Can anyone advise please?

[coppercolouredtop]

Hi
I'm 46 and just had a raft of tests including a blood test. I've had the results today - I'm very low in iron and folates but also had a raised glucose result and the go has advised that I'm borderline diabetic and to repeat the test in 3 months.

I'm still a bit confused. It was a fasting test and I'd gone 12 hours without food/drink and my result was 7.5.

I am not overweight but have put a bit of weight on recently which seemed odd and I've also had a uti and felt very very fatigued but that could also be down to the lack of iron.

They've prescribed me iron And folate but are not doing anything about the diabetes....except repeating the test in 3 months ....

Does this sound normal? Should I be taking this more seriously? Should they? I don't even know the difference between type 1 and 2 but my diet is really really healthy. Due to the fatigue I have struggled to exercise lately.

Can anyone advise please if I should be doing something more than waiting 3 months for a repeat test?

Thanks in advance.

I see. Sometimes any number of illnesses that may not have come to light yet can raise your sugars. Fingers crossed it's all ok.

I was diagnosed at 39. I had lost a stone in 3 weeks and had a never quenching thirst. My blood sugar at diagnosis was 28.7 (normal is between 4.5 and 7).
And as someone else put, they always assume type 2 and lots of people are misdiagnosed.
The only true was to find out is to have a GAD test. It's a blood test that measures certain antibodies. That's the only way to find out one way or the other.

Just to refute what a previous poster said, it's not unusual at all to be diagnosed after 30 with type 1. Around 50% of sufferers are. There is an environmental trigger to the autoimmune attack and some people don't encounter it till way into adulthood, e.g. Theresa May.

There are apparently up to 7 different types of diabetes depending on the age of onset and speed of the autoimmune attack (if present) and whether insulin resistance is also a factor.

While it isn't uncommon for people up to the age of 40 to be diagnosed with type 1 (I was early 20s), your BG would be much higher than 7.5 if it was type 1, and the onset is much more extreme because with type 1 you suddenly produce no insulin. At diagnosis for type 1 my blood sugar was 28.5. Type 2 is more of a winding down of insulin production so onset is gradual.

Any infection can raise BG, whether you're diabetic or not, so I would suggest that if you were coming down with a chest infection that could be to blame.

Unfortunately the test was end of dec and I was absolutely well and fit as a fiddle then. I only got the chest infection this week and the uti was well before the blood test.

I'm just going to have to see what the next test shows.

@Fettfrett - not always the case. I work in a diabetes service & we had a recent run of type 1's - all of whom were 40+, some overweight, who had been treated as T2 for months in the community. Not all had glucose levels in 20's & above. Some didn't have strong symptoms.

We go by the presence of blood ketones & check GAD antibodies if unsure - but these take around a month to come back.

OP has a BMI of 24 - so is normal weight. I'm always thinking of the possibility of T1 in younger patients, or LADA (slow onset)

Keeps us in a job!!

Oh, and constant infections can be a symptom of hyperglycaemia- bugs love high glucose levels!

I'm pretty sure something is up - I just felt generally not well hence the doctors in first place.

Thanks for the advice I'll keep keep you in the loop after next test.

Just watch yourself OP - don't wait till March if you're not feeling right.

Hopefully the iron supplements will have you feeling better soon. Just be aware of diabetes symptoms & what to look out for.

OP buy a glucose monitor in boots usually have ten test strips inside. Take your bloods in the morning before you even get out of bed. And possibly a couple of tests 2hrs after eating.

What should they be between both fasting and after food please? If I'm going to buy a glucose monitor- I've no idea what's normal!

Actually I'm guessing these things come with instructions...

Hiya, just found this thread.
I'm a T2 diabetic. It's genetic in my family, so was kind of expecting it when they diagnosed me.

Your symptoms sound very much like mine were I'm afraid.

I also ate healthy. But what they don't tell you is that the "healthy plate" that they show on the NHS website isn't brilliant for T2 diabetics or even people who are borderline or pre diabetic.

Your fasting blood sugar (before eating and 2 hours after eating) should be between 4 and 7.

I have had to cut out/ massively decrease carbohydrates. I'm really sensitive to carbs, (and I love bread, pasta, etc)
The recommended amount for an adult is roughly 220g of carbs a day. If I eat that many my blood sugars skyrocket.
I try and stick to under 120g and my blood sugars have been so much better since.

I use the my fitness Pal app on my phone and log what I eat as it shows how many carbs are in what I'm eating. It's helped a lot. (who knew sweetcorn had so many carbs?)

It's loads to get your head around, but as you were only 7.5 in your fasting test you may find that cutting your carbs brings you down to normal (non diabetic) sugar levels.

I honestly wouldn't buy a glucose meter, for precisely these reasons.

You won't get strips on prescription without a diagnosis (and even then there are limitations) - the monitors come with a limited supply.

Plus they are not as accurate as lab results, so are not used for diagnostic purposes - only for monitoring after diagnosis.

To be honest I would just wait until after your next blood test to get worried.

You've said yourself you're eating healthily and keep fit so nothing to change there.

The whole point of a second test 3 months later is to let your iron and folate tablets get working to rule out that being a factor.

I wouldn't stress at this point about it.
Raised glucose could be down to a number of things, and it's good the doctor is on top of it all. If your last test was December, you have another 2 months to just try and relax.
Have a look at this video- used it in my paramedic training - it explains diabetes types 1 and 2 really simply if you'd like to learn more about the condition.

Was just a thought if you were curious.

is it hard to keep weight off then if type 2?

wondering how to stay in healthy weight range as i eat sod all anyway and still bmi of 24, when i say sod all i mean sod all

today was grated apple and fat free yoghurt and salmon with carrots and 3 tiny boiled potatoes for evening meal. been it all day. and i still cant and dont lose weight.

Might be that youre eating too little to lose weight, from your update OP.
You need a certain amount of intake to keep your body going, otherwise if your deficit of kcal is too high your body stores food as it doesnt know when its next meal will be...

Please look at a keto way of eating. I am prediabetic as of 7 months ago. I lost 11 kgs easily and my blood sugars are normal. I eat 20 to 30 grams of carbs a day mainly in vegetables. My diet consists of meat, green leafy veg, cream, cheese and lots of water. I bought a monitor to chart my progress and it has been great to see my numbers drop. I had a fasting number of 6.1 which alerted me, then a glucose tolerance test, 11 at 1 hour, 9 at 2 hours. A normal person rarely goes anywhere near 7 so I do everything I can to stay in the 5s.