Hi! Newbie here. Prediabetes.

[rosiezgirl]

Just wanted to say Hi and introduce myself. Ahem! I'm Deborah and yesterday I was told that I'm pre-diabetic.
My average bloods are 43 and apparently if I hit 48 then I'm classed as diabetic.
I have no idea what the numbers are about but it's scary.
My Mam had diabetes from the age of 19 and she died at 48 {in 1984} from kidney failure. I went through her illness with her and was giving her injections at the age of 9. I knew what to do if she was hypo or hyper. So I sort of know the crisis stuff...but not the every day how to deal with this stuff.
I really don't want to become diabetic but I know a little of what to expect...I think.
Anyway, I'm overweight...am being investigated for Lupus...have gout...osteoarthritis and possibly rheumatoid arthritis too.
I dropped in here to look for tips on what to eat and not to eat. I believe it's low carbs??
Hopefully if I lose weight the sugar levels in my blood will go down.
I've started watching what I eat straight away. But omg I love all breads so could anyone tell me the better ones to eat please?
Could you point me towards a good diet site at all?
The diabetic nurse I saw has referred me to something called Just Beat it. Have any of you heard of it?
Anyway that's about all at the moment. Sorry for the essay lol

 

[Hiitsme]

Hi Deberoah,
Welcome
Now is a really good time to change diet and some lifestyle changes which can help you not cross over into diabetic levels.
I will tag @daisy1 for her very helpful guide for newcomers. Take time to read it and ask questions and people here will try and help.
Low carbs will really help - look at the low carb forum here.

 

[DeejayR]

Hi Deborah, welcome. Your progression toward diabetes has been discovered early so now is the time to take control.
Sorry about your Mam and obviously you're worried, and you have other health issues. But many people here find that with a change in lifestyle their overall health improves remarkably. Others here can help you with weight loss.
If you explore the low-carb and recipe threads you'll see what people do to keep their blood sugar under control.
One step at a time, and take it easy

 

[rosiezgirl]

Thank you both

 

[daisy1]

@rosiezgirl

Hello Deborah and welcome to the forum Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Following what you read in here, and elsewhere on the forum, could help you to avoid progressing to full diabetic. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

 

[PatsyB]

Hello and I have never heard of Just beat it but am sure some one will have...WELCOME to the forum

 

[Prem51]

Hi @rosiezgirl and welcome to the forum. You are lucky (in a way) to have been told you are prediabetic, while you still have time to avoid becoming diabetic, and also that you understand that you can avoid it.
I was told last year that I was close to becoming diabetic at HbAic of 47, but it wasn't explained to me, and I just thought it was the doctor trying to scare me to eat more healthily, and I carried on as before.
This August I was told I had a HbAic of 49 and was now diabetic, which was a shock. I have adopted a LCHF diet after finding this forum, and my HbAic fell to 44 at my 3 month testing. But I will always be diabetic now. You really want to avoid this if you can.
There's lots of good advice and support on this forum.

I used to like bread too, but have had to cut out white bread completely, and only eat wholemeal bread if I have to eat sandwiches when I'm out. To replace bread at home I eat the LIDL High Protein rolls which only contain 10g carbohydrates and Burgen Soya and Linseed bread, which is sold in most supermarkets.

 

[4ratbags]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Going LC should really help your BS levels. Google low carb bread as there are plenty of great options to try. If you dont already have a meter it is essential to get one asap so you can monitor your BS and work out which foods affect your HS and those that dont. You are already taking a step in tje right direction by being here. If you have any questions just ask, we are a helpful bunch.

 

[seadragon]

It's great that the Just Beat it Site aims to help stop people developing Type 2 diabetes but I just looked at the website and am concerned that it's only dietary advice initially appears to be eat less fat particularly saturated fat and eat more fibre.

While eating more fibre is fine, most of us here would have an issue with the 'eat less fat' as many of us follow the low carbohydrate/ high fat diet with great success in controlling our blood sugars.

All carbs turn to glucose in the body so we aim to eat less carbs of any sort. Carbs from green leafy vegetables being the least damaging as they also contain plenty of fibre. Most of us eat a high proportion of good fats - olive oil, virgin coconut oil and butter, full fat milk and cream etc and still have great lipid profiles and good blood glucose control.

Have a look at the dietdoctor.com website and also the low carb forum here on this site for ideas.