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What to expect from my GP appointment

H

helen louise

Well-Known Member
Messages
155
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi All

I am just a tad confused today & digging around on the internet has left me even more confused & just wondered if anyone can help me,

I test my urine reg as I have an irritable/overactive bladder & find it helps to eat food that keeps my urine slightly alkaline anyway today i couldn't get hold of my usual PH strips so I ended up buying one of those multi type strips that test for ph/glucose/blood etc & to my horror i found that I appear to have glucose in my urine but I don't understand the results as they don't seem to link in with the info on the net, it says on the container that glucose is measured in mmol/l & my first test this morning was 30 mmol/l & after lunch it went up to 60 then down again to 30 this afternoon, the ketone result was negative, I due to see the nurse at the surgery on the 21st for a depo jab but wondering if I should make an appointment earlier & what I should expect?

I'm confused as the info on the web seems to refer to glucose in mg etc rather than mmol :crazy:

Any adice greatly appreciated
 
There are lote of different measurements! HbA1c, which is probably a test the doctor will give you, looks at the effects of your average blood sugars over the last few months. It WAS measured as a %, but now there are new units looking at mmol's. BGs from the meters we use are in mmol's, but different to the HbA1C ones, and americans use another unit, 18 times higher than ours.
I wouldn't bother about any of it for now. Your doctor will give you a simple blood test which he'll probably have to send off, (although some can analyse them in the surgery), or he might give you a different type of blood test, a fasting one to get some guidance. Or he might give you an oral glucose test where you drink some sweet stuff then he tests at intervals afterwards. None of these are nasty.
Let's hope you're ok, but if you are diabetic, it's not the end of the world. Come and talk to us then and ask questions!
 
Your readings are from strips on which you test your urine, is that right? If so, never used those so don't know if you are quoting the same units as we test on blood with our meters. If they are, then 30 would be very high, and 60 would mean you should go to the doctor immediately. I wonder however if you're misunderstanding the units on these strips, or if the way you're using them is not valid. If you are sure it's giving a mmol/l reading of 60, then you should do something straight away. A&E could give you a blood test to check. Hope it's a matter of confusion, but if in doubt phone the out of hours doc or NHS direct.
 
Keep thinking your urine strips may be measuring something different, although units sound the same. Perhaps someone who'se used strips will be along. Are there not guidelines in the pack they came in?
 
I cannot give you medical advice as I am not a healthcare professional and not an expert on urine strips as I use a blood based meter. I do have some Diastix urine strips here however. On the box the mmol/l range goes from 0 (none) to 111 (max). The overall range is marked out and split into 6 colour bands. The 30 - 60 range covers the bands 4 & 5 out of the 6 bands.

I would call your surgery in the morning and either arrange an appointment or get a doctor to speak to you if you are worried.
 
xyzzy said:
I cannot give you medical advice as I am not a healthcare professional and not an expert on urine strips as I use a blood based meter. I do have some Diastix urine strips here however. On the box the mmol/l range goes from 0 (none) to 111 (max). The overall range is marked out and split into 6 colour bands. The 30 - 60 range covers the bands 4 & 5 out of the 6 bands.
Click to expand...

yes almost the same as these ones,

the line states Glucose mmol/l 30 sec test, 6 blocks first is negative,
2nd 5 trace
3rd 15 with + sign under it
4th 30 with ++
5th 60 with +++
6th 110 with 4++++

Just doesn't seem to make sense comparing it to info on the net!
 
helen louise said:
yes almost the same as these ones
Click to expand...

Yes my ones have the "+" indicators as well. The 30-60 readings would put you between ++ and +++ It may well be that the info you are finding on the internet relates to BLOODmmol/l sugar levels rather than urine mmol/l levels?

You really should phone your surgery tomorrow and discuss things with your doctor in my opinion.

They should be able to do a simple blood meter reading at the surgery to give you a quick indication and tell you what's what. If they say your reading is in the diabetic or pre diabetic range then they will want to do a more complex blood test called an HbA1c test which will measure your average sugar levels over the past 90 - 120 days. The results of this may take some days to arrive.

If the simple blood test they do at the surgery shows you are diabetic come back to this forum and ask for advice on diet etc. you will find lots of diabetic people here who will offer loads of friendly and extremely effective advice.

Finally make sure you ask them what value the blood test was so you can tell us if necessary.
 
Firstly urine glucose readings are notoriously inaccurate.. so I wouldn't worry about the numbers to much... what it does show however is that you blood glucose has reached a level that has surpassed your renal threshold. In a normal healthy individual this is around 13 mmol/l which would make you diabetic. It's worth getting it checked out because diabetes whilst a likely cause isn't the only cause.
 
I also wonder if what you've thought in the past was due to an overactive bladder might actually be a symptom of diabetes? eg going to the loo a lot...?
 
Morning all thank you for all your replies,

Test this morning was down to 15 so lower than yesterday!

I've rung my surgery & told the receptionist what has happened inc the levels etc & after going off to speak to someone she came back to tell me to speak to the nurse when I come in on the 21st & bring a urine sample in, certainly didn't sound concerned so thats what i will do, as I have the sticks now I will test every morning to see what happens over that two week period,

Regarding the overactive bladder yes it is a possibility but also I have suffered with irritable bowel syndrome for 18yrs & one of the side effects of that is increased unrination so its a bit like a symptom merry go round! I also accorrding to my family drink alot (fluids not alchohol) but thats not a new thing I have always drunk more even as a child

will update when i have anymore info :D
 
OK helen, but I wouldn't be prepared to wait 2 weeks! They can do a simple finger prick test just to ensure your BGs aren'rt raging high. Takes seconds to do then and there. They can do fuller tests with the nurse as planned, but I'd want the re-assurance that things aren't crazy high. Make an appointment to see the doc, and when there just say you want a finger prick test!!
 
The receptionist has a bit of a reputation of being a complete battleaxe so I have a cunning plan!

I'm going in there today to collect a specimen container & first thing monday morning I am going to get my husband to drop a fresh sample off in the surgery, I have noticed there is a box outside the nurses room for patients to drop urine samples off for her to test, I will attach a note explaining issues etc this will bypass the battleaxe & hopefully will get a response from the nurse who is very nice!
 
OK Helen, I always like a cunning plan! Make sure your note to the nurse stresses you'd like a simple "holding" test before your proper one, a finger prick test, just to make sure there are no big issues.
 
Went to surgery & decided to do urine sample while I was there, just had a call from nurse who confirmed sample did have high levels of glucose & I also have ketones present,

Going back to surgery at 4.30 today for a finger prick test & a chat with nurse/GP

Feeling a bit bewildered!

one thing that concerns me more than anything is the diet guidelines, as I have IBS the food guidelines are almost the complete opposite, to stay stable with IBS its spuds/rice/pasta/starchy veg & a small amount of protein!
 
))Denise(( said:
Lloyds Pharmacy will do a fingerprick test
Click to expand...

Thank you Denise yet more valuable info to add to my list :)
 
Good luck at the surgery helen and just remember we are all here to help you as best we can if you find you need us.
 
helen louise said:
one thing that concerns me more than anything is the diet guidelines, as I have IBS the food guidelines are almost the complete opposite, to stay stable with IBS its spuds/rice/pasta/starchy veg & a small amount of protein!
Click to expand...

We're all different, but I had IBS, severely at times, before diagnosis. I now have about 50 to 60% of guideline carb amounts for a male, plenty of protein with fish and eggs, and have no IBS at all now. I think stuffing just protein, (mainly meat from the BBQ) with no carbs was bad for me, but on my reduced but regular carbs (all low GI, not starchy) I seem to do fine. I'm sure you'll find a diet that's good for your IBS AND will keep your BGs under control.
 
Spent 2hrs at the surgery & have come away with a 99% diagnosis of diabetes

finger prick test had my BG at 16.9, off to the hospital tomorrow morning for a blood screen & a peptide(?) test, results should be through monday morning,
Have been given some meds to take over the weekend Zicron & will go back mon am for another prick test to see if BG has lowered, apparently it will also give them some idea if its type 1 or 2, if its lowered we are looking at type 2,

Seem to have fallen on my feet today as the GP I saw is a diabetic & the nurse has a diploma in diabetic care
Have a bit of info overload going on at the moment so I dare say I will be back with more questions later!
 
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