Help!!! - Diabetes Message Board

Moxie75 · 06-11-2003, 09:02 AM

I just got my blood results back from the doctor checking my liver and now I see my GCT is 77..what does this mean?? My glucose was normal 3 weeks ago and now this GCT is at 77..isn't that like diabetes? anyone's help is appreciated..I feel like i am falling apart..I started out going to the doctors for heart palps, and then sent to a cardio for a monitor, and then had my blood work done only to find out my liver enzymes were up, and then was sent for a CT scan only to find out i have a fatty liver, and then sent to GI man who had more liver functions done only to see this GCT is 77..i see him today i am hoping that he tells me not to sweat any of this but i am..help, Lisa

arkie6 · 06-11-2003, 10:23 AM

A GCT of 77 does not appear to be abnormal. If anything, it is on the low side indicating possible hyperinsulinemia (excessive release of insulin - some estimates indicate 25% of the population may be hyperinsulinemic).

I did a quick google search and here is what I found regarding GCT:

Glucose Challenge Test

Also known as: GCT; 50 gram glucose challenge; one-hour glucose screening test.

What is it?: A screening test that measures blood glucose levels one hour after 50 grams of a glucose solution has been consumed (an extremely sweet drink). If the GCT is elevated, it indicates the need for further testing.

Why is it performed?: To screen for gestational diabetes in pregnant women considered "at risk."

How frequently should it be done?: Once. If results are abnormal and glucose levels elevated, it should be followed up by a 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

What is the "normal" range for results?: Normal values are 140 mg/dl or less.

What do abnormal results mean?: A glucose threshold value >140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l) means that gestational diabetes is a possibility and an OGTT is indicated.

Moxie75 · 06-11-2003, 10:37 AM

Thanks Arkie but they did not give me anything to drink like this write up you posted said..They did a 12 hr fast on all my liver functions AND i SAW THIS WAS ELEVATED..I'm sure it's nothing I hope anyway..thanks for the info, Lisa

arkie6 · 06-11-2003, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Moxie75:
Thanks Arkie but they did not give me anything to drink like this write up you posted said..They did a 12 hr fast on all my liver functions AND i SAW THIS WAS ELEVATED..I'm sure it's nothing I hope anyway..thanks for the info, Lisa

Sounds like all you had was a fasting glucose measurement taken in addition to a liver panel. Optimum fasting glucose levels are about 70 to 90 mg/dl. If yours was 77, then that is completely normal. Fasting bloodsugar (glucose) levels aren't normally flagged on a blood test as being high until they exceed 110 mg/dl which is considered Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) or above 125 mg/dl which is considered diabetes.

Were these tests performed under some type of health insurance? I wonder if you doctor might have billed the insurance for a Glucose Challenge Test (GCT) when all they checked was a fasting glucose measurement? I'm sure that a GCT is much more costly than just a fasting glucose check. I would ask your doctor about this GCT including what exactly it involves and what a level of 77 means.

[This message has been edited by arkie6 (edited 06-11-2003).]

Moxie75 · 06-12-2003, 05:14 AM

Arkie, I feel like an idiot..I went to the doctor yesterday and asked why did you do a GCT when you were testing my liver? He replied " we did a GGT not a GCT..I could not make out clearly all the letters of the results so in fact it is not my glucose...thanks for your help anyway, Lisa