Prediabetes I'm fairly new to glucose testing and wonder if someone can answer my queries please?

[gardengnome42]

I had a routine HbA1c test done about 2 months ago and it was 43. I've now been told that I am prediabetic and to have another HbA1c taken in a year. I know it has been 41 for at least 5 years which was when I had a health check and hypertension discovered, but with weight I lost since then and the walking I do I was disappointed that it had risen.
I thought by testing my blood it would help but really I am just more confused. I have been taking a finger prick test on waking and before and after the evening meal. Trouble is I don't really know what I should be expecting to see. The fasting glucose reading is anywhere between 5.6 and 6.9 mostly around 6.5 and the post meal is normally in the 8's but this evening was 9.3 at 2 hours. Is this telling me anything relevant - I do have a feeling it is higher than it should be.

 

[urbanracer]

Hi @gardengnome42

Take a look a this information page .........
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

Those numbers are for guidance and so I'd say that generally you're doing pretty well.

 

[AdamJames]

I had a routine HbA1c test done about 2 months ago and it was 43. I've now been told that I am prediabetic and to have another HbA1c taken in a year. I know it has been 41 for at least 5 years which was when I had a health check and hypertension discovered, but with weight I lost since then and the walking I do I was disappointed that it had risen.
I thought by testing my blood it would help but really I am just more confused. I have been taking a finger prick test on waking and before and after the evening meal. Trouble is I don't really know what I should be expecting to see. The fasting glucose reading is anywhere between 5.6 and 6.9 mostly around 6.5 and the post meal is normally in the 8's but this evening was 9.3 at 2 hours. Is this telling me anything relevant - I do have a feeling it is higher than it should be.

Those readings are all high. Nothing like as high as I was getting just a couple of months ago, but high if you want to aim for non-diabetic numbers, which is a tough ask without medication but a lot of people do it with low-carb diets, losing weight and exercise, of which the first will probably get the quickest results.

For a hard-line (but justifiable, i.e. based on research) overview about what is normal, I like this page: http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/16422495.php.

 

[Kittycat_7_]

Those figures aren't high, I'm getting 20's and 25's.
Your doing really well.
Were you given a meter.

 

[AdamJames]

Those figures aren't high, I'm getting 20's and 25's.
Your doing really well.
Were you given a meter.

I suppose its a question of perspective.

As a full-blown type 2 who had out-of-control bg levels a few months ago, I was very happy when I finally started to get numbers down to the sort of level that gardengnome42 is getting, as I'm hoping to get non-diabetic numbers without medication.

But if I had been newly-diagnosed as pre-diabetic and wanted to make a good attempt at avoiding becoming fully diabetic, I'd want to get those numbers lower.

 

[Resurgam]

I keep my numbers down by not eating higher carb foods, bread, other than the lidl protein rolls, potatoes, grains, are all off the menu and I stick to lower carb foods - under 11 percent carbs for the most part, and careful about the ones in the upper numbers. I found that by not spiking my blood glucose with high carb meals that my numbers began to fall lower even for the same meal, and although I was a full blown diabetic my Hba1c levels fell rapidly

 

[Brunneria]

Hi @gardengnome42

I would agree with the people above who say that those numbers are OK, but I think that you could get more out of your testing, if you tested slightly differently.

If the idea is for you to see what is actually happening to your blood glucose as a result of your eating, then the morning fasting test is of questionable value. Some people find that reading is unaffected by food the day before (so the test doesn't really give much useful info) and others (like me) find that the test bounces around all over the place based on how I slept, or whether I have to get to an early appointment...

Why not try somthing different?
Pick your most carb heavy meal or snack of the day, and test immediately before eating. Record the figure.
Then eat,and 2 hours after the first test, test again.

The general rule of thumb is that if your blood glucose reading has not risen more than 2mmol/l then your body tolerated the amount of carbs you ate just fine. However, if your blood glucose rose more than 2mmol/l then you could try reducing the carb portion size a bit, or swapping out some of the carbs for a different type of carb.

You can test out a different meal every day, and build up a picture of what impact your eating has on your blood glucose.

Some people (me again) seem to get higher blood glucose from wheat and grains, and lower from potatoes. Other people find it works the other way round. We are all different, and our bodies react differently. So it is all a bit of trial and error.

Two things really help with this process.
1. recording your readings so that you can,over time, spot trends and oddities.
2. recording what you ate that caused these readings.

As a pre diabetic, I would expect you to get lower readings than most type 2s. And that you can tolerate carbs better than most type 2s, so you probably don't have to make any extreme dietary adjustments, or cut out a lot, but testing in the way I describe will hopefully inform all your decisions.

Hope that helps.

 

[AdamJames]

I found that by not spiking my blood glucose with high carb meals that my numbers began to fall lower even for the same meal

That's an interesting observation, I'm going to add that to my list of things to look for when I go back through tons of spreadsheet data! Thanks.

 

[gardengnome42]

Those figures aren't high, I'm getting 20's and 25's.
Your doing really well.
Were you given a meter.

No, I bought my own.

Thanks all for your help. Brunneria you have explained it all so well, thank you.
I had the feeling the early morning [fasting] test wasn't very helpful and that it was what you call 'liver dump' or is it 'dawn phenomenon'? Either way it wasn't particularly relevant.

I do feel I just haven't got my head around everything yet. I've never eaten a high carb diet although I do eat more carbs than I realised as I didn't appreciate the amount of carbs in fruit and I eat a lot of it. I think what bothers me is that I've been told I don't really fit the picture of a diabetic yet feel those numbers are higher than they should be so that the next time I'm tested by the GP things may have become worse. I have hypertension which is a risk for type 2 I believe and that is already plastered across my medical notes. I don't want to see 'Type 2 Diabetic' as well if I can avoid it.

 

[Hiitsme]

Hi @gardengnome42
In what way don't you fit the picture of a diabetic? Do you need to lose weight or not? Sometimes it's a question of too much round the waist and losing a bit there can help with reducing the fat round the liver and pancreas helping them to work better.
You're doing a great job in trying to beat this before it goes full blown type 2. I wish I'd known when I was at that stage. Now I'm type 2 and whatever HbA1c I get I'm still regarded as type 2.

 

[gardengnome42]

Hi Hiitsme. I mentioned that I don't fit the picture merely because I'm fairly slim and active - and I know it's rubbish. I assume I am a TOFI - to quote Michael Moseley- Thin on the Outside and Fat Inside.
It was the practice nurse I had to see after diagnosis who said that and also another friend who is a diabetic nurse. but I strongly suspect that there is some visceral fat sloshing around that needs sorting, my waistline is too big. Thing is some of the low carb diets seem so restrictive and although I don't want to fall over the edge into full blown T2D neither do I want to be too strict as I don't have much to lose, half a stone at most.
How do you feel at always being labelled a diabetic regardless of your HbA1c tests, which are excellent. I know I felt gutted when told I had high blood pressure; I felt it was my fault and absolutely hated taking medication for it but was scared into it by the GP with threats of stroke, heart attacks etc. I imagine a diagnosis of diabetes would be worse, especially if it came out of the blue? Did you have any warning beforehand?

 

[Hiitsme]

My BMI just came into the normal range at 24.8 at diagnosis. I worked hard at losing weight (as well as testing) and got my BMI down to 19.6 and HbA1c to 33 but GP thought I'd lost too much weight as some of my blood tests came back out of range. I did agree to put on a little bit of weight and HbA1c is still in the normal range but gone up to 35. Waist measurement is about the only cheap method we can use - MRI scan of pancreas and liver would give a lot more information but far too costly. I am now needing to be very careful with weight as I am finding it far too easy to keep putting on a pound or two. I really do hope you can find a plan that works for you. I do restricts carbs but don't do very low carb - I used my meter to find what works for me and stick with it. Please don't try and lose weight if you are under weight, if that is the case then I would suggest lowering your carbs by testing and finding what your body can cope with. There are a few on this forum who are under weight ie BMI under 18.5 but not many. Sorry but I can't think who otherwise I would tag them.
I only went to GP because one of my feet went weird - it still is but as I am told it has normal feeling (not as far as I am concerned) and good blood flow they say nothing needs to be done. Originally I was told if I got my bloods under control it should improve but hasn't/

 

[gardengnome42]

5 years ago my BMI was 24.8 which was when I was found to have hypertension [NHS health check] and some time later I discovered that the HbA1c test that they did at the same time was 41. I realised this was not over the threshold but was nonetheless surprised the nurse hadn't mentioned it. She jumped up and down enough at the blood pressure of 163/93. I commented on the A1c to the dr who said these numbers would rise and when it got close to 50 he would have the metformin ready. He was convinced the numbers would rise. Since that day I vowed to lose weight and have reduced the BMI to 19> but my waist measurement is still far too big I think. Isn't a rule of thumb that your waist should be less than half of your height? I did the 5.2 diet 5 years ago and lost 2.5 stone. I've kept it off by walking and gardening and just being very active. I am 75 btw. I ought to be glad they found the hypertension but of course I'm not, had they not found it I probably would have continued on the spiral to diabetes. I am
Recently I have found some of my old bad habits are starting to return, nibbling in between meals and generally eating more than I need. Not bad eating you understand and I always cook everything from scratch. In the New Year I must get myself in hand and get the half stone off before it becomes a full stone.

 

[Guzzler]

5 years ago my BMI was 24.8 which was when I was found to have hypertension [NHS health check] and some time later I discovered that the HbA1c test that they did at the same time was 41. I realised this was not over the threshold but was nonetheless surprised the nurse hadn't mentioned it. She jumped up and down enough at the blood pressure of 163/93. I commented on the A1c to the dr who said these numbers would rise and when it got close to 50 he would have the metformin ready. He was convinced the numbers would rise. Since that day I vowed to lose weight and have reduced the BMI to 19> but my waist measurement is still far too big I think. Isn't a rule of thumb that your waist should be less than half of your height? I did the 5.2 diet 5 years ago and lost 2.5 stone. I've kept it off by walking and gardening and just being very active. I am 75 btw. I ought to be glad they found the hypertension but of course I'm not, had they not found it I probably would have continued on the spiral to diabetes. I am
Recently I have found some of my old bad habits are starting to return, nibbling in between meals and generally eating more than I need. Not bad eating you understand and I always cook everything from scratch. In the New Year I must get myself in hand and get the half stone off before it becomes a full stone.

People often do not realise that maintaing weight is sometimes just as hard as losing it. I went slightly underweight at one point and was very concerned but I have now managed to stabilise at a weight that seems to me, as a TOFI, to be healthy. I really did not feel good for the weeks that my scales and my mirror told me I was too thin.

 

[Mark_1]

I think BMI is a waste of time. Is your waist less than half your height? is a better indicator.

 

[gardengnome42]

No unfortunately not! I'm 5'8" and my waist is 35" so too much.

 

[Fluffyfred]

Hi @gardengnome42

I would agree with the people above who say that those numbers are OK, but I think that you could get more out of your testing, if you tested slightly differently.

If the idea is for you to see what is actually happening to your blood glucose as a result of your eating, then the morning fasting test is of questionable value. Some people find that reading is unaffected by food the day before (so the test doesn't really give much useful info) and others (like me) find that the test bounces around all over the place based on how I slept, or whether I have to get to an early appointment...

Why not try somthing different?
Pick your most carb heavy meal or snack of the day, and test immediately before eating. Record the figure.
Then eat,and 2 hours after the first test, test again.

The general rule of thumb is that if your blood glucose reading has not risen more than 2mmol/l then your body tolerated the amount of carbs you ate just fine. However, if your blood glucose rose more than 2mmol/l then you could try reducing the carb portion size a bit, or swapping out some of the carbs for a different type of carb.

You can test out a different meal every day, and build up a picture of what impact your eating has on your blood glucose.

Some people (me again) seem to get higher blood glucose from wheat and grains, and lower from potatoes. Other people find it works the other way round. We are all different, and our bodies react differently. So it is all a bit of trial and error.

Two things really help with this process.
1. recording your readings so that you can,over time, spot trends and oddities.
2. recording what you ate that caused these readings.

As a pre diabetic, I would expect you to get lower readings than most type 2s. And that you can tolerate carbs better than most type 2s, so you probably don't have to make any extreme dietary adjustments, or cut out a lot, but testing in the way I describe will hopefully inform all your decisions.

Hope that helps.

Hi, I have just been told I am pre diabetic 3 days ago. I would love to start monitoring my levels but don’t know how to go about getting all the necessary equipment? can anyone help me please. My blood test was reading 43! thanks

 

[Brunneria]

Hi, I have just been told I am pre diabetic 3 days ago. I would love to start monitoring my levels but don’t know how to go about getting all the necessary equipment? can anyone help me please. My blood test was reading 43! thanks

Hi and welcome!

Since you are pre-D, you probably have no chance of getting a meter on prescription, so i suggest you shop around, but the two brands that get recommended as being reliable AND cost effective are the SD Codefree and the Tee2.

You can google both to get the prices.
When you are looking, you will see it is easy to get 'free' meters, but those are usually the brands that charge an arm and a leg for the test strips. You need a new test strip for every test, so if you test 4-10 x a day (as some of us do) that adds up to 28-70 strips a week. The strips come in pots of 50.

Hope that helps.

 

[gardengnome42]

Hi, I have just been told I am pre diabetic 3 days ago. I would love to start monitoring my levels but don’t know how to go about getting all the necessary equipment? can anyone help me please. My blood test was reading 43! thanks

It's a steep learning curve Fluffyfred and I'm sure you'll find help here. Everyone is very helpful. But join the club of pre diabetics. The aim is to prevent full blown diabetes arising - join the club and good luck!!

 

[Fluffyfred]

Thanks I will look into buying one perhaps. x