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Need advice.

N

NostalgicNeg

Active Member
Messages
34
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hi,

My HbA1c blood sugar level is 46 mmol/l. It says I am prediabetic. Any advice? Should I be concerned with a result like this?

Thanks in advance.
 
michaelmcgrat36@googlemai said:
Should I be concerned with a result like this?
Click to expand...
You are just 1mmol/mol away from a Type 2 diagnosis, once you get that diagnosis there is no going back, no cure, no matter what your future HbA1c levels, to your Dr and insurance companies you will have diabetes.
With a HbA1c of 46, you obviously have a problem dealing with the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Your blood sugar is higher than it should be and without talking any steps to reduce it, the odds of you avoiding T2 are pretty low.
So yes, I think you should be concerned and a little relieved that you have been given this warning. Many of us didn't get a chance to avoid T2.
 
catinahat said:
You are just 1mmol/mol away from a Type 2 diagnosis, once you get that diagnosis there is no going back, no cure, no matter what your future HbA1c levels, to your Dr and insurance companies you will have diabetes.
With a HbA1c of 46, you obviously have a problem dealing with the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Your blood sugar is higher than it should be and without talking any steps to reduce it, the odds of you avoiding T2 are pretty low.
So yes, I think you should be concerned and a little relieved that you have been given this warning. Many of us didn't get a chance to avoid T2.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your reply. Can I reverse it?
 
catinahat said:
You are just 1mmol/mol away from a Type 2 diagnosis, once you get that diagnosis there is no going back, no cure, no matter what your future HbA1c levels, to your Dr and insurance companies you will have diabetes.
With a HbA1c of 46, you obviously have a problem dealing with the amount of carbohydrates in your diet. Your blood sugar is higher than it should be and without talking any steps to reduce it, the odds of you avoiding T2 are pretty low.
So yes, I think you should be concerned and a little relieved that you have been given this warning. Many of us didn't get a chance to avoid T2.
Click to expand...
I thought 41-49mmol is prediabetes. My reading is 46, which I appreciate is not great, but appears to be 3mmol away, or perhaps I don't fully understand the whole mmol thing.
 
michaelmcgrat36@googlemai said:
Thanks for your reply. Can I reverse it?
Click to expand...
Yes you can, if you want to. Here's what I did - it worked.

You look at what you're eating and eliminate the things that cause your blood sugar to rise.
You find out what these are by testing before and after meals using a meter. Spoiler: these will be carbohydrates.
You work out what is causing the big post-meal rises, you cut those out of your diet.
You wind up not eating bread (actually anything flour-based), rice, pasta, potatoes, root veg, sugar, beer, most fruit, etc.
You do eat meat, eggs, cream, cheese, green veg, very low-carb bread (2g/roll), zero carb beer.

I went from an A1c of 49 in January 2020 to a 36 in April 2020. I only wish I'd got myself informed before going over 48 and formal diagnosis.
 
michaelmcgrat36@googlemai said:
I thought 41-49mmol is prediabetes. My reading is 46, which I appreciate is not great, but appears to be 3mmol away, or perhaps I don't fully understand the whole mmol thing.
Click to expand...
Ah, there's an "acceptable" error in the A1c readings which could see you pushed over the line even if things stayed the same. That's why they normally won't diagnose on a single test, but will do another a week or two later.
 
michaelmcgrat36@googlemai said:
I thought 41-49mmol is prediabetes. My reading is 46, which I appreciate is not great, but appears to be 3mmol away, or perhaps I don't fully understand the whole mmol thing.
Click to expand...

The levels depend on which country you live (eg I think the US has a lower level for prediabetes than the UK) but 48mmol/L is the level at which you get a diabetes diagnosis in the UK.


Diagnostic criteria for diabetes

www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk

So at the moment you are just scraping under the diagnostic level.
 
Hi @michaelmcgrat36@googlemai just an addition, as well as your current eating habits, weight etc, if you have recently had covid, been on steroids or antibiotics and/or really over-indulged over Christmas, these can all skew your HbA1c in the 'diabetic' direction. If none of these apply, and other non-diet factors have been ruled out, I would definitely second giving low-carb a try - good luck stopping it in its tracks.
 
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