My fiance is slightly overweight, so I’ve been hoping he’ll get his BG checked. I talked about it with him and he agreed to do a quick check (we changed out my lancets before and after…certainly have enough for it!). He was basically pre-prandial (had some coffee with coconut milk prior) and his result was 107. I’m seeing a lot of mixed messages online about whether this is normal or worrisome at all. Just to be safe, I asked him to mention it to his doctor. His diet used to be pretty carb heavy, since my diagnosis he eats moderate carbs.
Any thoughts? My hope is that his doctor will be aware that it’s something to look at. I wish they did BG screenings regularly, it seems like such a cheap thing that could wake some people up from bad habits…
Thank you for any advice!
Edit: The coconut milk was probably only 1g carb, maybe 5g carb at most if he went crazy with it. I wish I’d had the patience for a morning test instead of muddying the waters…
It’s hard to tell much from a single meter reading especially when meters are only required to be within 20% of the correct number. A reading of 107 might be a little high but in itself I don’t think it’s something to be alarmed about.
I would check it some more without eating or drinking any carbs. I think the best test is to eat a regular meal and test at the 2hr mark, that reading will be higher before the fasting readings show signs of pre-diabetes. Im assuming he is not type 1.
BTW, if there is no family history and/or the above tests fail to record a number over 120, I would try and remember that there are tons of people who are overweight and will never get diabetes (pun intended)
Regardless, a bigger concern might be to have a discussion about weight, fitness, etc before you get married …
That 107 number is sort of in the gray area, or no-man’s-land. Could be indicative, or not. It’s a wee bit high, but not much. Keep in mind that “normal” varies from person to person, and that numerical targets are actually zones, not hard and fast lines in the sand. That’s true even of lab results—if the reference range for a test is 5 to 10, that does not mean that 10.1 is trouble and 9.9 is perfectly okay. The dividing lines aren’t that sharp, and numbers have to be viewed in a total context in order to draw reliable, trustworthy conclusions.
That being said, @still_young_at_heart is absolutely right. One data point just doesn’t mean much at all. If you’re really concerned, check before every meal for a few days and keep a log of the results, including what he ate last, and when. Then you may be able to decide whether there’s a trend, or not. One point-in-time measurement really isn’t a reliable basis for deciding anything.
I would agree with the others here, 107 is just a snapshot and is not really conclusive of anything. I would go further than asking for a Dr.'s opinion, and rather ask the Dr. explicitly to do an A1c test. Unfortunately, because so many, if not most GP’s have little understanding of diabetes and/or it’s warning signs, he risks getting a cavalier response of “that’s nothing to worry about” with no further investigation. Demanding an A1c will give you a much clearer idea of BG trends and if anything further should be considered.
