A recent workplace screening for fasting blood glucose found mine to be too high (122). I've never had a high reading before - and I've had little concern as neither parents nor siblings have had glucose worries even though some were overweight. I've been on Atkins for about 14 months and have lost weight and have been tested twice in the last year for cholesterol and glucose. My good fat/bad fat ratio has improved, and the fasting glucose level were always normal ( 100). However, I'm very surprised by this recent glucose reading, because after all, my diet is quite different than it was and I weigh about 20 lbs less.

I know next to nothing about glucose levels and diet.

This test was done immediately after "racing" to get to work -- I was late and rode my bicycle hard for 45 minutes to to the nurses office where she took the blood immediately as I huffed and puffed so-to-speak. Would that play with the glucose reading? One would think that I would read "empty" as I was fasting 12 hours and at the end of my ride.

I realize I need to read more (I just got this result this morning) and have already made an appointment with my own physician. I haven't paid much attention to the diabetes aspect of Atkins. All I know is that I've dropped some weight and my joints are incredibly more flexible in the morning (arthritis with runs in my family).

Well, don't freak out yet, cube. There are so many things that can skew a blood sugar reading - from exercise to what you ate (or DIDN'T eat) the night before to a problem in the lab, that no one will make the prounouncement of IFG (Impaired Fasting Glucose) without a couple of repeat tests. So it's really smart to be seeing your doctor about it. (BTW, a fasting blood sugar of 100 is right at the end of "normal" and right on the edge of IFG if it is a persistent reading.)

The reason you really don't want to put off following up on this is that while type2D (or some precursor syndrome) would be more likely in an adult (if it turns out you have any problem at ALL, that is), there are uncommon cases of type1 (which does not have the very gradual progression of type2) which seem to arise from some not well understood autoimmune response in adults. So keep that appointment.

If you do turn out to have some blood sugar problems, you could not be on a better dietary track to combat it. I've kept normal A1c's for over six years now with no medications at all. I was pre-type2.

If you have any of the typical blood sugar issues, probably all you'll have to do is give your regular Atkins program a tweak or two, so I highly recommend the book Atkins Diabetes Revolution. It's now available in hard or soft cover wherever books are sold.

Let us know how your follow up goes!

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Ditto everything Maggie said!

But just a note: I know for a fact that exercise raises my blood sugar (temporarily) and they should NOT have tested you so soon after *racing* to work (seems they should know that!).
That said, it is best if you keep an eye on it & have it tested several more times before you panic.
I was diagnosed with diabetes 3.5 years ago and eating this way helped me to *reverse* the diagnosis and stay off of medication. I'm leaning toward some outside factor causing this high reading, but *do* check with a doctor.
Good luck!

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Summer

I don't know if this correlates to humans; but, for diabetic cats stress often results in elevated glucose levels. That's one thing that makes it difficult for vets to determine the appropriate dose of insulin - the stress just from going to the vet's office can raise blood glucose by 50 to 100 points.

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~~~Teelbee
Back to GOAL!!!
start weight: 176/goal range: 137-134/now: 138
Reached goal in Aug. 2003 - 4rd year of maintenance.

Teelbee,

YES! I can attest to that fact! The same is true with humans. Stress can & will increase your insulin levels. In fact, more & more endocrinologists are recommending exercise & other ideas for stress relief in their patients. Dr. Schwarzbein even talks about this in her books...
I'm not sure (it's been a while since I've read up on this), but I think it is all linked to cortisol release. Both exercise (especially intense physical exercise) and stress release cortisol. BUT with exercise, you get a long-term BENEFIT that far outweighs the temporary hormone release. That said, you still should never test your BG *right after* exercising!

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Summer

Yeah, I've noticed the "exercise effect" myself. I can get up and have a fasting number of 81. Then, drink some water and go out to shovel snow for a half hour or so. If I retest and I'm up to 99.

I presume that strenous exercise liberates and converts anything stored that can be converted to blood glucose.

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Thanks for previous input. I knew next to nothing about glucose levels, but was very perplexed.

Thanks for previous input. I knew next to nothing about glucose levels, but was very perplexed at a High reading on Atkins

I got the results back from my doc. Glucose 93 and Hemoglobin A1C 5.5 (which I believe is some kind of 3 month average for glucose) -- both of these are in the Non-Diabetic range, but from what I read are on just the other side of the door so-to-speak. My doc agreed that the glucose reading shouldn't have been taken during exercise -- however, my original test was just a workplace screening (and free) so I shouldn't fault them. In fact, I think it's great because it has been 5 years or so since I had a physical.

Do these glucose numbers increase with age or is it just diet? Will that answer be explained in the Atkins Diabetes Revolution?

What you'll learn from the Diabetes Revolution is that diabetes (type2, that is - they should almost give it a different name from type1) is a continuum.

To oversimplify: It starts with the insulin receptors becoming resistant to the insulin that the body releases to convert glucose to energy (insulin restistance). The pancreas responds by pouring out more and more insulin (hyperinsulinemia). At about this point you have a pre-diabetic condition. With no adjustments of eating habits and activity, it will continue to worsen until the receptors are so resistant that, even with lots of insulin being produced, the blood glucose level cannot be controlled. (Now we're to frank diabetes.) Over time, with no change in food or activity levels (and even with some oral hypoglycemics) the beta cells of the pancreas finally burn out and can't produce enough insulin to have an effect. That's when type2's wind up needing insulin injections to get their blood sugar levels near normal.

As a pre-diabetic when I started this way of eating, I can tell you that with careful attention to what I eat, I have maintained normal A1c's for many years now.

The sooner one understands the issue, the easier it is to keep things within normal limits.

Do read the book. Don't eat a lot of low carb "frankenfoods" - yeah, Atkins products included. That's a long story, but I've learned from a million finger sticks, that most "low carb products" including Atkins products are not favorable to my BGL's.

Hang in there!

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