Not sure what to think -pre diabetes

Dear Stellaau,
Most of us diabetic would be quite envious of your Blood/Glucose (B/G) figures which are quite low to start with. You are doing the right thing in watching the type of foods & drinks that you take in and also partake of regular exercise.

Your doctor will have used a different type of testing method (HbA1c test which gives your B/G average over several weeks) I presume also together with the 'Fasting' Blood/glucose test and will have noticed that your B/G levels may ber somewhat elevated, and be concerned that you might be heading towards crossing the threshold and becoming a Type 2 diabetic (You say that you are already in the elevated or raised pre-diabetic stage).

By watching the things that you eat/drink, and follow the GL loading tables (not Gi tables which are known to be inacurate), together with a fairly active lifestyle with appropriate regular exercise, cycling/waalking/dancing etc: it is more than possible to reverse the pre-diabetic stage that you might be at and get your B/G levels (particularly the HbA1c level) steadily reduced over the comming weeks, which in many cases can reverse the trend towards becomming a diabetic and return your levels to what will then be non-diabetic levels.

Hope this info is of some use - All the best for the future - Lazybones

I'm sorry but at this point I have to laugh but pls dont think its at you. But forget being told you may develop diabetes at some point and not be given any info. Because as most here will testify to once you are diagnosed diabetic you will still not be given any infomation . Atleast you have found the right place . I think there would be 10s of thousands In a very problematic possition health wise if it wasnt for this forum. Dr's and dns done seem to want to educate diabetics especially type 2 . After all we brought it all on our selfs didnt we ( grrrrrrrr) but lets not get into that debate. Anyhooo welcome herevis where you can start educating yourself and make sure you get the best possable treatment ( drs hate nothing more than someone who is educated in the ailments) gets right up there noses

Dear Stellaau,
If you choose to eat and drink food/drink items from a preferably Low GL selection (ignore Gi tables) with some from the Medium GL table and FEW from the High GL table you are making the right choice, but remember to also not over eat. You need a range of various foods that are low in fats (Oils fish with Omega 3 Oils accepted Twice weekly) and most fruits and plenty of various vegetables. It's no goo eating and not exercising so bike riding, dog walking etc is ideal but it needs to be done regularly.

Bread can have a wide infulence on B/G levels so choose from breads that are in the Lower/Medium GL tables and with a liberal coating of butter on the bread it will lower the GL of the Bread's normal GL.

It's easy to get emboiled in B/G reading but in the pre-diabetic stage this will only ever show part of the whole picture as B/G measured in the way you are doing, though informative will only show the short term changed that occured over that period of time and not what has taken place and averaged out over a much longer time period as the HbA1c blood test that your doctor can instigate will show.

The B/G figures that are available on this site will give you a very good indication as to what is considered as acceptable bot befor and after eating (usuall 2 hours) but remember not everyone has the same matabalism so these figures are not set in stone but are there for general guidence. It also helps to relax if you can as stress and anxiety can also make B/G levers rise.

Hope this is of some use - Please ask if you have any further questions - Best regards - Lazybones

In some ways I think that being diagnosed as Impaired Glucose Tolerance is harder to manage than knowing that you are fully diabetic. You never quite know where you stand. I was diagnosed as IGT more than twenty years ago, and I suspect I had been that way for a good few years prior. My degree of intolerance varied quite bit over the next twenty years, corresponding generally to my level of fitness and weight. Two years ago it looked as if I had become fully diabetic with an HbA1c of 7.2 and a Glucose Tolerance Test result of 12.2 after two hours. However after adjusting my diet and losing a stone in weight (which actually left me slightly under my ideal weight) all my test results were normal, including the GTT. When I thought I was diabetic it was a lot easier to decide what I could and couldn't eat. Despite what the test results say, I still consider myself to be glucose intolerant, but it is a lot harder to resist the odd cake or ice cream than it was when my levels were fully diabetic.

In terms of what your doctor can do regarding management of your condition, there is not really a great deal more they can suggest beyond what you are currently doing. Reducing your carb intake and taking plenty of exercise will help keep your sugars lower and if you are carrying a bit of extra weight then shedding that may well help, it certainly won't do you any harm. Whether this approach will prevent you (or indeed me) from becoming fully diabetic in the years to come is, to put it bluntly, anyone's guess. Although not everyone who is diagnosed as glucose intolerant goes on to develop diabetes, there appears to be no way of predicting who will or won't, and contrary to popular myth you don't have to be overweight to become diabetic.

I would certainly go back to your doctor and confirm whether you reading was 9 or 11. A 9 would put you in the lower half of the impaired glucose range, whereas an 11 is as close to a diagnosis of diabetes as you can get without actually being diagnosed, the cut off being 11.2.

One thing I have learned over the past couple of years, is not to get too obsessive about variations in test levels on your own meter. They are only accurate to about + or - 20%. So your readings around the 5 mark could actually be a mid 4 or pushing 6. They are useful for establishing a general pattern and range, but as a spot reading of exactly what your glucose level is at any particular point they are not that accurate. As someone who is glucose intolerant, continual readings in the 5's will show that you have yours levels under good control, although you may well peak into the 6's and 7's depending on what you eaten. If you start getting regular 8-10's you will know that you've definitely got a problem. It is the bit in the middle that is the hardest to understand, and the cause of most anxiety. For instance, I peaked at 8.1 yesterday 2 hours after a meal. This is unusually high for me, but the accuracy of the meter means that my actual level could have been under the normal range of 7.8, which would be fine, or more worryingly (and that's the problem) closer to 9 which would be far too high. However, I have no way of really knowing, so rather than stressing out about it, as long as the general pattern stays the same I assume that nothing much has changed.

However, you do need to be aware that continuing to get low results on your meter doesn't necessarily mean that you have not developed diabetes. You are now essentially manipulating your glucose levels through limiting your intake of carbs. It is possible for some people with type 2 to keep their glucose levels within normal range through diet alone. It is even possible to achieve a normal HbA1c when you are diabetic depending on what you eat. As a person who is aware they have impaired glucose tolerance and eating in a manner to control this, you should have a regular GTT test to establish your exact status.

Personally I try and behave as if I am diabetic. I limit my carbs, although not excessively, and try and keep at a normal weight. It may not prevent me from becoming diabetic in the future, but it will certainly help to delay complications should that happen. And if that day does come ( and I suspect it eventually will) at least I will not be beating myself up over whether I could have done more to prevent it.

(I didn't intend to go on for quite so long when I started this reply )

Glad I could be of help. I wouldn't bother telling anyone at work, unless you feel that your condition directly affects the way you can do your job. This is very unlikely at present given that Impaired Glucose Tolerance is pretty much symptom free (which in some ways is its main danger). However, regular eating patterns are helpful in maintaining good glucose control and I realise that this can be difficult in busy working environments. Most people have a very poor understanding of what Type 2 diabetes is, let alone IGT, so I don't think telling people helps much. It might be worth checking your work contract for any clause that requires you to make such a disclosure.

Personally I haven't told anyone at work as my condition has absolutely no impact on how I do my job. Oddly, I find that workplace stress/pressure is actually good for my glucose levels. My job requires periods of strong physical work, but also periods of intense mental pressure working to very tight immoveable deadlines. I have noticed that my glucose levels on average are anything up to 1mmol lower after the mental work. I think it has something to do with the brain being one of the biggest users of glucose.