Fasting insulin levels

Just wanted to share some good news. I have been seeing a NUT named Bonnie  for a few years who specializes in PCOS and IR (she has both of them herself). I see her regularly (she is a differen person than the NUT who works at my surgeon's office).

Anyway, one of Bonnie's pet peeves is that she feels the lab values for "normal" fastin insulin levels are way too wide. A few years pre-op she took a look at my so called "normal" fasting insulin levels and told me "you are VERY insulin resistant."

Well, I had blood work done in September at my internist's office and I took a copy of the results to Bonnie. These were my fasting insulin levels:

21 in Dec 07 my fasting insulin was 21
15 in Jun 08 (pre-op)
2 in Sept 08

Bonnie was so pleased with my awesome insulin levels! She said that in terms of insulin resistance, it seemed like my whole system was quieting down. Yay!

Also, my cholesterol and triglycerides ALSO went down. My triglycerides were actually normal for the first time in years. My cholesterol is still high, but it is MUCH better than it was before.

Yay! I am so glad that I had WLS!

That is great!!!

I read a book a while back called "living with PCOS" and it took issue as well with the normal range on a lot of things like testosterone and insulin levels.

So is insulin levels the same as the blood glucose levels? In the US we measure blood glucose levels, but the numbers are quite different. Last year on glucophage mine was 117 and this year, 6 weeks post surgery and no glucophage, mine was 103. I am still not in the normal range, but I am lot closer!

Hi Kelly,

How interesting to know that the book you mentioned takes issue with so-called "normal" ranges of certain labs that are related to PCOS. Glad to know my NUT isn't alone in her thinking (though she definitely is outside of the box and progressive in her approach.).

To answer your question, to the best of my knowledge as a layperson, I believe that fasting insulin levels and fasting glucose levels are not the same thing. I say this for two reasons--my labs had values for both glucose and insulin. Also, glucose numbers are such a different measurement (yours was 103) whereas my insulin was in the single digits, teens and twenty's. So I am pretty sure they are different. I don't recall what my fasting glucose level was, or I would check it and post it here.

Good for you that your glucose is getting better.

If you have your book handy, could you post what the author of Living with PCOS had said about "normal" ranges for fasting glucose and fasting insulin? I would be very curious to see!

Thanks,

Sab

Unfortunately I dont own the book. I checked it out from the library. I think one of the most important things we can do for ourselves (as someone with PCOS) is work with a doctor who understands that the normal ranges are not necessarily okay.

i would be curious to know what your glucose level is.

That's great!  I remember before surgery on 2000mg of Glucophage my fasting glucoses were in the 120-130s and now glucophage free they are in the 70s.  My fasting insulin (way different than the glucose test) went from 95 to normal (which should be <5 I think).

Insulin is the hormone that reduces blood glucose levels.  Many times with PCOS we'll have normal glucose levels but still have abnormal elevated insulin levels which is the Insulin Resistance because our bodies are resistant to the insulin that's being produced which results in the build up in the bloodstream.  Most doc's don't test for elevated insulin.  I was tested for years but they only tested my glucose and said it was normal.  Then finally I saw an endo who was familiar with PCOS and she did a fasting insulin & glucose which resulted in a fasting insulin of 95 and a normal glucose (I don't remember the exact #).


Anyway...GL!

Congrats!  When I was first diagnosed with IR my fasting insulin was...95.  I had it tested last year to hear that it was normal although I didn't get the exact number that time.  I THINK a normal fasting insulin is <5.

Congrats too on the other great lab results!

Kristy~Very good point about having abnormal insulin levels and normal glucose levels. The updated South Beach Diet book that was released earlier this year mentions this in the part of the book that discusses pre-diabetes. I'm glad that a "mainstream" book is talking about this...it's great for us that PCOS doc's know this, but there are so many people who are probably insulin resistant  (with or without PCOS) and don't know it.

Thanks for the congrats on my insulin levels. I'm so glad my IR is quieting down. So glad I had WLS!