Prediabetes and High Cholesterol

Gourmande

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi,


I joined a couple of months ago after I had a blood sugar reading of 7.88mmol/l at a general health check when I registered with a doctor here in France.


I went off and followed a low carb diet for 3 months and lost 10Kg. My doctor sent me back to the lab with a prescription which asked for a fasting blood glucose test, a lipid profile and an HA1C test.


My blood sugar has gone down, but not as much as I would have liked, to 6.44mmol/l, although I think this puts me in the pre-diabetic range, rather than confirmed diabetic.


However, it looks as if the lab didn’t read the prescription properly as they don’t seem to have conducted an HA1C test.


The other thing that bothers me is that my cholesterol readings have actually gone UP from 7.04 to 7.46 mmol/l. My triglycerides are nice and low, and my HDL is reasonable at 1.81mmol/l. However, the LDL is 5.20mmol/l and the total is 7.46mmol/l.


I haven’t been to discuss any of this with my doctor yet, but I think I should go back to the lab and ask them to do the HA1C, which I presume will mean fasting again, so I will have to wait until next week as I have too many other commitments at the moment.


I think I understand how I can deal with the prediabetes, by continuing my low carbohydrate diet and perhaps upping my exercise. What concerns me is that following this diet has apparently increased my cholesterol readings. I think the doctor will recommend statins but I am concerned about their effect on blood sugar.

Any thoughts from members would be welcome. Thanks.
 
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sally and james

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,093
Type of diabetes
Family member
Treatment type
Diet only
You don't need to fast for an HbA1c test, fasting is irrelevant to this as it is a measure of your exposure to sugars over the past two to three months.
Sally
 
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Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
You won't know if you are diabetic or pre-diabetic until after your HbA1c result. However, both require the same dietary treatments so either way keep going with your new lifestyle.

I can't explain why your cholesterol readings have increased.

Well done on the weight loss, that is brilliant.
 

Gourmande

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you for your replies. I guess I had to fast because I was having the other tests done so I can go back tomorrow and ask for the HbA1c. I have been looking at Blood Sugar 101 website and it says that some people do have a rise in cholesterol in the first few months of low carbing, so maybe that's what has happened. It also says that high cholesterol is not the cause of heart attacks, but inflammation, which is what the statins are for. So maybe I shouldn't worry too much about cholesterol at this point but wait and see before I start taking any statins.

Thank you for the congrats on the weight loss. I feel heaps better for it.
 
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MCMLXXIII

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,823
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Get in the habit if at least 2 litres of water a day and green tea works wonders too. Moderate exercise 19l also help.
There are herbal or holistic approaches to lowering your cholesterol, the more science fact led options include plant sterols, Personally having them in a sugar laden yoghurt isn't the best answer, but you can get them in tablet form from vitamin stores. Always seek Doctor approval before embarking on any of these first though.
 

Pasha

Expert
Messages
8,558
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Just stick with the LCHF way of eating and your lipid profile will improve a great deal. My HDL increased from 38 to 70 and my triglycerides went down from over 300 to 70. I eat very low carbs, about 25 grams pr day. Takes a while to get used to selecting your foods but the good results will follow if you obey the rules . Dont be in a hurry to take statins. And yes ,good luck with your future tests.
 
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Gourmande

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for the advice. I have realised that my HA1C result was on the reverse of the paper! My reading is 6.4%, i.e. 47 mmol/mol. The range desired on the French scale is 4 to 6, so it looks like in France, at least, I will qualify as diabetic, although on the very cusp. Obviously I will have to discuss with my doctor. In a way it would be better to have the diagnosis in France, as I will be registered for regular medical care and monitoring.

I don't want to rush into statins so may have to be quite strong in resisting pressure from my doctor as on paper my lipids are not good. Hopefully they will go down if I continue to diet, although I have been happy to eat high fat foods so far (butter, fatty meats). Perhaps I should cut down on these. I am personally wary of the herbal approaches which are very popular here so I will wait a bit on that one, although I will take your advice and try the green tea, water and up the exercise.

I am not sure how up to date my French doctor is with low-carbohydrate eating and the possible effects on cholesterol. In France they seem to be very keen to hand out medication.
 

Pasha

Expert
Messages
8,558
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
I am sure that you can correct the HbA1C value just via diet, I did, from 6.2 and now its less than 4.5 . I have had a heart attack [25 years ago and bypass surgery 12 years ago. I now eat foods that were previously considered bad years ago. I eat butter,saturated fats, red meat, cheese. But of course portion control is very important, so is exercise. I suffer from metabolic syndrome and can tell you that ALL the results of the LCHF have been very positive. Its just a pity I had to discover it myself late in life. I am 71 years old and do a treadmill exercise or workout 6 days a week for at least one hour each.

Listen to your doctor but decide for yourself, its your life and your body. Learn and read as much as you can to self educate yourself and you will know how to regain your health.
 
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Gourmande

Active Member
Messages
39
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
That's very interesting and encouraging Pasha. I thought that I was going to be stuck at above 6, as I have been dieting for the past three months and I was disappointed with the blood sugar readings. But if you have achieved 4.5 that is absolutely fantastic - better than many non-diabetics.

I am thinking that one of my failings is portion control. I have been through the Atkins and Dukan diets in the past and they encourage you to eat whatever quantities you want, and I think I probably overeat. As well as that I need to do more exercise. I have increased it but I admit I am not a 'sporty' person and I have to force myself to be more active. It clearly pays off from what you say.

Thanks to all of you for your replies and encouragement. It's great to have so much support and to feel I'm not alone. Being in France adds another dimension to the whole thing as I am still getting to grips with how their health service works.
 

Pasha

Expert
Messages
8,558
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Gourmande, just a final word. You must eat according to a calorie budget. For example you may need 2000 calories per day. You will probably need to split your macro nutrients ie carbohydrates, proteins and fats as follows.

Carbohydrates 5-10 % ,proteins 15-20% and fats 70-80%, this will be a ketogenic diete and will bring you the desired results.

Good luck ,my friend.
 

venture234

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I was on statins for nearly 8 years but I came off them 12 months ago due to the effect they had on my joints and my cholesterol is now lower than it was when I was on the tablets ive reduced it by following a low saturated fat diet but in the process have now gone from normal blood sugars to prediabetic so have got the opposite problem to you
 

Sherly800

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I'm still puzzled as to why doctors still give different diagnosis results and when my aunt was having this problem, that's when I decided to educate myself on diabetes to understand what it is all about. I was reading a lot to see what different sources say. Don't Mess With Your sugar, Honey by Dr. Zilber helped a lot in understanding diabetes better. At least I know I could trust sources from a doctor through his book because consulting doctors can be very frustrating at times. Good luck !