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How Low Should I Go

Which one did you buy, Deborah? @Deborahdesylva
 
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Pre diabetes is a daft term if you ask me.

It's your body's sugar control on a knife edge. You can do nothing and go into full t2 with all its hassles.

Or do it my way and live as a t2 diabetic (mostly) and eat low carb. I mean low too. Typically 20 to 30g a day.

According to the docs I'm fine now. Personally I consider myself diabetic. Living as such will keep me much healthier and not stress my weakened pancreas.
 
You seem to have had T2 symptoms?

That’s how I am viewing myself, sort of embryonic diabetic.

I had my gall bladder removed in 2005 and in the run up to that I had pancreatitis. So am not sure if my pancreas was weakened then. The surgeon said at the time that he thought it likely I would end up with diabetes.
 
If you are pre-diabetic then you have insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is imo a disease in itself, you are living in an unhealthy state that will get worse without intervention. It may or may not be classified as a disease, but this is just a precursor to diabetes and many other health issues, but it can be stopped. Low carb has proven to be very effective at stopping it. There are plenty of success stories on here and elsewhere. Some in this thread.

I'd be wanting a fasting insulin or c-peptide level (Blood test) to see how much insulin is circulating. Too much isn't good, but it can be fixed with diet as diet is causing the problem in most T2. IMO it's probably one of the most important tests you can get, yet few doctors are checking it.
 
Without wishing to offend or unduly worry anyone, my own personal view is that prediabetes and diabetes are just two pins in the same graph of metabolic dysfunction. I do not believe that one day you reach a new number and suddenly you tip the scales into having a disease that you didn’t have the day before. The conditions are the same but one has a higher number attached to it than the other.
 
Thanks Tophat. Why do you think doctors are not checking it? Budgetary constraints?
 
Again you seem to make sense or at least your post reflects my thinking. My GP seems to feel there is a distinct difference and I cannot help but think it is partly budget driven.
 
@Listlad
Hello Listlad and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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 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. Most of these are 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.
 
Listlad said:
Thanks Tophat. Why do you think doctors are not checking it? Budgetary constraints?
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I just don't think there is a very good understanding of it. Or they are are not aware of its importance or both. Some are, but I think a lot are not.
 

Yes, pre diabetic or diabetic, the body is living in a state of insulin resistance. The degree of it depends on your results.
 
Okay so my two previous readings for A1c test were both 41 so just marginal.
 
Don't think of it as low.

I'd regard it as a good early warning. A sensible reduction in your carb intake may be all you need.

You could do that with smaller portions. My 1c was 47. After 4months of lchf I dropped the better part of 3 stone. My 1c is now 31 and I'm in no mood to go back.
 
Thanks SPL. Probably what I wanted to hear I.e. that I do not need to go all the way and ditch carbs completely and more a case of reducing the carbs....

I have tended to eat large portions in the past and can see scope for reducing carb portions to better levels for my circumstances.

I have just googled lchf and many examples contain advocados which I am not too keen on . But the doc mentioned them yesterday.
 
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Listlad said:
Thanks SPL. Probably what I wanted to hear I.e. that I do not need to go all the way and ditch carbs and more a case of reducing the carbs....
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You need a meter. No way round that.

Once you have one you will see what you can and cannot eat. When I was testing food, rice really doesn't affect me much. Bread or worse, alcohol (sucks to be me eh) are bad. Alcohol really is a high days and holidays treat.

You need to know.
 
Listlad said:
Hi @Deborahdesylva - is it a case of acquiring a sample of blood from the device using a pin prick method and then spotting the blood onto a test paper?
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Yes that's just right. But the paper is a little testing strips already put in the machine by you just before pricking and as soon as blood touches it counts down from 10 and gives a reading. It seems very good. I tried to reuse a needle though to save time and now I've got a purple sore finger lol it comes with about 100 strips I think and quite a lot of lancets (pins in plastic).
 
I see. I don’t touch alcohol now and that has been the case for about 12 years. Only very very occasionally. But it looks like I am heading towards getting a meter. Thanks.
 
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