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Nervous about glucose tolerance test
I have been trying to get doctors to test my sugar levels for months because I have not felt well after eating to the point that i barely eat and have lost 20 pounds. i was diagnosed 20 years ago with hypoglycemia and sugar in urine and have controlled low symptoms with diet alone since that time. For years i have not felt well after eating and I am thin to begin with-there was no concern shown for this and no testing done. I have finally had a doctor agree to test me with 75 grams of sugar for a 2 hour tolerance test. My question is this. Is it safe for me to ingest this much sugar all at once? i ask this because recently when i have tested myself at home i have done so with a sport drink with only 30 grams of sugar and my sugar spikes to 230 in 20 minutes consistently-and i dont feel well then. i am nervous about ingesting this much if only 30 grams raises my sugar this much... thank you.
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IN the meantime I'd think you should get updated about diabetes and diet, and carbs etc. and get in the habit of eating like a diabetic, getting some exercise.
Don't give up.
Don't give up.
it does indeed stink. ill keep trying, and thank you so much for the help! i think ill try kicking the proverbial wall instead of banging my head against it and see if that helps, lol... ill post again when i get anywhere....
thank you again for the info, ill look into that a1c too...
good luck with your LADA!!!!
thank you again for the info, ill look into that a1c too...
good luck with your LADA!!!!
The system stinks, you should be able to see an endo if you want to. Sorry, I don't have any suggestions other than find a doctor who will listen to you and either check further himself or refer you to an endo. You can also try doing the home A1C test and if it is pre-diabetes or diabetes use that to convince them.
LADA is a slow onset form of type 1 that adults are diagnosed with. Don't worry about it, you have enough on your plate..lol. And do stop worrying about the 1/2 hour result. Like I said, results can vary from day to day. I doubt they did anything wrong. They are just adhering to rigid guidelines for diagnosis. But the A1C is the current standard for diagnosis, not the OGTT.
LADA is a slow onset form of type 1 that adults are diagnosed with. Don't worry about it, you have enough on your plate..lol. And do stop worrying about the 1/2 hour result. Like I said, results can vary from day to day. I doubt they did anything wrong. They are just adhering to rigid guidelines for diagnosis. But the A1C is the current standard for diagnosis, not the OGTT.
Thank you! i was getting ready to check it again with a glucose tomorrow because their 1/2 hr is bothering me sooo much! lol ... what is LADA?
well, here is the kicker.. i was put on the steroids for something which i was told wasnt an adrenal thing after requesting for ages to see an endo because i just have weird things going on all the time that seem like endo issues... they always say no... so after the steroids many of these issues miraculously disappeared-though some got worse. they still said no to seeing an endo. so now with me checking my sugars at home again, i asked again when i told them the numbers.. they still said no-now mind you this is 3 doctors later still-and i had to beg for the glucose test... well you know how thats going, lol.. any suggestions on how exactly i can get to see an endo? no one will see me without a referral and no one will refer me... (this is absolute insanity-and i have a child i have to take care of and need to get this straightened out so i can get back to work-ive been out for almost a year now! aargh!)
well, here is the kicker.. i was put on the steroids for something which i was told wasnt an adrenal thing after requesting for ages to see an endo because i just have weird things going on all the time that seem like endo issues... they always say no... so after the steroids many of these issues miraculously disappeared-though some got worse. they still said no to seeing an endo. so now with me checking my sugars at home again, i asked again when i told them the numbers.. they still said no-now mind you this is 3 doctors later still-and i had to beg for the glucose test... well you know how thats going, lol.. any suggestions on how exactly i can get to see an endo? no one will see me without a referral and no one will refer me... (this is absolute insanity-and i have a child i have to take care of and need to get this straightened out so i can get back to work-ive been out for almost a year now! aargh!)
Two things: First of all, don't worry about the numbers not being exactly the same. You remind me of myself when I was first diagnosed. You expect everything to make sense and be consistent. The first rule of diabetes is that nothing is consistent! You can eat the same exact thing one day and have one result and the next day have a completely different result. So don't get hung up on matching up numbers.
Okay, now the second and way more important thing: Your numbers are NOT normal. Here is why the doctor says they are: There is a chart they follow to diagnosis pre-diabetes and diabetes. For the OGTT test, all the diagnosis criteria are based on the two hour number. From 140-199 is considered pre-diabetes. Over 200 is considered diabetes. So with your two hour number of 135 your doctor is calling your normal. However, most non-diabetics rarely spike above 125 and this high is hit in in the first 45 minutes after ingesting carbs before their "first phase insulin" response kicks in. You were 179 at the 1/2 hr mark and 218 at one hour. That is not normal and it is not good to sustain highs like that. I would ask for a referral to an endo not to another pcp and have an A1C test done. Meanwhile, don't drive yourself nuts, but keep logging your post prandials (2 hours after meals). Your meter also stores these in memory. You can even do an A1C test at home if you want to have some more information. You can buy an A1C kit at the drugstore for $25-30.
No I never had an OGTT. I was 325 fasting on diagnosis so there was no need. But I am a type 1 (LADA) which is a different story.
Okay, now the second and way more important thing: Your numbers are NOT normal. Here is why the doctor says they are: There is a chart they follow to diagnosis pre-diabetes and diabetes. For the OGTT test, all the diagnosis criteria are based on the two hour number. From 140-199 is considered pre-diabetes. Over 200 is considered diabetes. So with your two hour number of 135 your doctor is calling your normal. However, most non-diabetics rarely spike above 125 and this high is hit in in the first 45 minutes after ingesting carbs before their "first phase insulin" response kicks in. You were 179 at the 1/2 hr mark and 218 at one hour. That is not normal and it is not good to sustain highs like that. I would ask for a referral to an endo not to another pcp and have an A1C test done. Meanwhile, don't drive yourself nuts, but keep logging your post prandials (2 hours after meals). Your meter also stores these in memory. You can even do an A1C test at home if you want to have some more information. You can buy an A1C kit at the drugstore for $25-30.
No I never had an OGTT. I was 325 fasting on diagnosis so there was no need. But I am a type 1 (LADA) which is a different story.
thank you for the quick response, and ...wow. well first off the 1/2 hour result makes no sense... i have checked with my monitor 3 more times with 34 grams sugar-a g2 gatoade-new batteries and new strips. i ALWAYS peak over 200 at 30 minutes-glucose is glucose, and i always start fasting. so it makes no sense. fasting levels are consistent so i dont think my machine is off. so its making me wonder how much they really gave me. ..also their hour result is only 20 points higher than when i tested at home with 30 grams but at home my results jump from 97 to 150 with an increase of only 17 grams of sugar... i dont know maybe reading into this way too much... it just doesnt make sense because if they did give me more than 30 grams why are their results lower than mine if the fasting is consistent... somewhat rhetorical and redundant i know but it is really bothering me... it seems to me that it should either be all inconsistent or at least following the same patterns and they are not... i feel odd saying this too because i was pretty much incoherent during the test but i dont think they tested me at the right times either i think i was asleep for quite a while... although again they might have... i was really out of it.. who knows... have you had a 3 hour done before? i remember them giving me a bottle years ago when i had it done, this time they gave me two little paper cups-one 3/4 full and one 1/2 full... same orange nasty stuff though...
about what they told me regarding results and referrals... they said the results are absolutely normal. referred me to another primary doctor... which just happens to be in the same office of the doctor i left because i felt like they werent listening to me and wouldnt test me for anything and kept telling me i needed a shrink or was having seizures or was maybe anorexic... well, i am going nuts and probably need a shrink because nothing is adding up, i feel like ****, im losing weight and i am becoming anorexic because i feel so badly when i eat that im barely eating... and now im being referred back to the same office that i left...
about what they told me regarding results and referrals... they said the results are absolutely normal. referred me to another primary doctor... which just happens to be in the same office of the doctor i left because i felt like they werent listening to me and wouldnt test me for anything and kept telling me i needed a shrink or was having seizures or was maybe anorexic... well, i am going nuts and probably need a shrink because nothing is adding up, i feel like ****, im losing weight and i am becoming anorexic because i feel so badly when i eat that im barely eating... and now im being referred back to the same office that i left...
What is your doctor telling you about the results? I assume he scheduled a follow-up appointment. Those are diabetic results. He should be talking with you about the results, possibly scheduling an A1C and talking about how to proceed.
does this make sense? my results at home are
fasting 88
1/2 hour 230
1hour 97 ... that is with a 30 gram sugar drink and not feeling well at 1/2 hour. tired, heart pounding, etc.
i was told that the results from the glucose test with 75 grams were
fasting 86
1/2 hour 179
1hour 218
2 hour 135
during that test i almost passed out 15 minutes after taking the drink and was layed down in a patient room. i passed out/fell asleep and the remainder of the test was a complete blur. i do remember being woken up by being slapped on the back and yelled at but i really dont remember it coherently. the lab tech walked me around and was very concerned about letting me drive home and actually offered to drive me home and walked me to the car and stayed with me for a while.... it just doesnt make sense to me...
fasting 88
1/2 hour 230
1hour 97 ... that is with a 30 gram sugar drink and not feeling well at 1/2 hour. tired, heart pounding, etc.
i was told that the results from the glucose test with 75 grams were
fasting 86
1/2 hour 179
1hour 218
2 hour 135
during that test i almost passed out 15 minutes after taking the drink and was layed down in a patient room. i passed out/fell asleep and the remainder of the test was a complete blur. i do remember being woken up by being slapped on the back and yelled at but i really dont remember it coherently. the lab tech walked me around and was very concerned about letting me drive home and actually offered to drive me home and walked me to the car and stayed with me for a while.... it just doesnt make sense to me...
I responded in the other post but I wanted to clarify here as well: You may not feel very good if the drink drives your blood sugar up high, but a single high blood sugar is not in and of itself dangerous. It is the prolonged blood sugars that cause harm. Also, while this test is useful to see how you respond to carbs, it is important to get an A1C to diagnose diabetes.
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