How to test

I have some questions for you....
How do you know you have insulin resistance but not diabetes?
How are you measuring your insulin?

I agree with Mr Pot. I think you need to see your GP and get some clarification on your numbers and their meaning. And, perhaps, get an HbA1C done, too?

Edit: Sorry, I realise upon rereading that my reply here could seem abrupt. Here's my thinking, to explain myself.

It seems that you are following 2 different sets of advice, some of which is given to T1s and some is given to T2s. If you don't have a diagnosis of diabetes of any kind, why are you testing your blood at all? Your BG meter won't detect how much insulin is in your blood or what it's doing, just how much glucose is in there.

The only people who need to worry about their insulin "spiking" are people who actively take insulin, because they have to balance how much they take with what they've eaten.

You won't be taking insulin without a diagnosis of diabetes (..?) so, again, why are you testing your BG levels at all?

I really think you need to talk to a GP and get a blood test done. You seem to need some guidance and clarification that members here won't be able to give you - we can't diagnose and conduct HbA1c's.

I hope that's clearer.

@Flair This thread suggests your test result was in range:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/fasting-insuline-okay.123816/

Have you actually received a diagnosis of insulin resistance? Can you tell us a little more?

I to have came to the belief I have insulin resistance, this is purely through self study, each year when I have my glucose test done at the doc's I need to have it repeated with a fast test, my Doc has refused to do a insulin test as he says I am not diabetic. I have come to this conclusion because I have most of the symptoms of diabetes, also have passed out with these symptoms, through desperation, I looked up google and all the evidence pointed to insulin resistance, I have been following an intermittent fasting since the end of March, still not been able to loose any weight, or inches and nothing has changed in my glucose, I don't have a metre or anything to test insulin or glucose, I only go by how I am feeling and the symptoms. I have been told by doc that I am "borderline diabetic" whatever that means , but intermittent fasting doesn't seem to be helping me at all.

kathleenb said:

I to have came to the belief I have insulin resistance, this is purely through self study, each year when I have my glucose test done at the doc's I need to have it repeated with a fast test, my Doc has refused to do a insulin test as he says I am not diabetic. I have come to this conclusion because I have most of the symptoms of diabetes, also have passed out with these symptoms, through desperation, I looked up google and all the evidence pointed to insulin resistance, I have been following an intermittent fasting since the end of March, still not been able to loose any weight, or inches and nothing has changed in my glucose, I don't have a metre or anything to test insulin or glucose, I only go by how I am feeling and the symptoms. I have been told by doc that I am "borderline diabetic" whatever that means

, but intermittent fasting doesn't seem to be helping me at all.

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Perhaps you should buy your own meter and start testing? You seem to be working blind as regards your glucose levels, and when you feel symptoms you could see at a glance f it is high or low blood glucose. Otherwise it is all assumption and guess work.

I thought about buying one and testing strips, I spoke to my doc about it, he said the metres need to be programmed by a nurse? Your right, I am working blind, I'm also frustrated, I don't want to become diabetic and doing what I can to try and prevent it but because fasting test seems to be at acceptable levels I'm not considered to be in need of any support from the medical profession, I believe diet is the key and should give myself a kick up the ass

kathleenb said:

I thought about buying one and testing strips, I spoke to my doc about it, he said the metres need to be programmed by a nurse

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LOL. Never heard that one before! You just buy one and use it. No need to involve either the nurse or the doctor. It's your body and your diabetes, not theirs. You don't need it to be programmed. and don't need their permission. You don't inject insulin so have no need. All you are doing is working out which foods you can and can't eat, and looking for trends downwards and upwards.

Hi @Flair .. and welcome
I agree that you should be testing your blood glucose levels .. and, as @Bluetit1802 has said above, you can ignore the nonsense from your Doc about programming your meter ..

For getting set up with your meter, the following websites might help:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.

The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. Make sure that you tick the appropriate box on the on-line order form and you won't pay VAT on your meter or strips.
For the SD Codefree, the strips are £7.69 for a pack of 50 and there are discount codes available for bulk purchases:
5 packs x 50 use code: 264086 .. cost is £29.49
10 packs x 50 use code: 975833 .. cost is £58.98
For the TEE 2, the strips are £7.75 for a pack of 50 .. but there are no discount codes currently available

I recommend that you test before meals and then again two hours after you started to eat .. some folk also take a fasting blood glucose reading first thing in the morning. This testing pattern will enable you to monitor trends over time and to spot any foods that cause your blood sugar to "spike" or fall ouside the normal ranges. I'm testing 3-5 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them

Hope this helps

kathleenb said:

I thought about buying one and testing strips, I spoke to my doc about it, he said the metres need to be programmed by a nurse? Your right, I am working blind, I'm also frustrated, I don't want to become diabetic and doing what I can to try and prevent it but because fasting test seems to be at acceptable levels I'm not considered to be in need of any support from the medical profession, I believe diet is the key and should give myself a kick up the ass

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1st. If you are "borderline diabetic". Your doc should be providing information if nothing else. AAUUGH! I am a nurse, and this frustrates the heck out of me. This is your body and you need information on how to keep it as healthy as it can be.

Insulin levels are a lab test.
Capillary Blood Glucose (CBG) levels are what we can check at home.
Glucose meters are capable of being programmed, but that is done for insulin dependent diabetics. Not sure exactly what they program, but it is a mute point since you are not insulin dependent.
You can and should check and follow your CBG. Know what is normal, see how your body responds to food and exercise, adjust in order to stay as close to normal as possible.

FYI (Diabetes Epidemic and You, by Dr Joseph Kraft, MD)
Research has shown multiple patterns of insulin resistance.
These patterns are evident when a dynamic insulin response to oral glucose tolerance is done.
With this test, diabetes can be diagnosed a good 10 years before fasting blood glucose and oral glucose tolerance tests are abnormal enough for health care to diagnose diabetes.
This test is almost never done. If it were, about 80% of the population would be diagnosed as having some level of diabetes. Think of the short term cost to the health care system. Think of the long term profits in medications and equipment for treating chronic complications. This is why this test is not done outside of research.

Are you diabetic? Probably, considering the above info.
What to do? As above. Follow your CBG and modify your diet and exercise to keep it as close to normal as possible. This is your body. You are responsible for it and it is fantastic that you are being proactive

@Flair

In normal healthy people the pancreas produces insulin all the time, not just when our blood sugars are high and spiking. When fasting overnight and between meals it releases small amounts to regulate the glucose in the bloodstream - because there is always glucose in the bloodstream whether we have eaten or not. When we are low on glucose our livers release some from some of the stored glucose it holds. No-one has zero glucose. It is a very complicated process. After we eat, the pancreas releases large amounts to cope with the glucose from the food we have eaten. When we are insulin resistant, it keeps on releasing insulin to try and push the glucose into our cells. The more this is resisted, the more insulin is produced. Unfortunately, the more insulin we have floating about the more insulin resistant we become. Like a vicious circle.

Flair said:

Okay but if keep my bloodsugar low this means it Will not release That much insulin.

Because if you fast you will have low insulin.

How can I find the spikes in food That make me insulin resistance. Only had once a 9. After eatING. Wich I think is maybe normal?

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It isn't the spikes in your glucose making you insulin resistant. The root cause of insulin resistance is not yet known, but what is known is that it can be a precursor to diabetes Type 2.

As I said on your other thread, the pancreas secretes insulin all day and night, not just when we eat. It does this because when we are fasting or between meals and our glucose is low, our liver will dump glucose from its store. This is why we never ever have zero glucose in our blood stream. The pancreas secretes small amounts of insulin to deal with the glucose released by the liver, to try and push it into our cells for energy. When we are insulin resistant it struggles to do this so the pancreas produces even more insulin, and then some more. We can end up with far too much insulin in our blood stream, which can cause as many problems as too much glucose.

@Flair
1. We can have insulin spike even when glucose remains stable. But we are currently unable to measure this at home. The technology is not available for home use. That is why the condition has always been dismissed...until the glucose spikes is obvious. That is one of the underlying reason why diabetes diagnosis has become glucose centric rather than insulin centric.

2. High fasting insulin is a good indication that insulin response will be correspondingly high. And of course the most obvious external observable condition is one of growing waistline...can we put on weight without excess insulin?

You may find this video helpful

The suggested solution is to lower your carbs and switch to more fibrous complex carbs to reduce the insulin load. As @CherryAA rightfully calls it...consider a Low Insulin Diet.

I struggled to control my weight whenever I was being encouraged to eat a 'normal' or 'proper' diet - one with lots of carbohydrate.
Whenever I could eat a low carb diet, without fail my weight dropped. I also had lots of energy and felt great. I could never understand why there was such a problem.
The answer is most likely that there isn't one.

Reversing or improving insulin resistance can be done by having as little circulating insulin as possible. The more insulin circulating, the worse the resistance will become.

To reduce circulating insulin you have to reduce carbs and any other foods that cause insulin spikes. (These are not all carbs)
This is a useful table of foods that and their position on the insulin index. The one at the very bottom, and therefore causing almost no insulin spike, is butter.

https://public.tableau.com/profile/christoffer.green#!/vizhome/InsulinogenicFoodData/Dashboard1

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/93/5/984/T1.expansion.html

http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=3624

Exercise is also an important factor (especially walking) and minimising fruit and fructose intake.

The lower carb you go, the more chance you have.

Bluetit1802 said:

It isn't the spikes in your glucose making you insulin resistant. The root cause of insulin resistance is not yet known, but what is known is that it can be a precursor to diabetes Type 2.

As I said on your other thread, the pancreas secretes insulin all day and night, not just when we eat. It does this because when we are fasting or between meals and our glucose is low, our liver will dump glucose from its store. This is why we never ever have zero glucose in our blood stream. The pancreas secretes small amounts of insulin to deal with the glucose released by the liver, to try and push it into our cells for energy. When we are insulin resistant it struggles to do this so the pancreas produces even more insulin, and then some more. We can end up with far too much insulin in our blood stream, which can cause as many problems as too much glucose.

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I thought the usual hypothesis about the cause of insulin resistance went something like the following:

1. High carbohydrate food is readily available in most parts of the world as never before.
2. If eaten in excess, this causes high blood glucose levels. More insulin is produced by the pancreas to enable the body cells to use this glucose for their metabolism or for the liver to convert it to fat for storage
3. Because excess glucose is toxic both in the circulation and in the liver, the liver makes lots of fat and the person puts on weight.
4. The rest of the body protects itself against excess glucose by progressively developing insulin resistance.
5 The excess glucose stays in the bloodstream.
6. The pancreas responds to the raised blood glucose by producing ever more insulin to try to remove it from the circulation.
7. Eventually the fat cells can take in no more fat, both they and the liver becomes insulin resistant.
8. The pancreas can no longer keep up with the ever-increasing demand for insulin and the blood glucose rises progressively.
9. The vicious circle can be broken most easily by a low carbohydrate, high fat diet. Injected insulin just reinforces the vicious circle in the long term.

The controversy seems to centre on why some people eat too much. That is, why people like me can remain hungry despite a high Calorie intake. This does seem to be hormonal, the hormones acting on the appetite centres in the brain. Some people focus on insulin, because insulin blocks the release of fat from the body stores and leaves the person hungry, others on appetite inhibiting hormones such as leptin. The great advantage of a high fat diet is that it suppresses the appetite, so it requires less self discipline to avoid the carbohydrates.