# [help] I'm not sure if I have diabetes



## Roy7887 (Feb 2, 2019)

Hi, I am 20 this year, male. I went to a nearby pharmacy yesterday to test for the finger prick glucose test, the meter showed 6 mmol and the pharmacist ask me to go again today. So today I went again and I got a 4.7 mmol on a different hand and about 5 minutes later I check again( the same hand as yesterday) and the result showed 5.2. All readings are measured at fasting for at least 10 hours. The question is do I have diabetes? Thank you for your help. I am super nervous and streesed now lol.


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## Ralph-YK (Feb 2, 2019)

Why are you asking is you're diabetic? Why are you having the pharmacist do a finger prick test?
There's NO way for us to know if you're diabetic from your post!


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## Ralph-YK (Feb 2, 2019)

If you have reason to suspect you're diabetic, go to your doctors and get the test done to find out!


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## DaveB (Feb 2, 2019)

Hi. All of those figures would be in the range of those for a non-diabetic. If you are still concerned for some reason then do ask to see the GP.


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## Roy7887 (Feb 2, 2019)

DaveB said:


> Hi. All of those figures would be in the range of those for a non-diabetic. If you are still concerned for some reason then do ask to see the GP.


Hi, I though 6 is in the range of diabetic? Thank you for your time.


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## Ralph-YK (Feb 2, 2019)

Probably a HbA1c for diabetes. Tell the doctor about your family history, symptoms and concerns ect.


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## Ralph-YK (Feb 2, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> Hi, I though 6 is in the range of diabetic? Thank you for your time.


I wouldn't be surprised at a non diabetic getting higher than that.


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## Roy7887 (Feb 2, 2019)

Ralph-YK said:


> Probably a HbA1c for diabetes. Tell the doctor about your family history, symptoms and concerns ect.


Thank you so much I will go to the doctor tomorrow. Is there a reason for such a big variation in the readings?


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## Ralph-YK (Feb 2, 2019)

Frankly I'd ignore the difference from 6 to 5 (I'm not on insulin or gliclazide) as it's not that much of a difference.
4.7 to 5.2, that's def not very far.


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## trophywench (Feb 2, 2019)

Bog standard average BG for a non-diabetic is 5.  Between approx. 3.8 to 7.8 is also dead normal too.

Why on earth do you suspect diabetes in the first place?  What unexplained symptoms are you having which caused you to even consider diabetes?


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## SB2015 (Feb 2, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> Hi, I am 20 this year, male. I went to a nearby pharmacy yesterday to test for the finger prick glucose test, the meter showed 6 mmol and the pharmacist ask me to go again today. So today I went again and I got a 4.7 mmol on a different hand and about 5 minutes later I check again( the same hand as yesterday) and the result showed 5.2. All readings are measured at fasting for at least 10 hours. The question is do I have diabetes? Thank you for your help. I am super nervous and streesed now lol.


As others have said, your levels seem very normal.  Glad we have been able to reassure you, but also wondering why you thought to go for the test.


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## Roy7887 (Feb 2, 2019)

trophywench said:


> Bog standard average BG for a non-diabetic is 5.  Between approx. 3.8 to 7.8 is also dead normal too.
> 
> Why on earth do you suspect diabetes in the first place?  What unexplained symptoms are you having which caused you to even consider diabetes?


My father is a diabetic and I drink a lot of water like about 4 litres per day and frequent urination too.


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## HOBIE (Feb 2, 2019)

Dr will let you know. Good luck


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## TheClockworkDodo (Feb 2, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> My father is a diabetic and I drink a lot of water like about 4 litres per day and frequent urination too.


In that case, if I were you I should ask your doctor to do a HbA1c test (average blood sugar over the last 3 months) - a couple of finger prick tests won't tell you if you're diabetic, they'll just tell you what your blood sugar is doing at any one moment.  So you know your blood sugar wasn't high at any of the moments you had it tested, but you can't know what it's doing overall.  If your father weren't diabetic and you weren't drinking and going to the loo a lot then there'd be no reason to get any more tests done, but given those circumstances, it's worth seeing your GP for a HbA1c just to be on the safe side.


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## Roy7887 (Feb 3, 2019)

Thank you so much guys. Really appreciate it.


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## Roy7887 (Feb 3, 2019)

My result for the hb1ac is 4.5 mmol/mol. Thank you so much guys. Any advice on when to check my glucose level again?


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## khskel (Feb 3, 2019)

That puts you firmly in the non diabetic range.


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## silentsquirrel (Feb 3, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> My result for the hb1ac is 4.5 mmol/mol. Thank you so much guys. Any advice on when to check my glucose level again?


I am very puzzled how you managed to get an HbA1c done in a few hours over a weekend?  Or is this an old result you have found?
4.5 mmol/mol does not look right for an HbA1c.  Are you in the UK?  The units are the ones currently used in the UK, and below 42 is non-diabetic, but 4.5 seems way too low!  If it was 45 rather than 4.5 it would be pre-diabetic (48 or more diabetic).
The HbA1c used to be expressed as a percentage, and still is in some countries eg USA (and by a few HCPs in the UK who persist with the old units!)  In that case, 4.5% would be a sensible result, and definitely non-diabetic - equivalent to 26mmol/mol.
https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c


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## Roy7887 (Feb 3, 2019)

silentsquirrel said:


> I am very puzzled how you managed to get an HbA1c done in a few hours over a weekend?  Or is this an old result you have found?
> 4.5 mmol/mol does not look right for an HbA1c.  Are you in the UK?  The units are the ones currently used in the UK, and below 42 is non-diabetic, but 4.5 seems way too low!  If it was 45 rather than 4.5 it would be pre-diabetic (48 or more diabetic).
> The HbA1c used to be expressed as a percentage, and still is in some countries eg USA (and by a few HCPs in the UK who persist with the old units!)  In that case, 4.5% would be a sensible result, and definitely non-diabetic - equivalent to 26mmol/mol.
> https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c


Hi, I am not from the UK. I actually went to pharmacy for the test and it only takes about 10 minutes for the whole test. I think the reading is in percentage as it showed that normal glucose level is less than 6.5. Thank you.


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## silentsquirrel (Feb 3, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> Hi, I am not from the UK. I actually went to pharmacy for the test and it only takes about 10 minutes for the whole test. I think the reading is in percentage as it showed that normal glucose level is less than 6.5. Thank you.


Wow!  Doubt if any pharmacies here could do that.  Yes, definitely % scale even though form says otherwise.  4.5% way below diabetic threshold, so no need to worry.


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## Eddy Edson (Feb 3, 2019)

Roy7887 said:


> Hi, I am not from the UK. I actually went to pharmacy for the test and it only takes about 10 minutes for the whole test. I think the reading is in percentage as it showed that normal glucose level is less than 6.5. Thank you.



Out of interest, which pharmacy is that?

It's a great non-diabetic number, but if it were me I'd maybe have some niggling doubts about accuracy -  seems pretty sloppy to tag the result as "mmol/mol" rather than "%".


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## Docb (Feb 3, 2019)

I can be a bit of a "units" nerd Eddy and if there is a sloppyness in mmol/mol, it is that it should by mmol of something/mol of something else.  Quoting it as a percentage is fine if everybody everywhere uses the same measurement derived in the same way but is not helpful when trying to convert from one convention to another.  Quoting a percentage takes it one stage further because any notion of what has actually been measured disappears completely.  Not a problem when everybody uses the same standard but a bit of a bummer when they don't!


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