I took the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) a couple of weeks ago and got the results back last week, but as it turns out they didn’t check my insulin levels. Normally, insulin resistance (IR) can be diagnosed with just the blood sugar levels as they are typically elevated when you have IR, but when you have PCOS, the blood sugar levels can be normal and you can still have insulin resistance. According to the research I have done, the HOMA index is calculated from the blood sugar and insulin levels (though don’t ask me how) and is a reliable indicator of IR.

My results were actually on the low side. My fasting blood sugar was 71mg/dl. An hour after drinking the sugary concoction they gave me, it was 97mg/dl, another hour later it was 107mg/dl. I am no doctor but it seems a bit odd to me that it would be higher after two hours. From all I have read about the OGTT, shouldn’t it spike first and then go down? (If you happen to have an explanation for my results, please do share!)

A week earlier, I had a few other values checked which were all normal. In fact my cholesterol and triglyceride levels were both great at 153ml/dl and 75mg/dl respectively (something I am really happy about, even more so now that I have been diagnosed with PCOS). That day my blood sugar level was 75mg/dl. The only value which was a little elevated was the HbA1c level at 5.8% (38mmol/mol), at the highest value that is still within the normal range.

The lack of access to specialist doctors is a real downside to living out in the country. So far I had just gone to my local family doctor and they suggested I see an endocrinologist about it, as they would be more familiar with all the testing. I am off work this week and back home in Munich with my family, so I decided to see an endocrinologist here.

I am doing the OGTT again tomorrow morning (because once just wasn’t fun enough), and should have the results within a couple of days. I hope I can make another appointment to discuss my results with the endocrinologist while I am here, as they are quite busy so it might be hard to fit me in on such short notice. But I have so many questions and no one to answer them; I really hope they will fit me in so I can finally get a few answers.

If it turns out that I don’t have IR, I will be super happy, but first I want to make absolutely sure I don’t. Because from what I have read, it would certainly explain a lot. And that kind of makes me think it is likely I have it, though of course it would be better if I don’t. If you know what I mean.

Have you done the OGTT before? Any experience with insulin resistance? I’d love to hear from you.