Advice required from those who know

[Belton]

Approx 3 years ago the doctor advised me I was a Pre-diabetic.

I purchased a Codefree Blood Glucose Monitoring system to keep track 7.8mmol/l was the first reading.

So I modified my diet a little to stay away from sweet things and have continued on a similar diet since.

Recently I decided to take another reading first thing in the morning result was 7.6mmol/l.

I am nearly 83 years of age, some say I am fit for my age and I regard the Armchair as a Death Knell.

My question is should I continue as I am or should I be more concerned

 

[bulkbiker]

I suggest you go back to the doc and get an updated HbA1c as random blood glucose readings don't really tell you much.

 

[LaoDan]

I don’t think you should be overly concerned, but getting under 7 is better.

You can test throughout the day for a week, say 6-8 times per day, morning, before and after meals, and at night. The average of those readings will give you a hint at where your levels are. Make sure you have fresh test strips.

or get the A1c test.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, ask for an HBA1C test and do random tests just before and 2 hours after typical meals. You are looking for those random figures to be below 8.5 mmol.

 

[Belzedar]

There is a school of thought in the medical field that people of your age should not be held in thrall to the HbA1C reading. I'm hoping you've got the same gallows humour as my mom and can see the humour in their thinking: The complications that can develop from out of control glucose levels take more time to develop than you've probably got. I'm trying not to be too crass and hope you get that telegram from the Queen on your 100th. Just providing a perspective.

This is what Harvard says:

Elderly patients, and those with serious medical conditions, will benefit from simply controlling the symptoms they have from high blood sugars, like frequent urination and incontinence, rather than aiming for any particular A1c level. Who would be included in this group? People with a life expectancy of less than 10 years, or those who have advanced forms of dementia, emphysema, or cancer; or end-stage kidney, liver, or heart failure. There is little to no evidence for any meaningful benefit of intervening to achieve a target A1c in these populations; there is plenty of evidence for harm.​