How Fast Is Type Ii Onset From Prediabetes?

[InstantNoodlez]

Hi All,

If a person is pre-diabetic, how fast can they go to full Type II?

Husband (now 38, morbidly obese, family history of diabetes on his mother's side) was hospitalized for heart failure over a year ago. Was immediately put on Warfarin, Furosemide, Ramipril, Spironolactone, Bisoprolol Fumarate, Pantoprazole, and a cpap machine. He has since stopped Furosemide and halved Warfarin. At the time his blood sugar readings from the meter was around 6.

Type II myself, I tried to reduce his sweets and sweet drinks and put him on my diet, with higher vegetables + meats and lower starches, which helped lower my own blood sugar from HbA1c 9.7% to a steady 5.5% over the course of two years (1 year on Metformin, which I had to stop due to B12 issues). We are not strictly low carb by any definition, as we still eat fruits and the occasional root vegetable, and do eat moderate starches and desserts around twice a month. I have caught my husband eating fast food and drinking diet coke behind my back several times. He also doesn't watch what he eats during company lunches. Also despite being prescribed test strips, he absolutely refused to test at home, even at the family doctor's and my own urging. My in-laws think we should be eating slightly more carbs to prevent spurts of binge eating. I am on the fence about this suggestion, as my husband used to binge eat before he's cut any carbs.

Half a year ago husband went into surgery for a perianal abscess infection. After one orange juice from the hospital dinner, his glucose meter reading was around 8, which was not as worrying at the time.

Fast forward to present day, the infection reoccurred, and was thankfully fixed this time with timely antibiotics (ciprofloxacin). The reinfection scared him into finally using his meter. He is now testing at 9.5-11 before meals, and 11 fasting, a month after stopping ciprofloxacin.

Despite all my complaints, husband has lost 70 pounds from his maximum weight of 360, doing half hour evening walks every other day, and is eating much better than before we've started dating. He has even quit a super fast paced start-up, took a pay-cut, and moved to work at a slower paced older organization. But IT hours are IT hours. I am worried even with all these improvements in his lifestyle, how short a time it took for his blood sugar to almost double. Is this jump normal for transition from pre-diabetes to diabetes? I've read some heart and blood pressure meds have adverse effects on blood sugar, but the two specialists he is seeing are not at all comfortable with reducing his prescriptions at the moment.

He is booked for HbA1c and glucose tolerance test the week after next. I will be accompanying him to the family doctor's after that. Would it be worth it to ask for referral to an endocrinologist?

Also how to transition to better eating for someone who used to not watch what they eat at all? I used to have terrible eating habits, and my T2 diagnosis scared me into changing my lifestyle. If even heart failure at such a young age is not a wake up call, what could family members do to help more?


TLDR: Husband with heart failure on multiple meds had bg readings go from 6 to 11 within two years, despite some weight and lifestyle improvements.

 

[Pipp]

Hi @InstantNoodlez . I don't think there is a single answer to your question about how fast pre-diabetes can become T2. With changes some can avoid T2 and even get below and remain below pre-diabetes levels.
Although your husband has made some progress, and is to be applauded for the weight loss and taking some exercise, he would appear to be in denial of how his choices are affecting his health. He is being offered test strips, and using them would be the best action he could take to give him an indication of how his choice of food is affecting his blood glucose levels. The binge eating needs to be addressed. I would be asking for a psychology referral if I was doing that. As for eating carbs, I would avoid them. All carbs turn to glucose in digestion.
There are some excellent low carb recipes. Here is a good place to start..
https://www.dietdoctor.com/
Most important of all, it is HIS health condition. Can you encourage him to own it, and perhaps persuade him to join here himself?

 

[InstantNoodlez]

Thank you so much for the info and links @Pipp .
Will point him to this forum and dietdoctor. Hopefully the success stories of everyone here would give him more motivation.

 

[Pipp]

Thank you so much for the info and links @Pipp .
Will point him to this forum and dietdoctor. Hopefully the success stories of everyone here would give him more motivation.

Hope, so. Stay in touch yourself. We all learn through sharing advice and experiences. I am sure our wonderful members will respond to any questions you or your husband have.

 

[ickihun]

Hi All,

If a person is pre-diabetic, how fast can they go to full Type II?

Husband (now 38, morbidly obese, family history of diabetes on his mother's side) was hospitalized for heart failure over a year ago. Was immediately put on Warfarin, Furosemide, Ramipril, Spironolactone, Bisoprolol Fumarate, Pantoprazole, and a cpap machine. He has since stopped Furosemide and halved Warfarin. At the time his blood sugar readings from the meter was around 6.

Type II myself, I tried to reduce his sweets and sweet drinks and put him on my diet, with higher vegetables + meats and lower starches, which helped lower my own blood sugar from HbA1c 9.7% to a steady 5.5% over the course of two years (1 year on Metformin, which I had to stop due to B12 issues). We are not strictly low carb by any definition, as we still eat fruits and the occasional root vegetable, and do eat moderate starches and desserts around twice a month. I have caught my husband eating fast food and drinking diet coke behind my back several times. He also doesn't watch what he eats during company lunches. Also despite being prescribed test strips, he absolutely refused to test at home, even at the family doctor's and my own urging. My in-laws think we should be eating slightly more carbs to prevent spurts of binge eating. I am on the fence about this suggestion, as my husband used to binge eat before he's cut any carbs.

Half a year ago husband went into surgery for a perianal abscess infection. After one orange juice from the hospital dinner, his glucose meter reading was around 8, which was not as worrying at the time.

Fast forward to present day, the infection reoccurred, and was thankfully fixed this time with timely antibiotics (ciprofloxacin). The reinfection scared him into finally using his meter. He is now testing at 9.5-11 before meals, and 11 fasting, a month after stopping ciprofloxacin.

Despite all my complaints, husband has lost 70 pounds from his maximum weight of 360, doing half hour evening walks every other day, and is eating much better than before we've started dating. He has even quit a super fast paced start-up, took a pay-cut, and moved to work at a slower paced older organization. But IT hours are IT hours. I am worried even with all these improvements in his lifestyle, how short a time it took for his blood sugar to almost double. Is this jump normal for transition from pre-diabetes to diabetes? I've read some heart and blood pressure meds have adverse effects on blood sugar, but the two specialists he is seeing are not at all comfortable with reducing his prescriptions at the moment.

He is booked for HbA1c and glucose tolerance test the week after next. I will be accompanying him to the family doctor's after that. Would it be worth it to ask for referral to an endocrinologist?

Also how to transition to better eating for someone who used to not watch what they eat at all? I used to have terrible eating habits, and my T2 diagnosis scared me into changing my lifestyle. If even heart failure at such a young age is not a wake up call, what could family members do to help more?


TLDR: Husband with heart failure on multiple meds had bg readings go from 6 to 11 within two years, despite some weight and lifestyle improvements.

Sounds like he could still be a closet high carb binger to have such an increase in hba1c. Even fruits can increase the hba1c. Some smoothies can be very unhealthy for us.
I think a few more tweeks and for him not to feel deprived would go along way. Have you made any low carb cakes or ice creams?

 

[Resurgam]

I find the idea that low carb could lead to binge eating rather strange - low carb tends to reduce appetite and feelings of hunger and I only need to eat twice a day when low carbing. It is unsteady blood glucose which leads to feeling hungry.
I can't offer any advice on persuasion to eat better - as soon as I got my diagnosis I went back to low carbing and in a few months was seeing normal readings. It has always restored my health and reduced my weight and all the advice I have had to eat more carbs just made things worse

 

[Alison Campbell]

It will be different for everyone. I am 6.5 years in the prediabetes area and mostly stayed the same due to moderate low carbing.
More importantly testing blood sugar levels and reducing carbs as needed to keep them in line which for me is around 4 to 8.

Being vigilent is so important, especially when you are losing weight and being healthier as it is so easy to add in more treats than are helpful long term.

I think infections can speed up the transition. They are a symptom of higher blood sugars and also cause of higher blood sugars. Certainly my recent post holiday infection is a sign that diet needs to gets stricter on the carb front for me.

 

[Brunneria]

I spent 20+ years as a pre-D (on low carb with occasional carby binges)
Then slipped over into T2 blood glucose levels briefly
Then clamped down harder and went keto/VERY low carb and now have ‘normal’ blood glucose levels again.

Think of it as a sliding scale (for type 2s anyway).
Many of us can control the slide in either direction, depending on food choices.
Although of course those food choices are also dependent on self education and commitment - which is sometimes the most difficult part (yes, voice of experience!)

 

[DCUKMod]

I find the idea that low carb could lead to binge eating rather strange - low carb tends to reduce appetite and feelings of hunger and I only need to eat twice a day when low carbing. It is unsteady blood glucose which leads to feeling hungry.
I can't offer any advice on persuasion to eat better - as soon as I got my diagnosis I went back to low carbing and in a few months was seeing normal readings. It has always restored my health and reduced my weight and all the advice I have had to eat more carbs just made things worse

With respect, in my experience of and reading about eating disorders, binge eating is rarely about hunger, in a similar (bu obviously different) way that anorexia nervosa is not about loss of appetite.

 

[Resurgam]

Having been with someone on a binge it started by them claiming that seeing me eating my egg salad made them hungry, and then they claimed that - after they had eaten everything in the fridge that they were still hungry.
Perhaps hunger meant something different to them, but that is what I based my post on.
It was a really horrifying experience to be honest, they did eat as though they were starving, kept claiming to feel hunger and yet they had eaten the equivalent of three or four meals before I left.

 

[ickihun]

With respect, in my experience of and reading about eating disorders, binge eating is rarely about hunger, in a similar (bu obviously different) way that anorexia nervosa is not about loss of appetite.

The bariatric psychologist said I was close to being an anorexia sufferer as I wanted to vomit at a fried egg and was looking in mirror and saw a huge person even after 7st loss. Iknew I was in danger as teenage girls read girly magazines or did in the 80s and I took it on board as my family were oblivious. Had a healthy interest in human biology and passed my o'level with ease. I broke the cycle but broke a smaller diet too so it didn't take long to readd the weight.
I'm full of knowledge now so I'm in a good position more than most having bariatric surgery. I'm nieve to all bariatric hiccups so will have to learn and listen well.
I know more about what diet helps me add weight and only low carb stops that bad cycle of adding, for me.
In my eyes in the mirror I wasn't losing weight. 7st took me down a few dress sizes but in the mirror I saw myself huge. I was a size 14 from size 22-24 at 14yrs old. Puberty had already started so PCOS started too. I assume was reversed then started again on weight adding and no periods in my 20s. Hotel stays due to work piled on my weight. Marriage too.

 

[InstantNoodlez]

Thank you all for your advice and sharing your experience. Managed to get husband to eat clean for a few days, and his blood sugar dropped back to high 6's. So not as horrible as I initially thought. Also found a bag of milk chocolate in his office, which might explain a thing or two...

Hopefully with the second infection scare and an actual lab test, he will have increased incentive to keep better track.

 

[Crocodile]

@InstantNoodlez
You most probably already know this but I'd be very concerned about the weight. Around 130kg and heart failure is a disaster in waiting. Lower weight and heart failure will improve. Makes blood glucose control so much easier too.

 

[InstantNoodlez]

@Crocodile Oh we are very concerned about the weight. At least my in-laws, the extended family, and our family doctor are all very concerned. Husband's weight is the source of almost all of his health issues. Even the heart surgeon said there was no point doing any operations for his afib if he doesn't lose more weight first.

Going to do my best to make sure he sticks to the diet. The rest would be up to him...