Prediabetes questions

[Shadybaby]

Good evening,

Long story short , doc mentioned getting tested for diabetes at some point when covid 19 has calmed down . I happen to have a blood glucose monitor anyway decided to test my blood. First random reading was 7.9 . I've been doing it in the morning and random times during the day. I did it earlier about 15 mins after I'd had sunday dinner it was 12! I didn't realise non diabetics could go that high? It went back down to 6.3 4 hour later. Mornings are between 6.1 and 7.4 when I've not ate for hours seems to not go lower than 6 . On the internet them fasting numbers are pre diabetic, am I worrying for nothing or should I go to the doctors? Thanks in advance

 

[TriciaWs]

Here is an easy table to check. Type two need to check before eating then 2 hours later (timed from beginning a meal)
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

If you are concerned then try to get a blood test earlier, but you may prefer to try going low carb instead? Research suggests that the sooner you go low carb after developing T2 the better chance you have of getting into remission.

There are lots of sites about this, such as dietdoctor and thelocarbprogram, if you want to find out more.

 

[LaoDan]

Good evening,

Long story short , doc mentioned getting tested for diabetes at some point when covid 19 has calmed down . I happen to have a blood glucose monitor anyway decided to test my blood. First random reading was 7.9 . I've been doing it in the morning and random times during the day. I did it earlier about 15 mins after I'd had sunday dinner it was 12! I didn't realise non diabetics could go that high? It went back down to 6.3 4 hour later. Mornings are between 6.1 and 7.4 when I've not ate for hours seems to not go lower than 6 . On the internet them fasting numbers are pre diabetic, am I worrying for nothing or should I go to the doctors? Thanks in advance

that 12 was a spike, something you might want to avoid. If you remember the carby item you had, stop eating it

 

[EllieM]

that 12 was a spike, something you might want to avoid. If you remember the carby item you had, stop eating it

Yes, if you've got a meter you can test before and two hours after a meal and find out what foods your body can and can't cope with. It's possible that you can normalise your blood sugars before your doctor gets around to giving you an hba1c test.

One caveat: if your prediabetes is leading to T1 rather than T2 (T1 development can be slow for adults) then reducing your carbs will delay but not prevent the onset. If you find your levels going and staying high (teens) despite the diet, you need to get checked for T1, because untreated T1 will lead you to a nasty condition called DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) and a trip to intensive care (if you're lucky and catch it in time) and the morgue if you don't catch it in time. Most likely any prediabetes is leading to T2 (T2s outnumber T1s by a factor of ten) but if you don't have a T2 family history and/or carry excess weight (excess weight is one symptom of T2) then you should be careful to rule out T1/LADA.

In your position, I'd contact my doctor anyway, though they may well tell you not to worry (often they just tell prediabetics to watch their diets and take more exercise) and wait till after things settle COVID-wise. Unfortunately fasting blood sugar tends to go high because your liver pumps out sugar in the morning to help you prepare for the day - if you are starting to have difficulty in processing that sugar then the morning reading goes up.

Good luck, stay well. If you do turn out to be diabetic or prediabetic (and it's still an if) then there'll be lots of help and support for you on these forums.

 

[Shadybaby]

that 12 was a spike, something you might want to avoid. If you remember the carby item you had, stop eating it

Must of been the potatoes everything else was low carb .

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Good evening,

Long story short , doc mentioned getting tested for diabetes at some point when covid 19 has calmed down . I happen to have a blood glucose monitor anyway decided to test my blood. First random reading was 7.9 . I've been doing it in the morning and random times during the day. I did it earlier about 15 mins after I'd had sunday dinner it was 12! I didn't realise non diabetics could go that high? It went back down to 6.3 4 hour later. Mornings are between 6.1 and 7.4 when I've not ate for hours seems to not go lower than 6 . On the internet them fasting numbers are pre diabetic, am I worrying for nothing or should I go to the doctors? Thanks in advance

The doc's suggesting getting tested for a reason. Looking at your numbers, they may be on to something, so yes, get tested, and discuss what you've seen so far with your doc: a HbA1c should let you know where you're at. If you go low carb now, and have a HbA1c later, it won't show you where you're truly at, so maybe just stick with things as they are right now, get tested, and then, seeing your current numbers are not ideal but not absolutely horrible either, you can get a low carb diet going.

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- that's basically a bit of a uick start guide I wrote on low cvarbing, but.... Like I said, get tested first, go from there,

 

[bulkbiker]

Must of been the potatoes everything else was low carb .

You might be surprised what was the meal exactly?
But 15 minutes after eating is too soon to tell .. although my OGTT high was about at that level...

 

[Shadybaby]

Thank you everyone I seem to be having issues replying to you all it's not allowing it. It was roast chicken, gravy, potatoes, veg and yorkie I ate when I spiked , it's my favourite meal would hate to have to cut that out. . I will test before meal and 2 hour after as well as morning for a week or so and then decide whether to speak to doctor.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you everyone I seem to be having issues replying to you all it's not allowing it. It was roast chicken, gravy, potatoes, veg and yorkie I ate when I spiked , it's my favourite meal would hate to have to cut that out. . I will test before meal and 2 hour after as well as morning for a week or so and then decide whether to speak to doctor.

Chicken's fine, gravy is okay if there's no thickener like flour in, spuds are out but can be replaced with celeriac, or cauliflower rice, veg is sort of okay (underground veggies not as good as above ground though....) and the pie's not exactly preferable either. The filling's okay I think, but the crust isn't. It's not a matter of cutting the entire meal. Just adjust it a little.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you everyone I seem to be having issues replying to you all it's not allowing it. It was roast chicken, gravy, potatoes, veg and yorkie I ate when I spiked , it's my favourite meal would hate to have to cut that out. . I will test before meal and 2 hour after as well as morning for a week or so and then decide whether to speak to doctor.

One more thing: no-one's said you are a diabetic yet. Or even prediabetic. Nothing's set in stone at the mo, and even if it was, YOU have a choice. A lot of us here prefer to change our diet, because that's the most effective way so far, to avoid complications and progression later on. But for some people, they need a little medication in combination with a diet. Some eat as they always have and take pills or inject for it. If you have diabetes, or are headed that way, you can have an opinion, you can make descisions, as it is YOUR life and YOU decide how you live it. Okay?

That said, perks of a low carb, high fat diet: Bacon. Cream. Butter. The fatty bits of meat. All the stuff that you've been told for years are bad for you, turn out to be healthy for a T2. Just in case you needed perking up.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you everyone I seem to be having issues replying to you all it's not allowing it. It was roast chicken, gravy, potatoes, veg and yorkie I ate when I spiked , it's my favourite meal would hate to have to cut that out. . I will test before meal and 2 hour after as well as morning for a week or so and then decide whether to speak to doctor.

Yorkie pud not low carb and the flour could well have caused a bigger spike than the spuds...
Also the veg likely won't have been carb free either depending on what they were.....?

 

[Shadybaby]

Yorkie pud not low carb and the flour could well have caused a bigger spike than the spuds...
Also the veg likely won't have been carb free either depending on what they were.....?

It was coli and broc, I no they

Yorkie pud not low carb and the flour could well have caused a bigger spike than the spuds...
Also the veg likely won't have been carb free either depending on what they were.....?

Coli and broc , so must of been the yorki and potatoes

 

[bulkbiker]

It was coli and broc, I no they

Coli and broc , so must of been the yorki and potatoes

Yep highly likely.. flour can sometimes cause higher spikes in some people than potatoes.. both best avoided though.
Just double up on the other bits.

 

[Cocosilk]

Must of been the potatoes everything else was low carb .

I had numbers similar to yours in the postpartum period after having had gestational diabetes. 1h spike was around 12 mmol and back to 6 mmol by 2 hours on a GTT. I didn't want to risk getting type 2 so I seriously changed the amount of carbs I eat.
Now, if there are potatoes with my roast, I would have no more than half a potato but then eat more of the pork belly and crackle.
When my husband bakes a sourdough rye, I no longer have 3 or 4 slices on the day it comes fresh out of the oven. I'll have half a slice and eat something else low carb, most often meat or eggs. And one or two of my meals per day are without a typical serving of carbs - breakfast is just eggs, or bacon and eggs but no toast. Or lunch or dinner might be meat with salad or vegetables (all low carb ones only). I hardly touch things like pasta and rice. I've been doing this for a bit over a year and I've lost about 5kg. Now I can eat a small piece of cake and be at 6 mmol rather than 12mmol at the 1 hour spike.
Someone without a blood sugar issue might only be at 4 mmol after the same piece of cake so I'm never going back to eating large amounts of carbs. Takes a bit of adjusting but it's worth the effort.