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Diabetes

Non-fasting blood sugar

09/12/2008

Question:

Is 135 a high nonfasting blood sugar? my doctor suggested I watch my carbs and then take a fasting blood sugar test. I`m taking 2.5 mg of prednisone every other day; I have adrenal disease as well.

Answer:

Your doctor is right.  There are criteria for judging blood sugar under standardized conditions, either fasting or 2 hours after a standard glucose challenge (a glucose tolerance test).  Whether the blood sugar you describe is abnormal depends very much on the conditions, including what you are describing as non-fasting:  it could be perfectly normal within 1-2 hours of a sizable meal but may not be normal if drawn many hours after a meal or after a modest meal.  You need a result under standardized conditions to make a formal judgement and you would need more information than provided to form even an informal opinion.  I would also not make decisions on the basis of that if it is a fingerstick glucose:  you want a clinical laboratory venous blood sample measurement to make a determination.  

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Response by:

Robert M Cohen, MD Robert M Cohen, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati