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Hi there

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Peekaboo63

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At risk of diabetes
Hi I am 62 and blood tests have shown I am pre diabetic for a while now, recently though I have been excessively tired all the time peeing every 1.5 hours through the night and craving carbs usually when I am tired or as soon as I wake in the morning.
I went to GP yesterday with a urine sample she said no sugar in my urine, I don’t have a temp and no pain in my abdomin, I felt like a fraud I bought a glucose moniter took a test when it came my blood read 9.6?
I know my body and I know I havn’t felt right, can you have high sugar even if it does not show in your urine?
 
Hi @Peekaboo63 and welcome to the forum.
When you say pre diabetic, do you remember what your hba1c was ?
 
Hi @Peekaboo63 and welcome to the forum - the only real way to test your blood glucose is with your blood (as you have done!) - the symptoms you have described are all classic diabetes symptoms - 9.6 is a relatively high value but when did you test it? If this was a test with no food in the last couple of hours it would be interpreted differently to if you had eaten for example - but one finger-prick test (or even several) is not going to tell you much (And don't feel like a fraud - you are obviously concerned, and have done the right thing reaching out on here) - what you need to have is a test for your HbA1c which crudely speaking takes an average of the glucose in your blood over the past 2-3 months - I would ask your GP if you could have one - it's just a simple samle of blood and the results come back quite quickly
 
Welcome to the forum
Glucose only usually shows in a urine if it is quite high above about 10mmol/l, however the definitive test would be an HbA1C as that is probably what you would have had before to give you that prediabetic diagnosis.
Taking a random reading doesn't tell you very much as it is just a moment in time and will be influenced by food and how hydrated you are. If you 9.6 was within about an hour of eating that may be quite normal if you are still in the prediabetic zone but if you found that 2 hours after eating or before eating then I would suggest that is somewhat high.
Maybe do some more tests eg, before your meal and 2 hours after and first thing in the morning as that will e a better indication. However it is still worth going back to your GP as those don't sound like symptoms you should be having.
 
mashedupmatt said:
Hi @Peekaboo63 and welcome to the forum - the only real way to test your blood glucose is with your blood (as you have done!) - the symptoms you have described are all classic diabetes symptoms - 9.6 is a relatively high value but when did you test it? If this was a test with no food in the last couple of hours it would be interpreted differently to if you had eaten for example - but one finger-prick test (or even several) is not going to tell you much (And don't feel like a fraud - you are obviously concerned, and have done the right thing reaching out on here) - what you need to have is a test for your HbA1c which crudely speaking takes an average of the glucose in your blood over the past 2-3 months - I would ask your GP if you could have one - it's just a simple samle of blood and the results come back quite quickly
Click to expand...
Hi and thank you so much for your response I am due a test HbA1c on 19/12 so that’s one good thing.
Yes the prick test was relatively close to after eating, I did another one 3 hours after and it was 7 I shall do it again in the morning when I get up is it best to do it before I eat or a couple of hours after ?
 
Leadinglights said:
Welcome to the forum
Glucose only usually shows in a urine if it is quite high above about 10mmol/l, however the definitive test would be an HbA1C as that is probably what you would have had before to give you that prediabetic diagnosis.
Taking a random reading doesn't tell you very much as it is just a moment in time and will be influenced by food and how hydrated you are. If you 9.6 was within about an hour of eating that may be quite normal if you are still in the prediabetic zone but if you found that 2 hours after eating or before eating then I would suggest that is somewhat high.
Maybe do some more tests eg, before your meal and 2 hours after and first thing in the morning as that will e a better indication. However it is still worth going back to your GP as those don't sound like symptoms you should be having.
Click to expand...
Hello and thank you for your response, I do have a blood test due 19/12 so this will help find my HbA1c.
I did a test 3 hours after the last one before eating something and it was 7.
Pleased I found this forum though
 
Peekaboo63 said:
Hi and thank you so much for your response I am due a test HbA1c on 19/12 so that’s one good thing.
Yes the prick test was relatively close to after eating, I did another one 3 hours after and it was 7 I shall do it again in the morning when I get up is it best to do it before I eat or a couple of hours after ?
Click to expand...
Paired readings to find the effect of your meal are more useful, just before you eat and after 2 hours with nothing in between. An increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or 8-8.5 mmol/l is OK. Morning readings and before food your aim/hope is for 4-7mmol/l.
If you keep a record of those readings with a food diary of everything you eat and drink with an estimate of the carbs that will be useful evidence
 
Leadinglights said:
Paired readings to find the effect of your meal are more useful, just before you eat and after 2 hours with nothing in between. An increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or 8-8.5 mmol/l is OK. Morning readings and before food your aim/hope is for 4-7mmol/l.
If you keep a record of those readings with a food diary of everything you eat and drink with an estimate of the carbs that will be useful evidence
Click to expand...
That is a good idea thank you I took a reading this morning when I got up and it said low so I did it again and it said 1.6 … I will take it after breakfast at 9am.
And find a note book to record food .
 
Peekaboo63 said:
That is a good idea thank you I took a reading this morning when I got up and it said low so I did it again and it said 1.6 … I will take it after breakfast at 9am.
And find a note book to record food .
Click to expand...
1.6 ?. If you were really that low you'd likely be unconscious and on your way to A&E under blue lights.
 
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Hi ya
Sorry I have only just got a meter and pen and don’t know if I am doing it right, when I put the needle in and the top on the top seems very loose I will have to you tube again ‍♀️ only my third go I am new.
 
Peekaboo63 said:
Hi ya
Sorry I have only just got a meter and pen and don’t know if I am doing it right, when I put the needle in and the top on the top seems very loose I will have to you tube again ‍♀️ only my third go I am new.
Click to expand...
Which system do you have ?
 
Peekaboo63 said:
Hi ya
Sorry I have only just got a meter and pen and don’t know if I am doing it right, when I put the needle in and the top on the top seems very loose I will have to you tube again ‍♀️ only my third go I am new.
Click to expand...
Sorry - hadn't clocked that you were new to all this. There's an excellent tutorial here on the site, including a video.

How to check your blood sugar levels

Knowing your blood sugar levels helps you manage your diabetes and reduces your risk of having serious complications – now and in the future. On this page:
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
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Martin.A said:
Sorry - hadn't clocked that you were new to all this. There's an excellent tutorial here on the site, including a video.

How to check your blood sugar levels

Knowing your blood sugar levels helps you manage your diabetes and reduces your risk of having serious complications – now and in the future. On this page:
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
Click to expand...
Thanks Alan I will check it out, I just did it again after breakfast after watching you tube video and it came up as 7
 
Unless you are taking medication that would have the potential to cause low blood glucose then I would regard anything less than 4mmol/l as suspicious so you should check and repeat the test. Make sure the blood is sucked into the strip and is not on top of the strip. Fundamental error that many make when they first use their monitor.
 
Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear that you are having such disturbed sleep with having to visit the bathroom through the night so often. This is unlikely to be caused by your diabetes with levels under 10mmols. Could you perhaps have a UTI developing? Definitely mention it when you are at the doctors for your blood test.

Which meter do you have for testing your blood? Some of the cheaper ones give a false low reading if you don't get enough blood in the test strip. You do have to hold the meter and strip quite steady when you introduce the test strip to the blood spot because if you lose contact with the blood whilst the test strip is drawing the blood up by capillary action, it causes an air lock in the test strip channel which means it cannot function properly. Most meters give an error code, but there are one or two which just give a false low reading which can really worry some people. As @Martin.A says, if 1.6 was correct, you would feel incredibly unwell, if you were even conscious, so I am very confident that was an erroneous reading. It does take a while to develop a good testing regime, both in terms of pricking your finger and applying the test strip to the blood. Do persevere though, as testing can be incredibly helpful is showing you which foods cause you a problem and which ones you can get away with and it can be quite surprising and very individual from one person to another. For instance some people can get away with porridge for breakfast and it lives up to it's slow release reputation and others of us find that it is like rocket fuel and sends our Blood Glucose (BG) into orbit.

Anyway, I very much hope that you will find being a member of the forum as helpful and supportive and informative as I have and that it enables you to manage your diabetes well. Good luck with your blood test and do let us know when you get your result. I suspect from the BG readings you have got that you may have moved into the diabetes zone from prediabetes but with the right information and support, it should be possible to push it back again.
 
Leadinglights said:
Unless you are taking medication that would have the potential to cause low blood glucose then I would regard anything less than 4mmol/l as suspicious so you should check and repeat the test. Make sure the blood is sucked into the strip and is not on top of the strip. Fundamental error that many make when they first use their monitor.
Click to expand...
Thanks once again … I watched on you tube and noticed I was doing that to start with but corrected it now.
I did a reading tonight 2 hours after my meal shepherds pie home cooked and it was 11, I started noting it down now and will check in the morning
 
Peekaboo63 said:
Thanks once again … I watched on you tube and noticed I was doing that to start with but corrected it now.
I did a reading tonight 2 hours after my meal shepherds pie home cooked and it was 11, I started noting it down now and will check in the morning
Click to expand...
That is rather higher than you want, looking to be no more than 8.5mmol/l. If it had a potato topping that likely explains it. Substituting either mashed swede, celeriac, butternut squash or cauliflower would reduce the cars substantially or have half the amount and have lots of green veg to bulk out.
Taking paired reading is more useful so before and after 2 hours so you can see the difference, the aim is no more than 3mmol/l difference, otherwise you don't know if it the meal that is too high carb or you were already quite high before you ate.
 
Thank you all advice gratefully recieved, I am willing to try anything to get these glucose levels down
 
Leadinglights said:
That is rather higher than you want, looking to be no more than 8.5mmol/l. If it had a potato topping that likely explains it. Substituting either mashed swede, celeriac, butternut squash or cauliflower would reduce the cars substantially or have half the amount and have lots of green veg to bulk out.
Taking paired reading is more useful so before and after 2 hours so you can see the difference, the aim is no more than 3mmol/l difference, otherwise you don't know if it the meal that is too high carb or you were already quite high before you ate.
Click to expand...
Hi again just took it after lunch (sure free jam on tiger bread medium sliced toast, two slices at 12pm) it was 4.2
 
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