What is the early morning urine test for?

[georgianakate]

Hello all,

Am in a happy mood today, having had my appointment with the lovely GP (who my husband recommended, and told me was lovely, but I always get nervous). I got to see my number (HBa1c of 56 at end of Jan, and then 54 3rd week in Feb - after 2 weeks of LCHF, although I didn't tell him that). He was really helpful, not patronising at all. Mentioned that my blood pressure was a bit high for a diabetic (which I knew), and my last cholesterol was a bit high at 6 (but noted that we would just get a lipid profile next time to use as a baseline) and said that he knew that I wouldn't want to go on statins (we have been TTC for 6 years), so no meds by the looks of it, just diet and exercise for now. Phew - that's the first worry over.

I have my first diabetic clinic appointment next week and the letter from the practice said that we would sort out an eye and foot check then, talk about DESMOND and general guidance, and I was asked to bring an early morning urine test.

Does anyone know what this is for?

I don't really want to get into a LCHF discussion with the DN on my 1st visit. I know that it is working in terms of weightloss (10lbs in 3 weeks - I have never had such success) and I feel alive again, so if nothing else, it is worth it for the weight loss. A bit worried that this urine test might be to test for ketones, which I think are higher/present when on LCHF?

Thanks so much to everyone on here - I have learned so much already.

GK

 

[Sorted007]

I think a fasting test is more accurate then one taken say midday as this would have changed your blood sugars quite a bit

 

[georgianakate]

I think a fasting test is more accurate then one taken say midday as this would have changed your blood sugars quite a bit

So is the urine test to test for sugar levels then?

 

[daisy1]

@georgianakate

Hello and welcome to the forum

It sounds like you have got a really good GP. Someone will be along soon to tell you more details about the urine test. In the meantime, here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it helpful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to help you.



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 130,000 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

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.

 

[georgianakate]

Thanks @daisy1

 

[noblehead]

The early morning urine sample is to check for kidney disease, they look at the albumin:creatine ratio to check how the kidneys are performing (or something along them lines).

 

[Sorted007]

A doctor takes your urine sample so they can tell if your healthy. if it's clear, your healthy. if it has sugar in it it means you have a disease called diabetes. And if it contains protein it means you might have a problem with your kidney's. if your urine has blood in it ,you might have injured parts of your urinary system somehow. or you might have a urine tract infection.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. As Noblehead says the urine test which we all have annually (or should have) is to check for any potential kidney malfunction which can happen with diabetes and many other things. It won't be used to check for sugar as the HBa1C does that very well.