Confused

[Grannygrump]

Was recently informed I am pre diabetic (will this mean it could become type 1 or 2, I don’t know). It’s frightened me. I’ve always known I have a very lazy metabolism. I stopped drinking, started taking exercise (walking) until arthritis in my knees started to play up and the temperature where I live became too hot to be out for long in the sun. I bought a blood glucose monitor and my BG is up the wall. I’ve no idea how to work out carbs good and bad. I am losing weight but I’m getting something wrong. My doctor told me to eat 5 small meals a day. That’s hard having brought myself up not to eat between meals. I don’t eat big meals anyhow and doctor said I’m not eating enough so my body is storing. Any advice would be very helpful and gratefully received.

 

[Pipp]

Hello, and welcome @Grannygrump .
Here is the info we give to new members..
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
Have a read and ask some questions.
The good news is that pre-diabetes can, with a few tweeks to your diet, be sorted.
Also, using a blood glucose meter and test strips will give you insight into how food you eat is affecting your blood glucose levels. Most GPs do not automatically give these out, but you can purchase your own.
Best wishes.

 

[EllieM]

I bought a blood glucose monitor and my BG is up the wall.

How high are your blood sugars?
I suggest you keep a food diary and add in your blood sugar figures.

Though you may well not be eating enough, sudden weight loss is also a symptom of T1 diabetes, which needs to be treated with insulin. Your doctor may be ruling this out because of age (T2 is much more likely at your age) but it's not impossible.

Good luck.

 

[Grannygrump]

Thanks for advice. My mmol/L after 16 hr fast was 7.6 and 2hrs after lunch it was 4.8

 

[EllieM]

Thanks for advice. My mmol/L after 16 hr fast was 7.6 and 2hrs after lunch it was 4.8

If that's as high as you go then the prediabetes assessment seems right. They are still (just) within normal levels. The after lunch figure is excellent. The fasting one is consistent with something called the dawn phenomenon. Basically, your liver pumps out sugar first thing in the morning so you can get active (go and kill an elk, or whatever, in prehistoric times) and because your ability to handle carbs is compromised your blood sugar goes up in response. For many of the T2s on here the fasting blood sugar is the last one to go down when they treat T2 with diet.

I'm not the right person to ask about gaining weight while on a low carb diet, but there are thin T2s on here who will hopefully post soon. The good news is that you've got a meter so you can test before and after a meal to see what your body can cope with. As you're only prediabetic there's a good chance that a relatively minor reduction in carbs will fix the diabetes issue, but if you cut down on carbs you'll need to increase the fats/proteins. Bacon and egg for breakfast?

Good luck.

ps Edited to add. And it doesn't necessarily have to be T2, as you could just be producing a little less insulin because your pancreas doesn't work quite as well as it used to. But even in that case, reducing carbs should help, as then you'll need less insulin. But undesired weight loss is a concern for anyone, and shouldn't be ignored. How about snacking on a boiled egg, some cheese, or some tuna between meals? (There's plenty of other low carb snacks.)

 

[Grannygrump]

Your responses have cheered me up. When I said I’m losing weight it is because I’m making a conscious effort to do so, Drs advice. I’ve been boringly sticking to porridge with chia and sesame seeds and a little fruit for breakfast. Eggs and bacon sounds yummy, might give that a try. I love cheese, eggs and milk but have been cutting them out as trying to lose weight but like you say I need to eat and test to see how my body reacts. So a big thank you for calming my fears. THANK YOU.

 

[Pipp]

Your responses have cheered me up. When I said I’m losing weight it is because I’m making a conscious effort to do so, Drs advice. I’ve been boringly sticking to porridge with chia and sesame seeds and a little fruit for breakfast. Eggs and bacon sounds yummy, might give that a try. I love cheese, eggs and milk but have been cutting them out as trying to lose weight but like you say I need to eat and test to see how my body reacts. So a big thank you for calming my fears. THANK YOU.

Some good recipe ideas and info can be found here.. @Grannygrump
https://www.dietdoctor.com/
Also this thread in here may be of use..
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/unread