Hi I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes a couple of months ago although I have had symptoms for about 2 years and was having regular blood test that always came back borderline , last year I had 2 fasting glucose test that also came back borderline I didn't know at the time that there is supposed to be a 2 hour gap between the first blood test and the test after drinking the Lucozade the person who did my test only left me for about an hour which obviously gave false readings. By the time the GP rang me to say I had diabetes I wasn't surprised and told him I had recently found out the glucose test wasn't done over 2 hours as it should have been and that because of this persons negligence I had been left without treatment he said he could only apologise but as the person who did the test no longer worked at the surgery there was nothing they could do about it. Up to now I have only had a 15min consultation with him and a 15min consultation with the diabetic nurse who wasn't happy as she said I should have had an hours appointment she gave me a new date to see her in August I had to ask to be referred to a chiropodist and give her a reason why I thought it was standard practice that diabetics see a chiropodist. Yesterday I went for my diabetic eye test the optician said there was one bleed and from my test I have obviously had Diabetes a lot longer than my 2 month diagnosis confirming my suspicions, this morning I received a letter cancelling my appointment with the diabetic nurse and a new appointment for September I am now taking Metformin to control my sugar levels that have nasty side effects I feel if my Surgery had handled things better I may not have gone on to develop Type 2 has anyone else had experiences like mine.
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Late diagnosis
- Thread starter Maggimay
- Start Date
Well, I'm not a medical professional - and I agree that your surgery could have handled this better, but I suspect that your 1 hr instead of 2 hr test result may not have had the impact that you are thinking.
It is my understanding that when a person (diabetic or not) drinks a large amount of glucose/lucosade on an empty stomach, then it is very rapidly absorbed and arrives in the bloodstream very quickly. So quickly in fact, that the highest readings are usually at 45 mins to 1 hr after taking the drink.
As a result, if your blood test was taken at 1 hour then it was probably at the highest BG you had. By the 2 hour mark, the BG level is usually lower than it was as 1 hr (for type 2 diabetics who still have some insulin production)
(This was certainly the case for me, because when I had my oral glucose tolerance test I tested every 15 mins out of curiosity, and my results were over 15 at 1 hr, and down to 12 at 2 hours. By 2 hrs 10 mins, when they got around to taking the 2nd test, I was down to 11, and they decided I wasn't diabetic.)
So, in your case, if you didn't reach diabetic levels at 1 hr, then I personally doubt that you did so at 2 hours.
Have a look at bloodsugar101.com (link in my signature) for information on how diabetes develops, and the way glucose tolerance deteriorates. Recent studies have shown that while it often takes several years for people to slip into prediabetes, and a slow deterioration while prediabetic, it often takes a comparatively shot time to switch from pre to full blown diabetes - as little as months or even weeks.
I appreciate that is not much consolation for you, especially if you have had uncontrolled BG levels for a couple of years, but maybe that sets your mind at rest about the botched OGTT test.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
It is my understanding that when a person (diabetic or not) drinks a large amount of glucose/lucosade on an empty stomach, then it is very rapidly absorbed and arrives in the bloodstream very quickly. So quickly in fact, that the highest readings are usually at 45 mins to 1 hr after taking the drink.
As a result, if your blood test was taken at 1 hour then it was probably at the highest BG you had. By the 2 hour mark, the BG level is usually lower than it was as 1 hr (for type 2 diabetics who still have some insulin production)
(This was certainly the case for me, because when I had my oral glucose tolerance test I tested every 15 mins out of curiosity, and my results were over 15 at 1 hr, and down to 12 at 2 hours. By 2 hrs 10 mins, when they got around to taking the 2nd test, I was down to 11, and they decided I wasn't diabetic.)
So, in your case, if you didn't reach diabetic levels at 1 hr, then I personally doubt that you did so at 2 hours.
Have a look at bloodsugar101.com (link in my signature) for information on how diabetes develops, and the way glucose tolerance deteriorates. Recent studies have shown that while it often takes several years for people to slip into prediabetes, and a slow deterioration while prediabetic, it often takes a comparatively shot time to switch from pre to full blown diabetes - as little as months or even weeks.
I appreciate that is not much consolation for you, especially if you have had uncontrolled BG levels for a couple of years, but maybe that sets your mind at rest about the botched OGTT test.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
