Hi
loobylou72,
As absolutely NONE of the previous respondents are correct in believing that a fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l [that's 100.8 mg/dL for our American cousins] is within range, I thought I'd give you the CORRECT fasting blood glucose levels.
A non-diabetic's fasting (after not eating or drinking overnight) blood glucose level should be between 3.9 and 5.5 mmol/l (millimoles per litre) [that's 70 and 99 mg/dL (milligrams per deciLiter) for those using the American Standard for blood glucose measurement], though some laboratories now accept 3.6 mmol/l [65 mg/dL] as being the acceptable lower limit.
Having said that, there's really no need to start panicking. As you can see, your 5.6 mmol/l is only just above what is considered the 'normal' non-diabetic range.
As you suspect, your fasting blood glucose level of 5.6 mmol/l is just inside the pre-diabetes range. We must, however, assume that you carried out the test correctly, that the blood glucose meter used was calibrated, AND that the test strips used were within their use by date. For instance, did you wash and dry your hands immediately prior to testing? I ask this as remnants of food(s) and/or drink(s) can affect the results obtained, as can various creams/moisturisers/emollients, cleaning products, scents/perfumes, etc. There are also various medications which can affect the results you obtain from blood glucose testing, and we don't know whether you're actually taking any.
Also, a single blood glucose reading is NOT definitive that anything is wrong at all. Even your doctor would request you to attend on two or more separate occasions to repeat the initial blood test ... especially with the level being as close to the 'normal' range as yours.
IF you did actually decide to see your doctor, s/he would invariably carry out their own blood glucose test as it wouldn't be safe to assume that you'd tested correctly.
At such a very marginal increase in blood glucose levels your doctor would ask you information with regards to your diet, level of activity, the type of work that you do, whether you have close family members that are diabetic, whether you have ever developed gestational diabetes during one or more pregnancies (I'm assuming, though maybe wrongly, that you're female here), whether your mother developed gestational diabetes during the pregnancy when you were being carried (some doctors believe that this MAY increase the risk of the child developing type 2 diabetes at some point in their life), whether you're going through a particular period of stress at the moment. All of these can have a bearing on whether you're at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. S/he MIGHT advise you on the sorts of things you should try avoiding in your diet, to take more exercise ... even though you say you are already active in your job ... and MAY request that you return for another test in say 6 months time, just to make sure that things are as they should be, and not 'progressing'.
You don't mention the amounts of alcohol that you do imbibe, my friend, but this COULD have an effect on the functioning of the pancreas ... the organ that produces the hormone insulin. If you've been drinking a lot, for a number of years, there is a possibility of developing pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) which, in SOME cases lead to problems such as diabetes.