Newly diagnosed pre-diabetic

[mhaffner73]

Hi all
Just joined this forum today after being told on the phone by my doctors receptionist that I need to have an appointment with the nurse I am pre diabetic Got my call on 19th. Nice pre Xmas gift lol

Me being me instantly have looked at foods etc. I’m vegan and have found a vegan plan which I’m trying out the odd thing. Some are ok some are not so nice

It’s pretty much getting me down and I know I probably shouldn’t be feeling low until I’ve spoken to the nurse next week but it’s stressing me out today big time. I feel quite depressed about it all. I tried to porridge recipe that I found on the diabetes website today for lunch and it wasn’t very nice at all so I ended up with nothing as it’s getting me really down

My mum side of the family has diabetes type two, so I did expect something might come up at some point I have also got high blood pressure

It’s ruining my thoughts of Xmas for this put it this way

 

[mhaffner73]

Hi all
Just joined this forum today after being told on the phone by my doctors receptionist that I need to have an appointment with the nurse I am pre diabetic Got my call on 19th. Nice pre Xmas gift lol

Me being me instantly have looked at foods etc. I’m vegan and have found a vegan plan which I’m trying out the odd thing. Some are ok some are not so nice

It’s pretty much getting me down and I know I probably shouldn’t be feeling low until I’ve spoken to the nurse next week but it’s stressing me out today big time. I feel quite depressed about it all. I tried to porridge recipe that I found on the diabetes website today for lunch and it wasn’t very nice at all so I ended up with nothing as it’s getting me really down

My mum side of the family has diabetes type two, so I did expect something might come up at some point I have also got high blood pressure

It’s ruining my thoughts of Xmas for this put it this way

I think my level is 45 looking at my results in nhs app

 

[Helen H]

Hi, I was told about 3vweeks ago I was pre-diabetic. Bit like you hit me hard although half expected it as my brother has just been diagnosed type was well. I initially felt quite down about it but like you wasnt prepared to just wait for someone to tell me what to do. I started looking on the internet and came across the “blood sugar diet” by Dr Michael Mosley and read the book and decided that first I needed to lose some weight - I wasn’t massively overweight - 5’6” and 11st 10. BUT the excess weight I carried was all around my middle. I did A bit more digging around, found this forum and had a good read through a lot of the threads - it is a mine of information. I decided to go on a Keto diet - 20g of carbs/day to get rid of weight fast. So far I have last 12lbs in 3vweeks and 2 inches off my waist. I am not saying this is what you should do but have a real good read on here and you will learn loads. Eventually you will get your head round it. Good luck

 

[ianf0ster]

It's not the weight that matters, that will come off as a result of having lower Blood Glucose and so lower Insulin. Eat low carb to lower your Blood Glucose and (in majority of cases) all other good things will follow as side effects: weight loss, normalised Blood Pressure, more energy, improved mood.

20gms of carbs per day (unless you are a pre-diabetic) seems too low too fast. 40gms to 50gms of carbs per day is plenty low enough for first month.
Reducing Blood glucose too fast can cause temporary vision problems since eyes very sensitive to blood glucose. Similarly, if obese then losing weight too quickly can cause unsightly loose skin. Use a BG meter in order to determin how low you need to go.
For me it was under 40gms per day.

 

[RoyDuggan]

When you say “Use a BG meter in order to determin how low you need to go. “
How do you determine the correct carb levels? Are you aiming for a specific reading and what should this be ?

 

[JenniferM55]

These target levels may help.... if a certain food takes you over the '2 hour after meals' mark then that food should be avoided.

 

[JenniferM55]

You may find tracking your carbs easier with one of the apps, ie. Cronometer, FatSecret, CarbManager, MyFitnessPal, and many others. The basic versions of the apps are free.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

When you say “Use a BG meter in order to determin how low you need to go. “
How do you determine the correct carb levels? Are you aiming for a specific reading and what should this be ?

Test before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. The aim is to be no higher than 8,5 mmol/l after a meal, technically speaking. But if it's early days, that may be a little hard, if not impossible, to achieve. If you test around meals, you're aiming for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l between before and after the meal, and preferably less. Keep that up, and your numbers should normalise.

 

[KetoAnnie]

Reducing Blood glucose too fast can cause temporary vision problems since eyes very sensitive to blood glucose.

Ian, thank you so much for this comment. I was adjusting to new glasses (progressive lenses for the first time) when my neurologist suggest I try a ketogenic diet and ... well, yes... I jumped in and dropped carbohydrates too 'aggressively'. I'd wondered why I was struggling with my vision so much but this makes perfect sense!