I am going to an endocrinologist for my consultation next Wednesday and her office is 1 & 1/2 hours away from me. I was referred by my primary doctor who put me on metformin without doing an insulin resistance test. He based his assessment on my symptoms and my elevated testosterone.
Anyway, I took myself off the metformin so that I can be tested for an insulin resistance (IR) because I'm hoping that the endo will run all the tests needed on the day of my consultation (I don't want to drive a total of 3 hours just to hear her say, "yeah, you might have PCOS...come back later for some tests after the metformin is out of your system and after you've fasted.")
So, I am wondering if anyone knows if I need to fast before an Insulin Resistance test and for how long and what do I need to fast from (food, drinks, etc)? I know the endo can't advise me to fast if I haven't even seen her yet, but I figured if I could just fast on my own and ask her to run the tests once I'm in her office, maybe I can lessen the amount of trips I'll have to take later on to see her. If it turns out that I fasted for no reason because she won't test that day, oh well! I'll just go out for a big steak that night, but if she is willing to that day it would be nice to be ready for it.
I hope all that made sense...and sorry for the long post!!! I would really appreciate any advice anyone can offer as to what I should do to prepare.
I am going to see an Endocrinologist next Wednesday. Judging from the fact that I had to wait a month to get an appointment, the information on insulin resistance testing will be really useful.
I don't blame you. Now I schedule all of my doctor's appointments in the morning so I can fast the night before.
You may also want to alert your doctor to the fact that you have recently taken yourself off of Met since it may have decreased your insulin levels...I'd just be worried about you receiving a "normal" result only because you were being medicated.
Everything I've read says that you should fast before doing any tests that check metabolic processes or lipid panels (glucose, cholesterol...).
I found this from LabCorp's website regarding tests for insulin:
"Patient Preparation
Patient should be fasting for 12-14 hours and on a stable diet for 2 weeks prior to blood collection."
This is a great question! I have a new patient meeting with an endocrinologist in two weeks, and I called to ask how I should prepare---like you, it's a hassle to get out there, and I'd prefer not to take any MORE time off work.
The person I spoke with advised me that I'd need to fast for 4 hours before the testing (if there would be a testing, etc, etc). That seemed like a very short fast to me----can anyone else weigh in on this???
__________________ Kt (27!) dx: PCOS - July 2007, IR/Pre-diabetic - September 2007, IBS/Hiatal Hernia - June 2008, GERD/Barrett's Esophagus - July 2008 Currently on: Yaz, Met 2x1000mg/day, Activia yogurt+Prilosec OTC 1x/day Not TTC, no DH, just me! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Of course the game is rigged. Don't let that stop you--if you don't play, you can't win.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Thank you all for the information. I ended up calling and asking one of the women who worked at the front desk (I'm assuming since she answered the phone!) and she said it's only a consultation and the doctor won't be testing me. HOWEVER, I have waited long enough to try and figure out what has been wrong with my body, so I'm fasting anyway and I'll see if I can convince her to test me. We'll see how persuasive I am, but either way, it's worth a shot.
I began fasting a few hours ago and my endo. appt. is tomorrow so I will have fasted for well over 12 hours when I go in for it. Thank you so much for giving me an idea of how long I needed to fast for! I really appreciate your help and I'll let you all know how it went!
I went for my appointment yesterday and the doc didn't test anything. She told me to get the bloodwork done again and then email her. :S. She included the insulin-glucose test just because I asked her too. Grrrrrrr.......
Buggy- I'm sorry your dr wasn't very helpful. Are you happy with her or would you consider finding another one?
Well, I went in last Wed and have been too busy to write, sorry! But, the 1 & 1/2 hour drive to my endo's office was WELL worth it.
As it turns out, I told her I was already fasting because I read that she may want to do a Glucose test on me and she was impressed that I was so proactive in trying to get this figured out. She sent me to have the fasting glucose, my thyroid, a more elaborate hormone/testosterone, and a few more blood tests done that day so I was so happy I had just gone ahead and fasted in preparation. HOWEVER, I fasted for TOO long (18 hours) and the lab said you only should fast 8-12 hours...no more, no less. haha. Go figure! I had fast again that night and then go to a lab in my local area the next morning. They took a total of 6 vials of blood, but I honestly couldn't tell you all the tests she ran.
Anyway, my doctor was very nice and supportive, knew a lot about PCOS, was very thorough, had a wealth of information, and was very proactive about getting me all the tests and meds needed. Her office was out in the middle of nowhere (hence the 1 & 1/2 hour drive) and I loved that because she wasn't as busy so she had a lot of time to talk with me. Even if she had been busy, I got the feeling from her that she would take as long as needed to answer any questions and be as thorough as possible.
She had me start back on the Met as soon as I got done with the fasting glucose test and she upped it to a total of 1000mg a day. She knows that my DH and I want to conceive and have been trying for 7 months now, so she felt ok putting me on it without a definitive dx.
I go back to learn the results of my labs on the 16th, but she also mentioned it could be Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia or something like that...anyone else have their doctor say that at first? I looked it up and while I have some signs and symptoms, I don't have most. I have most of PCOS, so I'm not too sure.
Alright, this is officially a book, but I just wanted to update this in case anyone was following this post.
Keep me posted on the outcome of your visits Buggykong. Thanks for all the advice ladies.
Help- Preparing for IR test... 
