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OK, first you need to get hold of a glucose meter. You can buy these for about £10-15 from a high street chemist, or less on eBay. Some manufacturers will send you one for free if you ask them (they make their money out of the consumables - but the meter will come with enough in the box for a...

You might be interested in the following paper: Foster-Schubert, K.E. et al (2008). Acyl and Total Ghrelin Are Suppressed Strongly by Ingested Proteins, Weakly by Lipids, and Biphasically by Carbohydrates. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 93(5) 1971-1979. This is a clinical...

That is a really interesting question that exercises the minds of many nutritional researchers. I am afraid the answer is not at all clearcut - hunger is probably the result of a mixture of different cues - physiological, neurological, physical and emotional. I'm not an expert in this area, and...

You probably shouldn't take gliclazide while you are pregnant, or if there is any likelihood of you getting pregnant. Pregnancy is listed as a contraindication for gliclazide, although based upon a quick Google Scholar search this seems to be because it isn't known to be safe rather than...

Ask them for a "Glucose Tolerance Test". This is by far the most sensitive method for diagnosing diabetes, and very useful in borderline cases (which is what I presume you are). Some PCTs seem to be reluctant to do these any more, so, tell your GP that you are worried and hassle until get one...

When you are newly diagnosed, before your BG has stabilized then the advice to avoid fruit is probably sensible. Most fruits contain a mixture of different sugars, most of which will raise your BG - some slower than others. Fructose does raise BG, but much more slowly than sucrose (although as...

The thing about a glucose tolerance test is not so much how far the BG goes up, but how quickly it comes down again. The glucose in lucozade is absorbed extremely quickly (it is mostly in the form of pure glucose, already in solution and the CO2 speeds absorption). This means that it will...

Your tests are borderline, so without more information (particularly a GTT) then it isn't possible to say whether or not you have diabetes. However, even if you aren't diabetic, the figures you gave definitely put you in the "pre-diabetes" category. I am at home now, and have an endocrinology...

It is true that two high fasting tests are considered diagnostic, but a GTT is much more sensitive when the results are borderline. The OP had a fasting test of 7.0 and 6.6. Technically this doesn't meet the "two tests greater than 7" trigger, but it is so close as to be well within the likely...

If you are talking about a fasting test then, the line of "anything under 10 is OK" is absolute rubbish! The medical textbooks say that a fasting test greater than 7 recorded on more than one occasion indicates diabetes. A non-diabetic will usually have a fasting BG in the 4.5 - 5.5 range. If...

Most people's major sources of carbohydrates are things like bread, cereal, potatoes, pasta and rice. I would suggest that you cut down, or completely eliminate these. Also, be a bit careful of fruit - many fruits have a lot more sugar in them than you might think (I was shocked when I first...

Congratulations on the smoking Campervan - I know that this is a hideously difficult thing to do, but it is probably the single most important thing that you can do for your health - so keep it up, for your own sake and for your families. It sounds like you mostly have the diabetes under...

Sue has a good point! Just because you are diabetic doesn't mean you should jump to the conclusion that every ache and pain is due to the diabetes. Tingling in your hands could easily be an early sign of diabetic neuropathy, but equally well it could be many other things (RSI springs to mind -...

OK, I have only just seen that. I got out of sync with the posts (students keep dropping in to my office, while I have a half-finished reply - most thoughtless of them!). Since this almost certainly isn't an actual hypo it probably isn't going to get suddenly worse (keep monitoring your...

Although you want to keep a careful eye on things, this is probably good news. Even 10.6 is still quite high - a non-diabetic usually has a BG of 4.5-6.5, occasionally briefly straying to 7 or 8 after eating. It is quite common once you have got used to very high BG levels that you feel...

The tingling sounds like an early symptom of neuropathy, a classic complication of diabetes, and cramps can also be a symptom. The good news is that if the diabetes is well controlled and your BG is low enough then the cramps should subside and the tingling shouldn't get any worse. The bad...

Ah, that explains it. This is one of the downsides of living in a small community I guess. The C-Peptide test is the most reliable way to distinguish between Type-1 and Type-2, but it sounds as though they are inclining towards T1 (the tablets won't do anything for that). It is also still...

Some medics regard this as quite good control (although that is debatable), but an HbA1c of 6.2% is not "normal" in the non-diabetic sense. Most non-diabetics have an HbA1c of around about 5%, and someone with an HbA1c of 6.2% is likely to have an average blood glucose level in the 7.6 - 9...

I think that Diabetes Nurses vary wildly in how useful they are. Some of them have a lot of practical experience, are widely read and know more about diabetes than most non-specialist doctors. However, the training they are given doesn't necessarily make them the experts that one would hope...