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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
bewildered
- Thread starter jan65
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Hi @jan65 welcome to the forum. Finger prick testing isn’t what is used for diagnostics so couldn’t say whether you have diabetes or not from that information alone. It is certainly worth a discussion with your doctor. 10 is a little on the high side but it would depend on when you are testing among other things as to whether it is a cause for too much concern. What led to you beginning to test? Do have any other symptoms of diabetes?
Inka
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If you’re concerned, ask your GP for an HbA1C test (a blood test). This will give a picture of your blood glucose over the last 3 months and will allow your GP to give you an answer as to whether you’re diabetic, not diabetic or kind of borderline. Your GP surgery will also probably have a nurse with extra diabetes knowledge that you can have a word with about your concerns.
(And no queries are a bother 🙂 )
KARNAK
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I can only tell you of my experience. Two years ago I went to the GP for other stuff and while I was there i asked if I could have the test for diabetes. I didn't have any of the usual symptoms.She didn't ask why, simply said as I wasn't diabetic I couldn't have one. At the time I was in so much pain with my torn knee muscle and carpel tunnel syndrome. I was a mess and simply didn't have the energy to pursue this further. But both my parents were late onset diabetics and just wondered about myself. She eventually said i could have it done privately. Which I did and what do you know, I was diabetic. Needless to say I don't see that particular GP anymore. The moral of the take (I think) if you are unlucky like I was please don't be put off and mentally prepare your case. Just wanted to add prior to the GP i went to a chemist to get the finger prick test and it was 5.7 which was fine, but it is only a snapshot of that moment. I did need the Hba1c blood test. Good luck.
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Hi @jan65 Perhaps it is just me, but I don't know what you mean by a 'home test kit'. Do you mean some sort of kit that is supposed to tell you your HbA1C, or one that tells you your Blood Glucose level?
I use a Blood Glucose monitor (one of the 2 most used by members of the forum) and I find it anything but a waste of time. I use it to determine which foods agree with my Type 2 Diabetes and which I must avoid. I would have been unable to find this out without a either a Blood Glucose meter -measuring before a meal and then 2hrs after first bite; or a CGM (a more expensive 'continuous glucose monitor').
A reading of 10 is meaningless without knowing both in which units it is reported and when it was taken regarding time of day and time before/after a meal.
The guidelines that I use are:
A). No more than a 2 mmol/L spike from before a meal to 2hrs after first bite.
B). Trying to keep the highest after meal reading to below 8.0mmol/L.
My T2D as measure by the HbA1C blood tests has been back down in the 'pre-diabetic' region now for the last 9 months . I got my latest HbA1C test results yesterday and it was 44 - so not as much a reduction as I had hoped.
Inka
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I’d assumed it was a blood glucose meter @ianf0ster and that the OP was asking if a reading of 10(mmol) or just below that meant she was diabetic.
I think others on the thread assumed the same?
Those meters aren’t for diagnosing diabetes and anyone concerned about diabetes should be getting a ‘proper’ test from a doctor. It used to be that two random blood tests of 11.1mmol or above meant diabetes, but I think the HbA1C test is preferred now.
I think others on the thread assumed the same?
Those meters aren’t for diagnosing diabetes and anyone concerned about diabetes should be getting a ‘proper’ test from a doctor. It used to be that two random blood tests of 11.1mmol or above meant diabetes, but I think the HbA1C test is preferred now.
rebrascora
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Hi Jan and welcome from me too.
If you are using a blood glucose meter, which is what has been assumed, it is actually a very useful bit of kit to help you control diabetes through diet and it can indicate that you might have diabetes, but it is not designed to be used as a diagnostic tool.
If you are getting regular readings of 10 or just below then I think you probably should bother your GP and ask for an HbA1c diagnostic test. I am not saying that you are diabetic, but that you should get checked out.
Alternatively, you could use the meter to help you make dietary changes and bring your levels down without bothering the doctor. Particularly in the current situation and if you are not experiencing symptoms then the GP may be reluctant to do a blood test based solely on your own BG readings. Medical professionals really dislike us trying to self diagnose.
You might be better, proactively reducing your carbohydrate intake and using your BG meter as @ianf0ster has suggested, before each meal and 2 hours after to adjust your diet so that the food you eat does not raise your BG more than 2-3 mmols in that 2 hour period. Over time I would expect your readings to start coming down nearer to 5 and 6
before eating and 7 or 8 2 hours after food, but as others have said, we cannot definitively say that your readings of 10 mean you are diabetic.....
Stress, anaemia, steroids etc can all raise your BG, so perhaps something like that could be causing you elevated BG levels at the moment.
If you are overweight or have a poor diet or have family who are diabetic then these all increase the chances of you having or getting diabetes but lowering your carbohydrate intake (that is not just sugar but otherwise healthy foods containing natural sugars like fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried or juiced) and starchy foods like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals etc can help to push it into remission without ever having to get a diagnosis. Diet can be a more effective tool than most medication with Type 2 and taking action early is more likely to make it successful.
We can give you lots of tips and tricks to make your diet interesting and enjoyable if you are interested in doing this and weight loss can be a side benefit of a low carb way of eating, if that is something you need to consider.
I hope this post clarifies things a little for you.
If you are using a blood glucose meter, which is what has been assumed, it is actually a very useful bit of kit to help you control diabetes through diet and it can indicate that you might have diabetes, but it is not designed to be used as a diagnostic tool.
If you are getting regular readings of 10 or just below then I think you probably should bother your GP and ask for an HbA1c diagnostic test. I am not saying that you are diabetic, but that you should get checked out.
Alternatively, you could use the meter to help you make dietary changes and bring your levels down without bothering the doctor. Particularly in the current situation and if you are not experiencing symptoms then the GP may be reluctant to do a blood test based solely on your own BG readings. Medical professionals really dislike us trying to self diagnose.
You might be better, proactively reducing your carbohydrate intake and using your BG meter as @ianf0ster has suggested, before each meal and 2 hours after to adjust your diet so that the food you eat does not raise your BG more than 2-3 mmols in that 2 hour period. Over time I would expect your readings to start coming down nearer to 5 and 6
before eating and 7 or 8 2 hours after food, but as others have said, we cannot definitively say that your readings of 10 mean you are diabetic.....
Stress, anaemia, steroids etc can all raise your BG, so perhaps something like that could be causing you elevated BG levels at the moment.
If you are overweight or have a poor diet or have family who are diabetic then these all increase the chances of you having or getting diabetes but lowering your carbohydrate intake (that is not just sugar but otherwise healthy foods containing natural sugars like fruit in all it's forms (fresh, dried or juiced) and starchy foods like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, breakfast cereals etc can help to push it into remission without ever having to get a diagnosis. Diet can be a more effective tool than most medication with Type 2 and taking action early is more likely to make it successful.
We can give you lots of tips and tricks to make your diet interesting and enjoyable if you are interested in doing this and weight loss can be a side benefit of a low carb way of eating, if that is something you need to consider.
I hope this post clarifies things a little for you.
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rebrascora
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Who suggested going private? Absolutely no reason to do that!
It is however important to act on your concerns and you wouldn't be testing unless you were concerned, so to me the choices are, start using your meter to tailor a low carb diet to reduce your BG
or
Go to the docs for a blood test and if it comes back that you have diabetes or are at resk of it, then start using your BG meter to tailor a low carb diet to reduce your BG along with any medication the GP might think appropriate.
Personally I would rather not be diabetic and take the opportunity to reduce my levels and push it into remission if it is indeed there, than take the diagnosis and the medication.... but if you are symptomatic then definitely go and get checked out.
It is however important to act on your concerns and you wouldn't be testing unless you were concerned, so to me the choices are, start using your meter to tailor a low carb diet to reduce your BG
or
Go to the docs for a blood test and if it comes back that you have diabetes or are at resk of it, then start using your BG meter to tailor a low carb diet to reduce your BG along with any medication the GP might think appropriate.
Personally I would rather not be diabetic and take the opportunity to reduce my levels and push it into remission if it is indeed there, than take the diagnosis and the medication.... but if you are symptomatic then definitely go and get checked out.
D
Deleted member 27171
Guest
Sorry, I think that I may not have come across as I intended. I was hoping to reassure you that those results don’t necessarily mean you have diabetes, BUT if you are concerned about your health in any way, and it would appear you are if you have been testing your bgl at home, then that is enough reason to ask your GP for their opinion. The readings you have been doing will be of help to your GP in making a thorough assessment so take those along with you, they may ask details about when the readings were in relation to meal times, so worth noting that down too. Testing certainly isn’t a waste of time, its just more about managing diabetes after a diagnosis than using as a diagnostic tool. As @rebrascora says, there really isn’t any need to go private for this, your GP will likely just need to request one blood test to make a diagnosis or give you the all clear.
Do let us know how you get on and if you are diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes there’s plenty of support here for you. 🙂
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