I am a type 2 since last 6yrs or so. My control is just ok–my doc feels i need to increase my medication and may have to go on to insulin injections. I take Amyral 4mg just before breakfast and Metformin HCL 500mg aftr breakfast. Then i take Metformin 500mg agin after lunch. Just before dinner i take Amyral 3mg and an hr after dinner i again take Metformin 500mg . My fasting sugar is about 135 and 145.
I would appreciate some one to let me know precisely how much time should i fast to get the real picture–some say it should be 8hrs fasting and some say it should be 12hrs. Am a bit confused because the readings are really topsy turvy after 8 and 12hrs of fasting.Secondly, am i heading speedily towards insulin injections
Thanks and warm regards
Waqar
Standard medical rules dictate that in order to be “fasting”, you must not have had anything to eat or drink from 8-12 hours. At least 8 hours, but not more than 12, or you might have the risk of dehydration or fainting.
I have also considered insulin before but my endo said my condition can still be controlled by oral medication diet and exercise. Your doctor will best know if insulin will work be best for you.
Hope all will be well for you.
Thanks for ur comments. Actually in my case the differential in readings after 8hrs and 12hrs is large. I was looking forward to know that should i carry out my fasting monitoring aftr 8hrs or 12 hrs to get the realistic picture ??
Thanks again
How do your numbers compare from 8 hours to 12? I think the actual length of what a clinical fasting is can be somewhat irrelevant in a practical application… I consider fasting to be “from the time I stop eating at night to when I get up in the morning”. Most of it time that’s not going to be the same number… it could be 8 or 9 hours, or it could end up being 14 if I ate early the night before and didn’t have anything else until breakfast, or it could even be just 5 or 6 if I stayed up late and snacked, and had to get up early.
The key is figuring out what it is for you, don’t get hung up on the medical definition.
Now, if I have to do fasting bloodwork, that’s another issue… I will follow what they tell me to do, but for my own purposes, I consider my morning number as a fasting # even if it hasn’t been 8 hours.
Sarah is correct - fasting is from the last time you eat at night until you wake up in the morning and have lab work done or eat again. When you fast for longer than usual, the liver dumps sugar into your system and can greatly increase blood glucose levels. There are also other factors with hormones and dawn phenomenon that can affect morning BG levels also making them higher. Sometimes, taking metformin at bedtime can help counteract this phenomenon. Hope that helps.
Thanks Sara
I appreciate ur reply and i thnk i got it now and i would really stop worrying on it–my tension was having a bad effect
Regards
Waqar
Thanks Donna
I appreciate ur reply–am more educated on the issue now—am from pakistan and my doc tells me tht some international research has been carried out and it has revealed that south asians tend to have higher sugar levels at fasting and seem to have fairly normal random levels during the day----
My family was also tense with me–would share it with them
Regards
Waqar