Is this normal?

[Malty123]

Hi All,

I have been unwell over the last few years. It all started after contracting a nasty virus (Epstein Barr) after travelling to the Maldives.

Since then, I’ve suffered with feeling extremely tired all of the time, lacking energy, non refreshing sleep, waking up at night to pee and drink water.

I had a HBA1C test last year which was 38nmol which I believe is slightly high but ok. So the GP isn’t willing to re-test as the test from last year
rules it out.

A family member suggested recently that I invest in a glucose monitor as they strongly believe that I have diabetes.

Well its odd:

Upon waking - 8.5mmol
Before eating breakfast- 6.5mmol
1hour After breakfast - 10mmol
2hours after breakfast- 6.8mmol

Ok with lunch and dinner (didn’t go over 7.8mmol), before bed (having last eaten nearly three hours ago and no sugary drinks etc.(water)) - 9.6mmol

I find it slightly bizarre that I’m getting such high readings when I’d expect them to be around 6~.

Appreciate no one can diagnose me, but I figured that people here would know if these results are concerning and warrant me pushing my gp to do something or if they are in fact normal.

Thanks

 

[EllieM]

Hi @Malty123 and welcome to the forums. Forum rules don't let us diagnose so I have to be careful what I say here, but I can give you some information.

Firstly, it is normal for the blood sugar of non diabetics to go up after meals.
This study here is quite interesting

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 ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Just bear in mind that they put the US figures for blood sugars first (divide by 18 to get from US mg/dL to UK mmol/L).

Also, blood testing meters don't have to be 100% accurate.

Blood glucose meter accuracy

Learn more about blood glucose meter accuracy and why it is important.

www.accu-chek.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sets standards for manufacturers who produce blood glucose meters in the United States and the International Organization for Standardization develops and publishes standards on a global scale. A position statement published in January 2019 compared the standards for blood glucose meter accuracy set by these two organizations. Let’s a take a look at the standards for the home-use of these devices:

• FDA: Readings are 95 percent accurate within 15 percent for all readings within the “usable” blood glucose range and 99 percent accurate within 20 percent for all readings within that usable range. The term “usable” in this case means the range of blood glucose values where the meter has proven to be accurate.
• ISO: Readings are 95 percent accurate within 15 percent of blood glucose equal to or above 100 mg/dl and are 95 percent accurate within 15 mg/dl for readings under 100 mg/dl.

And here is a link to DCUK's table of expected blood sugars for diabetics and non diabetics

Normal and Diabetic Blood Sugar Level Ranges

Normal blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine diabetes.

www.diabetes.co.uk

 

[Melgar]

Hi and welcome @Malty123 . I agree with @EllieM the before and after meals you posted are relatively normal. Everyone's blood sugar rises. What drew my attention was the following:

"Ok with lunch and dinner (didn’t go over 7.8mmol), before bed (having last eaten nearly three hours ago and no sugary drinks etc.(water)) - 9.6mmol"

9.6 mmol/Ls is raised. It is, however , difficult to draw conclusions from one reading. One reading doesn't tell you anything, even if it is higher than it should be. Many things can raise blood sugars and keep them elevated for longer. Fats in your meal can slow the metabolism down, meaning your blood sugars can remained slightly raised over a longer period of time. Insulin resistance can be higher in the evening than in the morning, some people experience the reverse. Insulin resistance is where your body is not as sensitive to insulin as it should be so your blood sugars are higher. Lack of sleep, feeling under the weather. There is a long list. An obvious one is washing your hands before testing. The other thing to bear in mind is the allowable error for these devices, I believe it is 15% -/+ .

You are clearly concerned about your blood sugars as you have posted a question. The only way to know how your blood sugars are doing is with the HbA1c test. That is the test Drs use to diagnose diabetes or to see how high your blood sugars are over 2- 3 months period.

Glucose monitors are good to see how well you are doing with food just before and two hours after, but you cannot draw anything other than how well your body has dealt with the food you have eaten.

You can, if you are really concerned, purchase a continuous glucose monitor or CGM device like Abbotts Freestyle Libre 2 from the pharmacy. They are pricey , but Abbott do a free 2 week trial. These cgm devices measure blood sugars continuously, as the name suggests. They are great to see what your blood sugars are doing and how well your body is coping with the food you eat. It gives you a graph via the app and some stats. You would get a better picture, but in the end a HbA1c test is the only way to know.

ed grammar

 

[Malty123]

Thank you both, that information is really helpful. I am going to write my results down for a few days and take them to my GP for review.

Thanks again