Yesterday I checked my sisters blood sugar after checking mine. She had eaten mac and cheese and some vanilla coke before we tested. Her fingers were clean etc. The reading was 175 mg/dL. This was pretty scary to us because my d.e. told me that non-D’s will NEVER go over 140 whatsoever. Should we be worried with a reading that high? This isn’t the first higher reading shes had…what do you think?
I know that the meter was working right because its the one I use daily. Also she is my twin sister so diabetes does run in the family (I have T1). Thanks!
Alyssa!
You can’t diagnose via a fingerstick (the margin of error on ANY home meter is just too much), but with a # like that it’s definitely worth seeing a doc about.
Yes, off to the Doc. The sooner the better.
In my mind it is better to have this verified , then to say later : Oh , if I only had …fill in the blanks .
Yikes, sorry to hear that. You say this isn’t the first high reading she has had, either, which rules out to a great extent the possibility that the meter is wrong. The good news is there are several experimental treatments out there for those who are just diagnosed with Type 1 or are in the “pre-Type 1” state. Some of these might halt the disease entirely. I would contact your doctor and also the organizations who are running these clinical trials at the same time so you can get her in ASAP. I think Manny posted the links in the Treatment/Cure forum recently.
Thanks for all the replies! We were really worried and it seems like our worries were valid. We have done reasearch on trials when I was 1st dx but I wasn’t dx early…DKA with a bs of 800+. But if she is an early Type 1 its good to hear there are trials that may prevent it altogether!
Let me disagree with everyone else here. How long after she ate her carb-loaded meal did she test? I think it’s reasonable for a non-diabetic’s body to have some lag time in insulin response to a meal like that. I test all 3 of my kids every once in awhile, just too see if there is anything to get worried about. One day, we tested my youngest (5 yrs) after a breakfast of pancakes and syrup and orange juice. She had a BG in the 170s. My wife freaked out. I tried to calm her and point out what our daughter had just eaten. I did a test on her the next morning before she ate anything and she had an excellent BG number (around 80-90, if I recall correctly).
So I’d suggest doing a morning fasting test on your sister before going online to purchase her an new pump. You might be getting worked up over nothing.
Of course, I could be an idiot (it’s been suggested…) and could be wrong, and there might be something to worry about. Run a fasting test, and if you think it’s warranted, take her in to visit an endocrinologist and get an A1C test.
Have to respectfully disagree with Mike. Normal BG after meals isn’t as high as your sister’s & this has happened before.
There are diabetics whose fasting readings are in the normal range, but BG goes sky high after meals. Since most doctors do fasting readings for blood tests, many go undiagnosed until their pancreas is burned out. That’s why glucose tolerance tests are better indicators. Do test her fasting BG just for comparison, but if it’s normal that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.
I had this happen before too. during the holidays my mom asked me to test my sister since she was displaying all the signs I had before I was dx’d. She had just drank about 150 carbs in regular soda. She tested in the 170s. Her twin was at 82.
My mom sent her off to the doctor for blood tests, shes fine. There is a very small delay in insulin dispursement in some people and if you catch it at the right time, their readings will be high too
What??? If your sis is T1 there is NO WAY to prevent it altogether. Unless you are talking about the DKA thing, yes prevent that at all costs!! And please get your sister to go to a doctor for a dx, we can’t possilby dx her here.
There may be ways to prevent it. A few drugs are being tested for that right now. Diamyd can halt the process for years. A few new cancer drugs also show potential to permanently arrest the beta cell destruction.
Unfortunately, half the time when we get people to run to the doctor with a reading like that, the doctor’s dismiss their concerns. I’ve had that happen in my family.
With Type 2 unless the person is seeing 300+ blood sugars and fastings well over 140 a lot of family docs could care less.
I got a family member, finally go to the doc and he pretty much said, “Yup, you’ve got diabetes. Stop eating white flour and sugar and see me in another six months.” Didn’t even give him a meter.
No wonder with that kind of expert care people with Type 2 have an average A1c of 10% in the U.S…
I’m going to disagree with this also. Fasting blood glucose control is often still good well after post-prandial glucose control is in the diabetic ranges, because although the pancreas is laboring hard and not very effectively, the overnight fast is long enough for it to get the levels down.
I don’t think results at this level merit total flipping out, but I do think they merit a thorough medical evaluation, and one that looks at post-prandial levels (in other words, an oral glucose tolerance test) and not just fasting levels.
Another issue no one seems to be considering is how quickly someone who goes up to 170 after a lot of carbs comes down. Or whether perhaps they had some sugar on their fingers.
I’d test someone who had a high reading at 1, 2, and 3 hours, making sure to wash the hands carefully, as well as fasting. The docs are apt to test only fasting.
