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Newbie Glucose Tolerance Test Query

NikiMilligan

NikiMilligan

Active Member
Messages
30
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi

I've been ill for 2 years with post-viral fatigue, during which time I've lost track of the number of blood tests I've had, with one of the few ones regularly being normal being blood glucose.

I've just been diagnosed as having Type 2 Diabetes, based on a Glucose Tolerance Test (result 12) following on from a slightly raised blood glucose.

It has led to a number of queries:
- The nurse measured out the lucozade using a standard kitchen jug. Surely a bit more precision would be required than
(a) Using a consumer grade glucose solution which will certainly vary from batch to batch
(b) Using a standard kitchen measuring jug.

On top of that, I spent most of the two hour wait asleep. I've subsequently read that this is a no-no.

As is the fact I'm a smoker, and was smoking right up to the test!

At the minute I'm a mix of terrified because of the diagnosis and frustrated because I have little confidence in the diagnosis :(

I've been told to start on Metformin, but know that this will interfere with further blood tests.

Would anyone be willing to hazard an opinion of how I move forward from here?

I'm seriously thinking of paying to see a specialist asap.

What do you all think?

Thanks :)
 
Welcome to the forum. If the 12 was the 2 hour result, consider that the non-diabetic 2 hour result would be 8 or less. So if your result were caused by too much or too high a concentration of the glucose solution, it would have to be a batch of super concentrated or double the volume, so it's unlikely that happened. I dount the smoking or sleeping made much difference.

It does sound like you have type 2 diabetes. A couple of suggestions:

Get a copy of all your lab test results. This can be very helpful to see what is going on, such as what your HbA1c has been at snf if there is any indication of liver or kidney problems..

Check out this website: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/
It is a great primer on type 2. Chances are that after reading it you will understand type 2 diabetes better than your doctor.

And ask lots of questions on this forum.

Good luck.
 
Hello NikiMilligan. Welcome to the Forum. Someone will come along shortly and send you information that all newbies receive.
 
@NikiMilligan

Hello Niki and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information, mentioned above, which we give to new members. There is a lot of information to take in to start with but you'll soon get the hang of it. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Whether you drank a smidge more lucozade than you should, or whether you slept, or sat quietly, the gap between 'normal' and 12 mmol/l at 2 hours is significant.

In your place, I would take the diagnosis and embrace the fact that you will now get eye and foot checks plus regular appointments and monitoring.

You can also do what needs to be done in terms of lifestyle, diet and exercise - but that is worth doing whether you are Diabetic, borderline, or not-quite diabetic yet.

This is a great opportunity for you to find out everything you can to halt the progression of your glucose intolerance NOW, rather than waiting until your condition worsens and you develop complications. This is a very long game. The sooner you start, the better you get to play it on your terms.
 
My OGTT was a small bottle of Lucozade with a fixed amount so measuring out sounds a bit on the cheap side. I know certain factors have to be taken into account but the test involves 2 blood tests, one before you drink the glucose and one 2 hours later and it is very diagnostic. I was off the charts at 22 mmol/l and not in the grey area so was satisfied with the result but not being diagnosed diabetic lol. ;)
 
hi @NikiMilligan
Like the others, i would suggest that your OGTT & diagnosis are corrrect and use it as a spur to try to reverse the symptoms. The OGTT as performed in most clinics / hospitals bit of a crude instument.
My last OGTT was performed at the behest of my consultant, despite my argument that I had been diagnosed T2 several years before!
He insisted and so I set off to the hospita; about 8 miles and 3 buses away!
My fasting BG was ~5.2 on rising but the rush hour journey caused my liver to dump my BG to ~7:mad: and I settled down to my 2 hour wait (but tested myself every 10 mins) at 2 hrs my blood was re tested and the veinous reading roughly agreed with my fingerstick test @ 4.8, so the report said elevateg FBG and a non diabetic +2hr BG My own tests showed that my BG peaked at 50-60 min @ ~9.5 and by BG dropped to 4.2 at 130 min when I stopped recording.
I still consider myself T2, but well controlled, and consider that monitoring of the BG by a system such as the Freestyle Libre could reveal some useful & fascinating results!
 
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