Hi all!

[Cat123]

Hi everyone! Finally decided to come on here, more for some advice and support, as doctors have been rather rubbish! I have PCOS and am at a higher risk of diabetes as a result. Doctors have done the usual test and tell me my levels are normal but wont give me a insulin assay test (too expensive probably) they have said I don't have pre/diabetes, however, I've taken it upon myself to monitor my blood glucose levels but its just left me more confused! For example, one morning my fasting blood levels were 7.1, I then took it again, straight away and it was 5.2. How best to read the result and how do you know if it shows that you are pre or diabetic? Thanks in advance! Katy

 

[janw]

Hi and welcome. It is pretty usual for BG readings to be very different when taken close together. I believe there are something like 42 factors that can affect our BG, so don't worry about it. Best to just check before you eat your meal and then 2 hours after that first bite - as long as it is no more than 2 mmol higher it is fine. All you really need do is not to go too mad eating carbs, but don't give them up, just see how you react to them, reduce portion size or find an alternative. Reduce bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, veggies that grow under the ground, bananas and tropical fruit, cakes, pastries, sweets, full sugar drinks, crisps, chocolate etc - you are in a good place just to adjust your diet a little to keep diabetes at bay. If you have any other questions or queries, just ask, someone will get back to you. 🙂

 

[admc26]

Hi there @Cat123 and a very warm welcome to the forum. As pointed out above, BG readings can vary even when taken close together. If your blood glucose monitor came with control solution, you can check the accuracy of the monitor itself. But the readings you stated in your post sound good! If you continue to monitor your BGs I would maybe look for trends or patterns or take an average BG reading if you keep getting results that are a couple of mmol apart.

Please feel free to ask any more questions as there is always someone to answer them for you 🙂

 

[Inka]

Hi @Cat123 🙂 The meters aren’t for diagnostic purposes but I can understand why you bought one. The diagnostic test is the HbA1C - which is what I presume your GP did? The result you get on that (ie the actual number) can give you a clue as to how close you are to being pre-diabetic. So if you can find that out, it would be informative.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Cat123

Sorry to hear you are getting frustrated with your surgery.

As others have said, BG meters can give varied results, either because your BGs have changed, or possibly because of allowable variation between strips. It can be quite disconcerting for members new to self monitoring of blood glucose to get different results from BG readings taken close together, even when carefully following manufacturers guidance (washing hands etc).

All meters for sale in the UK should comply with the following ISO standards 95% of the time, which allows a degree of variation (and 5% of results can read anything at all). If in any doubt, or if a reading doesn’t match how you are feeling, you should check again with a fresh strip.



You can see that the permitted variation at 7 does stretch down quite a long way, and if your BG had been 6ish the ‘bracket’ would have encompassed both results you saw.

Some meters are more consistent and reliable than others. Which one did you choose?

 

[Cat123]

Welcome to the forum @Cat123

Sorry to hear you are getting frustrated with your surgery.

As others have said, BG meters can give varied results, either because your BGs have changed, or possibly because of allowable variation between strips. It can be quite disconcerting for members new to self monitoring of blood glucose to get different results from BG readings taken close together, even when carefully following manufacturers guidance (washing hands etc).

All meters for sale in the UK should comply with the following ISO standards 95% of the time, which allows a degree of variation (and 5% of results can read anything at all). If in any doubt, or if a reading doesn’t match how you are feeling, you should check again with a fresh strip.

View attachment 20010

You can see that the permitted variation at 7 does stretch down quite a long way, and if your BG had been 6ish the ‘bracket’ would have encompassed both results you saw.

Some meters are more consistent and reliable than others. Which one did you choose?

I bought the code free blood glucose monitoring system

 

[Leadinglights]

Are

I bought the code free blood glucose monitoring system

That is usually a reliable monitor.
Are you on any medication for the PCOS as metformin which is usually the first medication that a GP will prescribe when people are given a diabetic diagnosis and their HbA1C is quite high or when dietary options are not successful was originally a medication to treat PCOS. That had the benefit of helping with insulin resistance.

 

[Cat123]

No wasn’t prescribed that, I also wouldn't take it, I would always want to take the natural approach first, diet, exercise reducing stress ect. According to my specialist my HbA1C was too high, but I managed to bring it down to normal with diet and losing weight. I find it really worrying that they always prescribe drugs instead of looking at the root cause! Problem is, I don’t know if I have a problem with insulin resistance, they won’t give me an assay test.

 

[Cat123]

Hi @Cat123 🙂 The meters aren’t for diagnostic purposes but I can understand why you bought one. The diagnostic test is the HbA1C - which is what I presume your GP did? The result you get on that (ie the actual number) can give you a clue as to how close you are to being pre-diabetic. So if you can find that out, it would be informative.

Thank you for the advice. The doctor did a HbA1C test and it was in the normal range, however I was told that the HbA1C and fasting blood glucose are not sensitive enough to pick up on early-stage insulin resistance. They measure glucose not your insulin, you would need to do the insulin challenge on insulin assay to confirm, I’m coming from the PCOS angle here, as 80% of women with PCOS have some insulin resistance!

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes I feel doctors are far too hasty to dole out the medication when some dietary and lifestyle changes may be all that is needed . There may be situations when that does not work and meds may be required but people should have a chance if their HbA1C is not dangerously high.
If you are able to keep your blood glucose in range with the dietary regime you are following then I cannot see your doctor readily agreeing to further tests.

 

[trophywench]

Not every lab in the land even do the necessary tests, and one of em takes weeks to get the results of, cos it's a more complicated test. Hence it is a lot more costly than the tests GPs can get done at the local hospital Pathology Laboratory. It's more costly if they do happen to do them locally, come to think. Hence unless there is a medically definitive reason why the GP thinks it ought to be done, it isn't.

 

[Inka]

Thank you for the advice. The doctor did a HbA1C test and it was in the normal range, however I was told that the HbA1C and fasting blood glucose are not sensitive enough to pick up on early-stage insulin resistance. They measure glucose not your insulin, you would need to do the insulin challenge on insulin assay to confirm, I’m coming from the PCOS angle here, as 80% of women with PCOS have some insulin resistance!

I’ve only ever heard of someone having that insulin test privately @Cat123 What was your HbA1C result? Even if you weren’t pre-diabetic now, that would show whether you were approaching it - ie pre pre-diabetic, which I think is what you’re looking to find out. If you are happy to say your number that would be informative. The doctor might well have said it was normal/fine/ok but knowing the number would be helpful for you.

The two tests you did on your glucose meter are, to me, just indicative of the margin of error they have. They’re not really much use for what you’re looking for, which is subtle early resistance.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

A normal HbA1c should be reassuring @Cat123

It suggests that your body is still well able to cope with absorbing your food, and that your blood glucose is generally in a good range.

Even if you discovered you had a small amount of insulin resistance at this stage, i don’t think that would be particularly conclusive, as some people can have insulin resistance but do not go on to develop diabetes.

Are you being offered regular HbA1c checks (eg annually?). Those will give you the clearest indication I think?