Sudden rise in glucose and insulin??

[sandyt]

This has me a little unsettled and maybe a little depressed. My normal fasting glucose from blood labs is around 90. Hba1c is 5.1 and insulin less than 3. However, this week my glucose came back at 105, hba1c at 5.7, and insulin at 7! I haven’t changed my diet or exercise regimen. I am lean and eat a very clean diet. I exercise before breakfast everyday and go for a walk after dinner. I don’t think it could be a lab error since all three markers went up. What could have caused such a change? I’m not sure what more I could/should be doing
Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

[Quantifier]

A somewhat off the wall question: How well hydrated were you when the blood was taken? I noticed that if I am dehydrated (for instance after a particularly hot night) when I measure my morning glucose and ketones both are abnormally high, but if I drink 2 glasses of water and remeasure the numbers look like my normal ones. From this I learned just how important good hydration is - I could really be damaging myself just letting my blood get more concentrated with everything.

[sandyt]

Interesting. I hadn’t had anything to drink since 6 pm the night before the draw. Maybe I will test again, making sure I am well hydrated, before I make any other drastic changes.

[sandyt]

A somewhat off the wall question: How well hydrated were you when the blood was taken? I noticed that if I am dehydrated (for instance after a particularly hot night) when I measure my morning glucose and ketones both are abnormally high, but if I drink 2 glasses of water and remeasure the numbers look like my normal ones. From this I learned just how important good hydration is - I could really be damaging myself just letting my blood get more concentrated with everything.

I was just thinking...it makes sense that dehydration could radically change glucose levels, but could it actually effect Hba1c (3 month marker) substantially?

[floramaria]

I was just thinking...it makes sense that dehydration could radically change glucose levels, but could it actually effect Hba1c (3 month marker) substantially?

That's and interesting question, sandyt.
Seems unlikely. I did a little bit of poking around on the internet and while and found this :
HbA1c is the measure of glycaemic status of an individual over the
last three months. It is formed by
a non-enzymatic reaction whichoccurs between glucose and the
N-end of the beta chain. There is
very little literature available on data
search to suggest that dehydration
directly affects HbA1c. However, a
rise in urea level as a result of dehydration can alter the HbA1c test
results depending on the assay.

From this article: "Effect of dehydration on Blood Tests"
https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/do ... 2/pdi.2111

[sandyt]

I was just thinking...it makes sense that dehydration could radically change glucose levels, but could it actually effect Hba1c (3 month marker) substantially?

That's and interesting question, sandyt.
Seems unlikely. I did a little bit of poking around on the internet and while and found this :
HbA1c is the measure of glycaemic status of an individual over the
last three months. It is formed by
a non-enzymatic reaction whichoccurs between glucose and the
N-end of the beta chain. There is
very little literature available on data
search to suggest that dehydration
directly affects HbA1c. However, a
rise in urea level as a result of dehydration can alter the HbA1c test
results depending on the assay.

From this article: "Effect of dehydration on Blood Tests"
https://wchh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/do ... 2/pdi.2111

Very interesting. I will definitely be looking into this tonight. Thanks!!

[sandyt]

Well I just got the rest of my blood tests back and my TSH spiked quite high also. What in the world is going on? I can’t think of anything in my lifestyle or diet that has changed substantially.

[KatieS]

Have your doctor add on a free T4. Last year my TSH was high but they just repeated the TSH in a few months, when it came down it just under 5. This year TSH was high again but I had the T4 added on, confirming hypothyroidism. I need to post soon what a dramatic difference treatment of hypothyroidism has made for me!

[SusanJ]

I need to post soon what a dramatic difference treatment of hypothyroidism has made for me!

Hi Katie, good to see you posting! Very interested in hearing about the hypothyroidism connection.

[sandyt]

Have your doctor add on a free T4. Last year my TSH was high but they just repeated the TSH in a few months, when it came down it just under 5. This year TSH was high again but I had the T4 added on, confirming hypothyroidism. I need to post soon what a dramatic difference treatment of hypothyroidism has made for me!

My free T4 and T3 were within "normal" ranges and my TPO Antibodies were fine also.
I did think of one thing that was different...I had been ill about 3 weeks before the blood test. The illness was like a very, very mild cold. I used an iodine rinse to treat it. I quit the rinse about 10 to 12 days before the blood tests. But I wonder if the iodine could have contributed to the change. I can't seem to find out how long it takes iodine to leave the system.