Newly diagnosed Hba1c Prediabetes

[mariefrance]

Hi DaveH2 - yes, my experience was pretty much the same except I have Type II. By following LCHF and the advice on here I got my hba1c down into the normal range within months and felt better than I had in years - although I've never quite achieved the spotless house!

 

[DaveH2]

Hi DaveH2 - yes, my experience was pretty much the same except I have Type II. By following LCHF and the advice on here I got my hba1c down into the normal range within months and felt better than I had in years - although I've never quite achieved the spotless house!

I'm just sooo surprised at how fast the change was.
As well as the sleeping during the day - 1,2,3 or even 4 naps during the day totalling up to 4 hours. I simply just didn't have the energy to do ... well .... anything at all. I was even doubting myself, thinking that I had just got very, very lazy.
I am absolutely bouncing around now and all those little jobs that I'd been putting off and putting off are now all done.
I'm looking for stuff to do!

 

[mariefrance]

I think quite a few people experience that renewed energy as well as other improvements in health. To be honest, so many of my health markers have improved not just my blood glucose numbers. I genuinely feel healthier - well, am healthier - than I have been for years. Sounds like you're going to experience the same. I'm really pleased for you!

 

[DaveH2]

I think quite a few people experience that renewed energy as well as other improvements in health. To be honest, so many of my health markers have improved not just my blood glucose numbers. I genuinely feel healthier - well, am healthier - than I have been for years. Sounds like you're going to experience the same. I'm really pleased for you!

I just can't believe the improvement within a week - I've had literally zero energy for maybe 15 years - its like I have a new body!

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Just a quick update
I have been on a LCHF diet now for 6 days! My total carbs for those 6 days is just shy of 300g.

My sleep patterns have changed already. from sleeping 12-14 hours combined normal nighttime sleep and afternoon naps, I'm down to 8 hours at night ONLY. I haven't needed an afternoon nap for 3 days. I generally feel more awake all the time and have vastly more energy.

Am I reading too much into it or will a change in diet really have such a drastic effect so rapidly?

.... Welcome to the wonderful world of LCHF. Well done, keep it up.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thanks for all that info! There's a lot to learn ...

There is, but there was for the bulk of us. I took notes, tested a lot, and went from there. You don't have to get everything right overnight, but from the sound of it, you're doing really well already.

 

[Danne]

Hello everyone! I have just joined this forum today and am looking for some advice.


I have just be diagnosed with prediabetes, with an HbA1c level of 42 mmol/mol.


I am 48 years old and weigh 55kg (BMI 19.4 - healthy but at the lower end.) I’m not particularly active (I don’t take part in sports etc.) but I do walk a fair bit - since diagnosis, I have started briskly walking for 30-45 minutes each day. I am a moderate smoker and before my prediabetes diagnosis, I was already cutting down.


I am asthmatic and use Ventolin and Clenil inhalers. I also take folate tablets to raise my vitamin B9 levels.


I have a mixed diet that is reasonably good - ie a lot of home cooking, but once a week I may have a pizza or a burger, etc. I would be a liar if I said I managed my “5-a-day”


As I would imagine is the case with many people, I am somewhat overwhelmed and confused with what I have to do. I also appear to have symptoms that are worse than my HbA1c level would suggest (in my judgement.)


I’ll start with symptoms that may be caused by my condition.


Sleepiness/lack of energy. I sleep 8 hours per night, pretty much every night. Occasionally, I’ll have great difficulty in nodding off, but most of the time I’m OK. I don’t drink caffeine after 8pm. During the day, I never really wake up - I feel the same all day as when you do normally in the first 15 minutes of waking up. I also sleep during the day for between 1 and 4 hours - this could be in one go, or separated of 2 or 3 occasions.


Healing - cuts and sores take many months to heal - I have about 3 sores all behind my hairline, 1 of which hasn’t healed in months and 2 which haven’t healed in many years - a decade or more - these have been treated with medicated shampoo at the suggestion of my GP, but even prolonged use doesn’t make them fully heal.


Itching - Constant itchiness, particularly my upper back and chest, but also legs and arms - it’s the kind of itch that scratching doesn’t really fix - I can scratch and literally seconds later the itch is back.


Thirst and urination. I am pretty much constantly thirsty, which possibly leads to me needing to pee frequently - up to a dozen times a day and occasionally immediately after I have just been - ie within a minute. When I get the urge to pee, I need to go with some urgency. I need to get up in the night to pee and frequently wake up with a raging thirst. Occasionally, I also wake up in the night hungry in need of a small snack, such as a packet of crisps or a biscuit.


That’s the main symptoms, though I do also have a concern that some sexual dysfunction and potentially, blurred vision and hearing loss may be attributable to my diagnosis.


Do these symptoms correspond to my diagnosis? And where do I go from here?

Many thanks!

Just a quick update
I have been on a LCHF diet now for 6 days! My total carbs for those 6 days is just shy of 300g.

My sleep patterns have changed already. from sleeping 12-14 hours combined normal nighttime sleep and afternoon naps, I'm down to 8 hours at night ONLY. I haven't needed an afternoon nap for 3 days. I generally feel more awake all the time and have vastly more energy.

Am I reading too much into it or will a change in diet really have such a drastic effect so rapidly?

Hello everyone! I have just joined this forum today and am looking for some advice.


I have just be diagnosed with prediabetes, with an HbA1c level of 42 mmol/mol.


I am 48 years old and weigh 55kg (BMI 19.4 - healthy but at the lower end.) I’m not particularly active (I don’t take part in sports etc.) but I do walk a fair bit - since diagnosis, I have started briskly walking for 30-45 minutes each day. I am a moderate smoker and before my prediabetes diagnosis, I was already cutting down.


I am asthmatic and use Ventolin and Clenil inhalers. I also take folate tablets to raise my vitamin B9 levels.


I have a mixed diet that is reasonably good - ie a lot of home cooking, but once a week I may have a pizza or a burger, etc. I would be a liar if I said I managed my “5-a-day”


As I would imagine is the case with many people, I am somewhat overwhelmed and confused with what I have to do. I also appear to have symptoms that are worse than my HbA1c level would suggest (in my judgement.)


I’ll start with symptoms that may be caused by my condition.


Sleepiness/lack of energy. I sleep 8 hours per night, pretty much every night. Occasionally, I’ll have great difficulty in nodding off, but most of the time I’m OK. I don’t drink caffeine after 8pm. During the day, I never really wake up - I feel the same all day as when you do normally in the first 15 minutes of waking up. I also sleep during the day for between 1 and 4 hours - this could be in one go, or separated of 2 or 3 occasions.


Healing - cuts and sores take many months to heal - I have about 3 sores all behind my hairline, 1 of which hasn’t healed in months and 2 which haven’t healed in many years - a decade or more - these have been treated with medicated shampoo at the suggestion of my GP, but even prolonged use doesn’t make them fully heal.


Itching - Constant itchiness, particularly my upper back and chest, but also legs and arms - it’s the kind of itch that scratching doesn’t really fix - I can scratch and literally seconds later the itch is back.


Thirst and urination. I am pretty much constantly thirsty, which possibly leads to me needing to pee frequently - up to a dozen times a day and occasionally immediately after I have just been - ie within a minute. When I get the urge to pee, I need to go with some urgency. I need to get up in the night to pee and frequently wake up with a raging thirst. Occasionally, I also wake up in the night hungry in need of a small snack, such as a packet of crisps or a biscuit.


That’s the main symptoms, though I do also have a concern that some sexual dysfunction and potentially, blurred vision and hearing loss may be attributable to my diagnosis.


Do these symptoms correspond to my diagnosis? And where do I go from here?

Many thanks!

Hi Dave. I have just been diagnosed as prediabetic after a blood test to find out why I am so absolutely exhausted all of the time. My reading was 42. I have no idea what diet to adopt really apart from watching sugar content, although I thought I was pretty healthy anyway, never adding sugar to anything and eating well, or so I thought. I know I’ll have to exercise more and plan on doing that but I’m so confused with what diet to follow. I don’t want to lose weight as I’m actually border line underweight anyway. Can you give me any help? I feel totally overwhelmed with what I read. Thanks

 

[DaveH2]

Hi Dave. I have just been diagnosed as prediabetic after a blood test to find out why I am so absolutely exhausted all of the time. My reading was 42. I have no idea what diet to adopt really apart from watching sugar content, although I thought I was pretty healthy anyway, never adding sugar to anything and eating well, or so I thought. I know I’ll have to exercise more and plan on doing that but I’m so confused with what diet to follow. I don’t want to lose weight as I’m actually border line underweight anyway. Can you give me any help? I feel totally overwhelmed with what I read. Thanks

I am pre-diabetic 42mmol/mol and I am not overweight - I weigh 55kg and 1m65 tall, so just in the normal BMI range.

I had a bit of a false start - my main symptom was lack of energy and general all-day tiredness. I slept reasonably well at night and also needed a nap once or twice a day (but sometimes, up to 4 times a day!)

The false start I talked about was cutting carbs to less than 100g per day - after a couple of days, I felt absolutely brilliant! Sleeping well at night and no naps during the day and full of beans - loads of energy. but now, I've started to feel a bit tired again and I think it might be because I've burned up all the carb energy stored in my body. (People with more experience may confirm/correct this assumption.

I have cut down on added sugar (eg biscuits/fruit juice) and am using sucralose (63p from Aldi) in my tea/coffee - I was eating 40g sugar per day and am now down to virtually nil. My carbs were sky-high - I've always had a huge appetite despite being slim. If I had sausage and mash, I'd have 3 or 4 sausages and maybe 4 normal sized potatoes - this was practically spilling off my dinner plate! a HUGE portion by any standards.

I am struggling to not feel hungry all the time even with the advice given here. I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed - there is so much advice, but what will work for me? My GP hasn't been very helpful - she told me to cut down on sugar and carbs and to eat wholegrain bread (I don't even know if that is the same as wholemeal!) The surgery I go to even has a support group for diabetics, but more than a week after requesting to join I have heard nothing. (Apparently, you need to be "prescribed" to join the group, you can't just join.)

It has been suggested to me to take blood sugar readings, so I have ordered a XXXCapture NextXXX glucometer (free, but you have to pay for consumables) and I am awaiting its delivery. This way you can see what food/exercise has what effect on your levels

EDIT: the glucometer is called "Contour Next One"

 

[Resurgam]

Are you sticking to low fat options? That could be why you are lacking in energy.
We need fats.
Sugars and starches are carbs - they are not separate food groups - and brown carbs are just as much carbs as white ones, so you might find no benefit at all from whole anything bread.
There is Livlife bread, from Waitrose and protein bred from Asda, where I live, and they are just 4 gm of carbs per (admittedly quite small) slice. The local bakery which sells all sorts of fancy breads swears that diabetics can eat his wares - what people will do to make a sale.......
I use a Tee 2 meter - cheap strips make all the difference to how often you can test.

 

[DaveH2]

Are you sticking to low fat options? That could be why you are lacking in energy.
We need fats.
Sugars and starches are carbs - they are not separate food groups - and brown carbs are just as much carbs as white ones, so you might find no benefit at all from whole anything bread.
There is Livlife bread, from Waitrose and protein bred from Asda, where I live, and they are just 4 gm of carbs per (admittedly quite small) slice. The local bakery which sells all sorts of fancy breads swears that diabetics can eat his wares - what people will do to make a sale.......
I use a Tee 2 meter - cheap strips make all the difference to how often you can test.

No, I'm aiming for low sugar, low carb, high fat - lots of bacon! Lots of cheese! But just try finding full-fat yoghurt! Generally, plenty of meat and 2 eggs a day. Plenty of fruit, too. And fish.

The bread I had before was about 15g carb per slice - the wholemeal bread I bought today has exactly the same - I will pop to Asda to have a look at their protein bread -thanks for letting me know it exists!

 

[Resurgam]

The protein bread does look like a brown brick - and having two slices of it - well - eat slowly and chew well. You really know that you have eaten it, but all the seeds are good as low carb can be a bit lacking in bulk.
Many supermarkets do full fat Greek style yoghurt. I source mine from Lidl or Tesco - large tubs which, with some holes in the bottom, are useful as starter plantpots should you feel the need to grow a few veges next year. Once you have planted them out you can sink the pot into the ground alongside and water into it
The plenty of fruit is not a good idea.
I limit my intake to twice a seek and have a small portion of frozen berries (fresh go off too quickly) eaten with cream.

 

[DaveH2]

The plenty of fruit is not a good idea.

My doctor advised me to eat 2 bits of fruit per day - do you think that is too much?

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My doctor advised me to eat 2 bits of fruit per day - do you think that is too much?

Fructose is sugar. And the liver treats fructose as poison. Since most T2's are prone to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and fructose gets stored as liver fat... You could have a few berries, avocado.... https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/fruits might help.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

My doctor advised me to eat 2 bits of fruit per day - do you think that is too much?

PS: When I read about "plenty of fruit" I was going "No, no, no, no fruits!!!" at my computer monitor.

 

[Resurgam]

My doctor advised me to eat 2 bits of fruit per day - do you think that is too much?

I wonder why your doctor doesn't like you.
Two pieces of fruit - an apple and a pear, say, would exceed my total daily intake of carbs by quite a way.

 

[Flora123]

My doctor advised me to eat 2 bits of fruit per day - do you think that is too much?

Yes. Fruit sends my BG through the roof. I still see a rise with even just a couple of berries. Definitely need to be very very careful with any fruit.

 

[DaveH2]

I wonder why your doctor doesn't like you.
Two pieces of fruit - an apple and a pear, say, would exceed my total daily intake of carbs by quite a way.

Maybe I misunderstood?

I don't like pears, so they're off the menu anyway. I can take or leave apples. But, strawberries/blackberries/raspberries/blueberries are all nice - I've been making smoothies with them, adding about the same again water - total drink about 1/3 pint. So, I suppose that is 1/6 pint of berries. Does that sound too much?

Edit: I don't feel any tiredness after fruit like I do if I east a sandwich, if that makes any difference?

 

[mouseee]

When you get your test kit you can check out how they affect you. Everyone is different.

 

[DaveH2]

When you get your test kit you can check out how they affect you. Everyone is different.

My Contour Next One glucometer arrived today

Tonight's activity is learning how to use it

 

[DaveH2]

When you get your test kit you can check out how they affect you. Everyone is different.

Had a ham and cheese 3 egg omelette for my dinner. Tested myself 1 hour afterwards and the reading is 51mmol/mol. My reading from the doctor was 42mmol/mol (ie prediabetic) - My doctors appointment was in the morning around 9am and I hadn't had breakfast - will this explain the reading discrepancy?

I know it'll fluctuate throughout the day, but 51 puts me full on diabetic, not prediabetic.