Diabetic?

[natashabrash]

I am Insulin Resistant. I recently ordered a free blood glucose meter after feeling severe hypoglycemic effects after eating fruit lately. I ate a candy bar, then checked my sugars two hours later. It read 168. Is it possible that I have crossed into the diabetic zone?

[Super_sally888]

Hello,
yes, you may have crossed over from insulin resistant to fully diabetic.  However, you need more than 1 blood test to determine this.

I recommend that you test as follows for a few days so you can then take this data to your doctor :-
1. Fasting upon waking
2. 2 hours after beginning eating
3. Before starting eating
4. Please record what you eat and how much.

This is more testing than you would normally do, but it will give your dr a very good idea of what's happening with your blood sugar.

After you do this testing for 2 - 3 days (and I am assuming that your fasting will be > 100, and you will have quite a few post eating numbers greater than 140) take this information to your dr and they should do additional testing and probably start you on metformin.

The good thing about having a meter is that you can use it to see the effect of what you eat.  If you eat something and your blood sugar is not high afterwards, then you know that this is fine.  If you eat something else and your bs is high afterward, then you should avoid / restrict this food.

If your blood sugar is high after nearly everything, then it may be time to either dramatically change your diet and/or start on medications.

Hope this is helpful.

I understand it can be scary to have a blood glucose reading that appears higher than normal. However a single plasma glucose reading is not enough to diagnose you with diabetes.

Diabetes is usually diagnosed based on symptoms of hyperglycemia (blurred vision, frequent urination, headache, fatigue) and a random fasting plasma glucose reading > 200 mg/dL or ≥ 1 of the following:  A1c reading ≥ 6.5%, fasting plasma glucose reading ≥ 126 mg/dL (taken 8 or more hours after a meal), or a 2-hour plasma glucose reading > 200 mg/dL following a 75 gram oral glucose test. Keep in mind many of these tests must be performed by a medical professional.

Your blood glucose reading after you ate the candy bar was higher than normal and may put you at risk of developing diabetes in the future. People with the ability to process sugar normally should not have a blood glucose > 140 mg/dL, even with a large dose of sugar such as a candy bar. I recommend you visit your physician, so you can get additional tests to confirm or deny if you have pre-diabetes. If you’re diagnosed with pre-diabetes, one method for decreasing your risk for developing diabetes in the future is increasing physical activity to at least 150 min per week.

Best of Luck!
Erin

[diabetes86]

168 is prity high.  normal BG is 70 to 120  a non diabetic never goes over 140

need more than 1 test to say for sure

other things can raise BG... drugs illnes, infections...