What does my blood test result mean?

[confused1]

Hi all, I'm a male in my twenties and recently had a blood test, but don't know what to think about it. I have an uncle who's diabetic and was diagnosed in his thirties. Any help understanding would be much appreciated.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. The only measure that means much to me is the HBa1C that all diabetics have measured at least annually. It measures your average blood sugar over the last 3 months. Your measure of 32 mmol (5.1% in old money) is excellent and is in the range for non-diabetics. So, if you haven't yet been diagnosed with diabetes it's not likely in the near future?

 

[hanadr]

The HbA1c reading is in the on-diabetic range. All the rest is too hard for me to read with all the scrolling. However. If tyou have it on paper. I'd go to a site that explains blood tests and compare. The full blood count shows what proportion of which kinds of cells you have. That's pretty easy tto find somewhere.
I couldn't keep track of it on the scrolling, so compare the print out to "Average"
If there were anything seriously wrong, I suspect your doctor would have informed you .
Hana

 

[AMBrennan]

The HbA1c reading is in the on-diabetic range

Presumably you meant to say "non-diabetic".

All the rest is too hard for me to read with all the scrolling.

OT, but right-click and select "open image in new tab" (at least in Chrome)

Re tests: Normal values are given in brackets. Abnormal results are conveniently highlighted in bold and marked with "low" - red blood cell count and haematocrit. Quick google search turned up the following:

RBC:
A low RBC count may indicate anaemia, bleeding, kidney disease, bone marrow failure (for instance, from radiation or a tumour), malnutrition, or other causes. A low count may also indicate nutritional deficiencies of iron, folate and vitamin B12.

hematocrit:
Some causes of a low hematocrit include:

Excessive destruction of red blood cells, for example, hemolytic anemia caused by autoimmunity or defects in the red cell itself; the defects could be hemoglobinopathy (e.g., sickle cell anemia), abnormalities in the RBC membrane (e.g., hereditary spherocytosis) or RBC enzyme (e.g., G6PD deficiency)
Decreased production of hemoglobin (e.g., thalassemia)
Acute or chronic bleeding from the digestive tract (e.g., ulcers, polyps, colon cancer) or other sites, such as the bladder, uterus (in women, heavy menstrual bleeding, for example), or from severe trauma
Nutritional deficiencies such as iron, folate or B12 deficiency
Damage to the bone marrow from, for example, a toxin, radiation or chemotherapy, infection or drugs
Kidney failure—severe and chronic kidney diseases lead to decreased production of erythropoietin, a hormone produced by the kidneys that stimulates RBC production by the bone marrow.
Chronic inflammatory diseases or conditions
Bone marrow disorders such as aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma, or other cancers that spread to the marrow
Some causes of a high hematocrit include:

Dehydration—this is the most common cause of a high hematocrit. As the volume of fluid in the blood drops, the RBCs per volume of fluid artificially rises; with adequate fluid intake, the hematocrit returns to normal.
Polycythemia vera—a rare disease in which the body produces excess RBCs inappropriately
Lung (pulmonary) disease—if someone is unable to breathe in and absorb sufficient oxygen, the body tries to compensate by producing more red blood cells.
Congenital heart disease—in some forms, there is an abnormal connection between the two sides of the heart, leading to reduced oxygen levels in the blood. The body tries to compensate by producing more red blood cells.
Kidney tumor that produces excess erythropoietin
Smoking
Living at high altitudes (a compensation for decreased oxygen in the air)
Genetic causes (altered oxygen sensing, abnormality in hemoglobin oxygen release)

Why did your doctor order those tests? Maybe discuss the results with him?

 

[confused1]

Thanks all, I explained to my doctor that my uncle is a diabetic and he ordered these tests. I did not eat anything for 12 hours just be sure that there wouldn't be any bias in HbA1C test, although I understand now that it doesn't affect the test result. I thought that a value of 32.0 meant that I wasn't clinically diabetic, but I'm wondering how close it is to being diabetic and how different is to polar opposite of a diabetic person?

I have symptoms such as I drink alot usually water/can't tolerate sugary drinks, urinate alot, I get tired and moody, I get really hungry, etc.

I have measured my blood sugar over 4 weeks, my fasting level was on average 5.4 mmol/L, this is boderline pre-diabetic I think.

Any insight would be helpful.

 

[viviennem]

You really do need to discuss this with your doctor, as no-one who posts on here is qualified to give you an answer.

Having said that, if I had a couple of "Low" comments where you have them, I'd be checking my diet for iron content. Are you vegetarian, by any chance? Iron intake can sometimes be low on a diet with no red meat, although there is plenty in broccoli and similar green leafy vegetables if you eat enough of them.

As for worrying about diabetes - it can run in families, and you are right to be aware of that, but your HbA1c is within the non-diabetic range, as far as I know. Discuss those results with your doctor again - see what he/she thinks. The symptom you should be looking out for, at your age, is unexplained weight loss. Most young diabetics are Type 1, though Type 2 is becoming more common among young people these days. Which Type is your uncle?

If you are pre-diabetic for Type 2 rather than Type 1, taking action now can only help. Watch your diet, cut out all the obvious things like crisps and snacks, sweets, cakes, puddings, etc, and avoid too much high-carbohydrate alcohol.

Have a think about the amount of carbohydrate you eat. It's not just sugar - all carbohydrate turns to glucose in your blood, from where it is "managed" by the insulin that your pancreas produces to give you energy. If your insulin production and usage is faulty in any way, excess glucose can stay in your blood giving you high levels of blood glucose. Go for "brown" foods - wholemeal bread and pasta, and brown rice. Cut down on your carbohydrate portion sizes - instead of a heap of mashed potato, have a couple of small new potatoes instead. Fill up on above-ground vegetables and salad. Don't worry too much about natural, unprocessed fats, as long as you don't have a medical condition that means you should watch your fat intake. Drink plenty of tap water.

Your fasting blood glucose levels seem to be okay. Instead of a fasting test, try testing just before, and two hours after, each meal. A good rule of thumb is that your blood glucose measurement 2 hours after should only be one or two points above your pre-meal level.

Diabetes is not a thing to be scared of, provided you take control of it immediately and understand that it does change your life-style somewhat. Exercise is good for blood glucose levels, if you can do it. I can't, much, but I can still maintain my blood glucose levels within or near the non-diabetic range - and I am definitely Type 2!

If you have any more queries, please do come back and ask. Let us know what your usual diet is, for instance, and we'll see if we can give you some ideas about tweaking it to be more diabetic-friendly. Also tell us what your GP says. We're here to help!

Viv 8)

Edited for PS: Sir Steve Redgrave is a diabetic. It seems Sir Ranulph Fiennes may also be. I think you could say that both of them live their lives to the full!

 

[pumppimp]

PS Sir Steve Redgrave is a Type 2 diabetic. It seems Sir Ranulph Fiennes may also be. I think you could say that both of them live their lives to the full! I thought he was a type 1? He uses a pump so I'm guessing he is a type 1. Insulin dependent he definitely is anyways.

To the original poster, I'm not a doctor but it seems that you have a low red blood cell count (anaemic) which isn't really anything to do with diabetes. From these tests it seems that you are normal for everything apart from red blood cell and haematocrit. As someone else has already posted there may be lots of reasons for this. Best person to ask is your doctor make sure if you don't understand completely what they tell you, you ask them to explain better. Doctors sometimes forget that not everyone understands all the medical jargon.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. An HBa1c of 5.1% in old money is fine compared with NICE guidelines for HBa1C targets for diabetics. Staying under 7.5% avoids the more serious complications long-term. Staying between 6 and 7 is where many diabetics find themselves and is sort of OK. Anything between 5 and 6 is good and many non-diabetics are in this range. Some people are below 5 so we all vary. Anything below 4 becomes a potential for a hypo so best avoided. I'm generalising a bit but look at the NICE Pathway doc on the web for more detail.

 

[Yorksman]

As viviennem states, iron deficiency is the most common cause for being slightly anaemic and the second most common cause is pregnancy. But, it could be anything. GPs often send patients to the hospital to test for anaemia, very occasionally the cause is malaria. But it is also a side effect of radio therapy and so on and so forth. Moreover, you are within range for some analysers, just not the way that particular one is calibrated. Quickest and easiest option is some multivitamin tablets with added iron, or iron rich foods like brocolli. Many people here would be envious of your glucose readings.

 

[confused1]

You really do need to discuss this with your doctor, as no-one who posts on here is qualified to give you an answer.

Having said that, if I had a couple of "Low" comments where you have them, I'd be checking my diet for iron content. Are you vegetarian, by any chance? Iron intake can sometimes be low on a diet with no red meat, although there is plenty in broccoli and similar green leafy vegetables if you eat enough of them.

As for worrying about diabetes - it can run in families, and you are right to be aware of that, but your HbA1c is within the non-diabetic range, as far as I know. Discuss those results with your doctor again - see what he/she thinks. The symptom you should be looking out for, at your age, is unexplained weight loss. Most young diabetics are Type 1, though Type 2 is becoming more common among young people these days. Which Type is your uncle?

If you are pre-diabetic for Type 2 rather than Type 1, taking action now can only help. Watch your diet, cut out all the obvious things like crisps and snacks, sweets, cakes, puddings, etc, and avoid too much high-carbohydrate alcohol.

Have a think about the amount of carbohydrate you eat. It's not just sugar - all carbohydrate turns to glucose in your blood, from where it is "managed" by the insulin that your pancreas produces to give you energy. If your insulin production and usage is faulty in any way, excess glucose can stay in your blood giving you high levels of blood glucose. Go for "brown" foods - wholemeal bread and pasta, and brown rice. Cut down on your carbohydrate portion sizes - instead of a heap of mashed potato, have a couple of small new potatoes instead. Fill up on above-ground vegetables and salad. Don't worry too much about natural, unprocessed fats, as long as you don't have a medical condition that means you should watch your fat intake. Drink plenty of tap water.

Your fasting blood glucose levels seem to be okay. Instead of a fasting test, try testing just before, and two hours after, each meal. A good rule of thumb is that your blood glucose measurement 2 hours after should only be one or two points above your pre-meal level.

Diabetes is not a thing to be scared of, provided you take control of it immediately and understand that it does change your life-style somewhat. Exercise is good for blood glucose levels, if you can do it. I can't, much, but I can still maintain my blood glucose levels within or near the non-diabetic range - and I am definitely Type 2!

If you have any more queries, please do come back and ask. Let us know what your usual diet is, for instance, and we'll see if we can give you some ideas about tweaking it to be more diabetic-friendly. Also tell us what your GP says. We're here to help!

Viv 8)

Edited for PS: Sir Steve Redgrave is a diabetic. It seems Sir Ranulph Fiennes may also be. I think you could say that both of them live their lives to the full!

Thanks you seem to know your stuff, it's great to hear from knowledgeable people. I know my doctor is the person to speak to, but sometimes you want to meet them armed with knowledge, my doctor doesn't explain much and I don't want these results to be dismissed.

It's good to hear that i'm in the non-diabetic range, but it doesn't mean I won't get it in future so I might have to take precautions. My uncle was diagnosed in his early 30s I believe and he was at first a Type 1 diabetic and now is Type 1 and Type 2, he takes insulin on a daily basis. I have had periods in my early twenties when I was very fat (when I was overeating) and thin (when i'm eating normally), I've always had a large appetite, eating too much for the energy required IMO, but I don't put on much mass naturally. I'm wondering if this could be because my body isn't producing enough insulin or is insulin resistant? I don't know if the HbA1c test covers insulin production, i.e. would a person who has irregular insulin be identified on this test? :***:

 

[Daibell]

Hi. If you can eat well and not put on weight that implies a very good metabolism and I suspect good insulin management; you're lucky. The HBa1C test only measures average blood sugar over the previous 3 months but weighted to the last month. The c-peptide test is used normally to measure your body's natural insulin level as c-peptide tracks the body's insulin. It is not used that often by GPs, the reason being cost plus not always realising the need for it.

 

[confused1]

Hi. An HBa1c of 5.1% in old money is fine compared with NICE guidelines for HBa1C targets for diabetics. Staying under 7.5% avoids the more serious complications long-term. Staying between 6 and 7 is where many diabetics find themselves and is sort of OK. Anything between 5 and 6 is good and many non-diabetics are in this range. Some people are below 5 so we all vary. Anything below 4 becomes a potential for a hypo so best avoided. I'm generalising a bit but look at the NICE Pathway doc on the web for more detail.

It's good to know that i'm not a diabetic...yet! I'll have a look at that NICE doc for more information. My only concern is that since the HBa1c test measures AVERAGE blood glucose levels, the blood sugar spikes that could result from say, an insulin production irregularity, might be being overlooked? :***: This test seems a great economic choice and foolproof compared to blood sugar tests, no need to fast, etc. But what I'd really like to know is my insulin/blood sugar profile over the course of an average day, that would hold much more information IMO. I'm wondering if it's possible for anyone to be diabetic and still "pass" the HB1ac test?