Non-diabetics Hypos & Hypers

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Lewy

Lewy

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
One of the girls who works in the same dept. as me in the office came back after lunch announcing that she had her blood levels checked as part of a free health check Sainsbury's chemists are doing. Apparently she read at 3.5 and told us all that legally you are not allowed to drive under if you test at under 4.0.

Just to clarify here shes not diabetic and doesn't know I am, I prefer to play my cards close to my chest at work and keep it on a need to know basis. So bemused as I was when she was explaining this to me that I had bite my tongue and act astonished at this breaking news 😉.

Then last night I had a night in with the lads; pizza, xbox, bruce-lee, and copious amounts of alcohol. And while we were waiting for the rest to turn up for the testosterone fueled evening one my early arrivals asked me if I could test him to see what he read. He tested at 10.2 prior to consuming any alcohol and/or pizza 😱

So my question is this, is it common for non-diabetics to get Hypos and Hypers? From what I've seen I can only guess that maybe my blood sugars aren't that different from everyone else after all 🙄
 
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3.5 is a perfectly normal reading for a non-diabetic. I'm pretty sure that you are legally allowed to drive with a BG of 3.5 if you don't have diabetes. *awaits confirmation from clever person*. A person without Diabetes will have an HbA1c between 3.5-5.5.

Maybe you should test your friend after the pizza & alcohol :D

I tested my friend once and she was 9.x
 
Now I am totally confused.
I asked the question on a diabetic course the other day, and was told that a non-diabetic would never have a level over 7 - even after eating - so thats blown that theory and this was a nurse telling us!

I was saying that i felt a bit of a fraud as my hba1c was 6% without meds, and was asked what my levels were post meal - i replied generally 7.x or 8.x but have been 9.x.
 
I tested a friend at work and he was about 11mmol/l.

Told him to see his GP pronto and he was then off work for a few days, after which he came back with his own meter and pen. 🙄

He did still talk to me after. I can't imagine why anyone would have a BG reading of more than about 8 unless they have problems producing insulin. Which, I would guess, makes them diabetic.

As for the low BG reading, my supervisor used to often have to sit down and eat something sugary after a lot of extertion as he'd get the shakes. I seem to remember testing him and he was around the 4 mark. I suppose not all bodies can regulate perfectly.

Rob
 
I've checked blood sugars for my partner when he's been absolutely kn***ered after running for hours, and found him as low as 2.x. As he can't drive anyway, that didn't have to be considered!

When carrying out OGTT (oral gluose tolerance test) on non-diabetic volunteers, at 120mins, blood glucose < 2.7mmol/l means they are offered drink with sugar and / or biscuits.

By the way, Lewy, I share your "need to know" approach, which basically means I don't tell work colleagues, but do tell people if I spend longer than a few hours with them, err, particularly if there's any overnight activity. So, only needed to tell one person since diagnosis, but have told a few others, particularly friends who are health professionals, to influence how they might treat other people with diabetes.
 
Robster65 said:
Told him to see his GP pronto and he was then off work for a few days, after which he came back with his own meter and pen. 🙄
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Hmm.. Well in that case it could do no harm to test him again next time I see him and if hes still high maybe recommend he makes an appointment with his GP?
 
Always worth differentiating between a fasting and a non-fasted blood glucose level eg just after a meal or sugary snack. But right to "refer" / suggest colleague visits GP.
Also, worth bearing in mind that most home blood glucose meters and finger pricking devices, are designed to be used by one person only, even if different lancets are used.
 
Copepod said:
Also, worth bearing in mind that most home blood glucose meters and finger pricking devices, are designed to be used by one person only, even if different lancets are used.
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Yeah but that shouldn't alter the readings though, I mean how could it possibly? Its not like we form a symbiant bond with it or something right 😛
 
just before i was dx ... my boss tested me i had a reading of 4.2 1hr after eating ..he said naaa your not a D ... 2days later i breezed into my GP appointment and I was Dx with an HbA1c of 7.9 ( i think) 😱 :confused:

ps 2 weeks later same boss sacked me !!! ha
 
Hmm one of my colleagues got diagnosed with having blood sugar drops. He had noticed himself become very weak and faint when playing a full 18 holes of golf. He now ensures he has one or two carb filled snacks on his round and he no longer has a problem. Sadly there does not appear to be any likely cure for grown adults ruining their walks by playing golf and then talking endlessly about it afterwards. :(

I do not think it is that unusual for the BG of a non-diabetic to rise to around the 10 level for an hour or so after a high carb meal, especially if the meal was high in fast acting glucose. Lewy's mate does seem a bit odd in that he was in double figures before the food and drink. Are you sure he hadn't consumed something sweet just before? Had he washed his finger beforehand? Hope you changed the lancet both before and afterwards too. 🙄

Whenever I discuss my HbA1c I am always left wondering what an expected reading would be for a non-diabetic.

Anyway I hope these findings do give people a little more sympathy for GPs when they fail to diagnose someone as diabetic straight off. 😎
 
Lewy said:
Yeah but that shouldn't alter the readings though, I mean how could it possibly? Its not like we form a symbiant bond with it or something right 😛
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Wouldn't affect readings, but it means that manufacturers don't guarantee that no blood could be spread between multiple users. The old style swing over (blue plastic) lancet devices had (yellow plastic) changeable foot plates.
And some meters od have memories to record all readings, so averages would be a mixture of different people's readings.
 
rossoneri said:
Hmm one of my colleagues got diagnosed with having blood sugar drops. He had noticed himself become very weak and faint when playing a full 18 holes of golf. He now ensures he has one or two carb filled snacks on his round and he no longer has a problem. Sadly there does not appear to be any likely cure for grown adults ruining their walks by playing golf and then talking endlessly about it afterwards. :(

I do not think it is that unusual for the BG of a non-diabetic to rise to around the 10 level for an hour or so after a high carb meal, especially if the meal was high in fast acting glucose. Lewy's mate does seem a bit odd in that he was in double figures before the food and drink. Are you sure he hadn't consumed something sweet just before? Had he washed his finger beforehand? Hope you changed the lancet both before and afterwards too. 🙄

Whenever I discuss my HbA1c I am always left wondering what an expected reading would be for a non-diabetic.

Anyway I hope these findings do give people a little more sympathy for GPs when they fail to diagnose someone as diabetic straight off. 😎
Click to expand...

Must admit, I find it hard to encourage anyone to play golf, even as exercise - as many others have said over the years, it spoils a good walk, and there are environmental impacts, too. There's a golf course right next to the country park where I work - one has woods, fields, cattle, sheep, many species of flora and fauna, only the livestock need extra water; other has just grass, which needs watering sometimes, and a few clumps of trees.
 
Accuracy of meters

Seems to be a general assumption that meters are always right. I've tested the same blood sample in the same meter within seconds as an experiment - and got a difference of 2 in the readings. Also tried tests with same sample in two different meters and got different readings. Don't take the results as gospel.

Perhaps this also explains why people can seem quite lucid with BS readings of 2 or less - they might be nearer 4 in reality.

QUOTE=Lewy;170494]One of the girls who works in the same dept. as me in the office came back after lunch announcing that she had her blood levels checked as part of a free health check Sainsbury's chemists are doing. Apparently she read at 3.5 and told us all that legally you are not allowed to drive under if you test at under 4.0.

Just to clarify here shes not diabetic and doesn't know I am, I prefer to play my cards close to my chest at work and keep it on a need to know basis. So bemused as I was when she was explaining this to me that I had bite my tongue and act astonished at this breaking news 😉.

Then last night I had a night in with the lads; pizza, xbox, bruce-lee, and copious amounts of alcohol. And while we were waiting for the rest to turn up for the testosterone fueled evening one my early arrivals asked me if I could test him to see what he read. He tested at 10.2 prior to consuming any alcohol and/or pizza 😱

So my question is this, is it common for non-diabetics to get Hypos and Hypers? From what I've seen I can only guess that maybe my blood sugars aren't that different from everyone else after all 🙄[/QUOTE]
 
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