Not sure whats happening

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

julieashf

Active Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
Good evening
Today I received my blood test results back my hba1c came back borderline High at 48...I bought a glucose metre in a panic , plus I don't feel great, thirst , peeing more , dizzy, incredibly hot ! Etc. My readings on the meter were 7.9 before food , 2 hours after food it was 16.8 with the monitor saying ketones ... can someone explain..is this good or bad ? Google said it should be below 8.5 !!

Dr wants to re do blood test in 2 weeks
Thanks for reading
 
Is this your first high reading? Presuming it is? Any family history? If your dr suspects type 2 and you are borderline then diet changes potentially might be all that’s needed but there are many factors with treatment but usually at first diet changes are first line. I follow the plans on the website but others prefer the low carb approach and there’s quite a few here seem to be doing well with that approach.
It’s good the dr is re checking in two weeks and you have a meter and have started keeping readings.
 
Sarahp said:
Is this your first high reading? Presuming it is? Any family history? If your dr suspects type 2 and you are borderline then diet changes potentially might be all that’s needed but there are many factors with treatment but usually at first diet changes are first line. I follow the plans on the website but others prefer the low carb approach and there’s quite a few here seem to be doing well with that approach.
It’s good the dr is re checking in two weeks and you have a meter and have started keeping readings.
Click to expand...
Yes sorry it is my first reading my 92 year-old dad has type 2
 
The ketone comment on your meter is a suggestion to check for ketones.
This is a concern more for someone with Type 1. High BG and high ketones could lead to DKA which is not good. Some meters are reigned to “ask” about ketones when it records higher than 15 mmol/l.
The cheapest option for ketone checking is ketostix which can be purchased from most pharmacies.
Symptoms of DKA are nausea, vomiting, headache, … if you start experiencing any of this with a high BG, I would recommend getting medical assistance.
 
The monitor is telling you to check for Ketones I wouldnt expect you to have Ketone test strips though so thats not an option. If your breath smells fruity, like pear drops or smells like acetone (nail polish remover) thats a sign of Ketones, If your being sick, have diarrhoea, your breathing more deeply or short of breath then you could be at risk of DKA. Any signs like that and I would seriously consider calling 111.
 
julieashf said:
Yes sorry it is my first reading my 92 year-old dad has type 2
Click to expand...
Then hoping it’s manageable by diet but does need a eye kept on if you have history in the family, I am third generation of it in my family, recent updates shows a genetic vulnerability with type 2 but there’s so many factors can influence you to start with symptoms, DUk is a fab place to start for info so glad you found us!
 
An HbA1C of 48 is just on the threshold for diagnosis and often it is a surprise to people because at that level they often haven't experienced any symptoms but those symptoms you mention do indicate high blood glucose levels. Your before meal reading is a bit higher than you want to be seeing 4-7mmol/l before meals or fasting is what you should be aiming at however the 2 hour post meal reading is definitely too high for comfort and indicates your meal is far to high in carbs as you only want no more than 2-3mmol/l increase.
Hopefully some changes in your diet will be successful in reducing those levels, many find a low carb approach successful and this link may point you in the right direction if that is the way you choose to go. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
As you Dad has Type 2 although you may have some knowledge about the condition ideas have changes about how powerful diet can be over the years and how people manage the condition can depend also on what medication they have been prescribed. Where you are at you will hopefully be able to reduce your blood glucose by making those dietary changes.
 
Did you double check that high post meal reading of 16.8. A small amount of contamination on your fingers or a duff test strip could give you a falsely high reading, so it is important to always double check any unusually high or low reading.

Out of curiosity, what was the meal you ate?
And which meter are you using?
Did you wash your hands and dry thoroughly before testing. Things like onion juice from chopping onions when prepping a meal can leave a residue on the skin and give an inflated reading, let alone the myriad of other foods which are sweeter, so you do have to be careful. I tend to wipe the first drop of blood away when I don't have access to washing facilities.

It would be extremely unlikely to experience those symptoms with an HbA1c of 48 because the kidneys do not start to work overtime until BG levels are consistently about 15mmols or above and your premeal reading was 7.9 so , whilst higher than you would like, it isn't desperately high. Not saying that you aren't experiencing those symptoms, but I wonder if something else is causing them. Have they been happening for a while or just suddenly developed?
 
Hi Barbara
No I didnt recheck it last night , but I've just some my BG again ..last time I ate was 6.30 pm last night last drink of anything I had was 10pm just had a reading of 11.1 BG , very unsure of what's happening
 
julieashf said:
Hi Barbara
No I didnt recheck it last night , but I've just some my BG again ..last time I ate was 6.30 pm last night last drink of anything I had was 10pm just had a reading of 11.1 BG , very unsure of what's happening
Click to expand...

@julieashf You either have a duff meter that’s giving you false readings, you’re somehow mis-testing that’s giving you false readings, or, most likely, the high sugars you’re seeing prove your body is unable to control your blood sugar properly. That’s what’s happening - which fits in with your HbA1C.

What did you eat for your evening meal? Have you lost any unexpected weight recently?
 
Last edited:
A high reading first thing in the morning is known as the Dawn Phenomenon and is usual. It's your body's way of kick starting the day.
May I suggest you get an app like NutraCheck or MyFitnessPal and record absolutely everything you eat and drink, in conjunction with testing your BG. That way you will learn which foods cause your BG to rise and enable you to adjust your diet. Everyone is different so you learn by trial and error.
 
Only usual if you have diabetes @Felinia Perhaps the 11.1 is because the blood sugar didn’t come down from the night before. It’s impossible to say without more information (tests).
 
Inka said:
@julieashf You either have a duff meter that’s giving you false readings, you’re somehow mis-testing that’s giving you false readings, or, most likely, the high sugars you’re seeing prove your body is unable to control your blood sugar properly.

What did you eat for your evening meal? Have you lost any unexpected weight recently?
Click to expand...
Hi
I'll check the meter on my hubby later to see if its a duff machine .I had fish fingers and chips and peas for last night's tea
 
julieashf said:
Hi
I'll check the meter on my hubby later to see if its a duff machine .I had fish fingers and chips and peas for last night's tea
Click to expand...

Ok, so probably a reasonable amount of carbs in your evening meal, depending on the amount of chips you had.

Are you overweight? You mention symptoms in your first post. Have you lost any unexpected weight recently?
 
To be honest i didn't have that many chips but I know what you are saying, yes I'm over weight ans it's hard to say about the symtoms as I've got other medical issues ( fibromyalgia, IIH , high bp ( it's controlled well ) so a lot of similar symtoms , tiredness , weeing etc
Hope you understand me also aged 55
 
julieashf said:
Hi
I'll check the meter on my hubby later to see if its a duff machine .I had fish fingers and chips and peas for last night's tea
Click to expand...
All three items are carb heavy which would probably account for your rise in BG. Fish fingers are breaded and peas one of the most carb heavy veg. Chips - enough said!!
 
julieashf said:
To be honest i didn't have that many chips but I know what you are saying, yes I'm over weight ans it's hard to say about the symtoms as I've got other medical issues ( fibromyalgia, IIH , high bp ( it's controlled well ) so a lot of similar symtoms , tiredness , weeing etc
Hope you understand me also aged 55
Click to expand...

To be clear, I wasn’t asking about your weight to be rude or critical. I asked because your blood sugar is high and your HbA1C is just into the diabetes zone, so I wanted to ask a few extra questions just to see if you could possibly be in the early stages of Type 1 rather than Type 2. That’s also why I asked about weight loss (a symptom of Type 1).

High bloods sugars will make you feel rough. They’ll dehydrate you and can make you feel irritable and out of sorts, as well as thirsty and weeing a lot (the body is trying to clear the excess glucose in the urine).
 
Coming back to the title of your thread..... interpretation of blood glucose readings can be confusing particularly when looking at individual readings.

Can suggest you get a note book and pencil (better than any app to start with in my opinion) and over the next week or so take readings when you wake up, last thing at night and before and after a few meals and note them all down along with the time you took them. Also note down everything you ate and the time you ate it. Then look for patterns.

For example, you could see if the high BG you saw two hours after eating in your first test always happens after eating or whether it was a one off. You might even see that some meals have a different effect to others. Look to see if your waking reading is reasonably consistent.

When looking at readings you need to remember that the number after the decimal point on the meter is a bit meaningless, the meters cannot read that accurately. You are looking for differences of 2 units or more.

Good luck but do not try to over interpret individual readings.

PS Usual caveat... thoughts only applicable to T2s starting testing. T1 is a whole different ball game.
 
julieashf said:
I didn't think you were being rude at all I'm very glad of all the info I have been really irritable which is unlike me.x
Click to expand...
A bit more testing of some of your meals, so before you eat and after 2 hours will hopefully give you an indication of what you can tolerate. The meal you had would be fairly normal for somebody without Type 2 diabetes but it is surprising how many carbs there are it what seems like a normal portion of foods which are high carb. Weighing out your portions although a bit of a faff is a good idea as it allows you to estimate how many carbs you are having for your meal. Check out the total carbs on your packets, tins etc or look on the internet for carbs in food X. I have the book Carbs and Cals which gives carb values for various portions of a whole range of foods and sample meals, some will be a shock.
6 oven chips is 10g carb, 4 fish fingers 12g carbs, peas maybe 10g carbs, just a ball park guess but about 30 plus grams carb, but you can see more chips would push that up by quite a bit. Fish is a good low carb food but as soon as you add breadcrumbs or batter is then becomes carb heavy. You can sometimes find 'lightly dusted' fish fillets which are pretty good for carbs for a decent portion but I would then have with a low carb veg like broccoli or salad.
I tend to try to only have 1 carby food per meal,
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top