concerned girl

I was recently given a fasting glucose test along with my cholesterol testing when I complained about being tired, thirsty and frequent urination. I never made this connection, but now it seems the more I read the more that might make sense.

Here is my question however... I was diagnosed with PCOS last November and prescribed Metformin 500mgs twice a day. While I knew I had to fast, I didn't think about skipping the Met until the AM before the test.

My result for the fasting blood glucose test was 99mg/dL, which is on the highest end of normal. My doctor viewed the results before mailing them too me and only noted that I need to increase my HDL.

Yuck, this post is turning long, sorry about that. At any rate, should I be calling my doctor and pointing his attention that while yes, my test was within "normal" range, it was likely affected by my Met? How long does Met stay in the system? (If anyone knows, the answers I've found searching have only further confused me.)

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

johnleveritt

Hello, and welcome to the board.

For your answer look here:

How long does metformin stay in your system? - Yahoo! Answers

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John

concerned girl

Okay, that sort of helps, it somewhat confirms what I was thinking. However, I know half life is affected by dosage, etc. I just don't know the formula to figuring it out at different dosages

Either way, dosage or not that tells me that I was most likely not going to give the correct reading on blood sugar less than 12 hours after my last dose. Here's the question, should I go in an insist on further testing or for the met to be taken into consideration or should I assume since I am on Met that the issue, assuming there is one is being handled by proxy?

My husband and I disagree on this point, I want to be sure it's the issue, if it is.. and he says I'm already on Met, other than diet an exercise which I am constantly doing they wont do anything about it anyhow.

johnleveritt

Call, and ask your doctor what he/she wants done. I presume that when you first started seeing this doctor, that they had you list all of your medications, (including metformin) mine sure did, so your doctor is supposed to know what your taking, so that they can make an informed decision.

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John

concerned girl

Well, that would seem logical, but I am thinking if I had a patient whom I knew was on Met and who I was testing the blood glucose of that I would most likely pursue further testing when the number was on the highest end of "normal". But that is me and obviously not my doctor. I know I can ask him, but before I did I was wondering if I am being rational and understanding this all correctly is all.

it's very difficult to get calls through to my MD, it seems like the nurses in the clinic do whatever they can to stand between yourself and the docs. While that is certainly a pain in the bum in these situations, they generally don't come up anyhow, so rarely is it an issue.

johnleveritt

What kind of a doctor are you seeing?

I don't consider 99 mg/dL a high number fasting, my Endo wants mine around 100 mg/dL, and my health care teacher would be happy with 120 mg/dL.

The nurses run my doctors offices too, but I always get a call back either from the MD, or one of the nurses, I've had calls from one of my doctors as late as 11:00pm. If you talk to your doctor on your next visit, I think that you will find out that he likes it that way. After all he has to see you on time when you come in for an appointment.

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John

rubystar2

I would call your doctor and mention you were taking the metformin when you had that blood glucose level done. He did review your results but he may not have remembered you were on metformin. It wouldn't hurt just to call and mention it. He (or someone, hopefully) will call back and say, "Yes, he knew you were on metformin and that's okay" or they might say "He wants you to with hold the metformin for a few days and retest". I would definitely give them a call. Otherwise we're all just guessing!!

Terrie

Hello CG:

Do you have Diabetes in your Family? I would be concerned with the thirst and frequent urination also while being on Met. Did your Dr. not make another appointment for you to have another Fasting Blood Glucose test(FBG)? Normally, 2 FBG tests are done on 2 different days to give the proper results.

I agree with John and Ruby. Call your Dr. for another appointment and also ask to be tested again. Sometimes Drs. forget what drugs each Patient is on. Sometimes Secretaries can be busy and a bit rude but they are supposed to be there to help you. Let us know how it goes.

Fasting Blood Glucose

-From 70 to 99 mg/dL (3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L)--Normal fasting glucose
-From 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L)--Impaired fasting glucose (pre-diabetes)
-126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) and above on more than one testing occasion--Diabetes

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