Just bought a blood glucose meter and had a 9.2 reading

[mematt]

I have eaten about 1 hour before...

But is it basically very likely I am diabetic?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

But is it basically very likely I am diabetic?

Based on that? No, I don't think it means anything.

 

[Docb]

One reading on a meter tells you very little. What you need to do is to get a notebook and pen and to start taking readings and recording them to look for patterns.

My opinion is that a good place to start is with your waking reading and by that a reading taken immediately you get out of bed. The reason is that it is the one reading least likely to be affected by external factors such as what have eaten recently or what exercise you might have taken. When you have got a few readings you will have some sort of baseline from which to work and can start looking at other times of day and the effect of meals. A meter is a valuable tool but it will not give you instant answers.

A 9 one hour after eating? Not unreasonable for a non-diabetic depending on what was eaten.

 

[harbottle]

What did you eat? What did you do after eating?
What do you get if you take a reading when you haven’t eaten for 8 hours? What was it two hours after eating?

If you’re concerned, go and get a hba1c test.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Do you have a reason to believe you may be diabetic?
What's your thinking behind buying a meter to check yourself?

 

[mematt]

Sorry I didnt give enough details.

I am 19 stone, 5ft 11 and 36 years old, my dad has diabetes... so I definately am a contender.
I do have some symptoms that would be enough to get tested if I go Doctors, but all could be coincidental, I know the mind is a powerful thing.
I want to avoid Docs if I can because if I am diabetic, I would prefer to diet well and control it long enough to get some bits sorted before diagnosis. Possibly private care or life insurance etc (although this seems bad, I got to think of my family)

I had eaten white bread and humus, a reasonably big portion about an hour before.

I have only took that one reading. it is now about 2 hours later.... im nervous doing another test but I will shortly. Is my understanding correct that if my reading has came back down then that means I probably haven't got diabetes... if it is still high then I probably have?

everywhere I read seem to say over 8 is likely diabetes but I dont know if a jump after eating is normal up to over 9?

Sorry I know I am probably jumping the gun but I am feeling so much guilt right now because I let myself slip and it unfair on my 11 yr old boy

 

[Bruce Stephens]

but I dont know if a jump after eating is normal up to over 9?

It is normal. And our meters aren't all that accurate so take the "9.2" with a pinch of salt.

I have only took that one reading. it is now about 2 hours later.... im nervous doing another test but I will shortly. Is my understanding correct that if my reading has came back down then that means I probably haven't got diabetes... if it is still high then I probably have?

You really want an idea of what your blood glucose has been over weeks and months, not what it is over a couple of hours.

Having said that, if you test a few days early in the morning (before you've eaten anything), and a few times before meals and an hour or two after eating, and they all look a bit high (so none of them is lower than 7, say), then that's decent evidence you should worry.

If you want to improve your diet, do more exercise, etc., nobody's going to say that's a bad idea regardless of your reasons.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

It is normal. And our meters aren't all that accurate so take the "9.2" with a pinch of salt.

You really want an idea of what your blood glucose has been over weeks and months, not what it is over a couple of hours.

Having said that, if you test a few days early in the morning (before you've eaten anything), and a few times before meals and an hour or two after eating, and they all look a bit high (so none of them is lower than 7, say), then that's decent evidence you should worry.

If you want to improve your diet, do more exercise, etc., nobody's going to say that's a bad idea regardless of your reasons.

It takes none diabetics two hours to see below 8.5 after eating at times, hence the advice to test two hours after finishing eating, and BG should be below 8.5.

 

[Leadinglights]

Blood glucose monitors are a brilliant tool for being able to tell what foods cause too high an increase in blood glucose, but only if they are used sensibly, testing before you eat and again after 2 hours, they are not intended to be used for diagnostic purposes where a blood glucose level over a longer period of time is the standard used and an HbA1C test is the one that does just that being an average over the previous 3 months.
However your health would benefit from losing weight and by addressing that you would improve your blood glucose or the likely hood of it being an issue.
This link is a low carb approach which is aimed at weight loss for those at risk or diabetic, https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
But you would be strongly advised to request an HbA1C from your GP.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @mematt

It sounds like you have enough worries and enough of an inkling that something is wrong to get an HbA1c check at your GP surgery.

As others are saying, home BG meters are great for managing diabetes when you have it, but aren’t really reliable as a diagnostic tool - partly because they have an allowable margin for error that can make interpreting readings tricky.

I can understand some of your thinking behind putting off getting checked, but in many ways the sooner you know for sure the better. Then you are dealing with actual information rather than anxieties and inklings.

Alternatively you could revise your diet for 6 months cutting back on total carbohydrate intake and avoiding sweet and sugary things (including beer) and basically act as if you do have diabetes already.

But in my mind, the sooner you know what’s up for sure, the better 🙂

 

[mematt]

Thank you all, really helpful info.

Had quite a mix of results when retesting.

I waited for over 3 hours without food or drink, took a retest and it was 5.0... which made me feel a lot better..

but then I tested in the morning before having any food or drink and it came out at 7.0... it then retested 5 minutes later and it came out 5.0.

I just tested 10 minutes ago (haven't eaten in a couple of hours) and it came out 6.2... then a couple of minutes later and it came out 6.4.

So I can understand the inconsistency of the machine, I still am none the wiser if its likely I do have it.... or have pre diabetes.... or nothing.

I am trying to sort my diet out anyway but hoping I can get a good idea using this meter without going docs at least for the time being.

Thanks everyone who answered

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

So I can understand the inconsistency of the machine, I still am none the wiser if its likely I do have it.... or have pre diabetes.... or nothing.

I’ve copied this from the ‘useful links’ thread in case it was useful

BG meter accuracy
It can be quite disconcerting for members new to self monitoring of blood glucose to get different results from BG readings taken close together, even when carefully following manufacturers guidance (washing hands etc). All meters for sale in the UK should comply with the following ISO standards 95% of the time, which allows a degree of variation (and 5% of results can read anything at all). If in any doubt, or if a reading doesn’t match how you are feeling, you should check again with a fresh strip.

So you can see that many of your results may be considered to have been within the ‘wobble’ zone of fingerstick meters - though to be fair to meters each tends to perform within the bounds of the possible, rather than always at the edges of the permissible variation.

 

[mematt]

Thank you. This mornings readings are 6.8 then 6.6. Still both in the "wobble zone"
Although I guess I still have a chance that I am not Diabetic.. I think my readings indicate overall I am likely at least pre-diabetic. Looks like I am going to have to spare some extra time for the Gym!

 

[mematt]

Sorry, a follow on question to help with my monitoring.

If I do an hour exercise today, and eat healthy/ low carb etc... is it likely tomorrow mornings blood sugar will have dropped quite a bit... or does it stay reasonably the same and just decrease slowly over time?

 

[harbottle]

It's hard to say.

During the night, it should remain pretty stable as the background glucose produced by the liver is dealt with by insulin secretions every 5-15 minutes or so. If it goes up due to hormones (The 'Dawn Phenomenon') then some insulin is produced to deal with it. That's for non-diabetics.

People on low carb diets can see higher fasting levels in the morning due to 'glucose sparing' which is a known phenomenon.

People with diabetes may be generating too much glucose, be insulin resistant in the early hours, and also have 'faulty' secretions that are blunted. A burst of glucose due to hormones can also cause problems.

> 6.0 in the morning after waking *may* indicate pre-diabetes, but it may also be margin of error and 'glucose sparing'.

You'd be better off getting a hba1c test to give you a definite answer, as a few morning readings and a couple of post-meal readings might give you an indication that something is wrong, but nothing more.

Before the hba1c test was developed, fasting levels & a glucose test were used to diagnose diabetes, and even that wasn't 100% perfect.

Some people with T2 diabetes have raised levels in the morning that takes time to go down.

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Sorry, a follow on question to help with my monitoring.

If I do an hour exercise today, and eat healthy/ low carb etc... is it likely tomorrow mornings blood sugar will have dropped quite a bit... or does it stay reasonably the same and just decrease slowly over time?

If you do switch to low carb, if will skew your readings.
As said, they may go up in the morning, but down after meals.
This won't help with a diagnosis of diabetes though, it's more controlling your bodies response to carbohydrates generally.

 

[Spathiphyllum]

I am 19 stone, 5ft 11

That makes your BMI over 37. The healthy BMI range is 18.5-25; over 30 is officially obese.

If you already have Type 2 diabetes-- and so far it doesn't sound like you do-- your best chance of reversing it is by losing a lot of weight and getting more exercise.

If you don't yet have Type 2 diabetes, and you want to avoid getting it-- and avoid getting loads of other health problems and dying prematurely-- you need to lose a lot of weight and get more exercise

Not only for your own sake but for your family's sake. Think about the example you need to set for your 11-year-old boy.

Go to your GP and get help. The NHS is doing more these days to try to help people suffering from obesity. Have a look at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/health...-weight/how-your-gp-can-help-you-lose-weight/ .

You seem very reluctant to see your GP, and I'm not sure why; you really should speak to him or her. But, if you really can't bring yourself to do that, try the NHS Weight Loss app-- https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/ .

And exercise is very, very important, so try the NHS Couch to 5k app-- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-exercises/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/ . Couch to 5k is something you and your son could do together.

(I used the Couch to 5k app to start jogging, and when I started I couldn't even jog for 60 seconds! But I kept at it, and it works.)

You say you're "feeling so much guilt right now"; don't! Anybody can 'let things slip'. You've had the good sense to wake up and realise there's a serious problem; you're only 36, and you can turn your life around. Wishing you the very best!

 

[Drummer]

Sorry, a follow on question to help with my monitoring.

If I do an hour exercise today, and eat healthy/ low carb etc... is it likely tomorrow mornings blood sugar will have dropped quite a bit... or does it stay reasonably the same and just decrease slowly over time?

The morning reading is the last one to alter as it is no something you have any great control over.
If you swap out some high carb foods for lower carb options then your after meal readings will be lower, less will be stored in your cells and your reserves will reduce a little. Eventually your morning readings will reduce.

 

[mematt]

That makes your BMI over 37. The healthy BMI range is 18.5-25; over 30 is officially obese.

If you already have Type 2 diabetes-- and so far it doesn't sound like you do-- your best chance of reversing it is by losing a lot of weight and getting more exercise.

If you don't yet have Type 2 diabetes, and you want to avoid getting it-- and avoid getting loads of other health problems and dying prematurely-- you need to lose a lot of weight and get more exercise

Not only for your own sake but for your family's sake. Think about the example you need to set for your 11-year-old boy.

Go to your GP and get help. The NHS is doing more these days to try to help people suffering from obesity. Have a look at https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/health...-weight/how-your-gp-can-help-you-lose-weight/ .

You seem very reluctant to see your GP, and I'm not sure why; you really should speak to him or her. But, if you really can't bring yourself to do that, try the NHS Weight Loss app-- https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/lose-weight/ .

And exercise is very, very important, so try the NHS Couch to 5k app-- https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-exercises/get-running-with-couch-to-5k/ . Couch to 5k is something you and your son could do together.

(I used the Couch to 5k app to start jogging, and when I started I couldn't even jog for 60 seconds! But I kept at it, and it works.)

You say you're "feeling so much guilt right now"; don't! Anybody can 'let things slip'. You've had the good sense to wake up and realise there's a serious problem; you're only 36, and you can turn your life around. Wishing you the very best!

My logic or hesitation of not going to the doctors is that as soon as I do, It is on my record for good. I have to declare it for insurances etc going forward so it costs more.

So my thought was that I could get some extra life insurance, maybe private health care now... try diet and exercise etc and see if I can sort it myself but maybe in 6 months or a year go Docs about it.

That way the life insurance is sorted at a good rate.
Also private insurance sorted at a good rate..

Then if I do develop or have Diabetes I should be able to keep that same rate?
I think anyway? or do they up the premiums if you get diagnosed?

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Not sure! The only life insurance I’ve ever taken out was connected with a mortgage, and involved me having a medical - so I suspect glucose levels were checked as part of that?

I had T1 at the time and it didn’t seem to put them off though!