Probably bad news

Thursday:

I had my oral glucose tolerance test today after three days of eating lots of carbohydrates and then overnight fasting. I think it is going to be bad news. I felt so shaky and horrible (but not nauseated this time) by the two hour point that the blood-test guy wouldn't let me leave the room until he'd watched me eat my banana and made sure I'd stopped trembling. And more telling, I tested my blood with my own little kit in the bathroom just before that and it was 11.2 mmol/L. Last year, when I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, it was 10.0. Diabetes starts at 11.1 mmol/L.

I have an appointment with my doctor next Wednesday for the official and more accurate results, but whether I am "officially" diabetic or not I am worse than last year. They have to draw a line on the continuum somewhere, but 11.0 not being diabetes and 11.1 being diabetes is a bit arbitrary anyway. So even if the more accurate test results show I am 11.0, it is just as much of a worry as if I am 0.2 over that.

It was well below freezing this morning, the kids were amazed at all the frost on the grass as I dropped them off at school a bit early, worried about them being out in the cold for 10 mins before school started. I drove to the pathology clinic, parked a couple of blocks away and walked through the numbing cold to find I had forgotten my referral! Arg! And I needed to give a urine sample, too, so I was uncomfortably holding that in, but they wouldn't take it without the referral. I had to go to the bathroom anyway, then back to my car, drove home and got the referral (which had been sitting right under my handbag but I'd forgotten it anyway), drove back and found parking again, back through the frost. Tried to give a urine sample but had almost nothing to give. Just enough, apparently. Phew.

Then I had to sit for half an hour to relax before they started the glucose test. They took blood then I had to drink a bottle of water with 75 grams of glucose in it. Disgustingly, gaggingly sweet. Read a magazine for an hour then another vial of blood. I was starting to feel really cold and a bit trembly but dismissed it because in the past I have felt nauseated if I was reacting badly to the glucose. Another hour, then I secretly tested myself (the number really shocked me, not what I was expecting) and then had the final vial of blood taken. Really shaky by now. The guy made me stay sitting, wouldn't let me bend down even to get my bag, got my banana for me and watched me eat it. That was kind of awkward! He waited with me until I felt a bit better then I could finally leave.

I went to the library nearby and grabbed some books on diabetes and some recipes for diabetic-friendly meals then drove home and made a big salad with some lamb for lunch. I still feel weak and a bit unwell. I suppose a salad doesn't have much carbohydrate, I was trying to be really healthy, but maybe I need some carbs (more than just the banana). I'll have a couple of crackers.

Big big priority to manage this and to lose the weight. Weight loss and regular exercise and both very important for diabetes management.

I put on half a kilo with the three days of carb loading, so my starting point is 80.5kg.