Blood Glucose = 125 after 12 hour fast? page

[Oxboy]

Sorry, I'm sure this has been addressed and I did a forum search but didn't find exactly the same scenario:

I'm 41 male and have about 30 lbs of fat to lose. Blood glucose testing all my life had always been 85-95 through fat and thin.

Went primal 6 weeks ago and have lost 6 or 7 lbs so it's working and I feel great.

Had a blood draw after 12 hour fast the other day and BG was 125. Actually felt a little lightheaded during the draw, which was a first for me ever giving blood.

Not really alarmed but just curious what's happening with the 125 level. Is this the fat stores releasing into my blood from going primal and making the reading high? Is it less insulin in my blood? Since I was feeling a little woozy, did my muscles/liver/fat dump emergency extra glucose into my blood and spike the readings?

Thanks for any insight.

[Lily Marie]

If you have access to a meter, check your morning(12 hour) fast level, then 1 hour after eating, 2 hours after eating and 3 hours after eating.

The numbers should be

Fasting 85 or less
1hr post meal is less than 140
2 hours post meal is less than 125
3 hours post meal is back to fasting level

If you have dawn phenomenon(sp?) your morning fasting number may be higher than the "normal" 85< - BUT, your 3 hour post meal number should be 85 or less, not the elevated morning number.

If any of your numbers are higher than the ranges - then you have an insulin problem and your body is not handling the sugars it's igesting properly.

Blood test meters are pretty cheap and can be purchased online or at places like walmart and such.

A single high test from the doctor may be a fluke, but if it's a regular thing and not dawn phenomenon, it may be a problem.

[Moochy]

When was your prior glucose test? 95 is getting close to around 100+ where you start to enter the pre diabetes area. Your 125 indicates you may just have entered the level for type II diabetes. Sumpin is going on.

[Lily Marie]

Yeah, that diabetes stuff you get on the internet of "Less than 100 is fine" for fasting is complete crap. That's only if you're actively functioning as a diabetic. It's very important to strive for "NORMAL" levels, not diabetic levels.

Stupid, money hungry, diabetes association - bastards.

[Oxboy]

When was your prior glucose test? 95 is getting close to around 100+ where you start to enter the pre diabetes area. Your 125 indicates you may just have entered the level for type II diabetes. Sumpin is going on.

Tested 84 back in April.

Triglycerides are coming down since then (from 200 to 115)
HDL going up (from 40 to 53)

I should mention my daily carbs have been around 50-75g.

[Lily Marie]

You can't tell how well your blood sugar is doing by a test every few months. I can screw around and have 170 blood sugar 90% of that time and knock it back down to 84 before going into get my blood checked. It only takes a few days.

The fasting number would show that I'm fine - but my HG1C would be REALLY BAD. That test shows your 3 month average. It's also not accurate, because it depends on how long your blood cells live. Short lived blood cells can't collect as much sugar on them as ones that have been around longer. The best way is to test your levels for a couple of weeks and see how you're running.

[Oxboy]

Whoops, one thing I forgot to mention was I was severely dehydrated at the time of the blood draw. I (dumbly) didn't drink water during the fast. Some web searching revealed this can spike blood sugar concentrations (or rather, the lack of liquid in the blood makes the concentrations higher).

[emmie]

What was this test for? Were you seeing a doctor? If so, I'd check with the doctor about the possible meaning of that 125 rather than trying to assess the situation for yourself.

That 125 puts you into the diabetic range, BUT the fasting number is the least reliable indicator. A good doctor would order some follow-up testing. You should get the A1C that gives a 3-month average of your blood glucose levels and is a better indicator of problems than the fasting number.

There are all sorts of reasons for a single reading that may NOT be an indicator of your health--including lab error, which, according to one of my doctors, is rampant. He told me that he never made a conclusive diagnosis without getting a similar result on a second test.

My advice is that you follow up with your doctor.