[mbuster]

Welcome to the forum Jeaniemm,

Sorry for the delay, but was hoping someone that has used labs outside of a doctors practice to respond.

I personally am not familiar with tests not performed in my doctors office or hospital, but I aware that there are walk in labs or on line-labs that do testing. Probably best thing to do would be using your favorite search engine to find one and get in touch with them for what tests they offer and preparation instructions (fasting, etc.)

With the on line labs, I would think that you would have to go somewhere to get the blood drawn. If you use your doctor's office, why not just let them send it to where they normally send it to run the tests? Is the reason you are asking because your doctor isn't willing to order an insulin tests?

An insulin test by itself, may be meaningless, but not enough info has been offered. You may need to have blood glucose tested too, or C-peptide, or something else depending on the reason for testing to begin with. The labs may be able to answer your question if you are not going thru a physician.

 

[mbuster]

I would think C-peptide should be used in everyone's initial testing for diagnosis of what type of diabetes one has. Of course that should be coupled with antibody testing if C-peptides results are low, indicting low insullin production.

High C-peptide tests could indicate insulin resistance, you could be making several times as much insulin as normal and still keeping keep your BG and A1c numbers in good range. High/rising c-peptide levels could indicate progression of insulin resistance. High/rising C-peptide results could also be an indicator of potential blocking of the arteries. There is a lot of info on c-peptide on the internet.

Getting a c-peptide test, even if thought unneeded right now would give you a baseline number to look back at when/if tested again in the future. The lab or your doctor, would be better suited to advise you on what/when to test and why.

 

[mbuster]

Sorry to hear there is more to worry about added to your plate. Probably best to focus more on the new issue, than your insulin levels. Hopefully the cysts issue is caught soon enough to have a positive influence on the outcome. There are certain foods to avoid and include in your meals. Maybe your doctor has discussed those things, if not there is a lot of info on the internet.

Also controlling BG is important as well, because high BG impedes healing. So you shouldn't totally forget to pay some attention to that too. Looks like itissteve has addressed what I was just thinking when reading back thru the thread. I'll second the motion to have your own BG monitor. There is an old saying that you don't want to rob Peter to pay Paul.