Hello really need some help and thoughts

[Mikey5Aces]

Hi my name is Michael and I am 44 years old living in the US. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago with prediabetes. Since then I have been up and down with my weight loss. I am 5 feet 7 inches tall and the last physical I had with my doctor my A1C was 5.9. My fasting blood sugar was 122 mg/dl I believe. I know you guys use different measurements.

Anyways from around September of last year until end of January I ate very unhealthy. And wasn't exercising. When I weighed myself 3rd week of January I weighed 227 pounds which was the most I had ever weighed. Before that it was 217 pounds so I really did a number on myself.

So I decided to commit hard this time and make it permanently. In almost 90 days soon, I am down to 202 pounds. I go on the treadmill on avg of 4-5 days a week and now warm up for 12 minutes, then do intense fast walk cardio with a 6.5 % incline at 3.8 mph for 48 minutes. I have also kept a food journal and do weights and stretching and strength training as well. I still want to lose another 25 pounds but in any event it's a good start.

As for foods eaten I admit I still eat carbs usually Wheaties with whole milk 5 times a week or Grape Nuts cereal with whole milk. And some tuna sandwiches with whole wheat bread. And when I have a cheat meal I will eat pizza. But overall my eating has vastly improved and I loved chocolate but now hardly eat it anymore. I do eat a few spoons of Schmuckers Natural Peanut Butter every day(just peanuts and a little salt). And a banana before my cardio.

Okay with that being said here are my questions. I had some allergic food reaction last night while on the treadmill. Before I started my cardio, I ate the bowl of Grape Nuts cereal with Whole milk, 3 scoops of Peanut butter and a banana. Waited 90 minutes or so and then started my cardio. Within 15 minutes I broke out in hives everywhere and like an idiot I kept going until at the 42 minute mark I felt so dizzy I had to stop. I immediately fell to the ground and a hotel security guard where I am staying brought me Orange Juice and some Clariton pills to take. I took the pills and drank maybe 1/3 of the Orange juice. This was around 6:30 pm EST. Paramedics were called and I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. My blood pressure was 70/30. It was awful. I got fluids in me and they did blood work and admitted me. Thankfully my blood pressure is normal again at 122/74.

Here are my questions:

1) I was told this morning by the nurse that my blood work results last night at 9:30pm(3 hours after drinking some of the orange juice and 5 hours after eating that cereal and milk and pbutter and banana) was 157 mg/dl. She said that is a little high. Do you guys think I have type 2 diabetes now? Or based on the times I ate and what I ate and drank is this okay the number? I asked this nurse and she was clueless. Had no idea.

2) At 1:30 am I was finally fed in my hospital room. Some box of stuff. I had all the pita bread pieces, a small bag of cheddar cheese squares and a couple grapes. That's it. And water. So I got my breakfast like 45 minutes ago at 7:30 am this morning and all I ate was some whole wheat french toast slices no syrup. That's it. Then I asked the nurse to check my sugar. She did and it was 122 mg/dl. What does that mean? I know this isn't considered fasting because I ate 6 hours before and ate those 5 half slices of french toast. But does it sound like it is reasonable to be 122 or should it be lower? I know you guys don't know 100% but does it sound like I am still prediabetic or did I become full blown type 2? Just want honest opinions.

I mean my heart is good. My cholesterol has always been okay, blood pressure now is normal. Triglycerides have always been high though so I am curious next month when I have my physical again to see if they have dropped due to my exercise and diet and weight loss.

I will also say that on a couple of treat nights I have eaten most of a whole pizza from a restaurant(extra cheese only), and a hot fudge brownie sundae. About 3-4 hours after I got super tired and slept for 12 hours. Couldn't keep my eyes open. But people I asked say that is normal for eating a carb overload and the sundae.

Again sorry for the long rant but I am a new poster and am nervous. I do think though that if anything did perhaps save me from becoming a full blown type 2 diabetic, it was those 3 months of exercise and losing weight. Losing 25 pounds the right way feels so good.

Also sorry 1 last thing. I have Crohn's disease so for the past 9 months I have been taking a steroid enticort. The doctor is finally taking me off that drug lowering my dose per week. And I have felt a vibrating mostly but sometimes tingling feeling as well on my whole left foot when I lay down at night. Been happening steady for a few weeks now. But I have no thirst issues. I pee a lot when I drink a lot of water but I think that's more prostate issues for me. But who knows. And also have gotten blurry vision at times but I look at my laptop on my bed really close for hours so that could be eye strain and dry eye too. Sigh... I hope that is the case at least. It's usually 1 eye worse than the other when it happens. I wear glasses too. I definitely need a new prescription so that could be it too I guess lol.

Thanks everyone and curious to hear all your thoughts.

 

[Rachox]

Hi Michael and welcome to the forum. Sorry you have ended up in hospital and I hope you are well enough for discharge soon. First let me tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post (or you can find it in my signature with other useful stuff).
We cannot diagnose here and the only way to know for sure if you have tipped from prediabetes to type 2 is to get an HbA1c test repeated. In the meantime your diet isn’t doing you any favours, cereals, bread (even if it’s brown), pizza, brownies, bananas and grapes are all high carb. My advice is to invest in a blood glucose meter and start testing before and two hours after eating, this will show you what various food choices are doing to your body.
Any further questions, please feel free to post.

 

[Mikey5Aces]

Hi Michael and welcome to the forum. Sorry you have ended up in hospital and I hope you are well enough for discharge soon. First let me tag in @daisy1 for her useful info post (or you can find it in my signature with other useful stuff).
We cannot diagnose here and the only way to know for sure if you have tipped from prediabetes to type 2 is to get an HbA1c test repeated. In the meantime your diet isn’t doing you any favours, cereals, bread (even if it’s brown), pizza, brownies, bananas and grapes are all high carb. My advice is to invest in a blood glucose meter and start testing before and two hours after eating, this will show you what various food choices are doing to your body.
Any further questions, please feel free to post.

I understand that but what about my 122 mg/dl reading this morning? Any thoughts on that? How about the 157 mg/dl reading at 9:30 tonight through blood work? Remember I posted what I ate beforehand and the OJ I drank a few hours before. Pretty disappointed you offered me no opinions on my actual numbers. That's what I feel message board forums are about at times. I won't take your "opinions" as the gospel but I will formulate my own thoughts based on others that have years and uears of experience with diabetes.

 

[NicoleC1971]

Hi my name is Michael and I am 44 years old living in the US. I was diagnosed about 4 years ago with prediabetes. Since then I have been up and down with my weight loss. I am 5 feet 7 inches tall and the last physical I had with my doctor my A1C was 5.9. My fasting blood sugar was 122 mg/dl I believe. I know you guys use different measurements.

Anyways from around September of last year until end of January I ate very unhealthy. And wasn't exercising. When I weighed myself 3rd week of January I weighed 227 pounds which was the most I had ever weighed. Before that it was 217 pounds so I really did a number on myself.

So I decided to commit hard this time and make it permanently. In almost 90 days soon, I am down to 202 pounds. I go on the treadmill on avg of 4-5 days a week and now warm up for 12 minutes, then do intense fast walk cardio with a 6.5 % incline at 3.8 mph for 48 minutes. I have also kept a food journal and do weights and stretching and strength training as well. I still want to lose another 25 pounds but in any event it's a good start.

As for foods eaten I admit I still eat carbs usually Wheaties with whole milk 5 times a week or Grape Nuts cereal with whole milk. And some tuna sandwiches with whole wheat bread. And when I have a cheat meal I will eat pizza. But overall my eating has vastly improved and I loved chocolate but now hardly eat it anymore. I do eat a few spoons of Schmuckers Natural Peanut Butter every day(just peanuts and a little salt). And a banana before my cardio.

Okay with that being said here are my questions. I had some allergic food reaction last night while on the treadmill. Before I started my cardio, I ate the bowl of Grape Nuts cereal with Whole milk, 3 scoops of Peanut butter and a banana. Waited 90 minutes or so and then started my cardio. Within 15 minutes I broke out in hives everywhere and like an idiot I kept going until at the 42 minute mark I felt so dizzy I had to stop. I immediately fell to the ground and a hotel security guard where I am staying brought me Orange Juice and some Clariton pills to take. I took the pills and drank maybe 1/3 of the Orange juice. This was around 6:30 pm EST. Paramedics were called and I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. My blood pressure was 70/30. It was awful. I got fluids in me and they did blood work and admitted me. Thankfully my blood pressure is normal again at 122/74.

Here are my questions:

1) I was told this morning by the nurse that my blood work results last night at 9:30pm(3 hours after drinking some of the orange juice and 5 hours after eating that cereal and milk and pbutter and banana) was 157 mg/dl. She said that is a little high. Do you guys think I have type 2 diabetes now? Or based on the times I ate and what I ate and drank is this okay the number? I asked this nurse and she was clueless. Had no idea.

2) At 1:30 am I was finally fed in my hospital room. Some box of stuff. I had all the pita bread pieces, a small bag of cheddar cheese squares and a couple grapes. That's it. And water. So I got my breakfast like 45 minutes ago at 7:30 am this morning and all I ate was some whole wheat french toast slices no syrup. That's it. Then I asked the nurse to check my sugar. She did and it was 122 mg/dl. What does that mean? I know this isn't considered fasting because I ate 6 hours before and ate those 5 half slices of french toast. But does it sound like it is reasonable to be 122 or should it be lower? I know you guys don't know 100% but does it sound like I am still prediabetic or did I become full blown type 2? Just want honest opinions.

I mean my heart is good. My cholesterol has always been okay, blood pressure now is normal. Triglycerides have always been high though so I am curious next month when I have my physical again to see if they have dropped due to my exercise and diet and weight loss.

I will also say that on a couple of treat nights I have eaten most of a whole pizza from a restaurant(extra cheese only), and a hot fudge brownie sundae. About 3-4 hours after I got super tired and slept for 12 hours. Couldn't keep my eyes open. But people I asked say that is normal for eating a carb overload and the sundae.

Again sorry for the long rant but I am a new poster and am nervous. I do think though that if anything did perhaps save me from becoming a full blown type 2 diabetic, it was those 3 months of exercise and losing weight. Losing 25 pounds the right way feels so good.

Also sorry 1 last thing. I have Crohn's disease so for the past 9 months I have been taking a steroid enticort. The doctor is finally taking me off that drug lowering my dose per week. And I have felt a vibrating mostly but sometimes tingling feeling as well on my whole left foot when I lay down at night. Been happening steady for a few weeks now. But I have no thirst issues. I pee a lot when I drink a lot of water but I think that's more prostate issues for me. But who knows. And also have gotten blurry vision at times but I look at my laptop on my bed really close for hours so that could be eye strain and dry eye too. Sigh... I hope that is the case at least. It's usually 1 eye worse than the other when it happens. I wear glasses too. I definitely need a new prescription so that could be it too I guess lol.

Thanks everyone and curious to hear all your thoughts.

Agree with Rachbox that the best way is to get your HBA1c test done so that you can see you average across 8-12 weeks (equivalent to 300,000 finger rpicks) and also your post meal glucose level to see if your insulin response is healthy. A one off reading in a stressful situation after your body has been in some kind of shock could be wildly inaccurate.
Losing weight will help you so that is great but it may be that you will have to get a little mrore consistent with your diet. Doing tonnes of exercise may be causing you to binge eat or get into unhealthy patterns with food. After all exercise does make you hungry and as a trainer, I'd advise anyone I saw to get consistent with their food before they got intense with their exercise.
You are coming off steroids but it is worth knowing that these could have caused your bgs/weight to rise. Ask your doctor.
If you do happen to be diagnosed then come back here and read Rachbox's story of how she reversed her condition.

 

[Resurgam]

The thing is, you are eating things many of us avoid completely - we just don't go there.
Plus those in the UK are not familiar with the actual brand names of the foods, though we can make a good guess at the type of things you have been eating.

 

[Rachox]

I have to convert all your numbers to our system 122 is equal to 6.7mmol/l which if it was a true fasting test is in the prediabetic range, but as you say having eaten within six hours probably doesn’t make it reliable.
This site usually recommends testing immediately before eating and 90 mins - 2 hours after first bite, you’re looking for a rise of no more than 2mmols/l (36 I think in your system) and to not exceed around 8 mmols/l. Your readings you have quoted are pretty random and it is difficult to draw conclusions. You need some methodical before and after readings and a repeat HbA1c to be sure of what’s going on.

 

[Rokaab]

Your readings you have quoted are pretty random and it is difficult to draw conclusions. You need some methodical before and after readings and a repeat HbA1c to be sure of what’s going on.

Also stress and illness can raise blood sugar levels, so this may have also had some effect (being admitted to hospital definitely counts as stressful)

 

[Mikey5Aces]

I have to convert all your numbers to our system 122 is equal to 6.7mmol/l which if it was a true fasting test is in the prediabetic range, but as you say having eaten within six hours probably doesn’t make it reliable.
This site usually recommends testing immediately before eating and 90 mins - 2 hours after first bite, you’re looking for a rise of no more than 2mmols/l (36 I think in your system) and to not exceed around 8 mmols/l. Your readings you have quoted are pretty random and it is difficult to draw conclusions. You need some methodical before and after readings and a repeat HbA1c to be sure of what’s going on.

Thank you for that.

 

[Mikey5Aces]

Also stress and illness can raise blood sugar levels, so this may have also had some effect (being admitted to hospital definitely counts as stressful)

Yes I heard that as well. Being in the hospital itself now is super stressful.

 

[Mikey5Aces]

Agree with Rachbox that the best way is to get your HBA1c test done so that you can see you average across 8-12 weeks (equivalent to 300,000 finger rpicks) and also your post meal glucose level to see if your insulin response is healthy. A one off reading in a stressful situation after your body has been in some kind of shock could be wildly inaccurate.
Losing weight will help you so that is great but it may be that you will have to get a little mrore consistent with your diet. Doing tonnes of exercise may be causing you to binge eat or get into unhealthy patterns with food. After all exercise does make you hungry and as a trainer, I'd advise anyone I saw to get consistent with their food before they got intense with their exercise.
You are coming off steroids but it is worth knowing that these could have caused your bgs/weight to rise. Ask your doctor.
If you do happen to be diagnosed then come back here and read Rachbox's story of how she reversed her condition.

I will read that. Excited to.

 

[JohnH2019]

It is frustrating to read how little practical nutrition information is provided by doctors and hospitals (food is often shocking there). A few have already mentioned this, but the things you are eating are not something even a 100% healthy person should be eating and drinking. With Crohn's you also have to be especially careful with what you put into your body. Going overboard on exercise, especially chronic cardio will not help you. 80% food/drinks, 20% exercise is a rough rule of thumb on impact on weight. There is a wealth of info shared by fellow sufferers on this site to read and absorb. Please also read up on the Primal lifestyle. Any of the following books and sites will be an eye opener. Mark Sisson has a wealth of info that really helped me get on the right path. The New Primal Blueprint, Primal Pancreas: Pancreas Damage Survival Guide, The Keto Reset Diet are all very helpful books. Marksdailyapple and Primal blueprint podcasts are free and are also a good start to help turn things around. There are people in this community that have a lot of experience with Primal/Keto/Paleo and are willing to help with questions.

Please do not get discouraged as it will take determination, patience, dedication and time.

 

[Norfolkmell]

Hi Mikey
Sorry to hear of your problems. This is the place to learn about low carb eating and it will help whether you are pre diabetic or type 2. There's an awful lot to get to grips with and it certainly doesn't sound as if hospital is helping you to adjust. You do need your hba1c done as that will give you a true picture of what's going on. I was very lucky when I was diagnosed three years ago as my doctor immediately told me to low carb high fat and these forums have helped immensely. I too have had wildly fluctuating BG results but with getting your own monitor you can test before you eat record what you eat and record 2 hours after. What food spikes one person won't necessarily spike another. LCHF will help you lose more weight some people lose more and faster than others. My other half became pre diabetic last year and I complained to our GP that despite eating the same meals Michael was losing more weight than me. My GP told me to remember the tortoise and the hare and which of them won the race. Then we laughed as he'd compared me to a tortoise which was really funny as I can't walk far and only with my crutches, but at least it's a vision that has stayed with me.
Read what other people have written, we can't diagnose we can only tell of our own experiences and what works for us, but you will find the majority of forum users have found that regularly testing your own B.g and going LCHF will get results, let us know how you are getting on,
Strange to think that hospital food appears to be same whatever country you are in!

 

[daisy1]

@Mikey5Aces
Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 well over 300,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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 blood glucose 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.

 

[jpscloud]

Hi Mikey, welcome. I'm not very well read on this but I believe steroids can raise blood sugar significantly and may have this effect long term, so that might be another possible avenue of investigation.

 

[RAPS_od]

Hi, Mikey! I'm in the US also.
Your burning question first: 122 would be a great number for me (I'm T1 for 50 years) but for someone on the edge of the disease, it's not in normal range.
You're right to lose weight, but even eating less isn't going to solve your issues. Grape Nuts used to be my favorite as a kid, but once diagnosed, they're a no-no. For one bread exchange, you get 1/3 of a cup, which isn't very much. Whole milk is better than skim milk, but it is very carb-rich and not doing you favors. Bananas are carb rich, and bread, well, it's all carbs.
Breakfast is the toughest meal, in my opinion. I eat keto bagels I make myself (you can find the recipe here) with butter and a cup of coffee with heavy whipping cream.
There's a lot of information for pre-diabetics and T2s about eating Ketogenically, or going low-carb, healthy fat (LCHF). I highly recommend this for you, since you're mindful about what you eat. Many T2s who've gone Keto or LCHF have put their diabetes in remission and I bet you could, too.
Glad to hear you're exercising as well. That's a great habit to keep!
It's really difficult to give you cut & dried advice. Everything you described suffering through (blurry vision, exhaustion after heavy carbs, tingling in your extremities) can be attributed to diabetes - and a lot of other things, too. Do you have a testing kit where you could see where you are when you experience those symptoms? That might get you a better idea.
My best advice is to find a health care provider and tell them your concerns. They may still say you're in "pre-diabetes," but they can also guide you and provide exact numbers and courses of action.
Lastly, keep coming here. This community has been greatly beneficial for me and it can be for you, too.

 

[Mikey5Aces]

Hi, Mikey! I'm in the US also.
Your burning question first: 122 would be a great number for me (I'm T1 for 50 years) but for someone on the edge of the disease, it's not in normal range.
You're right to lose weight, but even eating less isn't going to solve your issues. Grape Nuts used to be my favorite as a kid, but once diagnosed, they're a no-no. For one bread exchange, you get 1/3 of a cup, which isn't very much. Whole milk is better than skim milk, but it is very carb-rich and not doing you favors. Bananas are carb rich, and bread, well, it's all carbs.
Breakfast is the toughest meal, in my opinion. I eat keto bagels I make myself (you can find the recipe here) with butter and a cup of coffee with heavy whipping cream.
There's a lot of information for pre-diabetics and T2s about eating Ketogenically, or going low-carb, healthy fat (LCHF). I highly recommend this for you, since you're mindful about what you eat. Many T2s who've gone Keto or LCHF have put their diabetes in remission and I bet you could, too.
Glad to hear you're exercising as well. That's a great habit to keep!
It's really difficult to give you cut & dried advice. Everything you described suffering through (blurry vision, exhaustion after heavy carbs, tingling in your extremities) can be attributed to diabetes - and a lot of other things, too. Do you have a testing kit where you could see where you are when you experience those symptoms? That might get you a better idea.
My best advice is to find a health care provider and tell them your concerns. They may still say you're in "pre-diabetes," but they can also guide you and provide exact numbers and courses of action.
Lastly, keep coming here. This community has been greatly beneficial for me and it can be for you, too.

Thanks so much for your reply. I'm seeing my primary care doctor at the end of May and will check my A1c levels the past 3 months and other blood work results. I think though that being on a steroid for 9 months has probably raised my levels and I am excited to be getting off of them by next week. But yeah losing 25 pounds in 90 days the right way is huge for me and I want to keep it up. I'm definitely not a perfect eater and I will keep learning. This site is awesome.