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Should I get retested for diabetes?
Hello,
I am a thin and highly active 20 year old male who was just recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The diagnosis is weird because I've never had a poor diet, I played sports, and have little family history of the disease. I should mention though that my father has been "borderline" since the age of 12 and now he is 51 and his condition has not changed. I'm not in denial but recently I've been beginning to wonder if I truly have the disease. You see my first fasting glucose test showed that I was high but still below 100 mg/dl. So my doctor ordered glucose tolerance test. The morning of the test several things went wrong and I believe that they merit a retest. I also confess that these things were my fault. First I was massively late. They wanted me there no later than 12-14 hours of fasting when I accidentally slept in and showed up at after 15 1/2 to 16 hours of fasting. The second mistake is that I think I accidentally broke fast. You see I almost reflexively grab my huge mug of coffee every morning without thinking and that morning I did. I had the equivalent of two cups of black flavorless coffee. I am not entirely sure if that affects the exam (my doctor doesn't think so but a lot of the nurses and lab techs do). Anyways I showed up and failed. My number was 220 mg/dl 2 hours after the glucola was administered to me. So my doctor puts me on metformin 500 mg for twice a day (I was also ordered to only take 1 a day for the first two weeks). He also gave me a glucose meter. A few days later I find that I am having the easiest time in the world keeping my numbers in the normal range (at this time I had not started metformin). When I started metformin, I had an adverse reaction and was ordered to stop. A month later my averages are about 108 my fasting is 81-95 and my 2-hour postprandials are almost always below 120 unless I load up on carbs; then they can go anywhere from 125-160 and this is all without medication. Should I demand a retest?
I am a thin and highly active 20 year old male who was just recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. The diagnosis is weird because I've never had a poor diet, I played sports, and have little family history of the disease. I should mention though that my father has been "borderline" since the age of 12 and now he is 51 and his condition has not changed. I'm not in denial but recently I've been beginning to wonder if I truly have the disease. You see my first fasting glucose test showed that I was high but still below 100 mg/dl. So my doctor ordered glucose tolerance test. The morning of the test several things went wrong and I believe that they merit a retest. I also confess that these things were my fault. First I was massively late. They wanted me there no later than 12-14 hours of fasting when I accidentally slept in and showed up at after 15 1/2 to 16 hours of fasting. The second mistake is that I think I accidentally broke fast. You see I almost reflexively grab my huge mug of coffee every morning without thinking and that morning I did. I had the equivalent of two cups of black flavorless coffee. I am not entirely sure if that affects the exam (my doctor doesn't think so but a lot of the nurses and lab techs do). Anyways I showed up and failed. My number was 220 mg/dl 2 hours after the glucola was administered to me. So my doctor puts me on metformin 500 mg for twice a day (I was also ordered to only take 1 a day for the first two weeks). He also gave me a glucose meter. A few days later I find that I am having the easiest time in the world keeping my numbers in the normal range (at this time I had not started metformin). When I started metformin, I had an adverse reaction and was ordered to stop. A month later my averages are about 108 my fasting is 81-95 and my 2-hour postprandials are almost always below 120 unless I load up on carbs; then they can go anywhere from 125-160 and this is all without medication. Should I demand a retest?
Hello, hope all is well. I understand that most normal healthy people do not have issues with caffeine and insulin. I know I am not perfectly normal and healthy when it comes to blood sugar levels. However for the past 2 months I have been wondering if I truly was diabetic simply because I only had one oral glucose tolerance test, and I was concerned that I didn't fast properly. So I got a second opinion and I was expecting 1 of 2 possibilities. Either I was going to hear some closure/confirmation (something I needed) or that somehow I was misdiagnosed (which is something everyone I know thought at the time). So I talked to this new doctor who did not for a second buy my diagnosis as being diabetic. He made do many for comprehensive testing and found out that while my fasting blood sugar is high, it is still below the threshold for diabetes. He also discovered/reaffirmed that my A1C is really normal at about 5.5%. Other than that everything else is fine and healthy. Kidneys and liver function normally, I do not have any vitamin deficiencies, insulin levels are normal, blood pressure is normal, and cholesterol levels are ideal. he concludes that I was most likely misdiagnosed as there appears to be no sign diabetes within the past 3-4 months. I was given the original diagnosis roughly 2 months ago. Despite all of this I still plan to eat right and exercise. This was quite a scare for me and I'll never forget it. I sincerely hope they find a cure for this disease someday.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi and thanks for using the forum.
A two hour glucose tolerance test result greater than 200mg/dl meets the criteria for type 2 diabetes. While coffee (mainly the caffeine) can have an affect on how insulin works in your body, it should not really affect your blood sugar levels in a young, healthy individual. I don't see any harm in asking to repeat the test, especially since you are concerned that you did not properly fast. In the meantime however, continue to monitor your blood sugars as prescribed by your doctor. IF you do indeed have type 2 diabetes, it is possible to control it with diet and exercise- you do not always need to start medication right away. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Bridget
A two hour glucose tolerance test result greater than 200mg/dl meets the criteria for type 2 diabetes. While coffee (mainly the caffeine) can have an affect on how insulin works in your body, it should not really affect your blood sugar levels in a young, healthy individual. I don't see any harm in asking to repeat the test, especially since you are concerned that you did not properly fast. In the meantime however, continue to monitor your blood sugars as prescribed by your doctor. IF you do indeed have type 2 diabetes, it is possible to control it with diet and exercise- you do not always need to start medication right away. I hope this helps. Good luck.
Bridget
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