No one will listen esp Dr.

[Kosmo29]

Hi guys, sorry need to vent for a sec. Monday I have a 2 month follow-up to see if my Zocor is lowering my cholesterol. I called and asked my Dr. if they could do a fasting blood glucose test too, since I will be fasting. He is out of town and they said they have one for Dec. so let's just do it then. I haven't had a fasting in over two years, and both my parents now have type 2 diabetes! I would use a parents testing stuff but they say you don't have it and think I am crazy. My wife thinks so too. :) My last two fasting BS I have had done were over 105, which my doc says is "normal." What can I do?!?!?

[foxl]

Buy a cheap meter -- drugstore brand, or WalMart. WalMart also has mail-in A1c's for 9 bucks!

If you buy a meter, be aware that they can vary up to 20%, by the way. The A1c's are pretty accurate, compared with MD testing, from what people here have done.

[princesslinda]

I think it might be better to have an A1C rather than a fasting. Since post-meal #s are generally the first to show signs of problems, fasting #s may be fine. An A1C would give the 90 day average.

[DannyK]

I don't quite understand why both of your T2 parents think you are crazy, and just "brush off" your concern...:confused:

Go to Wal-Mart, and buy a Reli-On meter and a box of strips (no Rx. needed)...... You then will have your own source of testing, and your parents or wife will no longer be involved.

They also have an A1c test there. All of these things can be purchased for less than $50..

[Kosmo29]

They think I am borrowing trouble, and am just paranoid. I am only 29 and they are 50 and 59. I am on cholesterol meds at 29 and am already pre-diabetic according to the #'s, not according to my dr. They say just stop drinking pop and eat less carbs and you will be fine.

[jps]

"They say just stop drinking pop and eat less carbs and you will be fine."

Pop? Well, we know you are east of the Mississippi River :)

They may well be right with what they are saying regarding carbs/soda. But you are not crazy in the slightest for wanting to test. You obviously have a family history of it and previous tests that show cause for concern.

I can't believe they won't let you do a fast on their meter. Any friends with T2? Seems like everybody knows at least a handful of people with T2.

With your previous fast results that you posted, you'd probably be wise just to buy the meter and a box of strips and check it periodically, but I wouldn't get obsessive about it either.

You're not being crazy. You are wise in trying to figure this thing out before it gives you a right hand cross.

[Jonathan_R]

For me, it was the reverse. I saw my wife exhibiting some of the same symptoms as what I went through, and tested her with my stuff. She did test high. I reported it to her doctor, and we decided to get some more numbers. Once we had more numbers, when we saw the doctor, he diagnosed my wife as pre-diabetic and gave her her own meter and put her on actos.

Now then, in regards to you. I always say be proactive. Right now, your operating out of fear. Get the numbers to either confirm what you fear, so you can show that to your doctor, or the numbers will show you that for now, you don't need to fear.

I do think lowering the carbs in your diet is wise. Cutting out the soda/pop and other things like that. If your drinking pop/soda, then you probably also eat donuts, cake, candy bars and so on. This can not only raise the blood sugar in a normal person, but causes the pancreas to work harder and produce insulin. This is what causes the crash afterwards. Type 2 is insulin resistance, which is partly genetic, but also diet. You can't control your genes, but you can control your diet.

Let me ask you this. What good would a meter and A1C do for you? Show that you have high numbers? Great, so then what? Medicine? What good is medicine if you won't change your eating habits? You might even be able to control it by what you eat. If you are one of those, you are very lucky.

So 2 things you can do right now. Change the way you eat. Eat smarter and healthier. Limit the carbs. The second thing is monitor your blood sugars, as the others have suggested.

[Larry H.]

Many doctors are reluctant to find a fasting in that range as a problem. I know the ones I see certainly don't. Even when I get some fairly good readings after eating it seems to go right over their heads.

Do you have any hospitals in the area that do "Health Fairs". When I had no insurance , before medicare, I used to go to those. They often do a compete blood work up in the range of 25 to 35 dollars around here. We have two hospitals in small towns that do them. Another source might be to call the local health department. Again ours for our county offers testing weekly for AC1 as well as Cholesterol, at about 15.00 a test.

Your fortunate to have at least been aware of the issue early. If you read the thread I started about the progression to type II you will see that some of us, by catching the problem early and doing something positive about it, have been able to reduce or numbers and at the least, slow the situation down.

It wasn't till after I had my old Doctor Retire and a new young one come in that I was told I might have a problem, and at that point the Hospital testing was at 128 fasting. He said type II. I have rarely seen that number again as I quickly got motivated to keep it down. Probably only a few times after that did a morning reading come in over that and with home meters it a hard call as to where your at for sure anyway. A few points seem to make a big difference in the way people call it here. What I did see later though, is that in the test I had done before that one I had a slow but sure raising of that fasting number. I could have caught it about the point your at three years earlier, but my doctors like yours didn't think it an issue. In fact they mostly still don't. The doctor that did went on to specialist training for diabetes.. Now the old doctor is left with a number of people that have been told they have a problem and he doesn't really think so.

[yannah]

okay, I had BS done at a health fair and my random was 176
which according to them was okay.

my fastings were 100 and 108 that year.

and yeap I had diabetes, but I didn't get a diagnosis till months later when my random was in the 300's and my AC was 10.5 - so my advice on these questions is do a GTT.
you can find a DR who will do one. trust me.

if I had it all to do over again and I knew what I do now.....

any fasting 100 or over is not okay.

[yannah]

I think I am sick of doctors.

whats he afraid of, you don't have Diabetes?

if all that happens is peace of mind then YAY1!

either way, everybody wins.