Misdiagnosis and Insulin Resistance

karran12

Hey ladies,

I've been thinking about when I was diagnosed with PCOS (2013), and the blood work that the OBGYN sent me to get. She did have a non-fasting blood sugar test done, and she said I wasn't insulin resistant, and that was odd. I'm wondering, since I've recently heard that sometimes the numbers aren't accurate if not a fasting test...should I ask my doctor if I can take the test again?

It just doesn't seem right that I could work out 1-2 hrs 5 times a day, eating 1200-1400 calories, 90-110g carbs and only drop 8 lbs in 4 months. Does that sound normal for PCOS that isn't insulin resistant? What does insulin resistance look like?

Thanks for any info or advice you can provide

macchiatto

FWIW, my dr told me my insulin was normal, too, but I seem to have insulin resistance based on symptoms. I actually have a hard time losing weight unless I drop fairly low carb. This fall I struggled to lose at 100gm carbs but had much, much better luck when I switched to keto and started keeping carbs to 20-30 net. (My macros were 10%C, 65%F, 25%P.)

Dragonwolf

Blood sugar is actually a pretty crappy way to determine insulin resistance, in my opinion, because in the early stages, blood sugar can be normal (because the body is still able to keep it there). The more important number is the amount of insulin, itself. And yes, fasting for both tests is ideal. You can have hyperinsulinemia (too much insulin, an early sign of insulin resistance) and still have normal blood sugar.

That said, it can still be possible to have issues with weight loss without insulin resistance, though the IR usually goes hand in hand with the other problems (so if you don't have IR, but have one of the other hormonal issues, then you'll probably develop IR eventually). Namely, excess estrogen can impair weight loss, as can excess cortisol.

In all cases, what's too much for you may not be too much to show up on the test. For example, my insulin is often in the "normal" range, but I know that anything over about 15 units is too high and impairs weight loss. Likewise, the cortisol tests have, thus far, come back normal on paper, yet I can tell by how I feel when I find ways to lower it, that it's otherwise too high for me.