Please help

[ukMummyof]

My dad has had a health check today, he currently does not had a diagnosed health condition.
his blood glucose level came back as 29.8 and his blood pressure was 160/105.
Is anyone able to explain these numbers and what they could potentially mean please?
In the meantime, a GP appointment is being made as recommended by the lady running the tests but will be at least a 2 weeks wait for the appointment.
thank you in advance.

Wow what?! Do you mean his sugars as mmol? Even if it was mg/dL that figure doesn’t make sense. The former target is between 4-6, the latter 72-108. A reading of 29.8 and he should be straight to hospital! That’s dangerous and risks diabetic ketoacidosis which can be life threatening. Are you sure that reading was accurate? I can’t believe he had it and was given an appointment TWO weeks away!
I don’t know about the BP. - seems high but not like A&E high.

Could it be his HB1AC average blood glucose result?

The BP reading falls into the Grade 2 hypertension category, so high BP. I would expect the GP to take his BP again, and maybe do a series of readings to see if it’s consistently high. They may suggest you get a home BP monitor to check it daily for a week, for example.

When you made the GP appointment did they know about the test results?

Thank you both. It was a general health check and I believe a couple of years ago he was borderline or slightly under for diabetes, his dad also had it so was at higher risk. The lady running the test said it’s the highest she has seen but didn’t mention about going to the hospital, she just said that she recommends making a GP appointment. My mum has made the appointment for him so I suspect she gave them the results but I’ll double check this info. I appreciate the advise.

My dad has just said that there was a few people having the health check and their glucose level was around 4 so his behind 29.8 sends some alarm bells doesn’t it! They checked his blood pressure again this afternoon and it was 160/101. Only thing they done was gave him a letter to take to the gp with his results on it?

@ukMummyof I would try and find out more information from your parents about who did the test, and what they tested for. Otherwise you're just guessing at what the blood test result means.

The BP is much clearer, it's a one off high reading, and definitely will need follow up. But as a one off it's not so alarmingly high that he needs immediate treatment.

Ask for a ketone test - maybe the pharmacy can do this? With a blood glucose close to 30 he is in danger - if pharmacy can’t do it then call 111 to see if they can arrange it quicker. If he gets breathless or sleepy/hard to rouse (not normal sleepiness) call 999 or 111 and make sure they understand you are worried about DKA.

in the meantime make sure he drinks plenty of water, more than you think is possible eg a large glass every 30 mins, and if he feels up to it and can be accompanied, a gentle walk (both of which will help to bring blood sugar down) but NO vigorous exercise.

and he needs to eat as few carbs as possible until this is resolved - but he does need medical attention

I’ve found 111 pretty good for this, even if it’s just getting an emergency prescription for a ketone testing kit/blood sugar testing kit

I’d call 111 for advice now not wait for a GP appointment. A blood sugar of 4 is normal and 29.8 is very high.

As an update, my dad had another blood test (the HbA1c test) as the other one was just a finger prick test and results came back as 110- he has had an urgent appointment made for tomorrow with the diabetic team.

Sounds like they’re doing things sensibly. Hope the appointment tomorrow is helpful (is someone going with him…2 brains are better than one for remembering what they say/remembering what he wants to ask them)

Thank you for your reply, yes my mum will go with him :)