Not diagnosed yet...

[Lou25]

Hey all, just wondering if you could shed some light on some issues I've been having.

I had a baby 14 months ago. I had gestational diabetes. I had the HbA1c test 6 weeks after giving birth and it came back fine. I've had four HbA1c tests in the last year, all came back completely fine, although they didn't give me the actual result, just said they were fine and staying nice and even, and were normal, not in the prediabetic range. My last test was about two months ago.

Whilst pregnant and since I've been having heart palpitations, recently realised they were occuring after eating meals higher in carbs after I started noting down the times they were happening. I also feel extremely tired and foggy headed, need to nap, sometimes get headaches and go hot and red in the face. I didn't assume it was anything related to blood sugar at first as my HbA1c tests keep coming back fine.

Anyway so I ended up putting two and two together after eating better resulted in less of these episodes. Then one day last week I had some rice with a veggie/lentil stew and within 5-10 mins the palpitations and other symptoms started. I remembered I still had my blood glucose testing kit and strips from when I was pregnant, so I tested myself. Results were 9.8 after 1 hour, 9.0 after 2 hours, 7.2 after 3 hours and 5.5 after 4 hours. I did a fasting test the next morning...I did it three times and got 6.2/5.9/6.0. Results have been similar all week. Always late 5's/low 6's in the morning and always over 5.5 2 hours after eating, getting readings between 7 and 9 after two hours. 7's are when eating less carbs...9's more carbs.

Is it possible to have high blood sugar episodes with a normal HbA1c test? Is this insulin resistance? Prediabetes? I've been to the docs and I'm having a fasting blood test in a few hours and another HbA1c.

Another issue I'm having is that I cannot shift any weight at all. I've tried everything...fasting, one meal a day, 1000 cals, slimming world, eating at my BMR, MyFitnessPal/counting calories, weighing and logging everything I eat, upping protein, drinking more water...I don't lose a pound. I stay the same or fluctuate due to water retention. Could this be down to the blood sugar issues?

I'm also vegetarian and find it difficult to cut carbs a lot.

Any info would be appreciated. I'm pretty clueless at the moment.

 

[Antje77]

Hello, Lou, and welcome to the forum. We cannot diagnose you, but your numbers are a bit on the high side, although not by much. If you are developing diabetes, you seem tou have caught it very early. That makes it very well possible nothing (much) showed on your hba1c, especially if the one who gave you your results thinks pre-diabetic hba1c's are fine.
I would ask for a print-out or on-line access to your results.

I'm tagging @daisy1 for you, she has a bunch of information for new members which might help you, although you've already learned a lot by having gestational diabetes

And here's a link to a part of the forum about eating vegetarian, that should be helpful as well: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/

Good luck!

 

[daisy1]

@Lou25

Hello Lou and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want 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.
  

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome,

Your current numbers do suggest you are heading towards diabetes, but I am not medically trained.

However, I can tell you that the HbA1c is only an average. Two people can have identical HbA1c results. One of them may have nice flat lines with small bumps, but average the same as the other person who has a roller coaster line that includes a lot of highs, but also a lot of lows. It comes under the term "fallacy of average". Some other medical conditions can also give you a lower than anticipated HbA1c (and others can give you an elevated one). Anaemia, thyroid issues, and red blood cell issues are the usual culprits. Also some medications can do the same. Might any of these apply to you?

I hope all goes well with your forthcoming tests. I also advise you to ask for the print outs of all the tests you have had so you can analyse them yourself. Being told "fine" isn't really good enough. You need the figures.