Home glucose tolerance test

To get plasma values, multiply the result of the Relion meter by 1.12.
However, there's a 5% plus or minus accuracy.

http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/risk.htm gives you the numbers that
the people on alt.support.diabetes consider to be normal and the best
control targets for someone with diabetes. It also discusses how to test.

The numbers you have are out of date. They are the 1997 ADA standard. It
was revised in 2003.

Normal fasting blood sugar numbers now top out at 100 mg/dl.
Impaired fasting glucose is 100-125 mg/dl.
Diabetic fasting is 126 mg/dl.

2-hr post meals the ADA defines normal as 140 mg/dl and below and diabetic
as 200 mg/dl and above.
However, Harvard's Joslin Diabetes clinic defines 2-h normal as up to 120
mg/dl and that looks like a much better number to me.

Any 2-h number over 180 is probably also diabetic. The ADA recommends that
diabetics keep their blood sugar under this level, and a lot of us find we
do a whole lot better keeping under the 120 mg/dl at 2 hrs.


--
Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes, hba1c
5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes,
strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm



"Ignoramus11750" wrote in message
...
Just for fun, I came across a glucose test device called ReliOn and some
test strips.

I would like to try a home glucose tolerance test to just see where I
stand wrt glucose tolerance. My 80 year old grandma has diabetes.

I have the following questions.

1. I eat about 150 grams of carbs per day. Should I eat more over a
period of several days prior to the test, as some recommendations suggest.

2. Should I adjust readings from the finger prick test, in order to
normalize them to the scale for IV blood samples used in labs.

Is the following text correct:


### Fast 12 hours
###
### For a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test used to check for type 2
diabetes, normal (nondiabetic) blood values a
### fasting: 60 to 110 mg/dL
### 1 hour: less than 200 mg/dL
### 2 hours: less than 140 mg/dL. Between 140-200 mg/dL is considered
### impaired glucose tolerance. This group is at increased risk for
developing
### diabetes. Greater than 200 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes mellitu

In article , Ignoramus11750
writes:

1. I eat about 150 grams of carbs per day. Should I eat more over a
period of several days prior to the test, as some recommendations suggest.


I believe that Dr. Bernstein recomendeds that you injest more carbs a day for
aprox week before having the test done, IF you presently lowcarb.. This will
stop you from getting a false posative..
As always YMMV and this is JMO
Jeanne Type 2 Diagnosed 05/28/02
194/164/120

How many strips to you have? Can you get more? Unless they've been
discontinued (in which case check the expiration date) you should be
able to order more online or through Ebay.

Why limit it to just one test? Why not do a little testing on your
current diet (at least fasting and maybe 1 and 2 hr after meal) to
compare. Taking 75 glucose could unstabalize you for a while.


Skinny --
pre-diab hypo
-------------------------


On 22 Mar 2004 20:25:19 GMT, Ignoramus11750
wrote:

Just for fun, I came across a glucose test device called ReliOn and some
test strips.

I would like to try a home glucose tolerance test to just see where I
stand wrt glucose tolerance. My 80 year old grandma has diabetes.

I have the following questions.

1. I eat about 150 grams of carbs per day. Should I eat more over a
period of several days prior to the test, as some recommendations suggest.

2. Should I adjust readings from the finger prick test, in order to
normalize them to the scale for IV blood samples used in labs.

Is the following text correct:


### Fast 12 hours
###
### For a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test used to check for type 2 diabetes, normal (nondiabetic) blood values a
### fasting: 60 to 110 mg/dL
### 1 hour: less than 200 mg/dL
### 2 hours: less than 140 mg/dL. Between 140-200 mg/dL is considered
### impaired glucose tolerance. This group is at increased risk for developing
### diabetes. Greater than 200 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes mellitu

Ignoramus11750 wrote:

Just for fun, I came across a glucose test device called ReliOn and some
test strips.

I would like to try a home glucose tolerance test to just see where I
stand wrt glucose tolerance. My 80 year old grandma has diabetes.

I have the following questions.

1. I eat about 150 grams of carbs per day. Should I eat more over a
period of several days prior to the test, as some recommendations suggest.

2. Should I adjust readings from the finger prick test, in order to
normalize them to the scale for IV blood samples used in labs.

Is the following text correct:

### Fast 12 hours
###
### For a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test used to check for type 2 diabetes, normal (nondiabetic) blood values a
### fasting: 60 to 110 mg/dL
### 1 hour: less than 200 mg/dL
### 2 hours: less than 140 mg/dL. Between 140-200 mg/dL is considered
### impaired glucose tolerance. This group is at increased risk for developing
### diabetes. Greater than 200 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes mellitu

Since you exercise on a regular basis and have reduced your weight
considerably, your insulin resistance should not be very high.

A 12 hour fast is about right, you could use less glucose to get a blood
glucose response (50 grams). I suggest 50 grams because that is the
amount used to calculate glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load.

Take a base fasting reading with your meter and it should be about 85
for someone your age. Measure every minute minutes thereafter for about
2 hours. Glucose should max out in about 45 minutes or an hour. By 2
hours you should be back to your base glucose level which about the same
as fasting if you have normal blood glucose regulation. If you exercise
during that time frame, the test will not be valid.

On another occasion try the test with a food like rolled oat meal. In
this fashion you can use glucose as a base for calculating your own GI.

Frank

In article , Ignoramus3985
writes:

I believe that Dr. Bernstein recomendeds that you injest more carbs a day
for
aprox week before having the test done, IF you presently lowcarb.. This
will
stop you from getting a false posative..

Yes, I saw that suggestion in Dr Bernstein's book. As I said earlier,
I eat about 150 carbs per day, and eating 300 carbs per day would
really strain my diet (I am maintaining after losing 50 lbs).

So, my question is, is 150 carbs per day enough. I eat probably 70 or
so of those carbs at breakfast. So trying 75 grams of glucose at
breakfast time would be about same as my usual breakfast.

i

As always YMMV and this is JMO
Jeanne Type 2 Diagnosed 05/28/02

I would think 150 is enough JMO

As always YMMV and this is JMO
Jeanne Type 2 Diagnosed 05/28/02
194/164/120

You might want to search on GTT protocol at reputable labs. If I'm not
mistaken, the amount of glucose given is based on your fbg at the beginning
of the test.

"Ignoramus3985" wrote in message
...
In article , Frank Roy wrote:


Ignoramus11750 wrote:

Just for fun, I came across a glucose test device called ReliOn and
some
test strips.

I would like to try a home glucose tolerance test to just see where I
stand wrt glucose tolerance. My 80 year old grandma has diabetes.

I have the following questions.

1. I eat about 150 grams of carbs per day. Should I eat more over a
period of several days prior to the test, as some recommendations
suggest.

2. Should I adjust readings from the finger prick test, in order to
normalize them to the scale for IV blood samples used in labs.

Is the following text correct:

### Fast 12 hours
###
### For a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test used to check for type 2
diabetes, normal (nondiabetic) blood values a
### fasting: 60 to 110 mg/dL
### 1 hour: less than 200 mg/dL
### 2 hours: less than 140 mg/dL. Between 140-200 mg/dL is considered
### impaired glucose tolerance. This group is at increased risk for
developing
### diabetes. Greater than 200 mg/dL is diagnostic of diabetes mellitu

Since you exercise on a regular basis and have reduced your weight
considerably, your insulin resistance should not be very high.

That's what I would like to ascertain. I am 33 yo, 223/172/180 as of
today, I walk 60-100 minutes per day and do a bit of strength training.

A 12 hour fast is about right, you could use less glucose to get a blood
glucose response (50 grams). I suggest 50 grams because that is the
amount used to calculate glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load.

You see, I want to obtain readings that are calibrated. It seems to me
that if everyone uses 75 grams, and I use 50 grams, then my readings
simply would not be comparable. That's why I want to ise the "standard
protocol".

Take a base fasting reading with your meter and it should be about
85 for someone your age. Measure every minute minutes thereafter for
about 2 hours. Glucose should max out in about 45 minutes or an
hour. By 2 hours you should be back to your base glucose level which
about the same as fasting if you have normal blood glucose
regulation. If you exercise during that time frame, the test will
not be valid.

Thanks. Again, I want a reading that is comparable, so Iwant a certain
precision in defining the test.

On another occasion try the test with a food like rolled oat meal. In
this fashion you can use glucose as a base for calculating your own GI.

that's quite sensible.

i

"Jenny" wrote in message ...
Ig,

150 grams a day is all that you are told to eat to prepare for a GTT.
You're fine.


I asked my doctor if I should carb up for the GTT test I had done at a
clinic, and she said I didn't have to.

The two-hour number was 138 which is normal by one standard and not by
the other, if I'm reading this correctly.

What's the reasoning behind carbing up -- and should I read my test
results differently because I didn't?

Ignoramus3985 wrote:

Since you exercise on a regular basis and have reduced your weight
considerably, your insulin resistance should not be very high.

That's what I would like to ascertain. I am 33 yo, 223/172/180 as of
today, I walk 60-100 minutes per day and do a bit of strength training.

A 12 hour fast is about right, you could use less glucose to get a blood
glucose response (50 grams). I suggest 50 grams because that is the
amount used to calculate glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load.

You see, I want to obtain readings that are calibrated. It seems to me
that if everyone uses 75 grams, and I use 50 grams, then my readings
simply would not be comparable. That's why I want to ise the "standard
protocol".

Take a base fasting reading with your meter and it should be about
85 for someone your age. Measure every minute minutes thereafter for
about 2 hours. Glucose should max out in about 45 minutes or an
hour. By 2 hours you should be back to your base glucose level which
about the same as fasting if you have normal blood glucose
regulation. If you exercise during that time frame, the test will
not be valid.

Thanks. Again, I want a reading that is comparable, so Iwant a certain
precision in defining the test.

This is well and grand, but it will not hurt you to do the test with 75
grams and 50 grams independently. For all intents and purposes, i.e.,
for practicallity, your meal planning as a lifestyle will not be the
fast carbohydrate of glucose, although white bread and white potatoes
are right up there with glucose, nor will the level of carbohydrate in
take be 75 grams per meal. Working under the asumption that you are a
descendant of a primary relative with frank type 2 diabetes, there is
evidence that healthy, young relatives of such have greater insulin
resistance than similar young, healthy people without the genetic
background.

You can download a glycemic index and glycemic load spreadsheet by
dragging the menu "food" on the left at:
http://diabetes.about.com/library/me...i/ngilists.htm

or you can get individual foods online at:
http://www.calvin.biochem.usyd.edu.au/GIDB/searchD3.htm

Bear in mind that these are mearly guidelines, not absolutes.

Frank

Lee,

Here's all you really need to know.

Despite the arbitrary cutoffs that the ADA has set, any 2-hour blood sugar
value over 100 is not truly normal. 138 is "normal" by the current
diagnostic criteria ( by 2 mg/dl) but high enough to be very close to blood
sugar levels that have been shown to cause early damage to nerves which is
140 mg/dl at 2 hours. It is 20 mg/dl higher than what the Joslin clinic
lists as the top of normal.

If you carbed up you might come in 20 or 30 mg/dl lower, but you'd still be
above what is probably a truly normal 2 hr blood sugar level, which is under
100 mg/dl. A recent study showed deteriorating beta cell performance
starting in people testing at 100 mg/dl at 2 h and increasing with each 10
mg/dl increment. Beta cells are what make insulin and when exposed to
modestly high blood sugar levels they can die. If you are the kind of
person who gets diabetes, that is what they do. If you aren't, your body can
grow more beta cells and you won't be diabetic, but you will have higher
than normal levels of insulin which pose a heart disease risk.

So rather than test again, I'd just suggest that you take the test result as
meaning that you are stressing your beta cells, but still at the stage where
the damage can be halted. Work on keeping your blood sugars under 100 mg/dl
as much as possible.

Mainstream studies have shown that you can avoid further deterioration by
losing weight and exercising. Cutting carbs modestly, rather than
ketogenically, will help a lot too. No more juice, soda, snack crackers,
chips, and other junk carbs makes a huge difference in the stress you put on
your beta cells.

Hope this explanation helps!

--
Jenny - Low Carbing for 4 years. At goal for weight. Type 2 diabetes, hba1c
5.2.
Cut the carbs to respond to my email address!

Low carb facts and figures, my weight-loss photos, tips, recipes,
strategies for dealing with diabetes and more at
http://www.geocities.com/jenny_the_bean/

Looking for help controlling your blood sugar?
Visit http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org/...0Diagnosed.htm



"Lee" wrote in message
om...
"Jenny" wrote in message
...
Ig,

150 grams a day is all that you are told to eat to prepare for a GTT.
You're fine.


I asked my doctor if I should carb up for the GTT test I had done at a
clinic, and she said I didn't have to.

The two-hour number was 138 which is normal by one standard and not by
the other, if I'm reading this correctly.

What's the reasoning behind carbing up -- and should I read my test
results differently because I didn't?

" Hope this explanation helps!

Thanks, Jenny, that was very helpful.

I've been on Atkins for just over a year now; guess I'd be in a lot
worse shape if I hadn't been.

Doctor has offered Metformin, but haven't decided whether to go that
way -- heard a lot of side effects. I'm somewhat PCOS -- if I weren't
ovulating, I'd go for the Met like a shot, since so many women report
getting pregnant that way, but don't know whether it'd help someone
with regular cycles.

Thanks!