Prediabetes Newly diagnosed with pre diabetes

Honestly, @daisy1 will give you all the info you need to start.

No doctors on here, least I think not, (some may say a good thing) just people with a lot of experience and have been in a very real sense in your position so they speak from experience, not the internet or a book before clocking off.

Your symptoms are yours, we are all different. I had the bathroom thing and was very tired with my lower leg swelling and asthma not to mention chasing 16 stone. That was my lot with a 1c of 47. In October last year.

Now basically i'm so so much better in myself, 10 years younger. Applied the low carb principles, tested till my fingers were sore and read this forum until I was cross eyed.

Step number 1, forget yesterday. Your new you starts today. Whatever and whenever your numbers went up is irrelevant, any issues will come in the fullness of time as others may. Too random to worry over. In the main, diabetic complications are stopped or slowed markedly to the point of irrelevance by suficient corrective actions.

Step 2, buy a tester and strips (a lot of strips 2-300 for starters). then you can see what you react to and start learning about your amazing body.

Step 3, food. For a kick off stop eating rice, potato, pasta and bread and products based on these. The difference in how you feel will shock you.

Imagine your body is asking for a bit of help, it will pay you back in spades.

@Aaron_robinette
Hello Aaron and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it both interesting and helpful.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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.
  

Aaron, I agree with all above. It is highly unlikely that you have done any "permanent damage" to your body. Good news is, you can ensure that you never do "permanent damage" by controlling your blood sugar levels through diet and exercise.
Regarding this pre-diabetes thing; for all intents and purposes, you should consider yourself diabetic. It's just that you've caught it fairly early so it might be easier to manage. Your blood sugar readings of over 11 one hour after eating suggest diabetes as well.
Follow the diet Daisy as outlined. Initially, test before eating and 2 hours after. You are looking to avoid an increase of more than 2. Also, to avoid a peak of more than 8 at that stage.
As time goes on, you may wish to focus your testing even more to achieve even better levels, but for now, while things settle down, stick to the above.

Aaron_robinette said:

1, the symptoms I have had/have is this typical of prediabetes?

2, I have began checking my BG via a prick test, after eating I've tested it about an hour after and my BG has ranged from 11.7 - 11.3 is this normal? Would this explain me feeling the above after meals? Literally for the last four days (and I aim to continue) I have eaten a low carb diet and cut anything remotely unhealthy out of my diet.

3, what's the best way to test your blood in order to identify the good and bad foods for my body

4, if I have been prediabetic for a few years and only in the last seven months started feeling the above, what is the likelihood of permanent damage to my body?


Thanks Aaron.

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Hi Aaron,

You've gotten your answers already,k I think, and I quite agree: no permanent damage as yet, you're catching it early and can turn it around. And yeah, the symptoms are those of (pre-)diabetes. High bloodsugars will also influence things lime emotional well-being, so they can cause or worsen anxiety too. Getting it under control will make you feel better. I don't know what you call "anything remotely unhealthy", as most people'd class bacon and full fat products in that catagory, while for a T2 or prediabetic those things are rather helpful, and for people like me, a daily stample. If you're interested, I'd suggest reading Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code, which is very helpful, this site's Low Carb Programme, and/or dietdoctor.com. All very thorough, and very helpful. And of course, check before a meal and two hours after. If you go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, there were more carbs in the meal than you could process back out again. If you manage to stay at 2.0 and under, the average blood glucose readings will eventually drop too, as will your fasting bloodglucose. You don't really want to see them rise above 8 or something, ideally. But it's early days, so... Take your time, learn, figure out what works for you. You'll be okay.

Aaron_robinette said:

I am releaved in many ways as I know I can do something about it all but I've stumbled across some things that I can't get my head around. I do have another apt with my gp on Tuesday so I'm going to ask the same questions, but I was hoping you guys and gals might also be able to help me.

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Hi Aaron, and welcome to the best little life raft for diabetics. I agree with all of the above. Carbs, away with you, and you'll see improvement almost immediately. For me this 'place' has been of such great help. I eat very low carb (less than 20g a day), have cut back on meds and still have BG levels under the pre-diabetic range - and I was diagnosed in 2005. I'm telling you this to let you know that there's so much hope for you, even if you don't go quite as low as that
Get on with it and perhaps check out dietdoctor.com, and please keep posting to let us know how you're doing.

Aaron_robinette said:

Hello, I'm a 29 year old man who has recently been told that I am pre diabetic. My hc1a was 44. I've been fighting with my gp for the last seven months as I have been experiencing the worst symptoms I have ever experienced.

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Hi Aaron
If your bloods remain high even after dramatic dietary changes I'd be back to your GP asap.
Your HbA1c and your current blood sugar levels don't really align.. With an HbA1c of 44 mmol/m your bloods should be averaging around the 7's that you seem to be 11+ is slightly worrying although measuring an hour after eating could be misleading.
You don't mention weight but if you aren't heavy but start losing weight quite quickly then also get back to the doc.

11+ isn't that unusual at +1 hour for a diabetic if that person isn't restricting their carbs.
Assume you're diabetic, start on the diet suggested to you on here, and start testing at + 2hours. If it's more than 8 then, adjust your food choice again.

Aaron_robinette said:

I'm pretty heavy, I was originally 18 ISH stone. I've managed to get down to 16.5 stone in the last few months. Last night I tested about an hour after which gave me the 11+ then again before bed about two hours later and it was 6.9. I have an apt with my gp tomorrow so I will definitely be bringing it up with him. Today my fasting was 5.7 two hours after breakfast it was 6.9 so I'll eat my lunch and see what it is a couple hours after.

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Ok that's more sensible.. I was a bit worried by your high levels but if you are getting own to sub 7's then you're doing ok.
Excellent news and goo luck with the weight loss.

Aaron, when you say you've seen recipes on diabetes UK, do you mean diabetes.org.uk? If so, their recipes bear no resemblance to the advice you'll see on here. Their recipes are very carb heavy, and will do nothing to lower your blood sugar peaks. I'd strongly advise that you look at the dietary suggestions Daisy posted on here. You don't have to go ultra low carb if you don't want to, but you do need to modify the type of carbs and reduce the total. use your meter to see what you can manage on.
Please take it from one who initially followed the advice of NHS dieticians and GPs and found my blood sugar levels were dreadful still.