Is it possible to have a false positive blood test?

[essgirl]

Hi,I had a fasting blood test on Wednesday and when i rang for the results yesterday I was told the test had come back positive for Diabetes.I have made an appointment to see the nurse on Tuesday but i was wondering is it possible for the test to be wrong?
Thanks

 

[kimberleyk45]

sorry to be the barer of bad news but its very unlikely that the test would b wrong. it has been sent away to a professional lab, where mistakes on this kind of thing dont happen. ur blood glucose level is an instant give away. it should have been between 4-7 for a non-diabetic. did they tell you what yours was at?

 

[essgirl]

Hi,I had a load of blood tests done 2 weeks ago for an unrelated condition,they all came back fine except for the blood glucose which came back at 7.1.The GP then said I should have a fasting blood test which has now come back as positive for Diabetes.I dont know yet know how high it was.I guess I will find out Tuesday when I see the nurse.I was quite surprised as I dont have any symptoms.Thanks for your response.

 

[kimberleyk45]

have you not been thirsty, lost weight or been more tired than normal? hopefully you'll get some answers when you see your doctor again. you should make them aware that you havent had any symptoms & that you are puzzled by this diagnosis

 

[John aka Wallycorker]

Hi,I had a load of blood tests done 2 weeks ago for an unrelated condition,they all came back fine except for the blood glucose which came back at 7.1.The GP then said I should have a fasting blood test which has now come back as positive for Diabetes.I dont know yet know how high it was.I guess I will find out Tuesday when I see the nurse.I was quite surprised as I dont have any symptoms.Thanks for your response.

Hi essgirl,

I was only around 7.1 on a fasting result when I was diagnosed early over nine years ago. I didn't have any symptoms at that time either - however, symptoms andcomplications can come along quite quickly if one doesn't get to gripd with controlling blood glucose levels. In my opinion, now is the time to take action - don't leave it eight years like I did. You've made a good start by coming to these diabetes forums quickly.

I suggest that you stick around and learn as much as you can to prevent your situation worsening - the healthcare professionals call it the inevitable progression of diabetes. In my experience, it doesn't necessarily need to be like that. You will find that diet to be a very powerful ally in helping to fight this problem called diabetes.

Best wishes and good luck - John

 

[louiseb]

I think it would be highly unlikely that your test result was wrong but if you asking is there any factors that cold have raised your blood sugar to higher than normal levels then yes there are.
lack of or poor sleep
illness or if you are feeling unwell like the flu or something
stress
all the above things can affect your blood glucose levels and ususally your gp will carry out 2 tests to confirm diabetes.

good luck at your gp and remember have a positive outlook diabeties can be controlled.

 

[hanadr]

essgirl
The test is so simple that it would be most unlikely to be wrong. However, To confirm diabetes, you should as for an Oral Glucose Tolerance test.
Hana

 

[essgirl]

Hi,thanks for all your replies.
I have been feeling tired but i just put that down to work,kids etc.The reason I was asking if it is possible to have a false positve is because last year I had a lump that was told was benign,when I had it removed 6 monthslater it turned out to be cancerous so I have no faith in the Drs at all.
I will ask for another test to be done but if that also comes up as being postive then I will deal with it and educate myself.Im hoping it can be controlled with diet rather than with pills because I take enough pills as it.
I have been reading the posts on here and am finding it very informative and if I am diabetic I will no doubt be asking more questions on here.
Once again thank you for your replies.

 

[essgirl]

Hi,just wanted to update this.
I had a Glucose tolerance test at the hospital last Friday.I got the results back yesterday and they were normal.The fasting one was 3.8 and the one two hours after the drink was 7.8.The only reason I can think of as to why the first two blood tests came up so high was because I used to drink a lot a Lucozade,could this have caused the first two tests to come back so high?I gave up Lucozade about a week before the Glucose test.

 

[hanadr]

The OGTT should be diagnostic, but the numbers you gave could mean that your body isn't handling blood glucose very well. In that case, You might consider getting your blood glucose monitored very now and again and reducing the carbohydrates in your diet, by whichever way suits you. this won't do any harm and might prevent things from developing. and YES a drink of Lucozade will mess up the results of a fasting blood test for a few hours. Did you have it on those days?
Hana

 

[essgirl]

I didnt have a drink of lucozade on the day of the tests,but certainly on the preceding days i did.
I have bought a blood glucose tester so will be keeping an eye on it.I am on a low fat,high carb diet because I had a liver resection last year and lost a lot of weight so im trying to gain weight but to do it an healthy way rather than just eating cakes and choc etc.
Thanks for your reply.
Essgirl

 

[jopar]

Glad the GTT came back fine..

From what you've posted, having a cancerous growth removed, I should imagine that through this period of time you were pretty stressed and worried... This could have put your glucose levels out of kilter... Did you recieve treatment after it was removed??

Even in the non-diabetic when the body is stressed, has an infection, injurry etc, this all can increase the blood glucose while the body is fighting the situation..

What could do now, is eat an normal 'healthy balanced diet' where items such as cakes, fast food become an occasional treat..