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Confused about diagnosis

D

drc203

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Hi everyone,

This is my first post here so first of all I'd like to say hello.

I was told last week that I have prediabetes. While this is likely the case; I'm a little unsure by some of my of test results.

To begin with, I'm 29. 5.10 and 13st 10. I play rugby, do a lot of activity (ran a half marathon last weekend and have another this weekend) and never had any symptoms. Except that I have, for a number of years, had to pee a lot (rare for me to get through a night without getting up). I'd say this has happened since I was 21/22. My weight is normally between 12 1/2 stone and 13 1/2 stone. I'm currently larger than I have been in years.

The only member of my family who developed diabetes was my nan who was 70 odd and had been overweight all her life. No one else in my family, despite having members who are much more overweight than me, has had it

When I was 23 I joined the Army. I was told I had a high blood sugar level (can't remember exactly the reading) and had to go off to have a blood test. Again, don't know what the result was but they let me through.

Last year my Dad visited and told me I pee a lot and to get it tested. So I went to the doctors' mainly as a favour to him. He thought I'd have a UTI. My doctor put me through some tests (liver function, platelets and blood sugar). They all came back normal except for my blood sugar, which I believe was around 6.4. So they told me to have a fasting blood, which was, I think, 6.3

Because of this I was given the glucose tolerance test. My usual doctor said she expected my result after two hours to go up after I had my sugary drink. I expected the results the next day; however I never got them. I rang up and talked to the on call doctor who told me my results: my fasting was 6.4 and my result, two hours later and after a sugary drink, was 4.5. He said he still thought I had prediabetes.

Now, I'm not sure what to think here. Obviously I'm not a doctor but this seems strange to me. I passed the Glucose test. I am healthy, I am young, I have had to pee a lot for 7-8 years now, my family does not have a history of this. And while I won't say I have a perfect diet; if I overeat it's always savoury things; not sugary. I've never had a sweet tooth.

So I'm confused and I don't know exactly what I should cut from my diet to get my fasting blood fine.

Any ideas?

Thanks for reading everyone,

Dan
 
All carbs are treated like sugar by the body. Can you give us an idea of a daily menu?
 
Diakat said:
All carbs are treated like sugar by the body. Can you give us an idea of a daily menu?
Click to expand...

Sure,

I normally have toast or a bagel for breakfast.

I normally have salad or a wrap for lunch.

And for dinner- chilli/spag bol/ mash potatoes- normal dinners.

Of course this is the bog standard working day. Weekends or other days this can be different. Add some crisps maybe, pasta before rugby. It's hard to say what's 'normal'. Portion size is perhaps a problem.

I do probably drink too much lager- could that be it?

My problem however is that this has been going on for years and years- no matter when I've been on a diet or not.
 
It is clear that you need some proper answers from your doc.

Looking at your sample menu you had about 40-50g for breakfast, a wrap about 20-30 I think and then depending on your evening meal you could be adding another 100g without any snacks. Which could cause you problems if you can't process them.

Type 2 can go undiagnosed for a long time.
 
I think it is impossible to read anything into the genetic bit of the diagnosis.

I was told I have genetic diabetes last September. I am the eldest and only one brother has diabetes. He never ate his veg, had a lot of chips (lives 5 doors from a chip shop), curry, ready meals and general football match fare Both his sons are in teams and one is a referee so that equates roughly to obsessive fan x 3. No parent, aunt, grandparent, cousin etc in family has diabetes. The family tree is done to 1790's on all sides. No guarantee but you would think there might be a trend.

My gp could not be bothered to tell me I was pre diabetes so I was deprived the opportunity of avoiding diabetes. Upon diagnosis I got my other brothers and sisters to get a test. All pre diabetes. Sandwell phoned their patient 8 days after test. Solihull within a month. One brother is virtually vegetarian (he is not but the rest of the household is with vegan episodes).

I suspect the explanation must involve the change in the foodstuffs available, quantity of food available, the more sedentry lifestyle and maybe the combination of mum and dad's genes in conjunction.

All the best with handling the diagnosis. I know I was completely floored. The people on here are great and very supportive
 
drc203 said:
Hi everyone,

This is my first post here so first of all I'd like to say hello.

I was told last week that I have prediabetes. While this is likely the case; I'm a little unsure by some of my of test results.

To begin with, I'm 29. 5.10 and 13st 10. I play rugby, do a lot of activity (ran a half marathon last weekend and have another this weekend) and never had any symptoms. Except that I have, for a number of years, had to pee a lot (rare for me to get through a night without getting up). I'd say this has happened since I was 21/22. My weight is normally between 12 1/2 stone and 13 1/2 stone. I'm currently larger than I have been in years.

The only member of my family who developed diabetes was my nan who was 70 odd and had been overweight all her life. No one else in my family, despite having members who are much more overweight than me, has had it

When I was 23 I joined the Army. I was told I had a high blood sugar level (can't remember exactly the reading) and had to go off to have a blood test. Again, don't know what the result was but they let me through.

Last year my Dad visited and told me I pee a lot and to get it tested. So I went to the doctors' mainly as a favour to him. He thought I'd have a UTI. My doctor put me through some tests (liver function, platelets and blood sugar). They all came back normal except for my blood sugar, which I believe was around 6.4. So they told me to have a fasting blood, which was, I think, 6.3

Because of this I was given the glucose tolerance test. My usual doctor said she expected my result after two hours to go up after I had my sugary drink. I expected the results the next day; however I never got them. I rang up and talked to the on call doctor who told me my results: my fasting was 6.4 and my result, two hours later and after a sugary drink, was 4.5. He said he still thought I had prediabetes.

Now, I'm not sure what to think here. Obviously I'm not a doctor but this seems strange to me. I passed the Glucose test. I am healthy, I am young, I have had to pee a lot for 7-8 years now, my family does not have a history of this. And while I won't say I have a perfect diet; if I overeat it's always savoury things; not sugary. I've never had a sweet tooth.

So I'm confused and I don't know exactly what I should cut from my diet to get my fasting blood fine.

Any ideas?

Thanks for reading everyone,

Dan
Click to expand...

I think you GP is right, and that you will be among the persons that will benifit a lot from going really low carbwise

if you change your eating style totaly right now you can maybe stop the progression of your prediabetes and avoid becomming a type 2 diabetic ... you are active in lifestyle, if you also go really healthy in food style (very low carb diet) then maybe you can stop progress and maybe also go back to not peeing all the clock around and only a few time a day like healthy people without diabtes...

please take it serious now as it is not the first time you had a warning..

type 2 is not only genetic , and also type 1 is also hitting more and more young people and also elderly people and there seem to be some invironmeltal compound to that, but till now the researchers do not know just what is forcing this epidemic raise of both types ..

an allover much more sedentary lifestyle most of the day, and drinking and eating much more foods that are high/fast spiking the blood sugar.... and maybe pollution ..?????
 
Last edited:
I think what is confusing you is your age and from what we are told you normally get this type around the 40 mark, with the exception of the odd few a year or 2 earlier. Also you would not normally be considered as obese, however I'm the same weight and have developed it. I am over 40 but heaven knows how long I was in the pre-diabetic range but I have read an american article which said you can be in this range from your early 20's, whether or not this is true and UK specialists agree I do not know.

I think the key thing here and what people are trying to say is that you have a very good opportunity now to change your eating habits while you are young enough in this stage to possibly prevent the onset of full type 2 some years down the line, and I would certainly give it a try if I were you.
 
Hi. Apart from reducing the carbs I would buy a glucose meter and strips and do the occasional test 2 hours after a meal. If it's over 8.5 then yo may be pre-diabetic.
 
Hi @drc203 welcome to the forum. This is a great place for advice and support.

I passed the glucose test too. I still have impaired fasting glucose.

You are not clear on what the first recent blood test was but if it was a 6.4 HBA1C test, then you may have had 3 different tests.

Do you have any further medical appointments? You can ask for a second opinion or an explanation of the tests you have had.
 
@drc203

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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 well over 147,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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 blood glucose 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.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why :)
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Everyone

Thanks for your help. I'm seeing the doctor on Monday so will chat it through but it sounds like a low carb diet is for me!

Thanks,

Dan
 
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