It has gone back up again overnight, although I haven't consumed anything.

How does that happen?

Years of practice and self-denial. It could simply be something that's taken a long time to digest from yesterday.

Don't try and work from one or two data points; take same time every day and see what the trend is.

Totally agree with Neil on this Brian, don't rely on one or two points, you need to look for trends over time, hence why the Hb1Ac is a good test (fructosamide is a good one too, in fact some claim it's better but that's for a specialist to investigate). Also bear in mind what Richard said about the meters, they are good for trending but don't rely on them for point-to-point referencing, and remember to thoroughly wash and *rinse* your hands before use!

If you think you're having issues you should see my chart; even the specialists are stumped as to what is going wrong but, reassuringly, they've told me they'll probably find the issue during the post mortem examination.....cunny funts!

Your liver (IIRC) releases blood sugars - it doesn't just come from food. You will see a spike in blood sugar at first if you exercise hard - it's the body's response to demand. A colleague of mine said he almost went hyperglycaemic (sugar levels too high) by taking energy gels ahead of a hard run.

I spent a week monitoring my glucose levels (training for work) - often they would be higher AFTER I'd cycled in than before I set off.

OK, that's reassuring, at least. So I will press on.

Thanks Neil and Stan, too!

You're going to need treatment. Without it the risks of diabetes-related complications will be high.

Well well! I just thought I'd try doing a test this evening to compare with the morning reading (of 11.6).

It is 6.7 !!! And that is 4-5 hours after a meal.

Anyone understand what is going on here?

I think it's worth doing tests before and after each meal for one day - including the fasting/before breakfast test. The after-meal (post-perandial sp?) one should be done 20-30mins after your meal. 4-5 hours is enough for you to have burned off much of what you've eaten - especially if you're being careful what you eat. Type 2 is about managing the peaks and the damage they do.

OK, but can you speculate as to why my BG level seems to be highest in the morning, after a 12hr fast?

Another question: If the test to take notice of is the HbA1c, which indicates an average value over two or three months, how important is it (for health) to also measure the short-term peaks? Is diabetes diagnosed on the basis of the HbA1c alone, on spot checks alone, or what?

Update:

Latest readings indicate that a FBG test taken at midday, rather than early morning, reads only 6.0 or so, compared with the early morning rating of about 12. So having brought the midday reading down from 13 I take to be a good sign.

Even so, it's all too high, especially the post-prandial spikes, so I now have a prescription for Metformin tablets 500mg x 2.

Hello, my name is Brian, and I am a diabetic.

BTW the doctor doesn't think I have done myself any serious damage by waiting this long to go on meds. I am going to see the specialist nurse on July 3rd, and then take a HbA1c later on. The doctor wants me to wait three months to see how the meds are controlling things. In the meantime, of course I am doing my own tests.

Join the club, Brian...

Do I get a membership pack - you know like when I joined the Lenny the Lion Fan Club in 1960!!

So Lenny the Lion was diabetic? Jeez!

Sounds like things have been done in time, dinna worry man - we know who you are