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Help with fasting glucose numbers

Posted on 3/12/22 at 5:00 pm
Posted by MissTiger91
Behind enemy lines in Mississippi
Member since Oct 2010
662 posts
Posted on 3/12/22 at 5:00 pm
I just had my semi-annual blood work done and my fasting glucose increased from 105 to 110. In these 6 months I have lost 30 pounds and now exercise at least 5 days a week. I follow the Mediterranean diet and don’t eat any refined carbs, no alcohol, etc. I don’t eat red meat and pretty much fill my plate with fruit, veggies and whole grains. Recently I’ve increased my protein so I’m not hungry, but it’s only about 100 g/day. My doc is out of town for the week so I can’t get an answer from her yet, but what could cause the increase in the glucose number when I’ve made such good progress turning things around??
Posted by LSUA 75
Colfax,La.
Member since Jan 2019
4930 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 12:55 am to
What’s your A1c
Posted by Mo Jeaux
Member since Aug 2008
63574 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 7:18 am to
quote:

I don’t eat red meat and pretty much fill my plate with fruit, veggies and whole grains.


I'd try reversing this some.
Posted by MissTiger91
Behind enemy lines in Mississippi
Member since Oct 2010
662 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 9:07 am to
What’s your A1c

I don’t know, they just did the basic fasting glucose test as part of the standard lipid panel.
Posted by REG861
Ocelot, Iowa
Member since Oct 2011
38155 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 10:01 am to
quote:

don’t eat red meat and pretty much fill my plate with fruit, veggies and whole grains. R


Carbs even complex ones and fruit are ultimately processed as glucose. That’s why.
Posted by BigPapiDoesItAgain
Amérique du Nord
Member since Nov 2009
3471 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 2:35 pm to
How was your sleep the night before, how early did you have the lab done? What's been going on in your life the few days preceding the test - stressful, difficult or all good?

Fasting glucose alone doesn't necessarily give one a ton of information, and hemoglobin A1c can be less than reliable under some circumstances (conditions you may or may not have) related to red blood cell life span. I don't know that I would really read a whole lot into one isolated result, but it would help to know your sex, age, height and weight.

If you're mostly doing cardio for your exercise and do not have enough lean muscle mass, you're going to potentially have a problem with metabolizing glucose and/or insulin resistance. There are other factors that go into that, but the sarcopenia that comes with aging and/or not enough resistance training exercise is a big part of the equation particularly in individuals who are overweight (you may or may not be, and I see you have lost some weight). Important context would be what your lipid profile looks like as well as if you have any other indicators suggestive of metabolic syndrome (waist > 40" in male, > 35" in female, Triglycerides > 150, HDL < 40 or BP > 130 systolic or > 85 diastolic. Fifth criteria is FBS >100 which you show on your latest set of labs. Three out of five buys this diagnosis.

Result of your fasting lipids and liver transaminase levels would be good to know and as important as focusing on a one time elevated fasting glucose.
Posted by Big Scrub TX
Member since Dec 2013
39833 posts
Posted on 3/13/22 at 10:23 pm to
quote:

I just had my semi-annual blood work done and my fasting glucose increased from 105 to 110.
One thing you should realize is how volatile these blood metrics can be from take to take. You could literally take it tomorrow and it could be 65 or 150. That is to say, don't put TOO much value on one reading like this.

quote:

I don’t eat red meat and pretty much fill my plate with fruit, veggies and whole grains.
If that's true, then I wouldn't really have the expectation of lowering fasting glucose. You can also up your protein even more.

Also, I would get a fasting insulin test done. IMO, it's way more relevant for what I think you actually care about here: your diabetes risk.
Posted by MissTiger91
Behind enemy lines in Mississippi
Member since Oct 2010
662 posts
Posted on 3/14/22 at 8:59 am to
quote:

Also, I would get a fasting insulin test done. IMO, it's way more relevant for what I think you actually care about here: your diabetes risk.


Is this the A1C? If it's more accurate, why isn't it routinely done in place of the fasting glucose test? I am the only one in my immediate family that doesn't have diabetes or prediabetes. That's the impetus for the health turn-around, I don't want to have it.
Posted by MissTiger91
Behind enemy lines in Mississippi
Member since Oct 2010
662 posts
Posted on 3/14/22 at 9:07 am to
Thanks for the info and help on this.

quote:

How was your sleep the night before, how early did you have the lab done? What's been going on in your life the few days preceding the test - stressful, difficult or all good?


Good restful sleep, no abnormal stress in my life.

quote:

If you're mostly doing cardio for your exercise and do not have enough lean muscle mass


I do 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of strength training 5 days a week.

quote:

Important context would be what your lipid profile looks like as well as if you have any other indicators suggestive of metabolic syndrome


I'm female, 52, postmenopausal, 5'6" and obese by the BMI chart (no way I'm gonna put my actual weight on here )
Triglycerides: 142
Cholesterol: 161
HDL: 34
Ratio: 4.7
LDL: 99
BP: 109/73
Waist: 38"
Posted by BigPapiDoesItAgain
Amérique du Nord
Member since Nov 2009
3471 posts
Posted on 3/14/22 at 9:52 am to
quote:

I'm female, 52, postmenopausal, 5'6" and obese by the BMI chart (no way I'm gonna put my actual weight on here )
Triglycerides: 142
Cholesterol: 161
HDL: 34
Ratio: 4.7
LDL: 99
BP: 109/73
Waist: 38"



A number of risk factors for CAD there. I would suggest asking your doctor about metabolic syndrome and have her explain to you what it is and why it is important.

I would also consider asking about further investigation on the matter of the fasting glucose in the context of the other lab values you have posted here in a conversation with your doctor. I don't love hemoglobin A1C by itself, but it is mostly standard these days for diabetes diagnosis. Oral glucose tolerance with dual serum glucose and insulin curves is best, but you or your doctor may not have access to that test and it is time consuming.

These are important matters that I'm hesitant to elaborate further on in this arena, but hope that your doctor is able to provide you ample time to discuss these results.
Posted by Big Scrub TX
Member since Dec 2013
39833 posts
Posted on 3/14/22 at 11:23 am to
quote:


Is this the A1C? If it's more accurate, why isn't it routinely done in place of the fasting glucose test? I am the only one in my immediate family that doesn't have diabetes or prediabetes. That's the impetus for the health turn-around, I don't want to have it.
No. Fasting insulin is more of a proxy test for hyper-insulimia (what some might more casually call "insulin resistance".) If your fasted insulin is really high, that can be a very bad marker for (pre)diabetes. And on the other side, it's possible to have an A1C score that, in a vacuum might seem borderline/high, but when viewed over time and/or in conjunction with fasting insulin, might just be that you have a higher baseline.

You can also get some CV inflammation tests done: CRP, LP-PLA2 (although I think this one has somewhat fallen out of favor) and homocysteine. CV inflammation is a pretty common comorbidity of diabetes.

In any event, glad to hear you are aware of your family's situation and taking pro-active steps to protect yourself. It's amazing the extent to which the SAD would almost certainly tip you into diabetes - and then we act confused about what causes it! Good luck!
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