Urine showing sugar despite diet

#1

The other day I had a UTI and went to the doctor. She said my urine showed 50 in my urine. Was put on Meds for UTI. Right now I’m controlling mine through diet until my trial net labs come back as they suspect I’m LADA. 3 more weeks of impatiently waiting. Does anyone know what a sugar level of 50 in the urine calculates too? I’m unversed in these numbers for urine. TIA.

#2

Unfortunately a sugar level doesn’t necessarily correspond to anything. A “normal” level of glucose in urine is 0 to 0.8 mmol/l (0 to 15 mg/dL). But people without diabetes can have wide variation. Our bodies naturally dump glucose in our urine when our blood sugar reaches what is called the “renal threshold” of 160-180 mg/dl. Someone without diabetes can reach these levels. And the concentration can vary based on things like hydration level.

So the bottom line, glucose in your urine doesn’t correspond to any particular blood sugar and is not a good way of monitoring blood sugar control. The best way to keep an eye on things is to get a meter and test your blood sugar 1 hour after a meal as that is your highest excursion and the place where your blood sugar will likely show an abnormality first. Someone without diabetes will rarely go above 160 mg/dl or so 1 hour after a meal, many find that once their diabetes emerges their blood sugar goes higher, often over 200 mg/dl even if it comes down later.

ps. And worrying about what “might happen” at 4am isn’t good. Diabetes happens, you need to have the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to accept the things you cannot change. At this time, T1/LADA just happens. When you awake at 4am anxious over this just take a deep breath and remind yourself that you will get through it no matter what happens.

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#3

agree w Brian here. I tend to worry about things also, like a lot, so I understand that 4AM thing. Get the meter at walmart (relion) or whatever your kids use. Let us know what happens.

#4

Do you have a blood sugar meter? That’s the best way to work out what’s happening.

#5

I do have a meter but doctor only advised me to check once a day. At this time I had just returned from an endo appt with my boys and drove straight to my appt. I never bothered to check mine since I had done my daily check upon waking. I’m considering putting the dexcom back on bc I’ve been freezing, hair still falling out, UTI’s, weight loss and I know I have no thyroid issues or anemia. I’m just waiting on labs bc my GP doesn’t think I need to see an endo.

#6

Your symptoms sound suspiciously like thyroid… How do you know you’re OK? What was tested and what were the results (and the reference ranges).

How is your fasting bs? Below 95? Below 125? Have you tested 2 hours post eating? Any reason not to test a bit more often?

#7

The doctor ran a full thyroid panel on me. She said all looked good. She’s only prescribed me enough strips to last for a months time. My fasting blood sugars run from high 90’s to low 100’s. She’s convinced I’m T2. However my post meals show mid 200’s to 300’s. She is of the opinion that since I’m 38 it can only be T2. However in 2 months time I’ve lost 15lbs. I’m doing good to weigh 120 at 5"5’.

#8

Post meals 200 - 300! Wow!
You need to get your test results back and a GP who is more open minded.
Trialnet considers that anyone diagnosd before age of 40 could well be type 1… Seems like you might need some insulin and some more test strips… any chance of changing to a more open minded dr?

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#9

Do you have the actual resuults of your thyroid pannel?

Some doctors think as long as TSH is in range, FT3 and Ft4 (did she test those?) are ok, no matter where they are if they are in the rage… Active throid hormone shouldd be mid range or higher. Bottom of range is not ok. Neither is top fo the range for TSH, particularly if Ft3 and Ft4 are bottom of range.

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#10

Hmmm I’m not sure. Maybe I should ask for a copy. Her words exactly were my tests were “perfect”. You know a lot of doctors are so misinformed about adult onset T1. She knows I have 2 T1 kids bc she sees them for general health issues too. My 13 year old T1 I took about a month ago bc upon standing he’s almost passing out going from a sitting or laid down position to standing even when his sugar is fine. He loses his vision, feels like he’s going to pass out, gets very dizzy. I’m concerned he has POTS. If he passes out at school I don’t want them injecting him glucagon if its POTS. She wouldn’t refer him to a cardiologist either. I would change doctors but she’s the closet one we have in our rural town.

#11

It’s real common for doctors to advise people to test only once a day. That has never made the tiniest bit of sense to me. Blood glucose is driven by a zillion factors and varies constantly throughout the day. If your once-a-day test happens to coincide with a time when your BG is low you could conclude that everything is fine and miss a developing problem. And the converse is just as likely: if your test just happens to land on a normal post-meal peak, you could conclude that there is a problem where in fact there is none, and become worried about nothing.

As Brian suggested earlier, the surest way to know whether there really is any cause for concern is to do some post-meal testing, both to determine the maximum peak and whether (and how quickly) BG returns to normal again. That’s the best indication that there is (or isn’t!) something in need of further attention.

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#12

Do you have a patient portal you could check your lab results? Are elevated sugars causing uti?very common problem. I would get some strips to test more. Good luck. Nancy

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#13

It can be T1/LADA, time and tests will tell. However, T2 or slow onset T1, both would benefit from low carb at this point, to get your BG down.
I would cut the Sugars: including fruit/juice. cut Starches: including breads, pasta, rice, potato etc. Eat lots of low carb vegetables, salad, moderate protein and add healthy fats… Use a home blood test meter, to see what will work.


when you reduce sugar/starch carbs, you add a bit more protein 75g/day (female) and add fats to make up to your recommended calorie intake. fat is very low carb and an effective fuel for a diabetic.
The hardest part is overcoming the low fat dogma for the last 40 years.

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#14

Please ask for a copy. You should always get a copy of your results.

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#15

Also note that there are a number of different thyroid tests at different points in the process that produces the active thyroid hormone - TSH, T4, forward T3, reverse T3, FT3, and FT4. Pay attention to which of those tests you get - you may need more than just the oldest type of test (TSH),

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