Two months ago my doctor did a finger-prick test during an appointment. The reading was high, and he changed my prescription on the strength of it.
A few days later my A1C came back from the lab. That is the test that reflects two to three months rather than one moment. It was 5.6%, which is fine.
Two measurements of the same person, days apart, pointing in opposite directions. I didn't understand why until I wore a continuous glucose monitor.
I had eaten breakfast before that appointment. Including fruit.
On the seven mornings I ate fruit at breakfast during the experiment, my readings between half past eight and eleven peaked at 135, 135, 143, 145, 147, 151 and 153. Every one of those would look high on a single test. On the same days, my average across the full twenty-four hours was between 106 and 121 — ordinary.
So the finger-prick wasn't wrong. It measured exactly what was happening at that minute. It just happened to be my worst minute of the day, and nobody in the room knew that, including me.
My doctor wasn't wrong either, and I want to be clear about that. He had one number and no context. Acting on a high reading is the right instinct when a high reading is all you have. The problem wasn't his judgment — it was the information available in the room.
Which is something you can change, and it costs nothing:
What you eat before an appointment changes the number you get treated on. If there's any chance of a finger-prick, either don't eat beforehand or tell them exactly what you ate and when. Ask whether they'd rather you came fasting.
One reading is a moment. Ask what the trend says. If a decision is being made on a single number, it is fair to ask how it compares to your A1C.
I see him again next month, and this time I'm bringing sixteen days of continuous data. That is a better conversation than either of us could have had in July.
— Alistair
PureNovus
Educational, not medical advice. Never start, stop or change a medication without your own doctor.