glucose question
 

I've been looking through my blood work out of curiosity thinking that maybe something was borderline and didn't get flagged.

Everything looked great. However, my estimated average glucose was 111. I wasn't fasting, but I didn't eat sugar or carbs at all. That particular day, I think I had only had coffee for breakfast.

I am pretty small. 5'2" and 107 pounds. However, is it possible that I still have glucose intolerance? I was borderline diabetic during both of my pregnancies. I made the decision to ditch sugars about 3 years ago because I would feel dizzy after eating them.

I started adding sugars back in my diet last April when I first noticed symptoms. I was trying to carb load for long runs. Does anyone have any ideas about this? Could I be pre-diabetic at a normal weight?

I have read that if you are doing low carb your average fasting level can go up a bit and stay there. Because your body isn't dealing with any real spikes the level actually rises a small bit and holds steady in that range instead of spiking way up and way down.

Based on what you wrote its tough to tell for sure. Have you had a 3 glucose tests - A1C, Fasting and OGTT. Usually they look for something across all the tests. Also, do you do blood glucose monitoring at home? Its a good way to see how you react to food, you can bring that info to your doctor.

You do not have to be overweight to have diabetes.

Yes there is a daily poster
 

that is below the standards and still is suffering w/ Neuropathy. She will probably jump in after a while. Ken. P.S. Her name is janieg, you can search her posts.

I am 4'11 and weigh 92 lbs
 

and I am questioning glucose intolerance myself. Sugar seems to really effect me and my symptoms. Carb loading could have been a factor imo and you already have history from when you were pregnant. I'd look into it. Even if you're not intolerant sugar is not usually good for neuropathy symptoms.

If janieg doesn't respond you could check out her posts or even pm her. I don't see her on as often since she went back to work.

Yes, I have some issues with glucose or insulin too: seeming hypoglycemia on a OGTT. I'm not even categorized as prediabetic, testing perfectly on all tests except this strange result. Janieg was helpful in this regard.

Average ? All non-fasting ?
 

I am a little confused about your wording. "Estimated" ? Average ?

Are you saying that you averaged out your glucose levels from several prior lab test results from various dates and came up with 111?

Do you have ANY with a HIGH reading?

A level of 111 on a non-fasting test is very good.

NON-diabetics can have non-fasting levels higher than that if they have eaten, had coffee, juice, etc.

Glucose levels change constantly throughout the day for everyone but the body quickly makes adjustments to keep glucose levels within normal ranges. It is when the body does NOT regulate the balance of glucose and insulin, you become insulin resistant, pre-diabetic, diabetic, etc.

Without a better description from you, I would say you are NOT out of normal range.

I would not worry about a reading of 111, especially if non-fasting, or even an "average" of several results if any of them were NON-fasting levels.

Oh, you did mention "coffee". Coffee WILL raise your blood sugar levels even if you drink it black if it is caffeinated.

Caffeine increases blood sugar levels.

Thanks for the insight. I actually wasn't so much worried as hopeful that this could be what is causing the sfn. It just said eAG on the blood work. The description said, "estimated average glucose." I really have not had my glucose checked except for all the blood work that was done at the time of my original diagnosis and when I was pregnant. The levels then were borderline.

Sadly, I'm just looking for a reason. It's hard to believe that this just came out of nowhere.

Usually when they use "estimated average glucose" it means that they tested your A1C and have converted it to mg/dL number. I think they do this because most people are more familiar with the mg/dL result.

There are some conditions that can cause your A1C number to be inaccurate - pregnancy is one of them because the turnover of red blood cells varies depending on how far along you are. Definitely go back for another glucose check.

Here's a good article to answer that question:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/d...l-201208085121

If you are at all worried about blood sugar, you can buy an inexpensive meter at any drug store or discount store, and learn for yourself how your body is reacting to different foods. I have problems that can only be seen by home monitoring and on the oral glucose tolerance test. I respond horribly to sugar and refined carbs.

When I went low carb, my screening numbers drifted higher. As someone else mentioned, that's not uncommon as the body isn't in "panic-mode" trying to keep blood sugar as low as possible in anticipation of bad spikes.

If you think you're responding badly to sugar, then listen to your body. One thing is for sure...high glucose is an insult to nerves. Whether it's the cause your neuropathy or not, if you're spiking high, you're not helping your cause.