Colds and Glucose Levels

[Steve1984]

Good Morning, recently diagnosed Type 2 diabetic after a bit of advice. I was diagnosed with an hbac1 of 55 in November 2023 and have since lost 3 stone 5.5Ibs.

I've been eating a low carb diet and wearing a CGM and was averaging an mmol of 6.0 up until about two weeks ago which has now gone up to 6.5. I've made no changes but have had a cough and cold for about half that time. Could this be sending my average up?

It's really frustrating as I have my second hbac1 test wednesday and my GP said if I had lost weight and the hbac1 was down I could continue to manage it through diet and stay off any meds.

I know the hbac1 is a three month average but I am slightly concerned why my levels have randomly become higher for a prolonged period when I have lost weight and am eating really well.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Leadinglights]

Good Morning, recently diagnosed Type 2 diabetic after a bit of advice. I was diagnosed with an hbac1 of 55 in November 2023 and have since lost 3 stone 5.5Ibs.

I've been eating a low carb diet and wearing a CGM and was averaging an mmol of 6.0 up until about two weeks ago which has now gone up to 6.5. I've made no changes but have had a cough and cold for about half that time. Could this be sending my average up?

It's really frustrating as I have my second hbac1 test wednesday and my GP said if I had lost weight and the hbac1 was down I could continue to manage it through diet and stay off any meds.

I know the hbac1 is a three month average but I am slightly concerned why my levels have randomly become higher for a prolonged period when I have lost weight and am eating really well.

Any help appreciated.

Certainly infection like colds etc can increase blood glucose but don't forget the HBA1C and readings from your monitor are measuring something different but with averages of 6-6.5mmol/l would usually lead to a HbA1C of below diagnostic level. However it may depend on how your average was arrived at, were there some very highs and some lows, averages hide that.

 

[Steve1984]

Certainly infection like colds etc can increase blood glucose but don't forget the HBA1C and readings from your monitor are measuring something different but with averages of 6-6.5mmol/l would usually lead to a HbA1C of below diagnostic level. However it may depend on how your average was arrived at, were there some very highs and some lows, averages hide that.

Thanks for the response. The top high I have had to my knowledge (since wearing the CGM) was 11.7 mmol which was after I went out for a meal and had one potato rosti as a side but I returned to under 7.8mmol well within the two hours (Ive avoided them like the plague ever since ). I very rarely go anything lower than 5.5mmol and mainly sit between 6-7mmol. For instance this morning so far I have just had a decaf coffee with a sweetener and milk and I'm sitting at 6.4. The target range on my CGM is 3.9 to 10.0 mmol and I have been within that 100% of the time in the last 4 weeks. The estimated hbac1 showing on my monitor is currently 5.8% (40mmol/mol) however I understand this is very much a guesstimate and doubt I will have gone down from 52 to 40mmol but any reduction is good news.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Well done on your terrific weight loss, and the adjustments you’ve made to your menu - they certainly seem to be very effective for you based on the results you’ve been seeing.

Sorry to hear you’ve had a cold. Yup, it’s not at all unusual to see increased glucose levels during periods of illness or injury. Or sometimes slightly before… or slightly afterwards.

Diabetes does like to throw a few curveballs from time to time!

 

[Steve1984]

Well done on your terrific weight loss, and the adjustments you’ve made to your menu - they certainly seem to be very effective for you based on the results you’ve been seeing.

Sorry to hear you’ve had a cold. Yup, it’s not at all unusual to see increased glucose levels during periods of illness or injury. Or sometimes slightly before… or slightly afterwards.

Diabetes does like to throw a few curveballs from time to time!

I know as I am recently diagnosed I am finding out more about the curveballs each day. Last night I had two small slices of low fat garlic bread with my dinner at around 6pm (under 12g carbs for both) and I peaked at 8.6mmol an hour after and was then down under 7.8mmol within the two hours and then an hour later was up at 8.4mmol again. It also seems to have disrupted my usually steady night average. Strange!

 

[harbottle]

I know as I am recently diagnosed I am finding out more about the curveballs each day. Last night I had two small slices of low fat garlic bread with my dinner at around 6pm (under 12g carbs for both) and I peaked at 8.6mmol an hour after and was then down under 7.8mmol within the two hours and then an hour later was up at 8.4mmol again. It also seems to have disrupted my usually steady night average. Strange!

Well within the margin of error allowed for glucose testers.
The actual levels is probably around the same. The margin from a lab result can be up to 15% depending on the make (Some devices are more accurate.) This means the error margin widens at higher levels. (If it's lower the margin isn't a percentage, but a value, around .8).

Actually, being around '8' isn't bad. What was it after 3 hours?

 

[Steve1984]

Well within the margin of error allowed for glucose testers.
The actual levels is probably around the same. The margin from a lab result can be up to 15% depending on the make (Some devices are more accurate.) This means the error margin widens at higher levels. (If it's lower the margin isn't a percentage, but a value, around .8).

Actually, being around '8' isn't bad. What was it after 3 hours?

Thanks for the message. So I was sitting at around 6 before dinner, an hour after eating I went up to a high of 8.6, then within the two hours I was down to 7.6 and then an hour later back up to 8.4. So three hours after eating I was 8.4. Its strange as normally after I come down from the peak I dont go up anything again if I dont eat or drink after dinner. Never simple . Got the big day tomorrow the follow up hbac1 test after my diagnosis at the end of last year. Fingers are well and truly crossed. Also got my first diabetic eye screening in the afternoon so it will be a fun filled day!