Time for another test

Wednesday:

My, doesn't time fly. (And what an original thought!) I just got a letter from my doctor saying it's been a year since my last diabetes test and it was time for another one. I've made an appointment with my doctor next Wednesday, she's very hard to get in to see, so I can get a referral, then I do the three day carb load which would mean I couldn't do the test until the week after...

Hmm, we get the puppy that weekend so I don't want to spend three hours away from home just then. Maybe I should book the test and start the carb loading early so I can do the actual test the day after I pick up the referral instead of three days later. I only have to show the referral when I actually go for the test, and I can get the carb-load info off the web-site. I don't need to wait until I have the referral before I start the next step in the process. I am brilliant!

We need to buy all the stuff for the puppy, too. A little doggy bed and everything.

Anyway, I was surprised to get this letter because it seems not very long ago that I had my last diabetes test. At that time I'd had pre-diabetes for a year and thought I had improved but then during the test became convinced I'd got worse. So when I saw the doctor for my results I was deeply sure that I had diabetes and when she told me my blood sugar was down near normal level I nearly fell off my chair. I'd been right the first time.

This time I am very unsure. I haven't thought to check my blood at home for ages, although I have the equipment (from when I had gestational diabetes). I have gained quite a bit of weight these past four of five months - due to the sleep apnoea I believe - and I'm not sure how sleep apnoea itself, or the high blood pressure caused by the sleep apnoea, interact with insulin resistance. All those factors interact with each other. So it wouldn't be that surprising if my insulin resistance is worse.

I just did a very unscientific test on myself. I think it is about two hours since I had a afternoon tea but it's supposed to be exactly two hours - and also I just had about eight m&ms half an hour ago, so this test means little. But 8.4 mmol/L (151 mg/dL) is a bit higher than it should be at any time (ie even straight after eating m&ms) if I didn't have insulin resistance. If forced to guess from that limited information, I would say I am still within the pre-diabetic range. Obviously worth checking properly.