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I was diagnosed prediabetic last October with an HbA1c of 43 and told to return in 12 months.

gardengnome42

gardengnome42

Well-Known Member
Messages
212
Location
Yorkshire
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
diabetes and dieting
I bought myself a meter and test occasionally. I'm not overweight but am careful what I eat. Probably not careful enough as I most fasting readings are around 6.1 and post meal readings [2 hr] around 7 or 8 but frequently 8 and 9 and sometimes more. Given that HbA1c tests reflect the previous 2 or 3 months are these numbers likely to have caused the HbA1c to rise?
 
That's reassuring, thanks Richard. I was starting to wonder if things might be going the wrong way. I do find self testing rather a mine field. Although I was told to have another Hba1c 12 months down the line I had thought it might be prudent to ask for one in March at the same time as I have a blood pressure review, always assuming the surgery will allow it.
 
Good idea to have another HbA1c as soon as possible. You really can't tell what your HbA1c will be from the few readings you do. "Frequently 8 and 9 and sometimes more" post meal isn't really acceptable if you want to get back down to non-diabetic levels. You shouldn't really be exceeding 7.8 post meal, and even that is being generous. Much depends on how long your levels are staying up at those figures, and how frequently they occur.
 
Thanks Bluetit, thing is I don't really know what I'm doing regarding testing; I do feel to be floundering about. It seems to be telling me is I'm consuming too many carbs yet I don't pile my plate with potatoes, rice and never eat pasta. I do know carbs are present in many things that I certainly didn't appreciate until recently. I just assume it's my metabolism that isn't working as well as it did?
 
gardengnome42 said:
Thanks Bluetit, thing is I don't really know what I'm doing regarding testing; I do feel to be floundering about. It seems to be telling me is I'm consuming too many carbs yet I don't pile my plate with potatoes, rice and never eat pasta. I do know carbs are present in many things that I certainly didn't appreciate until recently. I just assume it's my metabolism that isn't working as well as it did?
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If it is telling you you are eating too many carbs, then you are eating too many carbs! Simples. One potato maybe too much for YOUR body to cope with, or you may find you can safely manage 2.

OK this is what to do:
Keep a food diary that includes all the ingredients of each meal, and portion sizes.
Test immediately before you eat
Test again 2 hours after first bite
Record these levels next to the food eaten
Look at the rise from before to after.
If it is more than 2mmol/l there are too many carbs. (It is preferable to be a lot less than 2mmol/l)
Analyse which carbs and the portion size. How many potatoes? How many spoonfuls of peas, rice or whatever?
Try meal again with smaller portions of the carbs.
Fill up your tummy with added fats such as a knob or two of butter on the veg, or extra veg. or a bit more protein.
Keep doing this until you arrive at a meal with carb portion sizes you can cope with.
If you are going to have potatoes or rice, try not to have any other major carbs in the same meal.

The other way is cold turkey. Cut out all major carbs completely. (Rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, cereals, porridge) and limit fruit.

If you post on here what you have eaten for a few meals and your before and after levels, we may be able to help with your choices and point you in the right direction. It isn't hard, it just needs a bit of consistent organising. Once you know which foods are good or bad or somewhere in between, you can relax testing a bit.
 
An HbA1C of 43 is equivalent to an AVERAGE bs level of 7.1. So if you are getting regular readings of 8 and 9 or more then I believe your HbA1C may be higher than 43. As said previously, it depends how frequently and for how long they are at those levels. @Bluetit1802 has given you good advice on testing. Have you considered your exercise? A ten minute walk after every meal is beneficial, and try not to sit for more than 1 hour without getting up - even if it's to go to the loo or coffee machine etc.
 
Thank you Bluetit - I've just ordered some more strips so will do as you suggest once they arrive. Sounds easy enough but I imagine it's a habit that's easy enough once you're used to it. I know that when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure 5 years ago I was so shocked [and angry at the patronising HCA ] that I vowed to lose weight, take more exercise, omit salt and generally do all it took to get those numbers down. I did get them down but not before I was threatened with stroke, dementia or heart attack if I didn't take medication. Now I'm on meds there is no going back despite the BP being well below the optimum. Knowing then what I know now I think I would have held off medication for a while longer. Around the same time I discovered the HbA1c was too high when I realised one could get one's medical notes online. It was 41 and when I mentioned it to the dr he said it would rise and he would give me Metformin when it got close to 50. It just seemed that drs are only interested in getting patients onto medication. Somehow I just never imagined it would rise and that what I had already done for the blood pressure was enough to sort the diabetes problem.
archersuz said:
An HbA1C of 43 is equivalent to an AVERAGE bs level of 7.1. So if you are getting regular readings of 8 and 9 or more then I believe your HbA1C may be higher than 43. As said previously, it depends how frequently and for how long they are at those levels. @Bluetit1802 has given you good advice on testing. Have you considered your exercise? A ten minute walk after every meal is beneficial, and try not to sit for more than 1 hour without getting up - even if it's to go to the loo or coffee machine etc.[/QUO

Thanks Archersuz, What you say about the numbers doesn't sound good however I do do plenty of exercise. Primarily to keep the arthritis at bay I took up walking and bought another dog, the old one having died. I walk her at least 3/4 hr every day and don't do much sitting around during the daytime. That's really why I can't quite believe this is happening. I'll see what the meter says when I've received the new testing strips.
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Mike D said:
Are you on statins?
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Certainly not! though I was 'offered' one as the Qrisk had risen to 14% and my lovely dr at that time [sadly she left the practice] said she had to offer them when it rises above 10%. I just felt uneasy that they moved the goalposts from 20% to 10% overnight without giving any scientific reason for doing so. I asked the dr. whether given my health at the time would she take one in my shoes. She said emphatically NO. That was good enough for me. That was before I was diagnosed prediabetic though.
Do most people take a statin ? What effect do they have on blood sugar?
 
Statins are known to raise blood glucose levels in some people. I refuse to take them.
 
gardengnome42 said:
Do most people take a statin ? What effect do they have on blood sugar?
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I have resisted Statins a couple of times now, (luckily at my last review she’d forgotten to put cholesterol levels on my blood test request!). I want to see if my cholesterol improves without meds, and one of my reasons not to take them is that they raise blood sugars. Why undo all the good work I’ve done to improve an actual problem by treating a potential problem?
Other reasons are that cholesterol numbers deteriorate are weight loss and the side effects, if you get them, are nasty.
I’m trying Benecol and Vitamin B complex and also I’m going to fast for my next blood test to get a more accurate triglyceride reading.
 
Rachox said:
I have resisted Statins a couple of times now, (luckily at my last review she’d forgotten to put cholesterol levels on my blood test request!). I want to see if my cholesterol improves without meds, and one of my reasons not to take them is that they raise blood sugars. Why undo all the good work I’ve done to improve an actual problem by treating a potential problem?
Other reasons are that cholesterol numbers deteriorate are weight loss and the side effects, if you get them, are nasty.
I’m trying Benecol and Vitamin B complex and also I’m going to fast for my next blood test to get a more accurate triglyceride reading.
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I'd forgotten that statins can raise blood glucose levels, so there's another good reason not to take them! As you rightly say why undo all the good you've done in lowering glucose numbers only to have your hard work trashed by a statin. Anyway my feeling is that we need cholesterol and the whole cholesterol con was based on dodgy data.I've never forgotten a few years ago seeing Michael Mosely interviewing Sir Rory Statin, the head of some research place in Oxford, who said almost everyone should take the things yet when asked for the science behind it he wouldn't disclose it. That's big pharma for you ... just interested in profit.

Re your triglycerides blood test. Is it possible to ask for a fasting test and to get the full break down of LDL and the rest. Do they do that willingly; time was when it was the normal thing.
 
gardengnome42 said:
....... Re your triglycerides blood test. Is it possible to ask for a fasting test and to get the full break down of LDL and the rest. Do they do that willingly; time was when it was the normal thing.
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It’s not a case of whether they’ll do a fasting test, it’s not a different test. I’m just going to fast before the test and probably not say anything unless the nurse asks!
 
How would that affect the result? If I recall the cholesterol test I had in 2013 [NHS MOT] was a fasting test and the results gave Total cholesterol,HDL,LDL, ratio and trigs. Annually since then I have had a non fasting test which gave the results as non high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, HDL, Total and ratio. I've never understood what the non high density reading means. If you fasted anyway what difference would it make to the results?
 
gardengnome42 said:
How would that affect the result? If I recall the cholesterol test I had in 2013 [NHS MOT] was a fasting test and the results gave Total cholesterol,HDL,LDL, ratio and trigs. Annually since then I have had a non fasting test which gave the results as non high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, HDL, Total and ratio. I've never understood what the non high density reading means. If you fasted anyway what difference would it make to the results?
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Fasting or non fasting makes a huge different to the levels of the triglycerides. If you have recently eaten, especially if there was fat involved, the trigs will be higher.

The non-high density level is simply the total minus the HDL and is what NICE wants doctors to look at. Apparently the powers that be like it to be under 3.4 for diabetics, 4 for everyone else. The HDL (high density lipoprotein) is the "good" cholesterol. So basically they are looking at the total of the so called bad stuff.
 
It was Rachox's comments that she was going to do a fasting test and not tell anyone unless they ask. I just wondered what she had meant. Interestingly you say Bluetit that the trigs will be higher depending on how much fat you have just eaten. Diabetics are encouraged to eat low carb and high fat yet if that raises the trig level it would have an adverse effect on the result wouldn't it? Does a cholesterol test reflect what you have recently eaten or is it like the HbA1c and a longer viewpoint?
 
gardengnome42 said:
How would that affect the result? If I recall the cholesterol test I had in 2013 [NHS MOT] was a fasting test and the results gave Total cholesterol,HDL,LDL, ratio and trigs. Annually since then I have had a non fasting test which gave the results as non high density lipoprotein cholesterol level, HDL, Total and ratio. I've never understood what the non high density reading means. If you fasted anyway what difference would it make to the results?
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I see Bluetit1802 has explained the significance of fasting. I want to achieve the best result I possibly can so as to have a reason to continue to refuse Statins. If my result is better than last time when I didn’t fast I can say, look my numbers are improving no need for Statins just yet!
 
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