akc01
Member
- Messages
- 7
- Type of diabetes
- Prediabetes
- Treatment type
- Other
Hello, all. I am new to the forum. I'm going to try and give all relevant information I can think of. I recently had to do a health and wellness screening for my employer health care. This included a blood test. I was a bit surprised by some of my numbers that came back on it.
I previously had no knowledge whatsoever about diabetes. My fasting blood glucose level was 83, and my A1c was 5.6. According to the paper itself that came in the mail 5.7 is considered prediabetic. I asked the health care provider who did the blood test if I needed to do anything about these results and she said no. However, this is not an actual doctor, it is a nurse practitioner. The clinic I had it done at is just a basic, nothing special health clinic that you don't have to pay any copays or payments at. I do have the option to go to a regular doctor, with regular copays and better service, for healthcare purposes, but this particular clinic is what our employer requires us to use for the health screening.
Anywho. When I read it, 5.6 is only .1 away from being prediabetic, so in my mind, that definitely means I need to be doing something. Because, before it was 5.6, it was 5.5, and before that it was 5.4 and so on. It didn't get there overnight, and if I do nothing, it won't be long before it IS 5.7 and that is something I'd like to avoid if possible.
I have read conflicting things online. Some say 5.6 is a definite sign of almost being prediabetic. Some say if that number is off but glucose is normal, then it's fine. And it does appear that a fasting glucose of 83 is textbook perfect normal.
The reason this number is a bit concerning for me is, 3 weeks prior to having my bloodwork drawn, I had started the Atkins diet because it had been highly recommended to me by several people for being a really effective weight loss program. I had been doing well with it and at that time, I had lost 11 pounds from my previous weight when I went in for my bloodwork. So after 3 weeks of eating less than 25 grams of carbs per day, my A1c was still 5.6. Since then ( that was approximately 6 weeks ago) I have lost 14 more pounds, still doing low carb.
It is also worth noting that I have somewhat recently given birth. I have a 9.5 month old child. I had bloodwork drawn twice during my pregnancy and neither time did my OB say anything about gestational diabetes or watching what I ate. I gained very little weight during my pregnancy. I took a glucose test, complete with extremely sugary drink. I did not fast before my glucose test. I passed the very first time. My baby was very normal sized.
I include that info to say that I'm a bit confused how, less than a year ago, for at least 9 months I was perfectly fine, to now only 18 months later being borderline prediabetic. I would love to hear from those of you who have been dealing with prediabetes, diabetes, or gestational diabetes how important an A1c of 5.6 really is. Does this sound like I should get a second opinion? I don't plan on stopping with the low carb.
I previously had no knowledge whatsoever about diabetes. My fasting blood glucose level was 83, and my A1c was 5.6. According to the paper itself that came in the mail 5.7 is considered prediabetic. I asked the health care provider who did the blood test if I needed to do anything about these results and she said no. However, this is not an actual doctor, it is a nurse practitioner. The clinic I had it done at is just a basic, nothing special health clinic that you don't have to pay any copays or payments at. I do have the option to go to a regular doctor, with regular copays and better service, for healthcare purposes, but this particular clinic is what our employer requires us to use for the health screening.
Anywho. When I read it, 5.6 is only .1 away from being prediabetic, so in my mind, that definitely means I need to be doing something. Because, before it was 5.6, it was 5.5, and before that it was 5.4 and so on. It didn't get there overnight, and if I do nothing, it won't be long before it IS 5.7 and that is something I'd like to avoid if possible.
I have read conflicting things online. Some say 5.6 is a definite sign of almost being prediabetic. Some say if that number is off but glucose is normal, then it's fine. And it does appear that a fasting glucose of 83 is textbook perfect normal.
The reason this number is a bit concerning for me is, 3 weeks prior to having my bloodwork drawn, I had started the Atkins diet because it had been highly recommended to me by several people for being a really effective weight loss program. I had been doing well with it and at that time, I had lost 11 pounds from my previous weight when I went in for my bloodwork. So after 3 weeks of eating less than 25 grams of carbs per day, my A1c was still 5.6. Since then ( that was approximately 6 weeks ago) I have lost 14 more pounds, still doing low carb.
It is also worth noting that I have somewhat recently given birth. I have a 9.5 month old child. I had bloodwork drawn twice during my pregnancy and neither time did my OB say anything about gestational diabetes or watching what I ate. I gained very little weight during my pregnancy. I took a glucose test, complete with extremely sugary drink. I did not fast before my glucose test. I passed the very first time. My baby was very normal sized.
I include that info to say that I'm a bit confused how, less than a year ago, for at least 9 months I was perfectly fine, to now only 18 months later being borderline prediabetic. I would love to hear from those of you who have been dealing with prediabetes, diabetes, or gestational diabetes how important an A1c of 5.6 really is. Does this sound like I should get a second opinion? I don't plan on stopping with the low carb.
