Am I diabetic

[Windbreaker]

I am 64 years old and have developed mild neuropathy in both my hands and feet.  All causes have been ruled out except diabetes.  I test about 130-150 in the mornings after a 12 hour fast, but I test normal 1 and 2 hours after eating during the day.  I also don't have any of the normal symtoms of diabetes.  My doctor is not sure if I am diabetic.  I have had 2 A1C tests and they were 6.2 and 6.7.  What do you think-am I diabetic or maybe pre-diabetic?  Thanks for your help.  Jerry

[JDRF-Team-BL]

Dear Jerry,
    Don't want to go over your doctor's head but you may be displaying slightly higher than normal blood sugars and this may possibly lead to full fleged diabetes. (There is no such thing in medical terminology 'pre-diabetic.' But your doing so well after a meal doesn't indicate diabetes, as a usual test for diabetes is a fasting blood sugar and then a drink with enough carbohydrates for a meal then a test two hours later. Sounds like you'd pass that test. You may want to work on him a little to get the test done to finally resolve the issue once and for all, bret

[JDRF-Team-LRS]

We're not physicians, but have a lot of collective experience with diabetes.  Please go further than your current doctor for a careful medical workup.

Ask for a referral to an endocrinologist for a second opinion right away.  While labs vary in what the "normal" range of a1c should be, in the lab work I've done recently your numbers are higher than the normal range.  The common cited normal range for a1c is 4%-6%  If your a1cs are above the normal range, then it's because at least some of the time, your blood sugar is above the normal range, too.  a1c is an average of one's blood sugar for a 3 month period.

Many folks with Type 2 go undiagnosed for quite a few years and end up with devastating complications because of it.  Your blood sugar numbers, your a1c, and your neuropathy are all consistent with diabetes.  If you are diagnosed with diabetes and if you take good care of yourself, the symptoms you are experiencing might be eased, too.

[Markie]

Your fasting blood sugar levels and HBA1c results indicate that you have diabetes. The guidelines are :

Fasting Blood Glucose (Blood Sugar) Level:

The "gold standard" for diagnosing diabetes is an elevated blood sugar level after an overnight fast (not eating anything after midnight). A value above 140 mg/dl on at least two occasions typically means a person has diabetes. Normal people have fasting sugar levels that generally run between 70-110 mg/dl.

for more detail see :
http://www.endocrineweb.com/diabetes/diagnosis.html

The sooner you start actively managing your control, the better your chances of avoiding and/or reversing complications are.

Cheers,

Mark