For several years now I have been paranoid about developing Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as adult-onset diabetes. My paternal aunts all developed it and so has one of my cousins (on both sides). Being overweight puts me at a higher risk, too. In recent years I’ve noticed what I imagined to be symptoms including slow healing of injuries and the occasional negative reaction to large amounts of sugar. After my sister, Mardy, developed it a couple of years ago, I felt sure I was going to get it if I didn’t have it already. However, I pushed it to the back of my mind and didn’t get tested because I was afraid of the results.
This year, though, with Tina’s help I’ve really gotten my weight under control and I feel healthier than I have in recent years. So when I called to schedule an annual checkup with my doctor, I requested a glucose test. It was finally time to take control of the situation and deal with the consequences, if necessary.
On Tuesday I arrived at my appointment early after fasting for 12 hours per doctor’s instructions. Fortunuately, I did not have to do the glucose tolerance test. Instead, it was just a simple blood test and the doctor would call with the results that night. He warned that a high glucose concentration combined with other factors would also put me at a higher risk for heart disease. One of those factors was also blood cholesterol so they tested for that, too.
Blood glucose levels while fasting are considered “normal” when they fall below 100. 140 and above is considered diabetic and everything in between is a gray area which would probably indicate the eventual development of diabetes. My blood glucose level was at 97 for the test. That’s very good and I’m pleased. The doctor was surprised and wants to have a second test done where they measure my blood glucose two hours after I eat a high calorie meal (or the highest calorie meal of my day). I’ll probably have that done when my regular doctor gets back from his stint in Africa (long story).
The blood cholesterol story was almost as good. My triglyceride levels were at 103 which is well under the 150 threshold for concern. My “good cholesterol” level was 46 which is in the healthy range of 40 to 60. My “bad cholesterol” level was 108 which is in the “near optimal” range. “Optimal” is considered to be 100 and below.
So the news was almost uniformly great and if I can lose more weight it will continue to get better.
