Shock at sugar reading

Hi,

What was the reading that made your doc say you were diabetic?
Do you know what your HbA1c result is?
Your surgery should provide you with a print out of your results, if you ask.

Also, how long after eating did you test to get the 6.6 and 8.8 readings.
They are certainly not outside 'normal' non-d readings, but it all depends on timing.
Non diabetics can reach as high as 11mmol/l after food (depending on what that food is), but the key factor is that they don't stay that high for as long as a diabetic would.

there is nothing wrong with either of those numbers in isolation that would drive any doctor to say you are diabetic. 8.8 can be perfectly normal (especially in the morning) and 6.6 after having bacon may just mean you haven't peaked yet due to the fat. I suggest you do an experiment: Eat a meal and test before and every 15/20 mins after for the next 3 to 4 hours and then have a look at the profile but I expect you will find nothing out of the ordinary.

Hi,

Those HbA1cs are fine.
The 41 is normal (lower than pre diabetic)
And the 44 is prediabetic.

Worth monitoring, and looking at diet and lifestyle to see if you can tweak things, but not diabetic in any way shape or form.

I agree with @Andrew Colvin that you might learn a great deal by doing a series of tests after food. But the thing to remember is that will only test that one meal. Other foods and snacks will have different effects, but hopefully it will set your mind at rest.

Andrew Colvin said:

there is nothing wrong with either of those numbers in isolation that would drive any doctor to say you are diabetic. 8.8 can be perfectly normal (especially in the morning) and 6.6 after having bacon may just mean you haven't peaked yet due to the fat. I suggest you do an experiment: Eat a meal and test before and every 15/20 mins after for the next 3 to 4 hours and then have a look at the profile but I expect you will find nothing out of the ordinary.

Click to expand...

My last HbA1c was also 41 (down from 96 in 2014) and hoping I could reintroduce carbs to my diet, I experimented last weekend with some bread. After testing at 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours I saw no spike and remained in the 5's. Thinking I could now safely eat bread occasionally I did one final test to confirm the following day with a single slice of bread, but tested more regularly. I spiked just 35 minutes after eating, and within 1 hour was back within the 5's. So I agree with @Andrew Colvin that testing every 15/20 mins can give a more accurate picture of your tolerance, especially where bread is concerned

It seems different countries can have slightly different criteria? And different ways of talking about it. Here, an HBAIc of 41 is in pre-diabetic range.

In NZ they tried to get 'prediabetes' re-named as 'Impaired Glucose Tolerance' or IGT - which I quite liked as it doesn't indicate going towards diabetes! Which 'pre' sounds like. Also I liked it as someone who skipped the prediabetes diagnosis and went straight into diabetes, but am now IGT-ed, or post diabetic prediabetic . Oh boy!

One can see too how the numbers game can be a bit arbitary? When it comes to diagnosis perhaps? But the IGT doesn't seem to have stuck, I see from this rather handy diagnostic criteria chart below.

I hope you might take from this discussion that having an HBA1c of 40-49 means that your pancreas and liver may be working very hard dealing with the blood glucose levels you have, which may increase insulin resistance - which is not good for your health. You could get a c-peptide test next time you are getting your blood lipids done? And ask your doctor to talk to you about how much insulin your body is producing. If it is the high end of normal, then your pancreas is working hard, and you can help it (and your health) out by lowering the amount of glucose your body is dealing with (by eating less carbs and/or being more active), just to keep you good.