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Hi, I have just joined today 22/10/20

Vangellis

Member
Messages
6
Hello Everybody
I am new to this site and also new to diabetic "anything"
I had my routine blood tests done (Iam taking Rivaroxaban-blood thinner) blood tests are mandatory.
Everything else was perfectly normal except my blood sugar level.
My Doctor told me that my blood-sugar test was 49, and to cut back on things, such as bread and biscuits etc.
I do not have a clue what this 49 means.
I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what the Doctor was talking about.
I phoned my Chemist earlier today and spoke with the Pharmacist and asked him what this 49 thing was all about?
I was told it was high.
I asked him what are the normal levels, he said 7-10.
I freaked out; I still don't know what's happening.
I obviously realised there was a problem so I have just purchased a GlucoRX-Q blood glucose test kit, but it won't be delivered until Monday 26th.

A bit about myself.....
I am Male, 68 years old.
I am registered severely disabled and housebound. As I have heart failure and COPD, with the COPD being very annoying as I have never smoked in my life.
I am married with two grown-up kids who are now married with families of their own.
I live on my own. My wife moved out a year ago. (Thank god)
I spend 99% of my time either using my laptop or a games console. (Xbox One X and PS4) I do not have a TV, simply because there is nothing on there I would watch.
I am very depressed because I am unable to do the things I used to do anymore.
I was a very keen fisherman (Carp). I took care of everybody on the estates car (I am/was a mechanic) etc, etc.
I would describe myself as being overeactive about the state of my health, almost to the point it would be considered OCD.
Anyway.

Thank you for reading.
Vangellis.
 
Vangellis said:
I phoned my Chemist earlier today and spoke with the Pharmacist and asked him what this 49 thing was all about?
I was told it was high.
I asked him what are the normal levels, he said 7-10.
I freaked out; I still don't know what's happening.
Click to expand...

The 49 I'm guessing is probably your HbA1c result (though its best to verify what the blood test actually was) - non diabetic is less than 42, pre-diabetes is 42-47 and diabetes is 48+ so you're only just in the actual diabetic zone.
Your chemist claiming 7-10 were normal levels, a) is wrong and b) different scale that scale is a different measurement to the HbA1c, normal finger prick blood tests are normally at 4-6/7 mmol/L (not sure how high it can go but not significantly) - an HbA1c of 49 is an average of 8mmol/L fyi

Oh and welcome
 
Last edited:
The pharmacist was wrong - the number is your Hba1c (glycated haemoglobin) and normal is below 42, so you are not all that far above that - you are only just above the prediabetes level of 48.
Simply cutting out a few high carb foods should do the trick, or halving the amounts of all the high carb foods - because sugar and starch are the things you can't cope with.
If you want to really take control you could get a glucose meter which is cheap to run and test your blood levels after eating, and that should indicate which foods you should reduce - I have to watch peas and beans as legumes seem to cause spikes twice as high as expected from their carb content.
 
Your chemist was using the old '%' scale for the HBA1C blood test which was changed a few years back to 'mmol' which is the 49. On this website you can find a conversion chart not that you need to use it. Just follow the low-carb advice and your BS should come down below 49
 
Hi, welcome to the forum. I was diagnosed as T2 with an HbA1c reading of 50 in December 19 and got that down to normal levels by April 20 just by ditching carbohydrates and sugar. Yes, you have to give up some things - bread, pasta, chips, most fruit. There's low-carb beer, though, which is something. By the way, the "healthy eating" advice from the NHS is positively dangerous in my opinion - it suggests even as a diabetic you should be basing all meals on carbohydrates. Much better advice on here and places like dietdoctor. Good luck.
 
Hi everyone.
I thank all of you for replying to my introductory post.
Yes, I admit I am frightened.
It is weird, because about a month ago, at the time the district nurses were calling twice a week to change the dressings on my leg.
Anyway, I told her one day I felt rough in general.
She just about gave me an MOT, she tested everything possible including blood sugar using that thing with a needle on the end they stick in your finger.
I asked her what it was "out of curiosity" and she said, fine, perfectly normal.
And now here I am about 3 weeks later being told I am borderline Diabetic.
I don't know what to do, what to eat and drink or anything.
I now look at the food labels and check the sugar content. Is that correct?
GP said cut down on my tea drinking, I only have 2 cups a day, when I get up in the mornings, then I swap over to ice-cold drinks, I have my pint tankard and drink Robinsons real fruit barley (orange). here is a list of its contents.
per 250ml diluted
23kj 5kcal
fat 0g / <1%
Saturates 0g / 0%
Sugars 0g / 0%
Salt 0.08g / 1%
I make up a full pint using approx. 1-part juice and 3-parts ice cold water.
Is this okay, I drink 3 or 4 pints per day.
Oh before I forget, 6 or 7 months ago I was rushed to hospital as I thought my heart was acting up, among other, they did a blood sugar test, and said, it is very low, you need to eat breakfasts.
So where the hell am I (lol)
Thanks
Vangellis
 
 
Vangellis said:
I now look at the food labels and check the sugar content. Is that correct?
Click to expand...
Its the carbs you need to look at not the sugars (though if it has a lot of sugar it will have a lot of carbs)

Vangellis said:
GP said cut down on my tea drinking,
Click to expand...
Tea on its own is perfectly fine for diabetics, though it you have milk and sugar in it that can make a difference (unless it was for some other reason said doc suggested cutting down on it)
 
Hello Vangellis, and welcome,

Ah, you're really being given the strangest pieces of advice... Why no tea? Do you put 5 scoops of sugar in it? If you can stand tea without sugar (and preferably, without sweeteners too), there's no reason whatsoever not to drink as much tea as you like. There's decidedly more sugar in the juice you're having than there is in straight tea. (Or even tea with some milk or cream in.). So there's that, even though the juice seems alright, far as juices go... Tea'd be the better option.

So what to look for? Carbs. Not just sugars. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so not just the sugars, but the starches too. And that something has "no added sugar", doesn't mean there are none in the product. A grape is full of sugar, but if they don't sprinkle some extra over it, they can still say it has no added sugar. Just the stuff that's already in there. Yeah, a lot of this is going to be semantics... But you'll get the hang of it.

https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <-- have a read, it's my little quick-start guide... That should help you the next time you do groceries, besides explaining the T2 basics. And about groceries: check nutritional information online before you go shopping, otherwise you'll spend 2 hours at the store reading, and come home with nothing but a stick of celery. Been there, done that.

You'll be okay.
Jo
 
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