diabetes test

[babyjane67]

Hi all
Does anyone know what the normal result for this test is?
ive just been to my local chemist&had it done.result was6.0& she said it was anything up to then was ok but she checked with pharmacist who said was ok but to eat more fruit!try get my5a day
Has anyone any experience of the test&can tell me thia is definately ok
many thanks

Lol footle!
Yea more fruit meaning eating my 5a day i think!
i very rarely do eat my5a day as i told her.
Its usually more like 2to3maybe less!
Do you know owt about the test?

It depends which machine was use some use 4-7mmol/L and some use 3-8mmol/L. Which ever range 6.0mmol/L is completely normal.

Thats good then!thanks for the replies

Well id gone in first thing as i thought you had to fast so had eaten nowt!
They sent me away again saying theyd do test2hrs aftet id eaten.so i went to cafe&had a doorstep bacon sarnie which had salad with it&a capaccino with sugar.
went bk2hrs later&had it done.
I had to fill in a form first&3of the questions were about my weight,waist circumference&bmi all of which i told her i didnt know&she said dont worry about that it doesnt matter!
She didnt chk any of these things,just did the test&asked if i wanted blood pressure chkd too which i said yes&that was pretty much it really!
Just said to eat more fruit&up my5a day!

That visit was a complete and utter waste of your time.

The finger prick test is only a test of your blood glucose at that particular point in time.

I have diabetes. If I ate what you did, my bloods would probably be similar to yours after 2 hours (I wouldn't eat it, but that's another whole issue).

You need to make an appointment with your GP and have an HbA1c test done, this will tell you what your 'average' blood sugar has been over the past 8-12 weeks.

Your GP will ask you why you think you need to be tested for diabetes - let them know if you suffer from thirst/vaginal itching/constant hunger/weight gain/tiredness.

Then, irrespective of whether the result is positive or negative do yourself a favour and do some reserch on a lower carb diet. Eating lots of carbs isn't great for anyone (even fruit) but for people with diabetes or pre-diabetes it's particularly problematic.

Oh right!
Well form did say if it was high theyd retest doing a fasting test then if still high would refer me to gp but as it wasnt they would retest in3yrs!
I also have ibs&a recent diagnosis of osteoarthritis so am starting to think about how/what i eat more.
I do get thirsty though not through the night or anything&also tired but that could be just down to the fact ive got a5yr old to run around after&im46!
It was more a fact id been thinking about having test done for a while&they were offering it

Would the gp test my bmi,weight&waist circumference as part of it all?
Should i be worried that the chemists dismissed these things?
Dont want you to think that i eat bacon sarnies all the time for breakfast!that was first one id had for ages!
Usually have a small bowl of cornflakes,a coupke of weetabix or coupke of pieces of toast&marmalade

Bump

Jane Yes, your GP will take those things into consideration. Tell them that you have been very thirsty lately etc Yes, you should be 'concerned' that the chemist dismissed those things, unless you are clearly rail thin. LOL at 'Don't want you to think I eat bacon sarnies all the time' I didn't even give it a passing thought!

I low carb - so your 'normal' breakfast seems 'worse' to me than bacon! Seriously though, you should look at having a 'protein' breakfast and cutting out the white carbs (sugar, bread, cornflakes) - try scrambled eggs & bacon (no bread) see how much better that makes you feel in the mornings :)

Ok will see if i can see gp to do a test.do you get results straight away like at chemist or have to wait?
Im not rail thin wish i was!lol
Havent weighed myself in a while but last time i did
was about a stone&half overweight
I follow the family 'trait' of only putting it on round my tummy.to look at my arms legs etc i dont look any different!
What can i have in place of bread?i like my toast&very often have a sarnie&bag of crisps for lunch!lol
I dont use sugar at all at home.use a sweetener instead&never use salt in cooking etc
Dont have white bread very often either.usually beat of both or brown
im also a chocaholic too which diesnt help!ive got a very sweet tooth!

Bumping again!lol

OP have you actually spoken to your GP at all yet?

You don't get the result on the spot, it takes a day or two.

These High Street tests are worse than useless IMHO.

A fasting blood glucose test is the way for diagnosing diabetes and/or some of the "pre-diabetic" states eg impaired glucose tolerance. Finger-prick tests are not diagnostic.

HbA1c is not diagnostic.

If you are concerned & have risk factors eg overweight, family history etc plus symptoms, see a Dr or your practice nurse.

Dame no havent spoken to gp yet.will ring tomorrow&hopefully get an app.
Have you got diabetes yrself?
Lots of well thays what i thought&why i went there first thing before eating anything but seems i was wrong!

HbA1c is all they use here lotsofchesse - they do consider it 'diagnostic'.

I got my result the next day (and subsequent tests have all been back the next day too). The initial one they do as a fasting test and will check several other things as well as HbA1c.

Here's the guidance GP's use for diagnosing diabetes;

www.gpnotebook.co.uk/simplepage.cfm?ID=x20120306085633188356

Hopefully the link above works, it explains the different ways of diagnosis & tests involved.

Also the WHO guidelines:

www.who.int/diabetes/publications/report-hba1c_2011.pdf

I work in a hospital diabetes care team - HbA1c is not an appropriate diagnostic measurement for our client group (type 1 diabetes, children etc). We use it for monitoring control of existing diabetes.

NICE/SIGN guidelines have not adopted the WHO criteria so far, although some individual centres may have decided to use them.

Thanks for all yr help everyone!
when i ring for an app later do i need to say its for a diabetes test or ask to spk to gp&tell them so that i can fast beforehand?
Also is there a link with any other illness?eg i know ibs&arthritis/fibromyalgia are linked
As ive already mentioned i have ibs,osteoarthritis&a form of restless leg syndrome.plus asthma(which I've
had all my life)
So wondering if any of these are linked to diabetes

Have just rang gp surgery to be told my usual gp only works mon&tues which i stupidly forgot!
Need to spk to her on another matter too so its a bit annoying!was hoping to do it all at same time!

lotsofcheese

I am a bit confused at why you are saying the HbA1c is not diagnostic when that article you linked to says:

HbA1c in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus (3)
HbA1c can be used as a diagnostic test for diabetes providing that stringent quality assurance tests are in place and assays are standardised to criteria aligned to the international reference values, and there are no conditions present which preclude its accurate measurement
an HbA1c of 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) is recommended as the cut point for diagnosing diabetes (i.e. HbA1c >= 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) is sufficient for the diagnosis of diabetes)
a value of less than 6.5% (48 mmol/mol) does not exclude diabetes diagnosed using glucose tests diagnosis of diabetes in an asymptomatic person should not be made on the basis of a single abnormal plasma glucose or HbA1c value. At least one additional HbA1c or plasma glucose test result with a value in the diabetic range is required, either fasting, from a random (casual) sample, or from the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
advisable to use one test or the other but if both glucose and HbA1c are measured and both are 'diagnostic' then the diagnosis is made. If one only is abnormal then a further abnormal test result, using the same method, is required to confirm the diagnosis

We were talking about Type 2 - not T1 or children.

My HbA1c was 9.3 in Jan, 5.8 in April and 5.3 in July.

I haven't had a reading over 9 after food (though I am low carbing) and it's most 6.8-7.2 (1 & 2 hrs after food, returning to base level before 3hrs), resting it is between 5.4 & 5.8 with some high 4's occasionally - probably more often than I know though as I don't test very often anymore, generally only when I want to see if a certain food is making it go high or not.

BabyJane - I would go and see your GP first & talk to her unless she's likely to do the blood test herself? Mine doesn't, you have to go and see the Phleb. Even though they are pushing for people to get tested for diabetes, some GP's seem oddly reluctant to test for it Have a look at the symptoms before you go and note which ones you have, so that when you are asked why you think you need to be tested you can tell her.

You could always buy a monitor yourself if you wanted to do some finger prick testing. Of course it's not diagnostic, but it will tell you what your blood glucose levels are like now.

I have the Aviva Nano which is great. You can get them in Sainsbury's, chemists etc for around £12, but they only have 10 test strips, but those are very expensive at the chemists, I buy them on eBay.

Thanks chipping
Think i will ring surgery bk&make an app to see her tues&go from there.
Yea have googled the symptoms&thirst&tiredness seem to be theones ive got really which could be put down to anything i spose!
Be interesting to find out if any other of the things ive got are linked to diabetes

Let me know how you get on. I hope you don't have it, but if you do, the sooner you know the better. I manage mine with diet (& I would say exercise, but that's not what you'd call true at the moment!! But it does help when I do). You can see my initial results above, they wanted me on Metformin, statins etc and I refused the lot. Lots of people disagreed with me (I did ask on here) but for me it's the right answer - diet control until that is no longer enough.