Pre-diabetes figures causing concern

Welcome to the forum.

If your dad has access to the internet, get him to join the forum, it is the best place for anything to do with diabetes.

Have a look at the link in my signature.

Come back with any questions.

The link is real good solid advice.

Carbohydrates equals Starch + Sugars

High in:
Starch = Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, Breads(white and brown), Porridge, Cereals, anything_containing_flour,...

Sugars = Cakes/Biscuits/Danish_pastries, Fruits, Icecream,...(best to totally exclude these)

No carb foods = meats, chicken, ham, bacon, eggs, ...
Low carb foods = Greek authentic yogurt, raspberries, strawberries,
avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage,...

People with diabetes must restrict the amount of carbohydrates in meals, but all people are different. You you need to find your dad's tolerance limits for the foods he likes by weighing the carby food item for example potatoes and measuring the blood sugar content in the body 2 hours after the meal. You measure the blood sugar with finger-prick blood glucose meter. The blood sugar value should be less than 7.8mmol/L. If the measured value is above this you need to reduce the amount of potatoes next time this meal is served until the blood sugar is less than 7.8 mmol/L.

Start with the meals containing starchy items: rice, potatoes, pasta, bread etc because these are the likely trouble makers.

Useful: the web sites of the major UK supermarkets (www.tesco.com, www.asda.com, www.sainsburycom) contain calories, carb, fat, protein contents for all foods they sell.

and, if he is unhappy at not eating food he likes, but which ultimately will harm him, he always has the choice to eat it or risk losing his eyesight or a foot.
Such stark truths can help focus the mind

Hopefully you can help him find food he likes that doesn't harm him.

resander said:

Carbohydrates equals Starch + Sugars

High in:
Starch = Potatoes, Rice, Pasta, Breads(white and brown), Porridge, Cereals, anything_containing_flour,...

Sugars = Cakes/Biscuits/Danish_pastries, Fruits, Icecream,...(best to totally exclude these)

No carb foods = meats, chicken, ham, bacon, eggs, ...
Low carb foods = Greek authentic yogurt, raspberries, strawberries,
avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage,...

People with diabetes must restrict the amount of carbohydrates in meals, but all people are different. You you need to find your dad's tolerance limits for the foods he likes by weighing the carby food item for example potatoes and measuring the blood sugar content in the body 2 hours after the meal. You measure the blood sugar with finger-prick blood glucose meter. The blood sugar value should be less than 7.8mmol/L. If the measured value is above this you need to reduce the amount of potatoes next time this meal is served until the blood sugar is less than 7.8 mmol/L.

Start with the meals containing starchy items: rice, potatoes, pasta, bread etc because these are the likely trouble makers.

Useful: the web sites of the major UK supermarkets (www.tesco.com, www.asda.com, www.sainsburycom) contain calories, carb, fat, protein contents for all foods they sell.

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Excellent advise in a nutshell

@resander gave it to you in a nutshell - just keep asking any questions you have - there are lots of friendly, experienced people here to help yous - yous will get there. Take care.

Vsxkdlqv said:

Thats all super helpful - never experienced a community like this on a forum! Thanks!

So he’s obsessed with numbers - the HBA1C number. His is jumping between 40 and 43, once it hit 45. Is there a target he should aim for?? He says his doctor only gets this figure once a year from blood tests.. not sure if thats true.

He already goes for long walks quite a few times a week and, in my opinion, is quite thin anyway, noticeably thinner than he used to be.
Thanks

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Under 40 is normal. Over 48 is diabetic. The test is called hb1ac and is an average of the last 3 months levels. Often done as part of a battery of annual tests. If diagnosed diabetic it should be done 3 monthly til stable then 6 monthly. If he makes changes it might be worth asking for a more frequent test to show him the effect changes make for motivation or further adjustment. Daily fingerprick testing does this even more immediately but most drs don’t support this for type 2 as it costs too much and they don’t really understand it for this purpose.

HSSS said:

Under If diagnosed diabetic it should be done 3 monthly til stable then 6 monthly.

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Does this ever happen in practice? I was diagnosed, month later had second test to confirm and then told I would be checked yearly ( although covid means never until covids over).

aard said:

Does this ever happen in practice? I was diagnosed, month later had second test to confirm and then told I would be checked yearly ( although covid means never until covids over).

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Ditto, except my second test was 3 months later

aard said:

Does this ever happen in practice? I was diagnosed, month later had second test to confirm and then told I would be checked yearly ( although covid means never until covids over).

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I’ve only ever been 6 months when there is a problem. Usually it’s yearly on anniversary roughly equating to my birthday

aard said:

Does this ever happen in practice? I was diagnosed, month later had second test to confirm and then told I would be checked yearly ( although covid means never until covids over).

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So far for me I’ve had 3 monthly tests other than the last which was 6 months because of covid. Diagnosed 2 yrs ago.

I am proactive and phone and ask for the test each time but the nurse told me 3monthly at the outset and again at the 1st anniversary and marked my records as such. However I’ve only got a call twice afterwards and only one follow up appointment in that time at the anniversary so costs are limited. I check the results online and am happy with no appointments or calls so far as the results are low 40’s and fairly consistent.

As it isn't just the sugar but also the starches so if your dad wants to cut back on the starchy foods and keep some of the sugary ones, the effect should be the same - it would be for me, as my gut makes no distinction when it comes to carbs, so I am have fruit and jelly and cream for dessert with no potato etc on the main course.

Nice thread. All the information provided in this forum is very helpful. My father is a diabetic, I recently join this and follow all your suggestions and ideas, Thank you for keep posting.

Vsxkdlqv said:

So he’s obsessed with numbers - the HBA1C number. His is jumping between 40 and 43, once it hit 45. Is there a target he should aim for?? He says his doctor only gets this figure once a year from blood tests.. not sure if thats true.

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His figures are similar to mine have been since diagnosis as T2 over six years ago - 40-43 is low end of pre-diabetic, which as an ancient OAP is my personal (and easily achievable for me) target range; occasionally it's popped up to 45 if I'm not well, in pain, stressed... I do regular pre & post meal (self funded) finger prick tests, which tell me far more about how various foods (and possible health issues) can affect my glucose levels than an HBA1c can ever do.

In general what T2 diabetics & pre diabetics can achieve depends on what their bodies can cope with, what other health issues they may have, and how strict a low carb diet they are able to maintain long term. For official UK recommended target ranges check our main site here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

I was initially tested at six monthly intervals, now it's annually.

Vsxkdlqv said:

The nurse that did the blood test just told him to „eat less sugar“ but he‘s cut out 90% of all the „sugary“ things he was eating - getting a score of 43, but miserable because he‘s not eating the stuff he wants to eat.

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Welcome to the forum, the nurse would have done better to say eat less carbs. It converts to sugar in the body so it can be looked as being exactly the same as sugar.

Most type IIs (include pre-diabetic) are insulin resistant and unfortunately eating the stuff you want to eat which is usually the carby stuff, isn't going to help.

I look at it the same way as an allergy, technically it isn't but . . . . . I love cheese, but if I was lactose intolerant I wouldn't probably couldn't eat it. I love Brazil nuts, not much good if I had a nut allergy. Same goes for gluten. Carbs are the same for me, my body doesn't deal with them very well.

The only carb I have problems with is bread, but I know my body doesn't deal with bread very well, I'm insulin resistant and the bread just converts to sugar, ends up in my blood and then the damage starts, eyes being the one I worry about most. The only good news about bread is that there are low carb alternatives, not exactly convenient in that I can't go to my Tesco and buy it, but other supermarkets do and there is also the home baked bread you could make.

Your father won't be the first person who doesn't want to join this forum, at least you're around to help by having another view of diabetes. This forum is a very good source of information.