• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Pre diabetic - what now?

C

Catey

Member
Messages
17
sorry if this is a long post but I feel a little confused.
I’ve always been pretty healthy, a little overweight but active. Having lost 3 stone 3 years ago with slimming world and not putting it back.
2 years ago, out of the blue, I got rushed to hospital to be told I had gallstones stuck (first thing I knew about my having gall stones). Not long after I had my gallbladder removed, 2 infections and then another op to put right the big hole they left from the first op.
Last few months I started to get the shakes, extremely thirsty etc, so visited the doctor who did sent my for my hba1c (sorry if that’s wrong) along with other tests.
Yesterday I rang for the results, the lady said “everything’s fine but your pre diabetic”, “what does that mean, do I need to see the doctor?” I asked her, her response was “no, everything’s fine, is there anything else I can do today”
Excuse me????? I was shellshocked, not understanding what it means, what is happening and what the hell I do now? Do I need to do anything? How important is this? Is it because I had my gallbladder removed? It is just because?
All these answers and so much more and I’m left kind of wondering.
I’ve been reading up and I’m just overwhelmed by everything and haven’t a clue where to go or what to do now.
Not being a negative person, I realise things could be a lot worse, but how can you drop something like that on someone and just say bye
 
Please stop apologising for how you've been made to feel. You ARE hit with a bombshell and you ARE left in the cold with it. The thing is, most practices don't do anything about pre-diabetes. A lot of them never even notify the patients, -I didn't know, but it was in my file for years- because of this weird, prevalent idea that diabetes is per definition progressive and for prediabetics, an unavoidable fate, so... They just wait till you are a type 2 and THEN the medication starts. Before that though, you're on your own.

So here's the thing. I would give anything to be in your shoes right now, believe it or not. Why? You know you have prediabetes. That means you still have a chance to head it off! You don't have to absolutely, 100% certain become a diabetic. What you do have to do is learn a little about the condition, make a few changes in your diet, and hopefully.... You'll never become a diabetic at all. So there's hope here, if you're willing to tackle this. I'm going to post my "The Nutritional Thingy" here because half the time the link doesn't work and I can't figure out why, but it should help you on your way, when it comes to getting through the initial panic/fear, and once a little calm settles in, you'll be able to take in the more complex info from Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code, for instance. (Or dietdoctor.com. Or this place's website, diabetes.co.uk). Most important thing to take away from all this, diabetes does NOT have to be a forgone conclusion. And far as I know having your gallbladder out doesn't affect diabetes.... You're just genetically predisposed to develop it, is all.

Anyway, here's The Thingy, and I hope you'll feel btter at the end of it. Good luck!
Jo




THE NUTRITIONAL THINGY
There’s a few things you should know.

1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so not just straight sugars, but starches too. Food doesn’t have to taste sweet to make your blood sugars skyrocket.

2. A meter helps you know what foods agree with you, and which don’t. Test before and 2 hours after the first bite. If you go up more than 2.0 mmol/l, the meal was carbier than you could handle. (It’s easy to remember, as you’re a T2: all 2’s, all over the place!)

3. In case you didn’t know already, this isn’t your fault. It’s genetics, medication, decades of bad dietary advice, and basically all manner of things, but nothing you can actually blame yourself for.

4. Diabetes T2 is a progressive condition, unless you (also) change your diet. So you have options. Diet-only, diet with medication, or medication only. But that last option will most likely mean more medication over the years. (And there is more than just metformin, so if it doesn’t agree with you, there’s lots of others to try). So even if going really low carb isn’t for you, you might consider moderately low carb an option, with meds to assist.

5. Are you overweight? 90% of T2’s are. Yeah, that means 10% are slim and always were.* If you did gain weight, it was the precursor of this metabolic condition. We make loads of insulin, but become insensitive to it. So carbs we eat turn to glucose, and normally, insulin helps us burn that glucose for fuel. When it doesn’t, that glucose is stored in fat cells instead. When those fat stores are full, the glucose remains in our bloodstream, overflowing, into our eyes, tears, urine, saliva… And then we’re T2’s. So weight gain is a symptom, not a cause. This also means that “regular” dietary advice doesn’t work for us. The problem lies in our inability to process carbs. And most diets focus on lowering fats and upping carb intake. Which is the direct opposite of what a T2, or prediabetic, for that matter, needs.

6. There are 3 macro-nutrients. Fats, protein and carbohydrates. Those macro’s mean we get the micro-nutrients we need: that would be vitamins and minerals. So… If you ditch the carbs, you should up another macro-nutrient to compensate, to make sure you don’t get malnourished or vitamin deficient. Carbs make our blood sugars rise. Protein too, but nowhere near as bad as carbs do, so they’re alright in moderation. Fats however… Fats are as good as a glucose-flatline. Better yet, they’ll mitigate the effects of any carbs we do ingest, slowing down their uptake and thus the sugar-spike. Contrary to what we’ve been told for decades; fats are our friends.

7. Worried about cholesterol? On a low carb diet, your cholesterol may rise a little as you start to lose weight. That’s a good thing though. (Believe it or not). What was already there, stored in your body, is starting to head for the exit, and for that it’ll go into your bloodstream first. So when you have lost weight and it stabilises, so will your cholesterol. And it’ll probably be lower than what it was before you started out.

8. You’ll lose weight on a low carb diet. Weight loss will help with your insulin-resistance, and not only that… Going low carb might help with other issues as well, like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and depression.

9. Always ask for your test results. You don’t know where you’re going, if you don’t know where you’ve been.

10. Last, but certainly not least: If you are on medication that has hypoglycemia listed as a side-effect, like Gliclazide for instance, do NOT attempt a LCHF diet without a meter nor your doctors’ knowledge/assistance. You can drop blood glucose levels too far, too fast, if your dosage isn’t adjusted accordingly. This could mean a lower dose in stages or even stopping medication completely. Never do this without discussing it with your doctor first!


So what raises blood sugars? Aside from the obvious (sugar), starches raise blood glucose too. So bread, and anything made with grain/oats flour, rice, potatoes, pasta, corn, cereals (including all the “healthy choices”, like Weetabix and muesli), most beans and most fruits. So you’ll want to limit your intake, or scratch them altogether.

Which food items remain on the shopping list? Well, meat, fish, poultry, above ground veggies/leafy greens, eggs, cheese, heavy cream, full fat Greek yoghurt, full fat milk, extra dark chocolate (85% Lindt’s is great!), avocado, (whole) tomatoes, berries, olives, nuts, that sort of thing… Meal ideas? Have a couple:

Scrambled eggs with bacon, cheese, mushrooms, tomato, maybe some high meat content sausages?
Eggs with ham, bacon and cheese
Omelet with spinach and/or smoked salmon
Omelet with cream, cinnamon, with some berries and coconut shavings
Full fat Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries
Leafy green salad with a can of tuna (oil, not brine!), mayonnaise, capers, olives and avocado
Leafy green salad with (warmed goat's) cheese and bacon, maybe a nice vinaigrette?
Meat, fish or poultry with veggies. I usually go for cauliflower rice or broccoli rice, with cheese and bacon to bulk it up. Never the same meal twice in a row because of various herbs/spices.

Snacks? Pork scratchings, cheese, olives, extra dark chocolate, nuts.

Of course, there’s loads more on the web, for people more adventurous than I. (Which is pretty much everyone). Just google whatever you want to make and add “keto” to it, and you’ll get a low carb version. There’s a lot of recipes on the diabetes.co.uk website, as well as on www.dietdoctor.com where you’ll also find visual (carb content) guides and videos. And I can wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Jason Fung’s book The Diabetes Code. It’ll help you understand what’s going on in your body and how to tackle it, whilst not being a dry read. Not only that, but you’ll know what to ask your doctor, and you’ll understand the answers, which is, I believe, quite convenient.

*If you can't afford to lose weight, do NOT go for Intermittent Fasting/One Meal A Day. Sticking with three meals a day, 3 snacks a day, all low carb, high fat, moderate protein, should keep your weight up to par while keeping your bloodsugars in check.
 

You're extremely fortunate. Now's the time to ward it off because if you step over the edge, you'll have great cause for regret. Even luckier you found this site.
 


Thank you so much I know i've not been diagnosed, and i realise how important this time is now to make the right decisions, which is kind of why i cant understand the doctors basically not giving out any info.
If it helps someone change their habits and not become, or at least prolong diabetes, then a little bit of information is helpful.
I know i have to make changes NOW, and i think it will be more about my diet as exercise is hard for me as i suffer with fibromyalgia (under control and living as normal a life as i can, just in a little pain).
I have done slimming world and i find that an easy diet but after reading what i have already, thats not the best way to go, so tons more research and hard work and fingers crossed i can keep this at bay.
I'm already so much wiser than i was earlier, just by finding the forum and the very helpful info from you makes it easy to understand. Thank you so much
 
All you need to know right now is that you're going to be okay. You do have time to figure out what foods fit which you and which don't. Yes, you do need to take action now, but you don't have to get it right overnight. I know I botched it those first 3 months, but then, I didn't find this place until much later. Fybro seems to throw a wrench in, but really... Diabetes is a food/metabolism problem, not per se an exercize one, (though it can help, it's not the main solution) so if you tackle the food, you probably won't need to do any extra exercize. So no worries about that. As for Slimming World, you're right, that diet isn't a good fit for T2's or people prone to develop it, but it does mean you can get with a diet and stick with it, so... Another thing to take heart from.

Just take a moment to start learning what does and what doesn't suit you. We're all different, with different needs. I mean, my rheumatism gets a flare from too much cow dairy, so I have to be careful with that. Other things trigger migraines. So there's a lot to take into account, especially if the fibro gets worse due to certain foods for instance. Dunno if that's the case. But it can be done, if you tailor your diet to your needs. There's no one-size-fits-all. Check your grocerylist, see what needs to go, what alternative brands there are with less carbs than your usual brand, if any, that sort of thing. And you'll get your numbers back into the normal range in no time at all. You'll have to stick with it to keep it that way, so do get regular checks of your HbA1c, once a year or so... If anything changes, check your diet for something known as "carb creep" (carbs sneaking back into your diet practically unnoticed), see whether anything needs to change. But all in all... You don't have to be a T2 if you don't want to. You still get to have a choice, on your side of the divide. Yay!
 
Hi @Catey

So sorry to hear the lax delivery of any T2 diagnosis is still so prevalent.

You sound very positive in your approach to things, but for many of us, THAT bad news, delivered in such a cack handed way, leaves us shocked and worried.. so your not alone there, sadly.

Great advise above.
Lots of information to take in, but you've made a great start on this just by simply finding the forum.

If I was talking to MYSELF, at this stage your at..I'd tell myself to keep a food diary. . Make a note of how many carbs were in the foods I was eating

And that is simply because, you will hear a lot about diets on here. And low carb high fat.. Is one a lot find the most helpful and possibly easiest solution to managing this disease,.....
A disease, that YOU could possibly put back for years or avoid completely.
IF you have a mind to.

In its simplest terms, as Type 2, we are allergic to carbs... And if you are allergic or have a bad reaction to certain things you would try and avoid that 'THING' right.... And for us it's carbs.

So we need to be aware of how many CARBS we are consuming.

I think before I was diagnosed (DX) I would have been eating 400-500g a day .I believe government guidelines point to 250g being a more sensible level.

To help me, I now take my carbs down to 50-80 a day..(personally I try for under 30 g per meal. And now only eat 2 meals a day.. And mostly the second meal is more of a snack)

The bonus of that for me, was not only have I managed to reduce my highish levels of glucose in my body/blood . I also lost weight, without really trying...a nice common side effect of low carb.

So welcome, well done on making a great start and finding this wonderful forum.

Enjoy finding out more about the various diets and what to eat for a REAL healthier diet.
.(I think many of us THOUGHT, I know I did. That we were ALREADY eating a healthy diet, but that was before we learned the truth, that most of what we ate was doing us more harm then good. Sadly)
 
Honestly i'm already so glad i started looking on the net for advice, i found you guys
I'm definitely going to give it a go, I have to learn to eat regular too as i'm self employed so i never give myself time. Thats the first thing to change
The one thing i have noticed more than any other symptoms is i seems to have the shakes a lot. Like my blood sugar has dropped, but this is regularly and i have to eat/drink to become anything like normal again. This can happen even after food and thats the part i don't particularly understand. :O
 
Some people experience something called Reactive Hypoglycemia. I didn't know it existed and that I'd had it, until I was already past that and well into T2 territory. Never heard about it until I came here, and it explained a few fainting spells. It could well be your pancreas is putting out more insulin than you actually need, especially after carby meals. First bloodsugars spike, then insulin production does, but they're not exactly in tune, so... It overshoots the target some. The remedy for that is not to have blood glucose spikes, so basically the same as would be advised for prediabetes and T2: less carbs, less glucose, less insulin. Mind you, I'm only guessing here, especially as you don't have a meter as yet, but it's something to keep an eye on if you like. There's also something called a false hypo. It feels and acts like a hypo, and no-one would be able to tell the difference between a true one or a false one without a meter, they're that severe, but they happen when your bloodglucose is lower than what your body is accustomed to, and it panics, because it thinks it is real. Can also feel that way if your bloodsugars change faster than your body can keep up with. See, a meter is a handy thing, it'd give you all sorts of information, so you can figure out what's going on. As it is, if you are going to make changes to your diet, you might experience some carb flu as well, but that will pass in a few days. (headaches, muscle aches, fatigue). So don't be put off, it's perfectly natural.

Okay, I'm burning dinner so I should get off of here.
Jo
 
Well I know now it's a false hypo I was suffering, but for me, they lasted well into the 6 month marker then disappeared.

A kind of clammy, shakey feeling, I usually pre DX ate some chocolate mars mar type, now I just eat a bit of cheese.
My scores when tested were ok mid 5's.. i might at the time have been running higher then that on average,
so i guess my body realises i'm not trying to kill it anymore..

I'm told it might have been as Jo says, too much carbs earlier causing a drop OR too few and my body just panicked, and flooded me with insulin to 'help'

Worrying at time, but you sort of get used to it, once you understand the reason.
 
Last edited:
Its just learning why my body is doing what it does i suppose haha, and me understanding it all.
Similar to my fibro, i have learned to live a fairly "normal" lifestyle. I admit its not always plain sailing but i know what kicks it off and when etc, so avoid that. I'll just have to do the same with this aswell
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn More.…