Could I have diabetes ?

[Sheryl]

You can buy a home glucose test kit and check it yourself. Most poharmacies will nto only sell them but teach you how to do it.

 

Next labs, do nto go for a FBS, get an HB1Ac as this tells your situation over time. Random mild spikes in  FBS do nto necessarily mean much, even mild stress will make the difference between and FBS of 100 and 125. If tetsing your BS yourself puts you off, an Hb1AC every couple of months is a fien alternative for someone in your blood sugar range.

 

Actually any FBS between 100 - 125 is considered "prediabetes" (not too long ago would have been considered normal). No treatment other than diet, exercise and monitoring at this point.

 

Your tricylerides and HDL are very good, and your LDL elevation (I assume that is 140 and the last digit not showing) is only "borderline high" .

 

Ignore the total choleseterol, what matters are the HDL and LDL - and the HDL/total cholesterol level which in your case is 3.5 and actually better than on any of your prior tests. 3.5 or less is the desired range.

 

So in fact your lipid panel is overall improved over prior readings despite the rise in the LDL.

 

You might like to consult a specialist in lipid disorders to get all this explained and interpreted properly. Your average Thai internist is, frankly, decades behind the times in understanding of lipid metabolism, and the automaticaly generated "high" and "low" read outs by themselves can be misleading. Lipid metabolism is complex and the more we learn about it, the more complex it turns out to be (for example, there are in fact 2 kinds of LDL, only one of which is associated with increased risk).

[tropo]

40 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

 

Thanks tropo 

 

The first blood test was taken in a hospital well being package and it seems not to have included FBS .

 

I now realize I made a mistake in not having more frequent blood tests ,  just thinking that if I stick to my diet and daily exercise routine then the blood test numbers will only get better 

 

 

I think Sheryl mentioned the HbA1c test but I forgot about asking for it with today's blood test.

 

I'm not sure where I'm going wrong in relation to my diet and daily exercise routine , ive eliminated nearly every thing that's been recommended to improve cholesterol levels .

Where you say - If your HbA1c and regular daily readings are getting up towards the 125 mark, you need to see how you respond to food, so testing yourself after meals is important .

 

I'm not sure what you mean by regular daily readings , and testing your self after meals . How would I be able to get daily readings , other than driving to the Test Lab ( 140 km round trip ) . 

 

Ive checked many articles on the internet and its head spinning looking at so many different points of view .  

 

 

 

We are both in the twilight zone, stuck between normal and diabetes. Some call this prediabetes, other's prefer to call it "insulin resistance" or "impaired fasting glucose", which take away the stigma of diabetes and it looks better for health insurance purposes.  I think the label "prediabetes" is better in that people will take that more seriously than "insulin resistance" or "impaired fasting glucose", and try to do something about it. This is not a bad place to be actually. People in this zone can handle the problem with diet and exercise, without resorting to medication.

 

FBS, as you can see from my random readings, can fluctuate quite a bit. I take my own daily readings with my own personal glucometer, which can be purchased from any decent pharmacy.

 

Although I haven't found the mechanism and I haven't seen it discussed, I had FBS readings above 250 mg/dl when I had liver cholestasis about 12 years ago... so there are other factors which can influence FBS. After that, it came back down to the regular 100 - 110 zone where it has stayed ever since. 

[Once Bitten]

56 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

You can buy a home glucose test kit and check it yourself. Most poharmacies will nto only sell them but teach you how to do it.

 

Next labs, do nto go for a FBS, get an HB1Ac as this tells your situation over time. Random mild spikes in  FBS do nto necessarily mean much, even mild stress will make the difference between and FBS of 100 and 125. If tetsing your BS yourself puts you off, an Hb1AC every couple of months is a fien alternative for someone in your blood sugar range.

 

Actually any FBS between 100 - 125 is considered "prediabetes" (not too long ago would have been considered normal). No treatment other than diet, exercise and monitoring at this point.

 

Your tricylerides and HDL are very good, and your LDL elevation (I assume that is 140 and the last digit not showing) is only "borderline high" .

 

Ignore the total choleseterol, what matters are the HDL and LDL - and the HDL/total cholesterol level which in your case is 3.5 and actually better than on any of your prior tests. 3.5 or less is the desired range.

 

So in fact your lipid panel is overall improved over prior readings despite the rise in the LDL.

 

You might like to consult a specialist in lipid disorders to get all this explained and interpreted properly. Your average Thai internist is, frankly, decades behind the times in understanding of lipid metabolism, and the automaticaly generated "high" and "low" read outs by themselves can be misleading. Lipid metabolism is complex and the more we learn about it, the more complex it turns out to be (for example, there are in fact 2 kinds of LDL, only one of which is associated with increased risk).

Thanks Sheryl

 

 

On my next blood test I'm certainly getting the Hb1AC done .

 

A few thoughts – As far as I can tell looking at home some Glucose / Cholesterol testing kits they  will only give you the readings for 

1. Hemoglobin
2. Glucose
3. Cholesterol 

I can't see on these home test kits any references to HDL and LDL numbers .

 

So that means the important information ( HDL and LDL and Hb1AC  numbers are missing so the home testing kits only supply you with the basic information ( Glucose / Cholesterol ) .

 

I'm not sure how having the Hemoglobin information would be of practical use.  

 

You say -

Ignore the total choleseterol, what matters are the HDL and LDL - and the HDL/total cholesterol level which in your case is 3.5 and actually better than on any of your prior tests. 3.5 or less is the desired range. 

 

 

Can you please tell me how you arrived at the figure 3.5 

 

I'm certainly interested in learning more about lipid disorders and I think you have in the past brought up the subject of Metabolic Syndrome , which I think may have some thing to do with my present situation .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Once Bitten]

58 minutes ago, tropo said:

We are both in the twilight zone, stuck between normal and diabetes. Some call this prediabetes, other's prefer to call it "insulin resistance" or "impaired fasting glucose", which take away the stigma of diabetes and it looks better for health insurance purposes.  I think the label "prediabetes" is better in that people will take that more seriously than "insulin resistance" or "impaired fasting glucose", and try to do something about it. This is not a bad place to be actually. People in this zone can handle the problem with diet and exercise, without resorting to medication.

 

FBS, as you can see from my random readings, can fluctuate quite a bit. I take my own daily readings with my own personal glucometer, which can be purchased from any decent pharmacy.

 

Although I haven't found the mechanism and I haven't seen it discussed, I had FBS readings above 250 mg/dl when I had liver cholestasis about 12 years ago... so there are other factors which can influence FBS. After that, it came back down to the regular 100 - 110 zone where it has stayed ever since. 

I would be interested to learn if you are  exercising and what sort of diet you are on .

[tropo]

34 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

I would be interested to learn if you are  exercising and what sort of diet you are on .

I'm a bit slack on diet in that I don't really limit carbs like I should, but apart from that, I have a fairly clean diet. I do test regularly, so if I see it go up a bit I make a bigger effort. I've been testing myself for about 12 years. I don't know when my blood sugar levels started deteriorating as I had no tests before that. When I found out I was much higher than you are. You're finding out at the very beginning when your levels are just a fraction above normal.

 

I exercise quite a bit, averaging about 5 days a week, cardio and weights, but I hit both quite hard. As long as I exercise a lot, I can handle the carbs. I test this out i.e. take bg readings 1 and 2 hours after meals. Not all meals, but only meals I suspect may run me a bit high.

[tropo]

2 hours ago, Once Bitten said:

 

Thanks tropo 

 

The first blood test was taken in a hospital well being package and it seems not to have included FBS .

3

You did have an FBS reading in September 2016. You posted it above around about Apil - 106 mg/dl

 

This might help you understand the ratios that Sheryl mentioned. Here's an example from an old lab report.

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by tropo

[Sheryl]

I was referring only to home glocometerd. They measure only blood sugar. I doubt you can even gind hoglobin/cholesterol home tests here anf they have mo real utility.

Home tests of FBS are optional for you at this stage. You could just fo Hb1ac every few months.

The ratio I referred to is the total cholesterol divided by the HDL.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lopburi3]

Have found local sourced meters/strips for testing blood sugar levels rather high priced and mostly older models needing too much blood.  Ordered below from AliExpress for wife and she is very happy with it as very little blood required and lancent works without pain.  Only issue is readings will be mmol/l (as in Europe) - but very easy to convert to normal mg/dl used here with chart or math.  At $16.95 believe an excellent set.  Readings appear to be very consistent.  

 

[Once Bitten]

13 hours ago, tropo said:

I'm a bit slack on diet in that I don't really limit carbs like I should, but apart from that, I have a fairly clean diet. I do test regularly, so if I see it go up a bit I make a bigger effort. I've been testing myself for about 12 years. I don't know when my blood sugar levels started deteriorating as I had no tests before that. When I found out I was much higher than you are. You're finding out at the very beginning when your levels are just a fraction above normal.

 

I exercise quite a bit, averaging about 5 days a week, cardio and weights, but I hit both quite hard. As long as I exercise a lot, I can handle the carbs. I test this out i.e. take bg readings 1 and 2 hours after meals. Not all meals, but only meals I suspect may run me a bit high.

Thanks for that . Can you tell by just the way you are generally feeling if your blood sugar levels need to be checked ? . As some times I get the feeling that my over all '' power '' seems to be down . I tell my wife that my battery is running low 

[Once Bitten]

3 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Have found local sourced meters/strips for testing blood sugar levels rather high priced and mostly older models needing too much blood.  Ordered below from AliExpress for wife and she is very happy with it as very little blood required and lancent works without pain.  Only issue is readings will be mmol/l (as in Europe) - but very easy to convert to normal mg/dl used here with chart or math.  At $16.95 believe an excellent set.  Readings appear to be very consistent.  

 

Thanks for the information 

 

The part I like the sound of is... the lancet works without pain 

 

Ive found what appears to be the same Exactive Vital Blood Glucose Meter on Lazadz but its a bit confusing trying to work out which deal would be the better one . One deal is priced at 711 Baht but I'm not sure what you actually get with that deal  . 

 

The Lazada deals are here.......

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?scs=0&q=Exactive Vital&sc=IXwa

 

One question would be , how often do you have to take a reading  and when . Taking  into consideration that the test strips seem to be expensive.

 

 

 

 

[Once Bitten]

5 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I was referring only to home glocometerd. They measure only blood sugar. I doubt you can even gind hoglobin/cholesterol home tests here anf they have mo real utility.

Home tests of FBS are optional for you at this stage. You could just fo Hb1ac every few months.

The ratio I referred to is the total cholesterol divided by the HDL.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Thanks 

The Hb1ac every few months sounds easy to do and not expensive ( I currently pay 450 Baht per blood test at a private Lab ) I'm wondering if using a home Blood Glucose Meter would be of any real benefit at my current stage , especially as it seems that the test strips can work out to be expensive . And if the home home Blood Glucose Meter did show a spike in a reading would it then indicate that I had to rush out and get a new Lab blood test right away.

 

[Sheryl]

No, home measurement for you at this stage is quite optional. If you get Hb2ac regularly that is fine for now.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, Once Bitten said:

Thanks for the information 

 

The part I like the sound of is... the lancet works without pain 

 

Ive found what appears to be the same Exactive Vital Blood Glucose Meter on Lazadz but its a bit confusing trying to work out which deal would be the better one . One deal is priced at 711 Baht but I'm not sure what you actually get with that deal  . 

 

The Lazada deals are here.......

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/catalog/?scs=0&q=Exactive Vital&sc=IXwa

 

One question would be , how often do you have to take a reading  and when . Taking  into consideration that the test strips seem to be expensive.

 

 

 

 

That appears to only be the meter and 10 test strips for 711 baht rather than the complete kit I posted.  Indeed the price of strips is high if bought locally.  50 strips for this is $12.39 on AliExpress.  I can not post link as makes page large but simple search for "glucose meter" should show on first page with price 12.39 - 16.95 key as the sell a lot (657 orders).   Testing is when you want just as a check unless you have to use insulin to control; and then it becomes often.

 

[tropo]

7 hours ago, Once Bitten said:

Thanks for that . Can you tell by just the way you are generally feeling if your blood sugar levels need to be checked ? . As some times I get the feeling that my over all '' power '' seems to be down . I tell my wife that my battery is running low 

No, I wouldn't have a clue from how I feel if it is a bit high. I say "a bit", because anything between 100 - 126 is not high and won't be noticed. If it's over 180mg/dl, you'll start getting more thirsty and urinate more frequently. That's when your body starts to eliminate excess glucose via urine.

[tropo]

11 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Have found local sourced meters/strips for testing blood sugar levels rather high priced and mostly older models needing too much blood.  Ordered below from AliExpress for wife and she is very happy with it as very little blood required and lancent works without pain.  Only issue is readings will be mmol/l (as in Europe) - but very easy to convert to normal mg/dl used here with chart or math.  At $16.95 believe an excellent set.  Readings appear to be very consistent.  

   

 

3

I've used many different lancets over the years and never had a problem with pain. The trick is to find an area where the skin is soft (sides of the fingers), use sharp needles (change often) with a low spring setting. They usually have settings 1 - 5.  If I need a bit more blood to fill up the strip I squeeze after piercing, but I've never noticed any difference in how much blood is needed for the strip.