oh that sounds good what about just before bed and upon awake testing?

 

[jonathan183]

oh that sounds good what about just before bed and upon awake testing?

It might be worth logging every now and then but I think the readings around food or when you are feeling off are going to be most useful to start with.

 

[Vanessa Ola]

It might be worth logging every now and then but I think the readings around food or when you are feeling off are going to be most useful to start with.

okay that sounds like a plan because definitely something going on with blood sugars, as 11.6 after 2hrs after eating is very high and i think though had high carb meal

 

[EllieM]

Here's an interesting article about blood sugars in healthy non diabetics

Continuous Glucose Monitoring Profiles in Healthy Nondiabetic Participants: A Multicenter Prospective Study - PMC

Use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is increasing for insulin-requiring patients with diabetes. Although data on glycemic profiles of healthy, nondiabetic individuals exist for older sensors, assessment of glycemic metrics with new-generation ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The fingerprick test by the ambulance seems a little on the high side to me but a single test doesn't tell you much (bg meters have an accuracy of +-15% 95% of the time).

My advice would be to try not to stress till you have the result of your latest hba1c test.

Forum rules specifically say that we can't diagnose.

Good luck.

 

[Vanessa Ola]

yes think you right but i have been feeling so tired after everything i eat its awful almost narcoleptic per say, also ambulance man pricked side of thumb i think that makes difference from what i read somewhere, i just dont trust a blood test that some how monitors 2/3months in one test, at least i know if i go on low carb diet it help me to lose weight too as have lost 3 stone so far and another 6stone to go but im happy at weight loss so far

 

[KennyA]

yes think you right but i have been feeling so tired after everything i eat its awful almost narcoleptic per say, also ambulance man pricked side of thumb i think that makes difference from what i read somewhere, i just dont trust a blood test that some how monitors 2/3months in one test, at least i know if i go on low carb diet it help me to lose weight too as have lost 3 stone so far and another 6stone to go but im happy at weight loss so far

Hi and welcome. Low carb worked for me.

The fingerprick test and the A1c measure different things in different ways. There's enough allowable error in all the tests for you not to be over-anxious about any one in particular. What you're looking for in the A1c is the "last couple of months" picture: it counts the number of red blood cells that have had a glucose molecule attached to them. The fingerprick is what's happening in your bloodstream right now. A consistent pattern of fingerprick readings might (maybe) allow you a guess at what the A1c might be: the A1c won't really predict an individual fingerprick.

It's the difference/similarity between a roadmap and a satnav. They both do the same sort of job but it's best if you use both of them as complementary tools.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

hi there i am new to all this. i am 53 and lately had all the classic symptoms of either pre-diabetes or diabetes, i get tired after meals to point i could easily sleep in my dinner! i had a prick finger test by ambulance staff when i had headache with eye haemorraging and was 2hrs after eating food and read at 11.6mmol! he said was high but nowt else was said, but promised i see dr, this morning saw dr whom just doesn't seem impressed at all my problems and said yes bit high but i suppose we do HBA1C test but 2 week wait plus results wait, am so worried as when i was at college in my late 20s i had episode where was shaky n dizzy and chap did my blood sugars and was 1.5mmol! he was worried sick gave me a banana i was fine 20mins later, anyway i had few such episodes where i know have to eat sweet stuff fast but apparently not diabetic at that time, but anyhoos so self treat as drs do not seem to care, they put everything down to my fybromyalgia! I acquired a blood glucose machine, lancet and test pieces. today at 8am i ate 2 pieces of white bread cheese on toast, 4hrs later did test i read at 7.6mmol, at 6hrs later was at 5.8mmol, then 3.30pm i ate main meal of handful brussel sprouts/6 small meatballs homemade 5% beef mince, handful cooked brown rice - 2 hrs later i read at 8.1mmol is this okay or not as not officially diagnosed diabetic, my last HBA1C was 6 months ago and was 5.6. please help i am so worried

You were a little on the high side, yes... But you were unwell, and ill enough to have an ambulance involved: It was a stressful situation and that alone can raise blood sugars in anyone, not just diabetics. Your finger prick tests at home seem fine. Far as the lows go, a diabetic struggles with the highs. Lows only usually happen when we overshoot the mark with medication. There are conditions that can cause low blood glucose (like Reactive Hypoglycemia), but diabetes isn't usually one of them, not if you're unmedicated. Your HbA1c is still in the normal range, though edging toward prediabetic, but at the moment, not something to worry about overmuch. If you want to tackle things, cut the carbs some. Those turn to glucose when digested (not just sugars, but starches too!), so... If you want to do something, try that.

You're going to be fine,
Jo