Could I be diabetic??

Juliekaboolie · 11-16-2003, 03:06 AM

Hi everyone! I have a quick question. I take GlucXR 1500mg and my bloodsugar, despite this dosage, has been around 111 fasting in the morning. It even went as high as 122. Now I know this might not seem high to some of you but could it mean I'm diabetic since these readings occurred while I've been on 1500mg of Glucophage? I'm concerned. I also seem to be extemely sensitive to carbs and my morning BG reading will rise depending on the amount of carbs consumed the night before. TIA!

tlcur107 · 11-16-2003, 03:14 AM

Hi Julie,

As far as being diabetic, I'm not real sure. But i have been on Met for a while now, and I find that if I don't watch what I eat and cut back on the carbs, the Met won't work. So be sure you are watching the carbs and eating right. The fasting sugar does seem pretty high. Do you tend to eat alot of carbs at night? I would try to cut back on the carbs a little and see if that helps at all. Also, I know that if you are on other medications along with the Gluc, it can affect your sugar levels. It can make them pretty unstable. If you're real worried about it, you can check with the pharmacist or your dr and see what they say. But the Gluc definately won't work if you don't eat properly while taking it. I hope I helped a little.

Terri

Juliekaboolie · 11-16-2003, 03:18 AM

Thanks, Terri. You did help. Seems to me that I have to treat myself as if I'm diabetic regardless of the fact that I'm technically NOT.

Oh well. Anybody else have any thoughts on this??

Maddy · 11-16-2003, 05:05 AM

Linda (nobimbo) posted an article a while ago ( I shall try to find it and add the link) about the "dawn phenomenon" where some of us have higher sugar levels first thing in the morning!

As I am currently on induction levels of carbs I use ketostix to make sure I am not going too low and causing high levels of ketones. If I check in the morning it is always negative but early evening it can show ketones.

I shall come back and edit when I find the post! Though I think anyone who does have PCOS should probably treat themselves as "prediabtetic"

Edited just to say: just realised Linda has replied with the same info on the Metformin board already

oops

StarMaiden · 11-16-2003, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Juliekaboolie
Thanks, Terri. You did help. Seems to me that I have to treat myself as if I'm diabetic regardless of the fact that I'm technically NOT. Oh well. Anybody else have any thoughts on this??

Hi, Julie.........yeah, I have a thought on that! Ya know, it's not a bad idea to think that way at all! For ANYONE! It's actually a good thing, and not depressing. It's a healthier way of life.

Since I found out I have diabetes in August, I have taken better care of myself than I ever have, I have more energy, and I am eating stuff I love, within the general guidelines of the IR diet. For instance last night for supper, I had a bunless hamburger with the fixings, and some broccoli and cheese sauce. I deliberately planned that meal, so I could have dessert, and I had a piece of a chocolate/Guiness stout bundt cake with bittersweet chocolate glaze (oh, sigh). And I checked my blood glucose two hours later, which is when it usually peaks, and it was 113, which is very good. I'm not really suffering in my new lifestyle!

Actually, if you are exercising, and watching your diet, and checking your glucose, you're pretty much behaving like you are diabetic anyway. So it's not such a bad thing.

Stick close to the doc and continue your monitoring. I get you will be able to keep from crossing that line into frank diabetes!

I'm going in to the doc tomorrow to ask about upping my glucophage to 1500...my fasting levels are averaging around 115, and while the doc likes that, I want to see if I can do better on more gluc.

Good luck!

nobimbo · 11-16-2003, 07:43 PM

Julie,

I notice you are taking a diuretic. Did you know that diuretics can worsen insulin resistance and raise blood glucose levels? I found this out recently (along with the fact that beta blockers can do the same thing, so I convinced my doc to let me change meds). If you do a search for "diuretics worsen insulin resistance" you will see tons of info about this. Here is one study about it:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Linda

Jazzmyn821 · 11-16-2003, 11:27 PM

Hey Julie! I'm diabetic and insulin dependent and normally when I wake up I am between 88-97. Why don't you have your dr run blood tests on you? I thought in august of 2002 that I was possibly diabetic but didn't say anything cause my grandpa was suffering from diabetes that was uncontrolled. He passes away in october and my fasting bg level was 394! I was on the verge of a diabetic coma and I've been on insulin ever since. You can never be too sure about IR/diabetes. Good luck.

Kittycat · 11-17-2003, 12:57 AM

I could be wrong, but 111 is very high for fasting blood sugar levels. Anything over 120 fasting is concisdered diabetic. Id say get it checked out.

Juliekaboolie · 11-17-2003, 03:31 PM

Thanks... I was thinking that too. Supposedly, 111 is considered in the 'pre-diabetic' range. My concern is that I have this level when I'm *ALREADY ON GLUCOPHAGE*! I'm going to give my endo a call and see if I can come in and be seen for this. Thanks again, guys...

sweeterthenmost · 11-19-2003, 12:48 PM

I just wanted to add my (and the Amercian Diabetes Associations ) 2 cents worth here and to quell some misinformation going around...

I noticed in this thread that there seems to be the idea that a home monitor reading of under 120 is prediabetic and over 120 is diabetes..this is simply not so.

According to the ADA the OGTT(Oral Glucose Tolerance Test), and fasting levels under 140 MAY indicate diabetes...levels from 120 to 140 may indicate pre-diabetes or what is commonly referred to as insulin resistance...

A level of 111 on a home monitor is not even in the levels of pre-diabetes (normal values for blood sugar levels are <120mg/dl)

Now, with that said, the information may be coming from the following; there is a test that can be done called a FPG (Fasting Plasma Glucose). If your levels on this test are above 120 then you are considered diabetic, 100-120 is considered pre-diabetes...but this is ONLY with the FPG test. This test can only be conducted at a qualified laboratory.

IN other words, the FPG and the OGTT, and the home monitoring tests are 3 completely diferent tests, with two completly different sets of values.

reference: www.diabetes.org

Juliekaboolie · 11-19-2003, 01:51 PM

Thanks for the info, Sweeter... I found it interesting. What I don't understand is why they have you test your fasting sugar on the home monitor at all then?? According to my endo, he wants to see my fasting sugar on the home monitor *below* 110. On a side note I'm about to confess something rather embarassing that I only found out last night. My sister is a nurse and she was over last night and wanted to see what her bloodsugar was (She is not diabetic... just curious and fooling around). She chastised me when she noticed my code was not matching my test strips... made a difference in my readings! My fasting sugar this morning was a respectable 101... MUCH better!

sweeterthenmost · 11-19-2003, 02:53 PM

lol julie thanks for the giggle for the day!

That happens more then alot of us are willing to admit I think!

As for you doctor, who can say why he so adamant about the 110 mark, perhaps you need to have a chat with him about it...he could very well be mistaken about what the true limits are as well..

StarMaiden · 11-19-2003, 07:27 PM

HOLD THE BUS!!!!

Wait........say that again! You mean, on my home monitor, that measures glucose in whole blood, if my fasting levels are now consistenly under 120, that I'm doing pretty good?

I hope that's what you just said! I was trying to get them down consistently under 110, and eventually consistently under 100, but you mean I'm doing better than I thought I was??!!!!

Thank you for the info, Sweeterthanmost!

nobimbo · 11-19-2003, 08:19 PM

Sweeter,

I went to diabetes.org, and I couldn't find any info about the differences in values for the home monitors vs plasma blood tests. I have read that the newer monitors give readings that are up to par with those done at the docs office (although older monitors had a 15% lower differential than the lab tests). Could you please post the section that discusses this. I did read through the home monitoring section and the lab tests section carefully and couldn't find any reference to what you were saying.

Thanks,
Linda

sweeterthenmost · 11-19-2003, 08:24 PM

click the section relating to pre-diabetes..