Blood glucose testing question

Cdona111

If there's a different place to ask this please point me in that direction. I thought there might be some people in this group with experience with home glucose testing.

I have not been diagnosed diabetic. My last fasting glucose and A1C were 90 and 5.2. However for 18 months I've been having episodes of rapid heartrate and we're trying to figure out what's causing it (scads of cardiac tests and all is fine). To that end I'm starting some home testing.

When I picked it up the pharmacist helped me do my first test. A little over an hour after a dinner of approx 65g carbs my reading was 163. The pharmacist said it seemed a little high. I've researched around a little bit but can't find anything definitive. If you're well versed in glucose readings what would you think of that reading?

RalfLott

First off, congratulations on having the insight and determination to start testing. You are doing yourself a tremendous favor! If you're inching toward diabetes, you will likely be able to catch it in time to keep it at bay.

Well.... Here are few half-baked thoughts. Others' may vary quite a bit....

I'm a T2D, and I watch my carbs very closely and take an insulin-sensitizing medication (Glucophage/Metformin). If I were to eat 65g of (net) carbs at once, it would be a shock to my pancreas and liver, and my BG would exceed 300+ within an hour.

That said, I have my meter set to record anything over 120 as "high," as that's the upper limit of what I'm happy with, though I'm not always able to keep it that low.

To me, a reading of 163 would be cause for further testing. However, it's always hard to know what to make of any isolated reading - there is such a wide range of individual differences that generalizing is dangerous.

The only way people can figure out how their BG reacts to different amounts and types of carbohydrate is to test systematically and frequently until they've got the patterns figured out.

I typically test 5-12x daily, and if I'm trying to identify a problem, I vary only one dietary element every few days, so that I can get several before and after readings instead of just one of each.

Times I check - Waking and before and 60 minutes after each meal (also at 90 and 120 minutes, if the 60-minute BG reading is over 120).

You might want to look through the resources collected in this sticky thread:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10482542/diabetic-discussions

Here's an article on testing:
https://chriskresser.com/how-to-prevent-diabetes-and-heart-disease-for-16

Good luck!

cstehansen

I was also diagnosed T2 nearly 18 months ago and am now in the pre-diabetic range. The article @RalfLott posted is the best place to start. That article is part of a 3 part series Chris Kresser did. The other two give a bit more detail on how to understand fasting blood glucose readings, post-prandial (after eating) readings and A1c.

Also, the resource on the main page that @RalfLott linked to is amazingly good. 10 years ago when my doctor first told me my BG was "higher than she liked but not pre-diabetic" I wish I had known what I know now. I was in that range for more than 8 years before it spiked up to diabetic.

There are also many other factors that can cause an elevated BG reading like the 163 you had such as stress, low levels of some micronutrients (like B vitamins, iodine, etc.) which could be temporary.

I also commend you on being proactive with testing now. I would recommend reading that article and testing using that approach for a couple weeks. If all is well, come back and test using that approach again in 6 months. If the results seem to indicate a potential problem, then use the experimentation route of trying to see if there are certain foods or activities or timing of either that seem to be negatively impacting the results.

Cdona111

Thank you for your thoughts and support!! I will read all of those

RalfLott

Keep us posted!

Cdona111

Thanks for the help. I tested a few times today. First thing was 91. Before dinner was 121 (I'd had some nuts a couple hours before).

1 hour after dinner (75g carbs and 18g protein) was 157. 2 hours after was 92. Going to go read those articles now!