[elsie]

I had a GTT yesterday. My fasting BS was 97. An hour later, it had jumped to 144. At 2 hrs. it was 77 and 3 hrs., 73. Do you think these numbers are high enough to have caused my neuropathy?

[glenntaj]

--by most lab reference ranges for glucose tolerance testing, you would not be diagnosed with impairment. Generally, at one hour one is allowed a glucose level below 170, and at two hours, below 140, before one is diagnosed with impaired tolerance.

The lowering of the numbers into the seventies, though, given you started at 97, does imply a certain degree of reactive hypoglycemia--not severe, but something to watch, as this can sometimes be a precursor to diabetes. The implication is that your body overreacted a bit to the small glucose challange by overproducing insulin, driving your blood sugar levels somewhat below your fasting state. This overproduction signals a degree of insulin resistance--yoru body needed to produce more insulin to drive glucose into your cells, and it somewhat overproduced. It would have been interesting to see what your insulin levels were at fasting, 1 hour, two hours, three hours . . .my take on this is that your system is still compensating fairly well, but it might behoove you to take some steps to even out your readings and forestall future trouble, such as eating smaller meals more frequently and balancing carbs/proteins/fats at each.

I'm not a doctor, but this doesn't immediately look like enough glucose dysregulation to cause severe neuropathy symptoms (but everybody is an individual). Has there been any other recent testing that might provide some insight?

[elsie]

Thanks so much, glenntaj. I was confused and thought my blood sugar should not go over 140 at any time during the GTT. I think my fasting is too high but I don't know how to bring it down. I am underweight, exercise daily, and try to eat a balanced diet. One problem I have is very low iron stores so I am suppose to take iron along with Vit. C on an empty stomach 3 times a day. That makes it harder for me to eat smaller more frequent meals.

[daniella]

I am not sure and am no expert but not to be too personal how underweight are you? I ask because I used to be and I often got odd bloodwork results. It can also send levels of varing things high such as many underweight people have high cholesterol. How is your liver enzymes?

[elsie]

I am 5' 3" and 105 pds. so don't feel like weight loss would help my fasting blood sugar level. I do have high cholesterol . It's 269 but my HDL is 81. I cannnot take statins, they give me horrific muscle pain. My liver enzymes have always been in the 20's till my last blood work and they were 40.

[glenntaj]

--of endocrine problems beyond those of the insulin/glucose cycle; those involving the adrenals, the thyroid, the parathyroid . . .but you don't seem to have many indications of these (at least from you've written so far--and I'm not an expert in these areas).

The low iron stores, the cholesterol, and the underweight aspect bring two other possibilites to mind, though. The first is neuropathy through hypertriglyceridemia--hereditary high levels of triglycerides that are not affected very much by diet in those with the condition. This is not a well-researched area, but there are some reports of it. The second is the possibility of neuropathy due to nutrient malabsorption--of vitamin B12, B1, B6--and this can stem from a number of factors, but you definitely should be checked for celiac/gluten sensitivity, which can ITSELF cause neuropathy through direct autoimmune cross-reactivity with nerve components. Getting some triglyceride and Vitamin D levels would also be a good idea (have you had B Vitamin levels done?).