This does not seem right

Hi Palmy, it may or may not be correct. Sometimes our meters are really off by up to 20% higher or lower. Also, our body will naturally raise its blood sugar in order to give us energy to start off the day after a night of fasting while asleep. This is so we don't all have to deal with very low blood sugar before we eat breakfast.

So, since you didn't eat anything after the lab work, maybe the blood sugar rise was your body's natural response to not eating when you should have.

Everyone's body may have a different reaction though, so it's hard to say in your case. If you could compare your meter's reading to that of the lab, you would have a more accurate result but in any case, it really isn't that uncommon for a rise like that after fasting over night.

The doctor will use judgement based on the lab tests and normally after a few lab tests, not just one. In my own case, I had rising fasting for a number of years (and I never had a meter) and then finally she ordered a GTT (glucose tolerance test) which showed I cannot metabolize carbs. Too bad for me that she hadn't been more assertive years before when my blood sugar showed a rising trend but that's past history.

I don't know what your past lab work has been but if the blood sugar has been higher than what they consider normal, then that is a trend that should be addressed.

To tell the truth, I would hope that you could first try to control the blood sugar by diet and exercise since the readings that you posted are elevated and not critical. Of course, I'm not a doctor and I don't know your past tests. Changes in diet would mean cutting way down on carbs because they raise blood sugar and if you can't metabolize them efficiently, then you have to do something to bring the blood sugar lower. The other change would be sustained exercise like walking, biking, swimming, running for about 30 minutes a day which also helps control blood sugar to a point. Using this combination of diet and exercise would make a difference in blood sugar reading and also help you lose weight if you need to lose weight.

Here is a website where you will find lots of information about blood sugar: www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/. And please read the two stickies at the top of the Diabetes Forum for more information, too.

Also, be aware that some medication can affect blood sugar, like steroids in shots or pills. In that case, the change in diet will help but also sometimes diabetes medication is prescribed.

Do you have any family members with diabetes?

Hi again, Linda. My mom and grandmother were also diabetic as are my brother and sister. We all have had problems with being heavy at various times in life except for my brother.

The blood sugar results you wrote (119, 158, 111 and 147) show that you are probably insulin resistant. A non-diabetic's blood sugar always averages in the 80's and taken at random throughout the day, it would still be in the 80's, whereas mine will bounce around depending on what I eat or don't eat.

Food has a tremendous effect on me (and probably your husband and you). Keeping a food diary is an excellent way to show this. Write down what you eat and drink for a few days, all day, for every meal and in between and record what the blood sugar is right before you start eating and then two hours after you finish. This will show you how the food you eat affects your blood sugar.

Metformin helps the body use the carbs that are taken in but it's not a miracle drug in that it will lower the blood sugar. It doesn't lower the blood sugar; it only helps the body metabolize it.

If any of your siblings are heavy, I would bet some of them have blood sugar problems, too, but I've found that some people want to kill the messenger when a discussion of this sort comes up, so... The best thing you can do is take care of you. Please read through that website I posted above, and if you would like a book that has complete information about blood sugar and diabetes, you can buy Diabetes Solution by Richard Bernstein, M.D. Besides describing the condition, medication, and treatments, he also suggests a low-carb eating plan and has food lists, recipes and menus. In the beginning of my own journey, I was very strict with carbs and I brought my blood sugar down to absolute normal (average in the 80's) and I exercised a lot but it really was hard to keep up through the years. I'm on Metformin now and still eat very low carb and have been able to stabilize my blood sugar.

Yep ,good stuff ,all of it true! Lab person who took your blood most likely not one running the test. I run the tests and all info above valid...

30 yr. testing tech.

My A1C was 5.9. My Dr. was okay with that but wants me to watch the carbs and sugar. The carbs are my downfall but I guess I will have to look for alternatves. Thanks everyone for your help.

Wishing all of you a Merry Chrisnmas. Linda