Newcastle Diet -

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travellor said:
The test is weighted.
Approximately 50% of the value due to the mean blood glucose concentrations is the 30 days prior to sampling; BG concentrations from the previous 90 to 120 days make up about 10% of the final total value, and the rest inbetween.
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Thanks travellor. That's fascinating, I've no idea how they do that. I assumed it was based on the glucose bound to the total population of red blood cells in circulation - some being old some being new. I'll see if I can learn more about it from the web
 
Weekender said:
Thanks travellor. That's fascinating, I've no idea how they do that. I assumed it was based on the glucose bound to the total population of red blood cells in circulation - some being old some being new. I'll see if I can learn more about it from the web
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Link
 
Weekender said:
Thanks travellor. That's fascinating, I've no idea how they do that. I assumed it was based on the glucose bound to the total population of red blood cells in circulation - some being old some being new. I'll see if I can learn more about it from the web
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Yes, it is the age of the red blood cells.
The figure you get is simply a measurement of the actual cells, 50 percent being less than 30 days old, 50 percent over thirty days old, so the hba1c result is weighted to a recent value, not a 90 day old value. It also depends on your red cell count, and how fast you personally replenish them.
 
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travellor said:
Yes, it is the age of the red blood cells.
The figure you get is simply a measurement of the actual cells, 50 percent being less than 30 days old, 50 percent over thirty days old, so the hba1c result is weighted to a recent value, not a 90 day old value. It also depends on your red cell count, and how fast you personally replenish them.
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I suppose that is why the standard HbA1C test is not always accurate for people with haemoglobinopathies.
 
Fasting Blood Sugars Some advice or feedback please

I've noticed my fasting blood sugar levels are generally increasing despite steady weight loss
Last night we went to a neighbours birthday do, I took a tin of mints that my daughter had left in the car, to distract me from not drinking. I assumed they were sugar free, and didn't realise until I got home to my reading glasses that they weren't. I'm assuming that they are the reason my fasting blood sugar was 8.2

Two questions:

1. I'm using a Contour Next One blood glucose monitor, which is supposed to be pretty accurate link. I took three readings within a minute of each other, as I was surprised by the first 8.2. Subsequent readings were 7.3 and 6.4.
Does anybody know why the three readings should be so different?

2. I'm feeling despondent, because 8.2 after chomping on a couple of dozen small mints leads me to conclude that the Newcastle diet hasn't reset my insulin sensitivity, and I should be open to having to take drugs. Is this a reasonable conclusion?



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An informative article here Why Is My Glucose Meter Giving Different Readings

technology currently used in home diabetes testing supplies are only capable of testing within a 10-20% +/- margin of error. The FDA mandates minimum accuracy standards for testing supplies in the US, currently following the ISO 15197:2013 standard of 95% of tests must be within +/- 20% for results above 75 mg/dl and +/-15% for results below 75 mg/dl.

8.2 - 6.4 = 1.8 = 21.95% - nothing to see here ?
 
travellor said:
Do you wash and dry your hands before testing?
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I haven't been, but I will now. I just retested - 5.3 ! ?
I don't know if that's the two hours elapsed whilst fasting or washing my hands - but I'll certainly be doing that in future
The strips aren't cheap :)
 
Hi @Weekender. A little while ago I did all ten fingers, one after the other just to see what variation you can get. What I found was that the range was far higher than you might think and that the 95% confidence interval about the mean was 1 unit or thereabouts. This would be due to a mix of instrument error and sampling error and my gut feeling is that the sampling error due to inherent inhomogeneity in the blood is more important than the variability in the machine.

My rule of thumb is to ignore the decimal point in one off readings and then accept that it could easily be one unit higher or lower. So for me the variation of 8.2, 7.3 and 6.4 could easily be due to statistical error in the measurement. It's certainly not enough to be thinking about changes to compensate.
 
Docb said:
Hi @Weekender. A little while ago I did all ten fingers, one after the other just to see what variation you can get. What I found was that the range was far higher than you might think and that the 95% confidence interval about the mean was 1 unit or thereabouts. This would be due to a mix of instrument error and sampling error and my gut feeling is that the sampling error due to inherent inhomogeneity in the blood is more important than the variability in the machine.

My rule of thumb is to ignore the decimal point in one off readings and then accept that it could easily be one unit higher or lower. So for me the variation of 8.2, 7.3 and 6.4 could easily be due to statistical error in the measurement. It's certainly not enough to be thinking about changes to compensate.
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Thanks Docb
 
Weekender said:
Fell off the wagon
It started with a bottle of beer left in the garage, ended with a raid on the spirits cabinet, toasted cheese wrap, bag of pistachios, chocolate mousse and whatever other crap was in the fridge.
I put on 1.65kg overnight. Which is a kick in the teeth. It will take over two weeks to lose that.
However, I was very pleasantly surprised that my fasting blood sugars were 5.0 - lowest they have been all week. I re-tested = 4.7. Blood pressure was unaffected too.
Not an experiment I want to repeat in a hurry, but I suspect it says something positive about my insulin resistance?
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I see exactly the same thing - but it is how I am made. - I have been told that it is impossible - but arguing with the numbers on the scale plus my personal experience of numerous similar increases?
One particular time I saw the GP one day and the nurse the next, and they said it was down to different scales, so I insisted on waiting and the scales in the Drs room being used to check - yes there was a difference - they showed even more weight gain.
Don't be despondent about it - it shows that things are working as they should - even if it is not what we might like.
 
I did many tests.
Hot cold, inactive, active, everything changed.
My feeling is the capillary blood pools in your finger, and refreshed at a different rate depending on your body conditions.
So you may see a large change if your core blood is suddenly flushed into your capillary blood.
My readings supported that.
Your multiple testing readings may be partly due to the increase in blood flow in that test area, if you did the same finger.
There is a great debate on capillary blood testing versus venous blood.

And yes, meter accuracy is appalling.
I didn't get hung up on meter readings, I rarely test now, Hba1c is a much better guide.

With regard to your mints though, the worst reading I ever got was after eating a jam donut.
After I washed the sugar off my fingers, it was much better, so I'd always wash before testing!
 
With blood glucose testing people rely on a single reading unless something feel completely awry but when doing most scientific testing it is usual to do replicates, at the minimum 3 and look at the spread of those having a level at which it would represent a significant difference.
 
Docb said:
Hi @Weekender. A little while ago I did all ten fingers, one after the other just to see what variation you can get. What I found was that the range was far higher than you might think and that the 95% confidence interval about the mean was 1 unit or thereabouts. This would be due to a mix of instrument error and sampling error and my gut feeling is that the sampling error due to inherent inhomogeneity in the blood is more important than the variability in the machine.

My rule of thumb is to ignore the decimal point in one off readings and then accept that it could easily be one unit higher or lower. So for me the variation of 8.2, 7.3 and 6.4 could easily be due to statistical error in the measurement. It's certainly not enough to be thinking about changes to compensate.
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"inherent inhomogeneity in the blood" something else to learn about :)
travellor said:
I did many tests.
Hot cold, inactive, active, everything changed.
My feeling is the capillary blood pools in your finger, and refreshed at a different rate depending on your body conditions.
So you may see a large change if your core blood is suddenly flushed into your capillary blood.
My readings supported that.
Your multiple testing readings may be partly due to the increase in blood flow in that test area, if you did the same finger.
There is a great debate on capillary blood testing versus venous blood.

And yes, meter accuracy is appalling.
I didn't get hung up on meter readings, I rarely test now, Hba1c is a much better guide.

With regard to your mints though, the worst reading I ever got was after eating a jam donut.
After I washed the sugar off my fingers, it was much better, so I'd always wash before testing!
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"I washed the sugar off my fingers" :)
 
Week 8 - Thank you

I had my appointment with the GP Diabetes nurse yesterday. I learned my HBA1c was 49 mmol on 22/04/21. Normal is below 48.
I'm pleased that I didn't know I was so marginally over, as I may have ignored the problem.

I've learned a lot from the experience and the superb support and advice from the members on this forum. Thank You.
I've booked another test next week (27th).

I'm pleased I did the 8 weeks 800 calorie diet. I actually started swapping shakes for food about 10 days ago.
To anyone thinking of trying a Low Calorie Diet, I would say go for it . 8 weeks felt 'do-able' and the lessons I learned about myself are valuable and (hopefully) will be a useful resource in the future.

Last night we went to the pub to celebrate, and I took the brakes off (mixed grill, several beers and chasers)
Apparently I added 2.4kg overnight (!) but I'm not overly concerned as the last big jump was lost in few days
I will not be buying alcohol for home consumption, nor will I be eating carbs.
I aim to get to 79kg or body fat from 20% to below 17% by the end of August (I may start weight training, in which case kg is a less important target). I will keep recording and posting on the forum, as this is a great motivator.



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Sounds a great result.
The beauty of doing it once is you know if you do ever need to trim up again for any reason, it's simply a question of cutting calories again, and bang, the weight is gone, (as they say).
But the gym is a good option, I'm certainly glad I can hit mine again now it's opened back up.
 
Weekender said:
Week 8 - Thank you

I had my appointment with the GP Diabetes nurse yesterday. I learned my HBA1c was 49 mmol on 22/04/21. Normal is below 48.
I'm pleased that I didn't know I was so marginally over, as I may have ignored the problem.

I've learned a lot from the experience and the superb support and advice from the members on this forum. Thank You.
I've booked another test next week (27th).

I'm pleased I did the 8 weeks 800 calorie diet. I actually started swapping shakes for food about 10 days ago.
To anyone thinking of trying a Low Calorie Diet, I would say go for it . 8 weeks felt 'do-able' and the lessons I learned about myself are valuable and (hopefully) will be a useful resource in the future.

Last night we went to the pub to celebrate, and I took the brakes off (mixed grill, several beers and chasers)
Apparently I added 2.4kg overnight (!) but I'm not overly concerned as the last big jump was lost in few days
I will not be buying alcohol for home consumption, nor will I be eating carbs.
I aim to get to 79kg or body fat from 20% to below 17% by the end of August (I may start weight training, in which case kg is a less important target). I will keep recording and posting on the forum, as this is a great motivator.



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Well done and a deserved celebration. You do realise that 42-47mmol/mol is prediabetic so you should be aiming for below 42mmol/mol. Hopefully that will be what your next test will show.
 
Leadinglights said:
Well done and a deserved celebration. You do realise that 42-47mmol/mol is prediabetic so you should be aiming for below 42mmol/mol. Hopefully that will be what your next test will show.
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I hope so. Thanks
 
Well done I am sure your next Hba1c will come back good
 
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