Not yet diagnosed

[Gwin]

Hi, I haven't been diagnosed yet but I'm getting more convinced something is wrong with my blood sugar. Have been having what I call grey outs where I go weak, trembly sweaty and feel awful for over a year. Usually helped by some food. I had an appallingly bad one around other people, one of whom is diabetic and she got me to check my levels on her self test monitor. 14.5
I ordered one myself and it came down a bit gradually over that weekend.
For the next few weeks I monitored it and it seemed OK.
I've just had another episode, and this mornings result was 6.7

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi, I haven't been diagnosed yet but I'm getting more convinced something is wrong with my blood sugar. Have been having what I call grey outs where I go weak, trembly sweaty and feel awful for over a year. Usually helped by some food. I had an appallingly bad one around other people, one of whom is diabetic and she got me to check my levels on her self test monitor. 14.5
I ordered one myself and it came down a bit gradually over that weekend.
For the next few weeks I monitored it and it seemed OK.
I've just had another episode, and this mornings result was 6.7

The only real way to know is to explain your symptoms to your GP and ask for an HbA1C test which will give you the average over a 3 month period and is the test used for a diagnosis over 48mmol/mol being the level at which you would be diagnosed. However even if below that it doesn't mean that some foods you are having may be too high in carbs for you to tolerate with out giving you some unpleasant symptoms which could happen if you fall into the prediabetes zone of between 42 and 47mmol/mol. The reading you take with a glucose monitor are really just a moment in time and if diagnosed are useful for testing the effect of foods and meals on your levels. Even for non diabetics their levels can vary depending on what foods they have eaten but will return to a normal level because they can use the insulin they naturally produce to cope with it, whereas diabetics are not producing enough insulin or are not able to use the insulin efficiently to cope with a high carbohydrate meal.
Of course your symptoms may be nothing to do with blood glucose levels and be something else, so you should definitely contact your G P as soon as you can.

 

[Gwin]

So all the information I'd seen so far, including that on this website says that a fasting blood sugar of 6.7 is not normal and that 14 is into risk levels of high. So I'm confused as to why you've said its normal as like I said, this website clearly states that it's not.

 

[EllsBells]

Hi @Gwin you are right - 6.7 initially looks like a high reading for a non-diabetic. There are caveats to that though - not least that these machines are only accurate to +-15% so your reading might actually have been below 6 and thus normal. Another point is that, if you test all 10 fingers at the same time, you will come back with 10 different readings so apply readings with a pinch of salt.

For T2 4-7 is considered normal.

It is impossible to extrapolate any real information from one or 2 finger pricks but do strongly recommend going to see a doctor. It might not be diabetes, there are lots of things that can impact blood glucose levels and cause exhaustion.

In the meantime, why not start keeping a detailed diary of everything you eat and drink plus things like mood, exercise and sleep patterns as this may help with your gp with a diagnosis. As you are worried about diabetes, pay special attention to carbs you are consuming.

 

[Leadinglights]

So all the information I'd seen so far, including that on this website says that a fasting blood sugar of 6.7 is not normal and that 14 is into risk levels of high. So I'm confused as to why you've said its normal as like I said, this website clearly states that it's not.

What I was saying was that you could not diagnose diabetes with test from a blood glucose monitor. Levels that would be considered normal would be different if someone had diabetes from a non diabetic person. Many people on diagnosis will have fasting levels in the teens or above but once people address their condition by diet and or medication their fasting i.e morning levels will start to come down but even then will be in the 4-7mmol// range often being the last to come down. Some people continue to have high morning readings due to something referred to as foot on the floor.
But you really are stabbing in the dark without an HbA1C test which should put your mind at rest.

 

[Gwin]

Hi @Gwin you are right - 6.7 initially looks like a high reading for a non-diabetic. There are caveats to that though - not least that these machines are only accurate to +-15% so your reading might actually have been below 6 and thus normal. Another point is that, if you test all 10 fingers at the same time, you will come back with 10 different readings so apply readings with a pinch of salt.

For T2 4-7 is considered normal.

It is impossible to extrapolate any real information from one or 2 finger pricks but do strongly recommend going to see a doctor. It might not be diabetes, there are lots of things that can impact blood glucose levels and cause exhaustion.

In the meantime, why not start keeping a detailed diary of everything you eat and drink plus things like mood, exercise and sleep patterns as this may help with your gp with a diagnosis. As you are worried about diabetes, pay special attention to carbs you are consuming.

Hi, thanks for clarification. I did test my blood sugar every morning for two weeks the last time I had one of this episodes and it was between 4.2 and 5.4
I also kept a diary of readings before and after meals, it would rise to around 7-8 following a meal but never higher. Unlike yesterday when it spiked at over 9 and the previous occasion when it shot up to over 14

It's incredibly difficult to get a gp apt but I will try.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi, thanks for clarification. I did test my blood sugar every morning for two weeks the last time I had one of this episodes and it was between 4.2 and 5.4
I also kept a diary of readings before and after meals, it would rise to around 7-8 following a meal but never higher. Unlike yesterday when it spiked at over 9 and the previous occasion when it shot up to over 14

It's incredibly difficult to get a gp apt but I will try.

Hopefully things will settle down but there are lots of factors which can affect blood glucose levels, I think somebody has produced a list of 42 of them but things like stress, infection, post Covid vaccination, can all affect levels. At least you have some information that you can discuss with your GP when you manage to get an appointment.

 

[ColinUK]

 

[ColinUK]

That’s not an exclusive list but it’s just some of the things which impact BG levels.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Gwin

Sorry to hear about the unpleasant symptoms you have been experiencing, it’s completely understandable that you are concerned.

While the results you have seen on your meter might indicate some unusual BG shenanigans, unfortunately as others are suggesting, the limitations of home testing equipment mean they aren’t rated for diagnostic purposes, especially because unexpected one-off numbers can br tricky to interpret.

Hope you manage to get access to a GP appointment (even if it’s just a phone one to start with) and can arrange some further checks to be run, including possibly an HbA1c, to get to the bottom of these nasty episodes you’ve been having.