Written by Dr. Albana Greca, Family Physician If your TSH is low but FT4 is still within the normal range, one possibility is a mild form of thyroid overactivity called subclinical hyperthyroidism. However, I would not make that diagnosis from TSH and FT4 alone. I would also want to know your T3 level, whether the […]
High TSH but Normal FT4: What Does It Mean? Written by Dr. Albana Greca, Family Physician If your TSH is high but your free T4, or FT4, is still within the laboratory reference range, the result commonly fits a pattern called subclinical hypothyroidism. I know the word “subclinical” can be confusing. It does not mean […]
Can You Have Insulin Resistance With Normal Blood Sugar? Written by Dr. Albana Greca, Family Physician Yes. You can have insulin resistance even when your fasting blood sugar and HbA1c are still within the normal range. This can happen because your pancreas may compensate for reduced insulin sensitivity by producing more insulin. For a period […]
High Blood Sugar in the Morning: Common Reasons If your blood sugar is higher when you wake up than it was the night before, it can be confusing — especially when you have not eaten anything overnight. Morning glucose can rise even while you are fasting because your body continues to regulate glucose while you […]
How Do You Know If You Have Insulin Resistance? If you are worried about insulin resistance because of weight gain, high fasting insulin, prediabetes, high triglycerides, PCOS, or a family history of diabetes, it is tempting to look for one blood test that gives you a simple yes-or-no answer. In practice, insulin resistance is usually […]
Why HbA1c and Home Blood Sugar Readings May Not Match One of the more confusing situations I see is a patient whose home glucose readings look fairly good but whose HbA1c is higher than expected — or the opposite, with frequent high glucose readings but a surprisingly normal HbA1c. When this happens, I do not […]
High Fasting Blood Sugar but Normal HbA1c: What Does It Mean? If your fasting blood sugar is high but your HbA1c is normal, you may wonder which result you should believe. I would not automatically dismiss either test. Fasting glucose and HbA1c measure different aspects of glucose control, and it is possible for one to […]
What Does an HbA1c of 6.5% Mean? If your HbA1c result is 6.5%, you have reached an important diagnostic threshold. For a nonpregnant adult, 6.5% is the level at which HbA1c enters the diabetes range. But I would still want to know whether this is your first abnormal result, whether you have symptoms, what your […]
Is 140 Blood Sugar Two Hours After Eating High? If your blood sugar is 140 mg/dL two hours after eating, you may immediately wonder whether the result means prediabetes or diabetes. Before drawing that conclusion, I would want to know exactly how the glucose was measured, when you started eating, what the meal contained, whether […]
Can Prediabetes Go Back to Normal? If you have been told that you have prediabetes, one of the first questions you may ask is whether your blood sugar can return to normal. In many people, the answer is yes. Prediabetes does not automatically mean that you will develop type 2 diabetes. Quick Answer Prediabetes can […]