Joining i !

Welcome Mark F and good luck with the doctor. You are right that the doctor may not be interested in your testing regime (he may thinnk that you will be unable to interpret the results) but I think it will give you loads of data about your metabolism and would suggest fasting bg, 2 hours post pradnial then make a note of what you ate at that meal and also your energy levels and hunger or cravings felt. You will find out a lot about the level of carbs you can tolerate as after 2 hours you bg should be back to a normal level.
Pre diabetic is an arbitrary line and means that if nothing changes you will cross that line into diabetes and be offered meds. Good news is that by taking it seriously now you have a much much better change of getting the sugars into normal range. But first don't change anything and just observe what happens for a week or so. Good luck and I am sure you will get lots of useful advice here too.

Mark F said:

Hi all

Officially diagnosed as pre diabetes via an HbA1c....although .I already knew that and asked for the test

Came in at 44....so yes officially pre diabetes BUT I dont believe the results as my symptoms are conducive to it being a bit more than that

Off to see the Dr for the first time tomorrow....I will of course describe symptoms etc but will also ask for a Fasting BS....is this sensible or mad as if these symptoms are PRE Diabetic then full blown must be terrible

Will be monitoring my own BS when the kit turns up too

A question....when woukd be the best time to monitor....I was thinking of doing a 3 week period of once in the morning before food....I tend to go a bit Hypo and then later an hour after food....is this an idea....?

Again I will ask Dr however I am ready in case he or she doesnt seem interested or thinks I should do it

Love the forum...lots to read

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Welcome!

What symptoms have you been having? It is fairly unusual to have symptoms when just diagnosed with an HbA1c of 44.

Your GP is very unlikely to encourage self testing. He may even be very much against it, but on here we all know this is wrong. It is just what GPs are obliged to say due to financial constraints, although their excuses vary.. My advice is to nod, and say nothing.

If you want to get a grips on this, and discover which foods affect you the most, you need to test regularly. The fasting test isn't important at first. What is important is the test before every meal and 2 hours after first bite, alongside a detailed food diary. It is wise to record all your pre and post meal levels alongside the food eaten (all ingredients and portion sizes) and look at the rise from before to after. This rise (if any) needs to be kept as low as you can, and definitely under 2 mmol/l. hopefully a lot less. If it is more than that, there were too many carbs in that meal, which need tweaking either by reducing portion size or eliminating. This is all a learning curve, and trial and error. It requires an awful lot more than 3 weeks!!!!!

Tagging @daisy1 for her information pack for newly diagnosed. Please read it. It is very useful and informative.

Do keep posting, and ask as many questions as you like.

Mark F said:

Should I request a fasting BS?

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I wouldn't bother. What on earth will it tell you? Absolutely nothing. Fasting tests are notoriously unpredictable, which is one reason they are very rarely used for diagnosis, and certainly not without a follow up HbA1c. Getting out of bed, having a shower, getting dressed, rushing about, getting to the surgery, anxiety whilst waiting all contribute to raised levels. Lots of us on here don't bother with fasting tests at home. Your pre and post meal meal tests will tell you all you need to know. My surgery never does them.

Mark F said:

Thirsty
Dry Mouth
Dizzy in morning until eating
Fatigue
After a turkish delight a few weeks back..had to go to bed 30 mins later....that's what made me sure it was diabetes

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These may be related to high sugars, but your sugars will have had to be very high for them to materialise. When your meter arrives, you can add another time to test - when you are feeling rough, dizzy or needing to go to bed.

Hi, it is just one the mysteries of diabetes that someone can have double your hba1c and hardly notice a problem and others are very sensitive to levels on edge of normal.

I hope your testing sheds some light on things. One thing to look out for is wild swings that don't show up in the average of a hba1c test.

@Mark F

Hello Mark and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask questions when you need to and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

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.