Had A Seven Hour Fasting Glucose Test: Look At My Results!

[LindaJoy]

Had a seven hour fasting blood sugar test the other day. Yes, seven hours. What's really amazing about it is, it took seven hours to drop, really drop. How did my doctor know to do the test that long? Anyway, here are my numbers:

Baseline:

10:30 am -- 87

11:00 am -- 87

11:30 am -- 87

12:00 noon -- 89

12:30 pm -- 86

Drank 100% sugar drink--allergic to the citrus 75% drink, so had the 100% cola one.

1:00 pm -- 143

1:30 pm -- 207

2:00 pm -- 246

2:30 pm -- 205

3:00 pm -- 192

3:30 pm -- 193

4:30 pm -- 86

5:00 pm -- 55

5:30 pm -- 35 ---- Yes, I was feeling like death warmed over right about here!

My doc looked at the numbers and said, "Yes, you are glucose intolerant." Do ya think? He has to look at the insulin levels though to check for what may be causing this problem. He said I'm not diabetic, but probably pre-diabetic.

Anyway, just thought you all might be interested in that. Along with this, a think I thought was interesting, was that my neuro (POTS doc) said that there are studies out that are linking glucose intolerance with neuropathic POTS. Anyone hear of anything out there? If so, could you let me know. I'm really interested, seeing as I'm definitely glucose intolerant and have POTS.

Thanks.

Lindajoy

[Shiner Kitty]

I've had problems with hypoglycemia for years. Last year my fasting glucose level was high, though- 112 (I think). My doctor thought I was prediabetic, but when it was tested this year, it was normal- 98. I haven't ever had a glucose tolerance test.

I thought you also might want to know that many medications can cause glucose intolerance, including beta blockers, corticosteroids, oral contraceptives, etc.: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003466.htm .

I can imagine that you must have been feeling really bad during your test.

[Tanzanite]

I get hypoglycaemic, however, my fasting insulin resistance test (overnight so was about 10hrs) was normal.

[yogini]

How can you tell if you're hypoglycemic when your fasting blood sugars are normal? Sometimes I feel much, much better a few minutes after eating, even though I eat well and didn't realize I was hungry. I think something may be going in with my blood sugar, but not sure.

[Tessa]

HI LIndajoy

I have went through two 48-72 hours fasting tests. The first one was positive and I remember how I felt after fasting for more than 12 hours... My sugar levels went dangerously down and I had some "scary" reactions...

The second test was carried out not long ago and was negative.

Why it can change from one test to another? I do not know. But they said I do not have fasting hypoglycemia anymore...

If it is related to POTS or not... I wish I knew but I am sure it has to affect.

Take care.

Love,

Tessa

BTW, I found this:

BioMed Central | Full text | Circadian rhythm of the autonomic ...

- [ Traduzca esta p?gina ]

In the NGR group the dysautonomia is due to the effect of hyperinsulinemia, ... and of moderate hyperglycemia is directly implicated in the dysautonomia. ...

Source: www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2261/6/19

[gdomaracki]

Last time I had the glucose test done (at 12 yrs old), they had said that I am hypoglycemic. The test was for 7 hrs but even though I came in early in the morning..I lasted about 3 hrs and my blood sugar was already below 50. Since then I've eliminated all simple sugars from my diet and eat only whole grains/complex carbohydrates. I did have to monitor my blood sugar quite frequently back then, but now it is under control as long as I eat right.

[doctorguest]

I have read probably all studies related to POTS, and I have not seen one making a connection between hyperglycemia and POTS. Hyperinsulinemia is not the same thing as hyperglycemia. Also, many endocrinologists believe that glucose loading test is not that sensitive or specific - meaning that if healthy women are asked to drink a sugar drink, while their blood glucose level is monitored continuously, a percentage of women will have very low blood sugars at the end of the test. In fact, some endocrinologists do not even perform the test for this reason.

[Sunfish]

i have bloodwork weekly due to being on TPN (IV nutrition) & at times have low blood sugars.....down to 40 or so. at first everyone was concerned but after some monitoring & the like it's been written off by my docs (including autonomic specialists) as "just" something else odd in my body. these were equivalent to fasting readings for me as my TPN is overnight & the readings were several hours later during early afternoon hours. and there doesn't seem to be any correlation between my blood sugar readings & how i feel, aka i never felt any worse than my "norm" when i had readings in the 40s. they haven't been quite as low for me lately but low 50s still aren't unusual. it still bugs them in the hospital but doesn't worry me or my docs any more at long as it isn't below 40. the slight raise is likely b/c i'm on a small amount of tube feed now continuously in addition to the overnight TPN.

the only time i'm had high blood sugars was in the midst of acute sepsis (while still on TPN) which isn't all that unusual but did get me a few insulin jabs for a few days.

the one autonomic neuro that i discussed my low readings with the most said he's seen similar situations in a number of his autonomic patients but wasn't aware of any particular studies or research.

melissa

[MomtoGiuliana]

I had a similar test when my POTS was bad and everything was normal.

Doesn't sympathetic over-activity stimulate higher blood sugar somehow? I think I remember reading that.

Katherine

[Maxine]

I remember when I would go to the ER close to my house when I was having a bad POTS attack. My heart was thumping at about 120, but remember I was on a fair dose of beta blocker, so 120 was scary. I was also very shaky, I felt (out of body)----just disoriented. They would always check my glucose, because it appeared I was suffering from a low blood sugar/glucose issue. My results were always perfectly normal.

The only time my levels were off, they were high---at about 260. This was when I had steroids via IV during, and after cervical spine surgery. I was on a pretty high dose because the surgeon saw a significant dent in my spine where the discs were herniated, and the dent was still there after he removed the discs, and replaced them with the doner discs. I was given insulin until the steroids were stopped. I had another dose in my IV after the surgery, and one more the next morning. The nurse told me the steroids affect the glucose levels by raising them. After the steroids were stopped, they tested my glucose after a little while, and it was low 90s.

Maxine :0)

[jesse1919]

I have read probably all studies related to POTS, and I have not seen one making a connection between hyperglycemia and POTS.

Careful.... I hope you're not implying that because you haven't seen such a study that there isn't a link. Have you seen studies that investigate a correlation between POTS and glucose regulation??? One cannot logically draw conclusions based on lack of research.

[icthus]

I have reactive hypoglycemia, which is also (I'm told) called glucose intolerance. It took 3 separate glucose tolerance tests to finally diagnose it - the last one recording data for over 7 hours. When I met with the doctor to discuss it, he was so excited that the extended test "worked" that he only told me to "watch my sugars" - which I did with every bite of brownie.

Two years later, in the process of trying to help another chronically ill friend, we stumbled across reactive hypoglycemia. I have since been following a very restrictive diet and have had great results in the lessening of debilitating symptoms related to this particular condition. The book that delineates the diet is called DIABETES SOLUTION by Richard Bernstein. A casual presentation of what goes on with glucose intolerance is at the website listed below.

I know I've chatted beyond the scope of your post, and it's probably because I wanted to finally verbalize my frustration at having lived with this condition, aided and abetted by wrongful eating all because diet wasn't addressed. Regardless, I hope you have good medical help to direct you in how to best proceed now that you have a diagnosis.

http://www.opinions3.com/reactive_hypoglycemia.htm

Thanks for your post. It's another confirmation that I'm experiencing similar things to others with dysautonomia/pots, and that it is not out of the "norm" for us, maybe. (Can anything be absolutely definiitive about us?)

(I wrote another post, but it got lost somewhere in my computer or cyberspace...Hope two of my verbose posts don't get posted!!!)

[doctorguest]

Jesse1919, not sure where you found a possible implication in the portion of my response that you've quoted. This sentence was intended to answer a question originally asked by the poster on whether anyone had heard about studies connecting "glucose intolerance with neuropathic POTS". There have been no such studies, so we cannot make any conclusions one way or another until there is evidence to support either. Additionally, people seem to be confused with terminology "glucose intolerance" and "reactive hypoglycemia" which are completely different conditions. From my experience, reactive hypoglycemia is seen frequently in patients with POTS - unlike glucose intolerance - but to say conclusively whether there is a connection between POTS and reactive hypoglycemia, a study would have to be done comparing the frequency of reactive hypoglycemia in patients with POTS and in healthy people because reactive hypoglycemia is quite common in healthy women.

[MomtoGiuliana]

What is glucose intolerance--isn't that a precursor to diabetes?

[jesse1919]

Sorry Doctorguest - I was jumping to conclusions.

I was looking for references/ definitions for this topic and these seem pretty good:

Insulin

Glucose Intolerance

Hyperinsulinemia

Jesse

[LindaJoy]

Thanks, everyone, for your posts and interest.

Two additional things:

I got my "true" glucose numbers the other day at my doctor's office. While doing the 7-hour test, we just tested the glucose with a finger prick test. But, then, I saw the actual, true glucose numbers. Oh, my gosh! My sugar actually dropped to less than 2! Doctorguest, and others, isn't a sugar of less than 2 non-supportive of life????? Apparently not, because I'm still here, but that's nearly nil!!! No wonder I felt like I had just been dragged through the knot in a fence time and again.

Also, in talking with the doctor about this, he said that I have pre Type 1 diabetes. I may or may not become full diabetic. He used the words glucose intolerant and reactive hypoglycemic, so I thought they were one in the same. But the way you all talk here, they are different. So, what do I have: glucose intolerance or reactive hypoglycemia, and what's the difference?

Sorry to be so numb. I just don't get so much of this stuff. Oh, and he said that he has no idea what would cause me to be this way. If there's a connection between react. hypo. and POTS, that makes sense to me. But, if there's no connection between glucose intolerance and POTS, I dont' get why I'm this way.

Thanks, everyone.

Lindajoy

[doctorguest]

LindaJoy, honestly, I have not seen a serum glucose level of 2 (!). I suspect it was a lab error. I do not believe that this glucose level is compatible with life, so I guess it's either improperly collected specimen or another type of lab error. As to the pre-diabetic state, your doctor probably said that you may get type II diabetes, not type I. Glucose intolerance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes type II are so common in the general population that these most likely have nothing to do with your co-existing POTS. As your doctor probably explained, maintaining a diet free of simple sugars is the key. Additionally, it is not certain whether you actually would develop diabetes, even if you have the glucose intolerance now. If you have a family history of diabetes type II, your risk would be much higher then.