Hi there. After a total abdominal hysterectomy last Nov, blood transfusion, a 3 month recovery period, and hormonal treatment prior to the op my prediabetes was picked up after some routine blood tests. This has come as a shock as I have no symptoms. Of course abdominal surgery meant I was inactive for a while and stuck at home so not as careful with my diet as normal. But it was still a surprise. My GP said my raised cholesterol levels also indicate a diabetic state and she wants to put me on statins. However, I have read that statins increases your risk of developing T2. Does anyone on here know more as I'm trying very hard with exercise and diet now and don't want statins to put me into a full T2 state. I also read that statins can cause joint pain. Having just got back into exercising I don't want to hinder that! Any advice?
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Recently diagnosed with prediabetes
- Thread starter Sally66
- Start Date
JTL
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- North Wales.
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
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- Litterbugs war mongers hate mongers propagandists.
I'm sure there's more.
Statins are a bit controversial.
Plenty of people have no problems with them and achieve the desired results apparently but for me they were a no no and I had to pack them in.
You need to do a little research and make the decision yourself really.
Maybe try them for a while see how you go.
Plenty of people have no problems with them and achieve the desired results apparently but for me they were a no no and I had to pack them in.
You need to do a little research and make the decision yourself really.
Maybe try them for a while see how you go.
daisy1
Legend
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- Type 2
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- Tablets (oral)
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- Cruelty towards animals.
@Sally66
Hello Sally and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members. By following the information on diet and lowering the carbs you eat, you may be able to stave off full diabetes. 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 140,000 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 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
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Hello Sally and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members. By following the information on diet and lowering the carbs you eat, you may be able to stave off full diabetes. 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 140,000 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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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.
catinahat
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,446
- Location
- Halesowen
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
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Hello Sally66, welcome
@daisy1 Will be along soon with some useful information for new members.
My experience with Statins is not a good one. After trying different one's over the years to try and find one that suits me, I have decided to stop taking them. But as JTL said, there are plenty of people on here who have been taking them for years without any problems.
@daisy1 Will be along soon with some useful information for new members.
My experience with Statins is not a good one. After trying different one's over the years to try and find one that suits me, I have decided to stop taking them. But as JTL said, there are plenty of people on here who have been taking them for years without any problems.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
Sally, see information above.
Daibell
Master
Hi and welcome. Well, that's a new one - high cholesterol indicating diabetes? I'd research that one if I were you. The debate about statins continues and so does the supposed harm from high cholesterol. I plan to stop my low dose shortly as the more I read the more I realise there is no advantage in taking them or trying to reduce cholesterol anyway. You must decide from the conflicting advice available. What is true is that statins do increase blood sugar by a little.
C
catherinecherub
Guest
Hi @Sally66
I expect your Dr. was referring to the metabolic syndrome when she/he said that it is an indicator of diabetes. This does include raised cholesterol,( raised triglycerides and low HDlL as per this article.)
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/metabolic-syndrome
Statins are controversial and if you read around the forum there are members who take them with no adverse effects , some members who will not take them due to reports of side effects and others who have tried them but had to stop due to a variety of side effects.
You need to discuss whether you are being given them for a valid reason or whether your Dr. believes that all diabetics should take them.
I expect your Dr. was referring to the metabolic syndrome when she/he said that it is an indicator of diabetes. This does include raised cholesterol,( raised triglycerides and low HDlL as per this article.)
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/metabolic-syndrome
Statins are controversial and if you read around the forum there are members who take them with no adverse effects , some members who will not take them due to reports of side effects and others who have tried them but had to stop due to a variety of side effects.
You need to discuss whether you are being given them for a valid reason or whether your Dr. believes that all diabetics should take them.
Daphne917
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,351
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi welcome to the forum. I was put on statins "because all diabetics should take them"and my BS increased by about 1%. I came off them due to other side affects and my BS came down. Could be coincidence or not but I'm not going to risk taking statins again!
