Shocked and despondent!

[Richard'63]

Stress/anxiety has a massive effect on my readings, and you called it a "crucial HBA1c test". Maybe the upcoming test is the cause.

 

[Patrick66]

and you are doing really well. Don't let one rogue reading stress you out, which won't help you. Put it down as a blip and try again tomorrow.

I can’t help it.

I’ll pop to the dentists tomorrow to see if they can give me some antibiotics for this infection, if I have one.

And I’m not eating now till this evening in the hope that a mini-fast will improve matters as well. It’s been 15 hours now.
At least the weight is coming off. 17lbs in 4 weeks now.

 

[BloodThirsty]

I get them back at the surgery. I have no online access to test results and they won’t give them to me if I go in or ring them. It’s very frustrating.

You probably know this already but you're absolutely entitled to see your medical records:
https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-access-your-health-records/

If you research a little further you will find that you simply have to show the receptionist an acceptable form of identification and she, hopefully forevermore, will give you all the information you require.

Some of these receptionists have the power of life and death over us, and boy do they enjoy displaying it.

 

[Patrick66]

Stress/anxiety has a massive effect on my readings, and you called it a "crucial HBA1c test". Maybe the upcoming test is the cause.

Perhaps.

Unfortunately, when it all goes wrong on Tuesday, I won’t be able to blame stress as the test calculates readings over @ much longer period.

Although I am always stressed.

 

[Patrick66]

You probably know this already but you're absolutely entitled to see your medical records:
https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-access-your-health-records/

If you research a little further you will find that you simply have to show the receptionist an acceptable form of identification and she, hopefully forevermore, will give you all the information you require.

Some of these receptionists have the power of life and death over us, and boy do they enjoy displaying it.

Ah, if only it were that simple here.

They know me yet I’m always told I have to make an appointment..which is a waste of a slot..for me to go in and the Dr to say “****” and I walk out again.

 

[Patrick66]

Do you get your results at your Doc's surgery or at the hospital?

If my GP requests the bloods, irrespective of where the blood is drawn, the results are shown on my medical records as soon as they're back and have been seen by a Doc. At the hospital, I have to ring the Endo's PA about 48 hours after the test.

I had blood drawn on Wednesday last week (for my thyroid) and could see my results next morning, online. As I always have to have the blood drawn at 08:00, I sometimes have the results the same day.

The waiting is the worst bit!

I just logged into my doctors website. I found, amongst the guff, a view test results and lo and behold there was my last HBa1c reading...except it wasn’t, it just said “Abnormal but expected”..

From memory it was 6.7 which was high..but “expected” ? I found that interesting. I wonder why they expected it?

I shall log in again Friday morning to see if the new result has turned up. I expect to read, “Abnormal, which is the normal for this guy!”

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

I am genuinely baffled.

I'm going to suggest the dawn phenomenon as being responsible. I frequently fast from 7pm in the evening till 8am the following morning and there is frequently a rise in the morning and a lot more than 7.9.

The only way I have managed to "subdue" DP is by not eating meat at the evening meal. In the past I have gone several weeks if not months where I did not eat any meat in the week, just the weekend. I kept my BG between 5 and 7 most of the time with small blips at the weekend.

This from a website called diabetesselfmanagement:

From about 2 AM to 8 AM, most people’s bodies produce hormones, including cortisol, glucagon, and epinephrine. All these hormones increase insulin resistance and tell the liver to make more glucose. The idea is to get you enough glucose to get out of bed and start the day. The whole process is apparently started by growth hormones.

Everyone has a dawn phenomenon. Otherwise they’d be too weak to get breakfast. But in people without diabetes, insulin levels also increase to handle the extra glucose. People with diabetes can’t increase insulin levels that much, so their early morning blood glucose levels can rise dramatically.

Experts disagree on how many people have a dawn phenomenon. Estimates range from 3% to 50% of Type 2s and from 25% to 50% of Type 1s.

 

[DCUKMod]

Thank you. Hba1c, if it’s over three months, will be probably just as high. If it’s over a month then I’d stand a better chance and I’ve seen several threads indicating that it’s over a number of weeks, rather than months, and weighted to the last couple of weeks. If that was the case I might have a glimmer of hope.

Patrick the A1c is described as reflecting the last 3 months, but the reaality is it is significantly influenced by the more recent period. You've been doing really well, so just stand firm. Keep the faith and all those ofther cliches and platitudes.

 

[DCUKMod]

I just logged into my doctors website. I found, amongst the guff, a view test results and lo and behold there was my last HBa1c reading...except it wasn’t, it just said “Abnormal but expected”..

From memory it was 6.7 which was high..but “expected” ? I found that interesting. I wonder why they expected it?

I shall log in again Friday morning to see if the new result has turned up. I expect to read, “Abnormal, which is the normal for this guy!”

If your result is in the diabetic range it'll be "Abnormal" (as it's in the diabetic range), and the "expected bit" is more likely used to indicate it's not a new diagnosis, although that last bit is speculation on my part.

Glad you found your results area. So much better than all that telephoning and grovelling for our own information.

 

[Patrick66]

If your result is in the diabetic range it'll be "Abnormal" (as it's in the diabetic range), and the "expected bit" is more likely used to indicate it's not a new diagnosis, although that last bit is speculation on my part.

Glad you found your results area. So much better than all that telephoning and grovelling for our own information.

Let’s see how long it takes them to put the new results up. I wish my actual reading had been showing.

 

[DCUKMod]

Let’s see how long it takes them to put the new results up. I wish my actual reading had been showing.

Which system does your Doc use? Mine uses Systmonline.

My recent test result looks like this:



But, if I click on "View", I see this:



Then if I scroll down there's lots of uninteresting stuff , but near the top I see this:



The result is highlighted (badly, by me!), so maybe you just need a few more clicks?

As you can see from that, my test was done on the 16th. The report was sent later that day, but the Doc didn't read it until the following day at 12:04 (after morning surgery).

Have a bit of a click around. It just might be playing hide and seek with you.

If your Doc uses a different system (there are a couple), they're all a bit of a variation on a theme.

 

[Bluetit1802]

I agree, that if you can see test results on line, the actual results will be there, somewhere. My surgery uses Patient Access (EMIS). There are several navigation options. One is "consultations" where the doctor will put a general comment on the result. Another is "test results" where all the lab test results show - every single result. A few more clicks and all the past results come up, and another click takes me to a trend graph of each individual result. My results appear on this within 24 hours unless the blood was drawn on a Friday, although some appear quicker than others and it may take a day or two longer for them all to appear.

 

[Daphne917]

You probably know this already but you're absolutely entitled to see your medical records:
https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-access-your-health-records/

If you research a little further you will find that you simply have to show the receptionist an acceptable form of identification and she, hopefully forevermore, will give you all the information you require.

Some of these receptionists have the power of life and death over us, and boy do they enjoy displaying it.

If only it were true. Although I can order my meds and book appointments on line I still cannot access m6 records and test results - apparently it is up to individual GP surgeries to decide what their patients can see on line. However I have managed to circumvent the system and can view my results by logging into my ‘diabetes myway’ account which has been recently introduced in Somerset.

 

[Patrick66]

Which system does your Doc use? Mine uses Systmonline.

My recent test result looks like this:

View attachment 30750

But, if I click on "View", I see this:

View attachment 30751

Then if I scroll down there's lots of uninteresting stuff , but near the top I see this:

View attachment 30752

The result is highlighted (badly, by me!), so maybe you just need a few more clicks?

As you can see from that, my test was done on the 16th. The report was sent later that day, but the Doc didn't read it until the following day at 12:04 (after morning surgery).

Have a bit of a click around. It just might be playing hide and seek with you.

If your Doc uses a different system (there are a couple), they're all a bit of a variation on a theme.

I went right to the bottom but it appears, how shall we say, minimalist lol.

 

[DCUKMod]

I went right to the bottom but it appears, how shall we say, minimalist lol.

Perhaps you can do an Oliver Twist and ask for some more?

I know when I first had access to the records, they were very minimal. I can't exactly recall what now. For extra access, I had to ask again, and it was a separate approval (although I didn't have to present further ID), so give it a whirl.

Let's face it, the worst they can say is "no".

 

[Sue192]

Snap, @Daphne917 - both with unhelpful surgery and getting results through Somerset's diabetes myway website. I can book appointments through EMIS, see which other HCPs etc have accessed my records (ironic, eh) and that's it. I've given up asking for access as each time I'm told 'yes, you're registered to access and we're working on it. You'll be told when you can'.... Please don't be despondent, @Patrick66 - it's still early days for you and you are doing brilliantly. It's good that you are sleeping ok but you don't want the stress to affect sleep because that's yet another thing that can throw a spanner in the works. Blips (the blighters) happen all the time and when you are further along the way of working out what is best for you, you'll hopefully be able to take them in your stride. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Patrick66]

Snap, @Daphne917 - both with unhelpful surgery and getting results through Somerset's diabetes myway website. I can book appointments through EMIS, see which other HCPs etc have accessed my records (ironic, eh) and that's it. I've given up asking for access as each time I'm told 'yes, you're registered to access and we're working on it. You'll be told when you can'.... Please don't be despondent, @Patrick66 - it's still early days for you and you are doing brilliantly. It's good that you are sleeping ok but you don't want the stress to affect sleep because that's yet another thing that can throw a spanner in the works. Blips (the blighters) happen all the time and when you are further along the way of working out what is best for you, you'll hopefully be able to take them in your stride. Let us know how you get on.

Thank you