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Please help...

B

bjnobby

Member
Messages
16
Location
west sussex
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
back stabbers, people who think they are better than everyone else.
Hi I need help.. 1 blood test 2 weeks ago was 6.9 now told to take metformin twice a day. The test was'nt a fasting one and was 1st test in nearly 2yrs ( was 6.7 then). Am I diabetic ?
 
What was the test you took?

Was it an hba1c or was it just a glucose count? You do not have to fast for the former but you do for the latte.

Was your result 6,9% or 6,9 mmol?
 
bjnobby said:
Hi I need help.. 1 blood test 2 weeks ago was 6.9 now told to take metformin twice a day. The test was'nt a fasting one and was 1st test in nearly 2yrs ( was 6.7 then). Am I diabetic ?
Click to expand...
pavlosn said:
What was the test you took?

Was it an hba1c or was it just a glucose count? You do not have to fast for the former but you do for the latte.

Was your result 6,9% or 6,9 mmol?
Click to expand...
hba1c was mentioned when I saw the diabetic nurse but I don't know what mmol is sos.
 
A glucose test is a test that measures the amount of glucose in your blood at the point of time when the blood sample is taken. In the UK the result would be in mmol/mol and values of 6,7 or 6,9 mmol/mol would both fall on the top end of the pre diabetes range indicating impaired insulin response but not yet to the point of full blown diabetes. Diabetes is diagnosed at a fasting glucose level of 7,0 mmol/mol and above.

An hba1c is a separate, more reliable test, which measures your average glucose level over the last three months by measuring how many glucose particles have attached themselves to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. In many countries this is still measured as a percentage and diabetes is diagnosed when hba1c is in excess of 6,5%. In the UK they stopped using %s a couple of years ago and now measure Hba1c in mmol/l, anything under 40mmol is healthy and diabetes would be in excess of 47 mmol/l.

I suggest that you may like to call your doctors practice and clarify what test you had and if not Hba1c request that you be tested.

Pavlos
 
HI, Welcome

i agree with everything Pavlosn has said, its hard to listen to the doctor for many (especially me) its hard to take it in especially when being given confusing or bad news so maybe call the reception and ask for a print out of your results etc? if you are diabetic or pre diabetic (ill assume you are diabetic as you were given metformin) the treatment is the same, a lifestyle change is in order, we as diabetics find it useful to eat healthy and get some exercise if possible, try to cut out all sweet products, reduce your intake of bread, rice, pasta and potatoes, these foods essentially turn to sugar once eaten, therefore its a good idea to reduce them because as a diabetic/pre diabetic we have trouble processing the sugar, so the less we put in, the less we will have trouble dealing with :)

its not all bad, diabetes can be a blessing if changes are made to our lifestyles

have a read of the forum and ask questions as they come up, always someone here that can try and help

(this is all just my opinion, I'm not medically trained)
 
Andy12345 said:
HI, Welcome

i agree with everything Pavlosn has said, its hard to listen to the doctor for many (especially me) its hard to take it in especially when being given confusing or bad news so maybe call the reception and ask for a print out of your results etc? if you are diabetic or pre diabetic (ill assume you are diabetic as you were given metformin) the treatment is the same, a lifestyle change is in order, we as diabetics find it useful to eat healthy and get some exercise if possible, try to cut out all sweet products, reduce your intake of bread, rice, pasta and potatoes, these foods essentially turn to sugar once eaten, therefore its a good idea to reduce them because as a diabetic/pre diabetic we have trouble processing the sugar, so the less we put in, the less we will have trouble dealing with :)

its not all bad, diabetes can be a blessing if changes are made to our lifestyles

have a read of the forum and ask questions as they come up, always someone here that can try and help

(this is all just my opinion, I'm not medically trained)
Click to expand...
Thankyou for the reply, I am going to ask for a second opinion before I start taking metformin. My dad has type one and he says that I'm probably prediabetic which can be treated like you say with lifestyle changes.
 
bjnobby said:
Thankyou for the reply, I am going to ask for a second opinion before I start taking metformin. My dad has type one and he says that I'm probably prediabetic which can be treated like you say with lifestyle changes.
Click to expand...




great idea :) I've personally never had the courage to ask a doctor for a second opinion lol, even full blown type 2 can be controlled in many cases with lifestyle changes and no meds, on the up side, metformin is considered a very safe drug, i still take it when i no longer need to as i have decided it has many other benefits so don't worry if you do in fact need to take it :) but no meds has to be good :)
 
pavlosn said:
A glucose test is a test that measures the amount of glucose in your blood at the point of time when the blood sample is taken. In the UK the result would be in mmol/mol and values of 6,7 or 6,9 mmol/mol would both fall on the top end of the pre diabetes range indicating impaired insulin response but not yet to the point of full blown diabetes. Diabetes is diagnosed at a fasting glucose level of 7,0 mmol/mol and above.

An hba1c is a separate, more reliable test, which measures your average glucose level over the last three months by measuring how many glucose particles have attached themselves to the hemoglobin in your red blood cells. In many countries this is still measured as a percentage and diabetes is diagnosed when hba1c is in excess of 6,5%. In the UK they stopped using %s a couple of years ago and now measure Hba1c in mmol/l, anything under 40mmol is healthy and diabetes would be in excess of 47 mmol/l.

I suggest that you may like to call your doctors practice and clarify what test you had and if not Hba1c request that you be tested.

Pavlos
Click to expand...
Thankyou, the test was a routine one for thyroid but blood glucose and other things were tested as well, before I start taking metformin I am going to ask for a second test and then decide.
 
I think your dad is right, diet and exercise will do it ,,,, you should see results in a week
but metformin is a good drug if you can take it, it has other benefits as well...so if it was me, because I carry a few extra kilo, I'd take the metformin as well

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf it’s a long page and a video

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm

http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/carbohydrate-restriction-an-option-for-diabetes-management



blood testing

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

food counting

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
 
Even if it does turn out you are only pre-diabetic rather than diabetic (Metformin may be prescribed for prediabetes, although I am not sure if this holds in the UK), this is not a get out of jail free card.

Treat any pre-diabetes diagnosis as a last warning that you are well on your way to diabetes if you do not take action to alter course.

The best thing you can do to avoid diabetes is paradoxically to assume you already have it:
- increase your level of physical activity. Does not have to be anything extra strenuous something like 30-45 minutes walk is excellent for instance.
- lose any excess weight.
- improve your diet:
- eliminate sweets and sugary foods other than a very rare and small treat.
- go for less processed ready made choices and prefer food cooked from raw
- more green vegetables and salad
- most importantly limit consumption of food high in carbohydrates such as potatoes, cereals, rice, pasta, bread
- choose wholemeal versions of any carb rich food.

Once you develop diabetes you are stuck with it, so assuming you are not already diabetic, now is the best time for you to take action to make sure you do not go on to become one.

All the best

Pavlos
 
Andy12345 said:
great idea :) I've personally never had the courage to ask a doctor for a second opinion lol, even full blown type 2 can be controlled in many cases with lifestyle changes and no meds, on the up side, metformin is considered a very safe drug, i still take it when i no longer need to as i have decided it has many other benefits so don't worry if you do in fact need to take it :) but no meds has to be good :)
Click to expand...
Oh I was told that once you start the metformin it's for life.. Confussed or what ???
 
jack412 said:
I think your dad is right, diet and exercise will do it ,,,, you should see results in a week
but metformin is a good drug if you can take it, it has other benefits as well...so if it was me, because I carry a few extra kilo, I'd take the metformin as well

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf it’s a long page and a video

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarbliving/a/Food-Cravings.htm For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. they don’t give up easy.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm

http://www.lowcarbdietitian.com/blog/carbohydrate-restriction-an-option-for-diabetes-management



blood testing

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

http://www.homehealth-uk.com/medical/blood_glucose_monitor_testing.htm

food counting

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Click to expand...
Thankyou for all your help and advice.
 
bjnobby said:
Thankyou, the test was a routine one for thyroid but blood glucose and other things were tested as well, before I start taking metformin I am going to ask for a second test and then decide.
Click to expand...
As drugs go, Metformin is probably one of the better ones, being reasonably safe and even said to have beneficial effects that extent beyond diabetes.

You should be aware that some people find that it upsets their stomachs when they first go on it.

It will only have a limited effect on your levels anyway, you should concentrate on the lifestyle changes in diet and exercise as these will have a far greater impact.

Pavlos
 
Andy12345 said:
not at all, many people come off metformin :)

bp meds are also apparently for life but thats not the case either hehe
Click to expand...
Brilliant, that's sorted then.. no pills till I've tried all other possiblities. Dad has given me his old blood testing machine so I can keep an eye on the levels.
Andy12345 said:
not at all, many people come off metformin :)

bp meds are also apparently for life but thats not the case either hehe
Click to expand...
 
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