Fasting insulin test denied!

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roddavid

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Hi all, for the last 6 weeks I have been totally free from taking meds for my T2D and been doing my best to controll by diet alone. Still struggling a bit to keep really low using my tester though. I asked my diabetic nurse if I could have a fasting insulin test to see what thats doing and it was refused. I am so disappointed at the level of support I now receive. When the last glucose bloods came back good at 45 the nurse was amazed but then said "no need to test yourself anymore and see you in a year". I felt totally left in the dark just fumbling my way through a experimental diet not knowing exactly what I'm doing. The way it seems to me is that if you come off the meds then the support stops. Just not good enough and certainly no incentive.
 
roddavid said:
Hi all, for the last 6 weeks I have been totally free from taking meds for my T2D and been doing my best to controll by diet alone. Still struggling a bit to keep really low using my tester though. I asked my diabetic nurse if I could have a fasting insulin test to see what thats doing and it was refused. I am so disappointed at the level of support I now receive. When the last glucose bloods came back good at 45 the nurse was amazed but then said "no need to test yourself anymore and see you in a year". I felt totally left in the dark just fumbling my way through a experimental diet not knowing exactly what I'm doing. The way it seems to me is that if you come off the meds then the support stops. Just not good enough and certainly no incentive.
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If you have managed to achieve and HbA1C of 45 with just diet or oral medication there seems to be good justification in refusing insulin. There would be a high risk of hypos and more testing and carb counting plus all the DVLA rules if you drive.
There are many oral medication options if diet alone is not sufficient but no reason not to continue to keep a check on what your levels are by testing daily or weekly. No need to be having an 'experimental' diet, there are tried and tested successful options, have a look at this link for a low carb approach. /
lowcarbfreshwell.com

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com lowcarbfreshwell.com
What makes you think you need insulin?

Edited to add Sorry read that all wrong, my mistake.
 
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roddavid said:
Hi all, for the last 6 weeks I have been totally free from taking meds for my T2D and been doing my best to controll by diet alone. Still struggling a bit to keep really low using my tester though. I asked my diabetic nurse if I could have a fasting insulin test to see what thats doing and it was refused. I am so disappointed at the level of support I now receive. When the last glucose bloods came back good at 45 the nurse was amazed but then said "no need to test yourself anymore and see you in a year". I felt totally left in the dark just fumbling my way through an experimental diet not knowing exactly what I'm doing. The way it seems to me is that if you come off the meds then the support stops. Just not good enough and certainly no incentive.
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You have done well to get your HbA1c down, and with such levels it would indicate that you are producing insulin to match the carbs that you are now eating. The C peptide tests, which measure how much insulin your pancreas produces, if that is what you are asking for, is an expensive test.

With regard to testing people with T2 are so often told not to test. On here many find it a useful tool in making adjustments to their diet and/or activity level, as you have. In some cases I think this based on levels of funding and not wanting/being able to fund test strips. If you have found testing useful and you can self fund these there is no reason to stop.

You have done well and there is loads of support available on here, and a wealth of experience to tap into. I know that I have learnt most of what I know from others on here. Any questions just ask.
 
Leadinglights said:
Sorry I read that all wrong, I thought they had said they had asked for fast acting insulin , I need to put my glasses on and get brain into gear.
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Should have gone to Specsavers..............
 
It's not a test that a GP surgery can undertake, insulin clamp testing, I know they did used to do it in certain major hospitals worldwide, years ago and the Joslin Institute in Boston USA still carried them out a the end of the 20th century for their participating Golden Oldies which is how the world knows that some T1s still produce endogenous insulin after being diagnosed for 70+ years. It involves tests that take at least hours if not days, hooked up to various machines in a hospital setting. I remember @Richard157 telling us about them - though he stopped producing insulin years before, they still had to undertake the same tests each time they invited the participants.

Anyone heard anything about the Golden Oldies more recently? It was originally a raft of individuals they'd diagnosed from before those researchers in Canada did those experiments on dogs in the 1920s and concluded that lack of insulin was the problem. They invited them all to Boston for a week at a time every so many years, all expenses paid, partners included, entertainment for non participants laid on. He was elderly and retired when I was still in my 40s and I'm over 70 now myself. Both he and his wife were finding the travel (they lived nowhere near Massachusetts by that time) let alone the testing a bit too much for them and ISTR his wife wasn't well herself latterly.
 
@roddavid given your hba1c is below the threshold used to diagnose type 2 diabetes, why do you want a test to check your insulin levels?
As @SB2015 mentioned, this is an expensive test which is typically used in the diagnosis of Type 1 which is unlikely in your case given your HBA1c.
 
Leadinglights said:
Sorry I read that all wrong, I thought they had said they had asked for fast acting insulin , I need to put my glasses on and get brain into gear.
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Don’t worry - it’s still early and horribly dark and miserable weather too. I’m surprised anyone is fully awake.
 
They wouldn’t even give me one and I‘ve had 2/3 of my pancreas removed! Apparently, your insulin production can vary on a day to day basis so the tests aren’t always conclusive.
The majority of us on here would kill for a hba1c of 45 just on diet and exercise. Take that as a win. Invest in a BG testing meter if you haven’t already, that’s your best indication that all is well, or not.
 
Leadinglights said:
No way, I had an unwearable pair of specs from them, completely wrong lenses but they denied all knowledge that there was anything wrong.
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I have heard some horror stories about Specsavers but no personal experience of them. I know they do some of the tests free that my optician charges for but I would rather pay him as I have been with them for such a long time. They notice the remotest change in my eyes.
 
Leadinglights said:
No way, I had an unwearable pair of specs from them, completely wrong lenses but they denied all knowledge that there was anything wrong.
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I had a similar experience with Boots, so although Boots still do my eye tests, and have done since 1998, I now get my glasses from Specsavers and have had no issues. Neither has my wife nor our youngest, both of whom get their eye tests and glasses there. I'm sure there are good branches and not-so-good branches so maybe we have one of the good ones.
 
I use an in dependent opticians for my eye tests and have taken my prescription to Spec Savers for the glasses.
This is mainly due to the level of choice - I have a small head (and generally, small all over but my foot size does not affect my eye sight 😛 ) so tend to buy children's glasses. Not being a fun of cartoon characters in professional life, there are very few pairs to suit my head and taste so I go to the shops that sell more. In my town, that's Spec Saver and VisionExpress.
 
JonathanGi said:
Only on here could this go from a fasting insulin test to (or not to) Specsavers in the blink of a proverbial eye. Pardon the pun!
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That'll teach me to tease someone with 'should've gone to Specsavers' because they'd misread the original post........
 
Gosh, this thread has mutated.

@roddavid - what sort of fasting insulin test were you hoping for? Were you looking for indicative levels of personal insulin production, or to have a stab at working out your Homa-IR.

A few years ago now, I had Homa-IR testing done in SE Asia, primarily because lab work tends to be very cheap there, but handled very professionally with up to the minute machinery.

I had considered repeating the testing this year, but we had a very busy few weeks, with something unexpected and unwanted absorbing more time than ideal, so I have deferred to end of the year.
 
Specsavers are franchise businesses, so will vary branch by branch.

@helli, I too need kids frames, but this yeat when I wanted another pair, I found myself choosing the frames I was already wearing. The lady helping me out at the time commented how many petite ladies they see struggling to find frames that actually fitted, but further commented there seemed little desire to widen choices, or at least have some of the "decorated" frames available "plain".
 
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