Glucose Tolerance Test result

[alicephilippa]

I've just phoned the docs to get the results of the glucose tolerance test that was done a couple of weeks ago. It took a bit of prompting to get the actual figures out of them. The 2hour glucose level is the blood glucose level 2 hours after a vile glucose drink.

	Units	Early Aug '07	15th Aug '07	Reference
Fasting glucose	mmol/L	6.4	5.2	3.6-6.1
2 hour glucose	mmol/L		5.7	5.0-7.8

The following is from http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/40001588/:

• Diabetes:
  • Fasting plasma venous glucose >7.0 mmol/l
  • 2-hour Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) plasma venous glucose >11.1 mmol/l.
• Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT):
  • Fasting plasma venous glucose <7.0 mmol/l
  • 2-hour OGTT plasma venous glucose ≥7.8 mmol/l and <11.1 mmol/l.
• Impaired fasting glucose (IFG):
  • Fasting plasma venous glucose measurement 6.1–6.9 mmol/l
  • 2-hour OGTT plasma venous glucose <7.8 mmol/l.

As I was told, before insisting on the figures, "the results are normal".

What worries me about this, is how random fasting glucose levels are. For the first one I'd eaten fairly normally the previous day, and followed the recommendations for fasting (nowt but water for the 12 hours before the test). The same for the follow-up. Yet the first test was sufficiently high to trigger a follow up.

What it has done, as has TWSC — where jacqib mentioned, when seen photographing food before eating it, her photo-diet — made me aware that I need to be a bit more concious of exactly what I am eating. It is so easy at work to just nibble on a biscuit or (more likely) several, whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. The same applies to going out to do a spot of shopping, where I'll pick up something to nibble on, even if I'm not actually hungry.

Alice.

Comments

[ramtops.livejournal.com]

I started doing jacqi's thing last night. It's quite difficult ...

I nicked a grape from the fruit bowl and ate it, and then I had to pick another one to photograph, and then I'm left with a grape ... had to give it to perlmonger, who is still disgustingly thin.

[alicephilippa.livejournal.com]

I'm going to start tomorrow, as I've not yet unpacked the digicam.

There has got to be some way of getting a little fat on him. By little I'm thinking of just enough to make him cuddly. Oh. er, *blush*…

Alice.

[ramtops.livejournal.com]

> I'm going to start tomorrow, as I've not yet unpacked the digicam.

Oh good - I shall need beta testers :)

[perlmonger.livejournal.com]

:)

There's a damned sight more fat on me than there used to be, but I'll grant that I'm not what's usually described as "cuddly".

[alicephilippa.livejournal.com]

O…h…, bugger.

:)

[alicephilippa.livejournal.com]

"…There's a damned sight more fat on me than there used to be…"

There is? Who'd have thunk it.

Alice.

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

It just shows you how volitile blood readings can be. They're never static with the same values all the time. It's only over the long term that your Doctor can get an idea of what's happening in there.

[alicephilippa.livejournal.com]

I know that readings are variable. But what worries me, is following the guidelines for a fasting test, that the levels six days apart can go from "may be diabetic — follow up" to "perfectly normal".

IOW, which is it that reflects what my fasting blood glucose really is?

Alice.

[jessie-c.livejournal.com]

To get a good picture you need a statistical sample with a good many data points. Such things take time and money to develop, not to mention a whole lot of bother for you : (

[nerdware.livejournal.com]

I've been diabetic for a couple of decades and I've never entirely trusted any bg tests, never mind the fasting kind. At least now local hospital has a decent alternative to the fasting tests (a simple finger prick, no fasting required, any time of the day), but you might not be so fortunate. Anyway, standard disclaimers still apply.

Possibly my cynicism comes from seeing so many doctors make a fuss over the test results and then do bugger all to help me improve my control...

[alicephilippa.livejournal.com]

Fasting tests are a nuisance, and as this shows not necessarily reliable.

The tolerance test is an unwelcome bother as all you can do is sit there — you're not supposed to anything, even walking as far as the loo is not really approved of.

Ah, well, it's done and out of the way, and hopefully it will be a long time before I need to do another GTT.

Alice.