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Is this insulin resistance?

P

PennyLane

Newbie
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3
Hi everyone,

My first time here, I'm a little nervous.

I don't know if I have IR because I had this test done out of my own pocket, not at the recommendation of any doctor. The story is long and I don't want to bore you. The main thing is, my hair has been falling out for 5 years at an alarming rate. I hadn't had this before. I went to my doctor and saw every specialist she sent me to. (Dentist, dermatologist, endocrinologist, gynocologist, gastroenterologist, rheumatologist.) None of them could find anything wrong with me. I do have mild anemia but I've had it since birth.

So I went in for this "hair loss package" and it tested for a lot of things. What worries me is this.

Glucose 4.6 mmol/L (3.7 - 6.0)
Insulin 24.4 mIU/L (1.9 - 23.0)
HOMA-IR 5.0 ( - 4.4)

I put the reference ranges in brackets. The test was done on an empty stomach. So the glucose is normal but the other two are high. Is this insulin resistance? Should I go see my doctor or the only thing she'll tell me is what I already know, that I need to lose a ton of weight?

Thank you for you replies. (And sorry for the bad English, not a native speaker.)
 
HI and welcome along. No need to be nervous around us.

Yes that insulin is very high. You say empty stomach but were you actually fasted. Say for 12 hours or more?
 
Your insulin looks normal for fasting < 25 mIU/L. To test for IR, you would need to do a glucose tolerance test to see if it goes above the normal range after drinking a sugary solution: https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/2089224-overview

However, you don't have to do that as the HOMA-IR on its own indicates you have significant insulin resistance.
Healthy Range: 1.0 (0.5–1.4) Less than 1.0 means you are insulin-sensitive which is optimal. Above 1.9 indicates early insulin resistance. Above 2.9 indicates significant insulin resistance.
https://www.thebloodcode.com/homa-ir-calculator/

There are articles that support insulin resistance can cause unusual hair loss. But there are a lot of other causes also such as stress, iron deficiency, and certain medications.
https://www.drsfirst.com/blog/5-sig...an occur for,lot more warrants your attention.
 
Last edited:
Jim Lahey said:
HI and welcome along. No need to be nervous around us.

Yes that insulin is very high. You say empty stomach but were you actually fasted. Say for 12 hours or more?
Click to expand...


I didn't fast but I think I have the 12 hours. I had the blood drawn at 10 am and I don't eat at 10 pm.
 
PennyLane said:
I didn't fast but I think I have the 12 hours. I had the blood drawn at 10 am and I don't eat at 10 pm.
Click to expand...

Well, we can’t make diagnoses on the forum, but you aren’t yet diabetic as far as the usual diagnostic criteria goes. But it does appear that you have some diabetic pathology in the making. Good news is that if you act now you can probably fix it pretty easily. See the link in my signature.
 


Thank you so much.

I have one question left: if I start a keto diet, won't I get NAFLD? Because 4 years ago, I had a fatty liver which I managed to reverse. Won't eating a high fat diet make my liver fatty again?
 
PennyLane said:
Thank you so much.

I have one question left: if I start a keto diet, won't I get NAFLD? Because 4 years ago, I had a fatty liver which I managed to reverse. Won't eating a high fat diet make my liver fatty again?
Click to expand...

No!, I have had NAFL for quite a long time and because I was eating carbs, the fatty liver didn't improve until I went Keto.
Saturated fats are good for you. In moderation as usual, but having full fat dairy, is a great way to help with low carb.

Another thing you might want to look up is hyperinsulinaemia, which is high insulin.
I have a condition that produces too much insulin, and I had higher readings, but by your results you don't have Hypoglycaemia.

Your glucose is very good.

Keep safe
 
PennyLane said:
Thank you so much.

I have one question left: if I start a keto diet, won't I get NAFLD? Because 4 years ago, I had a fatty liver which I managed to reverse. Won't eating a high fat diet make my liver fatty again?
Click to expand...

No. Hepatic fat is made in the liver from fructose and glucose.
 
Drinking alot of diet drinks can also cause/exacerbate fatty liver.
 
Did all the testing you had include your vitamin D level. A deficiency in Vitamin D is often associated with hair loss.
 
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