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Medichecks Fasting Insulin

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I’m very keen to know my fasting insulin and there’s more chance of getting blood out of a stone than getting my GP to agree to taking some out of my arm.

Medichecks do a home finger prick test kit which you then send back to them. It’s £39 which to me is very much worth it. Just wondering if anyone else has used this service and also if the finger prick method provides sufficient accuracy. I’m guessing it does or they would mandate a sample to be taken at a clinic. Very interested in getting this done along with a new HbA1c as my doctor no longer seems interested in testing that either

Thanks.
 
An interesting question. Sadly I have no clue. Clearly I experienced hyperinsulemia for a prolonged period and avoiding it is my current focus. I am measuring it with the proxy of blood glucose but I only assume that the two have a connection with which I would be satisfied. My BG is much more variable than I can explain at the moment but I will try and understand it better.
 

It’s not something that I feel the majority should concern themselves with during the earlier times after diagnosis. Although the priority for all insulin resistant diebateics should be to minimise insulin secretion, really the most effective practical measure of this, initially, can be regarded as reduced blood glucose concentrations. However, when one reaches the stage that blood glucose is flatlined and repeatable for several months, I feel that it can be beneficial to know fasting insulin. This is because one is effectively back in the zone of some semblance of sensitivity (as evidenced by no dawn phenomenon), and thus there is no way to know if the dietary strategy remains sound. That is to say that if sensitivity has improved, rising insulin levels may not necessarily materialise as increasing blood glucose concentration in the immediate term. In this context, fasting insulin testing is the very earliest warning system of any returning metabolic dysfunction. I would now like to prioritise fasting insulin over HbA1c as my ongoing metabolic marker moving into the future.

Without wishing to sound pretentious, it’s probably a test that only ‘advanced users’ should bother with. It could very easily and unnecessarily add an extra layer of complexity for most folk. Hope that all made sense
 
It will probably give you a baseline.... something to compare results further down the road with. Looking to get mine checked end of the week.
 
Tophat1900 said:
It will probably give you a baseline.... something to compare results further down the road with. Looking to get mine checked end of the week.
Click to expand...

Yeah now is probably the right time for me to get a number. I think I will go ahead and order a HbA1c and fasting insulin later this week. Works out at about £80 for the two, but money well spent.
 
Jim Lahey said:
Yeah now is probably the right time for me to get a number. I think I will go ahead and order a HbA1c and fasting insulin later this week. Works out at about £80 for the two, but money well spent.
Click to expand...

When was the last time you had your HBA1c checked?
 
Tophat1900 said:
When was the last time you had your HBA1c checked?
Click to expand...

July 2018 or thereabouts. Just before I quit Metformin. It will likely be lower now than it was then and isn’t really necessary but I figure I might just take it upon myself to pay for insulin and HbA1c every six months from now on. Although I’ve reversed the clinical definition of diabetes, I’m under no illusions that it can easily come back in the future if I don’t remain vigilant.
 

It's good to know what is going on. Even if your doctor isn't interested, but that's another story.
 

I have had 3 - the first time I got the blood taken privately at a local private hospital as once I'd got the home-fill vial I realised the amount they wanted wasn't gonna come out easily! The next two times I timed it so that I was having blood taken for the annual HbA1c and got the phlebotomist to fill the Medichecks vials.
if you're an easy "bleeder" then it would probably be ok to try the home fill but I'm meagre with my spillage.. not much help for you Jim sorry.
I think they still offer the private blood draw and if you're getting a few tests done it might be worthwhile. You might want to get the insulin resistance test test which does FBG, Fasting Insulin and IR as well as the HbA1c.
Try calling Medichecks and they may be able to help with getting the blood taken.
 
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Thank you, that’s great information. Thankfully I bleed quite well these days. I could fill a pint glass with my finger pricked on 50% depth so I’ll probably take my chances with the home kit at first and see how I get on
 
Jim Lahey said:
Thank you, that’s great information. Thankfully I bleed quite well these days. I could fill a pint glass with my finger pricked on 50% depth so I’ll probably take my chances with the home kit at first and see how I get on
Click to expand...
Good luck.. I found their service exceptional. Post off the samples and within 2 days I had the results in my inbox.
 
Bearing in mind you're already on a keto diet, what will you do about it if your fasting insulin is too high?
 
Diet isn't the only way to reduce insulin resistance.
Exercise works both short term and long term, also weight loss, using Metformin and increasing muscle mass will help too.
Of course the individual circumstances influence how effective any of those things are.

My main reason for wanting 'normal' insulin resistance is because I understand the health consequences of hyperinsulinaemia are at least as bad as the consequences of high blood glucose levels. Yet high insulin levels are much harder to identify, and can 'silently' influence health in the long term, even when slim with a normal HbA1c.

 
@Brunneria ...Don't ya just love Ivor Cummin's?

Hyperinsulinaemia - the big elephant in the room. He explains things so well.

It's because of him I want mine checked.
 
@Tophat1900

Yup.
My priorities are (all equally important):

Control blood glucose
Avoid food intolerances which muck my bg up as much as anything else
Get great nutrition, while controlling blood glucose
Avoid insulin spikes and hyperinsulinaemia (family history of heart disease, Alzheimers, psoriasis and chronic inflammation, all of which are aggravated by high insulin)
 
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I already lift weights as per my signature. This was instrumental in laying the smack-down on dawn phenomenon, so for me it most certainly improves insulin sensitivity
 
I wonder if some people on here just like to obsess about their health. What doctors call the worried well. There seems to be a desire to measure everything, almost in the hope to find some new marginal parameter to worry about and make spreadsheets, draw graphs etc. Having brought BG under control and checked fasting insulin what will be next, kidney function, gut bacteria, haemoglobin levels? We are all going to die eventually, if you don't have symptoms and the routine tests are ok, there must come a point when it is best to just get on with enjoying life or stress might be biggest threat to health.
 
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