would you take a glucose load test?

[pauleo]

I've been scheduled for an insulin test after a glucose load. I've read enough comments here to know that some people don't like the Glucose Tolerance Test, and I guess the glucose load for the insulin test would be the same or similar (about 100g of glucose?). Would you take such a test?

It seems like a sledgehammer to me. I can live with some temporary nausea etc, but I don't like the idea of being wiped out for a week, or some permanent degradation in my blood glucose control.

My naturopathic doctor said there's an alternative although less useful test which involves consuming 200 calories of carbohydrate (that comes to about 45g of glucose I think) followed by a saliva test. Still seems like a whack of glucose but maybe not as bad.

[method]

I think you should take it unless you know you are severely incapable of producing insulin. I think there might be some long term degradation of your blood glucose control you should recover fully in about 6 weeks time. If you have money to spend there is another test called the HgA1C test or something similar sounding that is somewhat more sophisticated that can give you similar information as to how messed up your glucose control is.

But the smack your system gets from the sugar bomb will be healed in 1 week for the most part and probably 2 months max. I think its mainly a matter of guts.

[Lisa N]

Pauleo, regardless of what any of us would do, none of us have to live in your skin and deal with any fallout that may or may not occur.
I think it comes down to asking yourself if the information that you may glean from such a test is worth the potential cost of obtaining it.
If knowing what your insulin response is would be invaluable information to you and/or your doctor, it may be worth the case of glucose-overload hangover that would probably ensue after a 100 gram glucose jolt.
Something else you need to consider is that it would be advisable for you to bump your carb intake up to at least 150 grams per day for at least 3 days prior to the test or the results could be inaccurate, so if you're going to do the test, at least make sure that the results are as accurate as possible so the effort won't be a wasted one. :idea:

[ReginaW]

I've been scheduled for an insulin test after a glucose load. I've read enough comments here to know that some people don't like the Glucose Tolerance Test, and I guess the glucose load for the insulin test would be the same or similar (about 100g of glucose?). Would you take such a test?

It seems like a sledgehammer to me. I can live with some temporary nausea etc, but I don't like the idea of being wiped out for a week, or some permanent degradation in my blood glucose control.

My naturopathic doctor said there's an alternative although less useful test which involves consuming 200 calories of carbohydrate (that comes to about 45g of glucose I think) followed by a saliva test. Still seems like a whack of glucose but maybe not as bad.

You can call the lab or testing facility and ask the glucose load in the test before you schedule - it's going to be either 50g or 75g - since it's often determined by weight and the maximum dose is 75g.

Is this to test for IR? Suspected diabetes? Something else?

Also, if you've been eating a relatively low-carb diet for a while, you may need to increase carbs a few days before the test to increase enzymes required for metabolism, otherwise you may falsely test too high for BG and too low for insulin production.

Oh, and the ND's advice should be taken as an all out BS-alert, totally whacked, run-for-the-hills (and I am an ND candidate, so it's not that I have anything against ND's, just the whackerooos spouting stuff like eat this and lick this crapola).

[pauleo]

You can call the lab or testing facility and ask the glucose load in the test before you schedule - it's going to be either 50g or 75g - since it's often determined by weight and the maximum dose is 75g.

Is this to test for IR? Suspected diabetes? Something else?

Also, if you've been eating a relatively low-carb diet for a while, you may need to increase carbs a few days before the test to increase enzymes required for metabolism, otherwise you may falsely test too high for BG and too low for insulin production.

Oh, and the ND's advice should be taken as an all out BS-alert, totally whacked, run-for-the-hills (and I am an ND candidate, so it's not that I have anything against ND's, just the whackerooos spouting stuff like eat this and lick this crapola).

It is for IR. I am prediabetic. Thanks for all advice, but why do you think the saliva test for insulin is whacky? (Actually I find my ND professional and scientific, and I'm a scientist myself). I googled a little and there seem to be respectable papers around to do with measuring insulin levels in saliva e.g.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=3542670

[ReginaW]

It is for IR. I am prediabetic. Thanks for all advice, but why do you think the saliva test for insulin is whacky? (Actually I find my ND professional and scientific, and I'm a scientist myself). I googled a little and there seem to be respectable papers around to do with measuring insulin levels in saliva e.g.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=3542670

What will the ND be using to test your saliva? If s/he's got a full HPLC system in place that's one thing, if s/he is going to use reagent paper strips it's another (my comment was on the latter).

[pauleo]

What will the ND be using to test your saliva? If s/he's got a full HPLC system in place that's one thing, if s/he is going to use reagent paper strips it's another (my comment was on the latter).

Ah OK, misunderstanding, I didn't discuss the details with her but I'm sure it is not a simple reagent paper strip test, but would involve sending the saliva sample to a lab for analysis. That's the way it worked for a previous cortisol/DHEA test anyway. Thank you again for advice.