I am borderline or pre diabetic

bramas · May 14, 2016

My doctor says I am borderline type 2. And even though have been keeping my blood sugar level below 140 mg 2 hours from the time I start eating, I have not been able to move my A1C to less than 6.1. I walk for 35 minutes five times per week, and do 15 minute strength training twice per week. Could the Lab tests which give my A1C readings be wrong?

Liam1955 · May 14, 2016

@bramas - Hi and Welcome to the Forum . You have the chance now to prevent it turning into Diabetes. Take a look at this: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds

Bluetit1802 · May 14, 2016

bramas said:
My doctor says I am borderline type 2. And even though have been keeping my blood sugar level below 140 mg 2 hours from the time I start eating, I have not been able to move my A1C to less than 6.1. I walk for 35 minutes five times per week, and do 15 minute strength training twice per week. Could the Lab tests which give my A1C readings be wrong?

The HbA1c test can be skewed in certain circumstances, for example for people with abnormal haemoglobin, anaemia and so on. There is also a small tolerance rate for accuracy, which I believe is plus or minus 4%, but generally speaking you can rely on the results as being accurate. If you are only testing 2 hours after meals you are probably (most likely) missing the peaks, which can occur from half an hour onwards. By 2 hours you should be on your way down, so meter testing isn't necessarily a good predictor of HbA1c results. We also see rises when exercising. Do you test during and after?

urbanracer · May 15, 2016

bramas said:
My doctor says I am borderline type 2. And even though have been keeping my blood sugar level below 140 mg 2 hours from the time I start eating, I have not been able to move my A1C to less than 6.1. I walk for 35 minutes five times per week, and do 15 minute strength training twice per week. Could the Lab tests which give my A1C readings be wrong?

Hi @bramas ,

Welcome to the forums.

I suppose it's possible that the lab could have made a mistake but I would regard it as unlikely. It's routine stuff to them, is mostly automated and not open to human error.

Our livers store glucose and release it when it thinks the body needs help/energy. Strength training can cause a stress reaction in the body, and the liver will dump its glucose on you. If your body cannot process the glucose quickly (maybe because of reduced insulin production) then that glucose is going to hang around. This may be having an affect on your a1c numbers.

But let's be positive about your situation. Being pre-diabetic is not as bad as being diabetic and you've been given an early warning which is something that only a few benefit from.

Good luck.

Helss · May 15, 2016

The shock of a pre-diabetic diagnosis is huge. It took me weeks to really adjust. Now I"m just so grateful that's as far as it got with me, and after a couple of months of slowly getting my head round low carb, with the help of this amazing forum, I'm starting to see weight loss and feel better. I had a bad eating day yesterday and felt rotten all afternoon, so that reinforces for me that low carb works. If you keep up with this forum, you'll get so much advice and support, I don't know what I would have done without it!

bramas · May 15, 2016

urbanracer said:
Hi @bramas ,

Welcome to the forums.

I suppose it's possible that the lab could have made a mistake but I would regard it as unlikely. It's routine stuff to them, is mostly automated and not open to human error.

Our livers store glucose and release it when it thinks the body needs help/energy. Strength training can cause a stress reaction in the body, and the liver will dump its glucose on you. If your body cannot process the glucose quickly (maybe because of reduced insulin production) then that glucose is going to hang around. This may be having an affect on your a1c numbers.

But let's be positive about your situation. Being pre-diabetic is not as bad as being diabetic and you've been given an early warning which is something that only a few benefit from.

Good luck.

Thanks.

bramas · May 15, 2016

Bluetit1802 said:
The HbA1c test can be skewed in certain circumstances, for example for people with abnormal haemoglobin, anaemia and so on. There is also a small tolerance rate for accuracy, which I believe is plus or minus 4%, but generally speaking you can rely on the results as being accurate. If you are only testing 2 hours after meals you are probably (most likely) missing the peaks, which can occur from half an hour onwards. By 2 hours you should be on your way down, so meter testing isn't necessarily a good predictor of HbA1c results. We also see rises when exercising. Do you test during and after?

No. I have never tested during exercise. After walking it is usually on the lower end though.

I am borderline or pre diabetic

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I am borderline or pre diabetic

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