Fasting blood test

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Laura22

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Well, I just woke up at 3.4mmol and I am supposed to be having a fasting blood test at 8:40.

I've not got any Lucozade left (I forgot to get some yesterday) so treated it with a couple of small chocolate bars and thankfully I feel better already.

Question is can I still go and have my blood test done even though I've eaten that small quantity of chocolate? My guessing would be no and that I'll have to re-book the blood test which I'm not overly impressed about.
 
Hi Laura, I would say, unfortunately, you won't be able to have the test done. What a pain, but you had no choice but to treat the hypo. Hope they can book you in soon. There was a report last year that fasting was not necessary for cholesterol testing, so might be worth asking why you need to fast for the tests you are having done: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8353510.stm
 
The nurse said it was a general MOT of my body. Thyroid, Cholesterol, Hba1C etc.

I'll try and book myself in for an earlier time
 
As a general rule if it's a fasting blood test, if you have treated a hypo, you can't have it done. It will have an effect on what's floating round in your system and they need what they term a 'clean' sample.
 
Don't want to put a spanner in the works and i have probably got to this too late but i i don't have to fast for my tests (anymore i hasten to add). I thought that all diabetics would follow the same course (although since joing this forum realise that care can vary hugely from place to place).
When i book in for an overhaul as they say, they ask me if i am diabetic and then say i don't need to fast for that. Therefore in answer to your question i would say its fine BUT again this is just my experience. I don't know what this means or why perhaps i don't have to.

Out of curiosity now...does anyone else not fast when their tests are done? :0/
 
It's usually for the cholesterol testing. The link to the BBC story shows how this is now thought unnecessary, but a lot of labs will still only accept fasting blood. I've never had to do a fasting test either, not whilst I've been diabetic anyway.
 
In our area, all the diabetics get fasting blood tests at least once a year. In theory everyone should also have HbA1c done every three months, but in practice in our area it doesn't happen very often. You don't have to fast for the HbA1c becuase it is just testing the hemoglobin to see how much glucose is attached to it. The fasting blood test tests for all kinds of things.

Unfortunately we do not all get the same high standard of care!
 
Just had mine done (after my gp cancelled the appointment having broken her leg) by another Gp (next door neighbour actually) and it was a fasting test, primarily because having stopped the statins I wanted the best chance of getting a low cholesterol reading. It's not a problem as being a Friday appointment they have to get the samples on the bus to Stirling hospital by 10.30am (quaint out here in the sticks), so I was in and out and having breakfast before 11.
 
Hmm interesting. I certainly, about a year ago, had a blood test for cholesterol but wasn't asked to fast. The funny thing was then i had a high cholesterol reading - now i am wondering if this was because i didn't fast. Mind you since then i have lost about 2 stone and everything has come back into line but still didn't fast for it at the time.

I certainly will make sure that i ask about this next time around. Thanks everyone for the info.

P.s Sorry Laura for jumping in on your thread and hope you sorted your fasting appointment out in the end. I am learning lots along the way 🙂
 
They can still test your total chol with a non-fasting, but can't do the split of good and bad chol. I'm never asked to fast.
 
i always have to do a fasting test ...but have read somewhere about it not having to be fasting ...i will research more???
this is interesting thread because again it seems that we are getting conflicting info ...another thing about testing my hubby and i were discussing a while ago ...the HbA1c only is useful to do every 3 months because of measuring the gulcose in the blood cells ...but with colestrol is it the same ?? reason i ask is that my HbA1c has been a pretty stable 6.4 ..maybe a bit high for some but im happy its dropped and maintained for about 1 year now ...so now im working on properly understanding the colestrol ..
 
am64 said:
i always have to do a fasting test ...but have read somewhere about it not having to be fasting ...i will research more???
this is interesting thread because again it seems that we are getting conflicting info ...another thing about testing my hubby and i were discussing a while ago ...the HbA1c only is useful to do every 3 months because of measuring the gulcose in the blood cells ...but with colestrol is it the same ?? reason i ask is that my HbA1c has been a pretty stable 6.4 ..maybe a bit high for some but im happy its dropped and maintained for about 1 year now ...so now im working on properly understanding the colestrol ..
Click to expand...

Hmmm...I think everyone is missing this link I gave - this is the new thinking on fasting and cholesterol: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8353510.stm 😉
 
This fasting/not fasting thing is a bugbear of mine.

Been on statins for years and was told to fast from midnight so I do. At this surgery the nurse always says I don't need to so every now and then I don't - have my breakfast, swallow tabs, go for blood test. BUT I always have to go back to be re-tested because the results are so different. To me, obviously they are different so I just quietly fast and smile when the nurse says that I don't need to fast. If I didn't have to fast I could go for the blood test any time whereas now I always want the earliest appointment I can get so I can carry on into work and have breakfast asap. I pity anyone who talks to me before I have had breakfast.
 
Northerner said:
It's usually for the cholesterol testing. The link to the BBC story shows how this is now thought unnecessary, but a lot of labs will still only accept fasting blood.
Click to expand...


I'd say it depends more upon what the doctor has ordered. Fasting tests are only ordered when we want to do a total lipids/triglycerides. Or at least that's the case where I am.
 
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