Prediabetes diagnosis

[andcol]

Hi Lynn and hopefully not welcome to the D-club just the junior club. It is good that your doctor has identified that you have pre-diabetes whilst you have time to do something about it. Do not despair.

A little exercise will probably correct your readings, yes I read you have had a knee operation, so I am going to suggest either swimming (or aqua aerobics) or resistance training which doesn't need movement

You have had some good advice on diet. Do try to reduce your sugar and move towards low GI versions of food. swap white/brown bread to a seedy form, change white rice to brown or basmati rice. Reduce the portion size of these. Have smaller slices of cake.

 

[Lynn1]

Hi Lynn and hopefully not welcome to the D-club just the junior club. It is good that your doctor has identified that you have pre-diabetes whilst you have time to do something about it. Do not despair.

A little exercise will probably correct your readings, yes I read you have had a knee operation, so I am going to suggest either swimming (or aqua aerobics) or resistance training which doesn't need movement

You have had some good advice on diet. Do try to reduce your sugar and move towards low GI versions of food. swap white/brown bread to a seedy form, change white rice to brown or basmati rice. Reduce the portion size of these. Have smaller slices of cake.

Can you advise on fruit? Don't have a sweet tooth, so cakes and pastries are no problem.

 

[douglas99]

Andrew has some good advice.
I found increasing muscles, by resistance work certainly helped, and you can target your upper body.
I quit all sugar, eat low GI/low GL.

As to fruit, I test my BS with a meter, and find I'm reasonably ok with most fruit, but that can depend on exercise afterwards.

Bananas for example are very bad for some on here, I eat them before exercise, and find I'm ok.

Other fruit vary person to person, some will only eat berries, with little effect.

edit, - just noticed a thread have been started on fruit

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/fruits-for-diabetes.65539/

 

[andcol]

for me fruit is a bit different for most. I can handle any fruit without issue.

Berries seem to be the most suitable as they do not tend to spike most peoples blood glucose levels. I also find a small apple is good.

 

[smeneley]

I was diagnosed 5months ago.my H1C at the time was 7.3 3months later 6.8 I am not on any meds yet, and would like To stay that way.My morning readings are always in the high 7s??? Don''t understand as I don't eat anything after dinner..Hopefully have another good reading next month..The only change I made was cutting out everything white..Whole grain now, even pizza...

 

[andcol]

look at dawn phenomenon - this will explain you "in the 7" reading. An HbA1c of 6.8% is equivalent to 51 mmol/mol or getting an average from a meter of 8.2mmol/l. That is a little high for me as you will be getting many peaks well above that. I would consider making a few more changes to drive that number further down, but that is me.

 

[Lynn1]

Hi again, Lynn.

Yes, my earlier response was to the poster who seemed to think that belief was relevant. Very odd. Don't worry about her comment - it isn't the slightest bit relevant to you!

When you get your test results back, in written form, you will be able to see whether it was a fasting test or an hba1c test. Both can indicate prediabetes.

And you are perfectly right. We've been talking about carbs and cutting them back, but we haven't really been talking about what you CAN eat.

So, to settle your mind. There are masses of foods that have no or minimal effect on your blood sugar. You can eat them as much as you like, allowing for any other health conditions or dietary preferences you have.

Foods that do not significantly impact on blood glucose:
All meats, fish, eggs, cheese, soya, quorn
All vegetables and salad stuff that grow above ground (root veg tend to be starchier and impact BG)
Tea, herb teas, coffee (see below for comments on milk)
Cream, unsweetened yogurt and cream cheeses.
Butter, oils, veg oils, coconut oil, margarine and mayo

So you can see, that gives you enough variety to never go without. And you get to design a diet that YOU want.

Plus, because you are prediabetic, you don't need to cut back on carbs nearly as much as a diabetic would. So you will probably still be able to all the bread, potatoes, rice etc. you will just need to cut back and have smaller portions. Your testing meter will show you

Sorry I didn't post this in time for your lunch out, but hopefully you found something to eat!

Hi. You're offering such clear advice to a pretty confused lady. What's your idea on fruit?

 

[Brunneria]

Hi. You're offering such clear advice to a pretty confused lady. What's your idea on fruit?

Thank you!

I love fruit, but my body is not so enthusiastic.

I've tested (a lot) and please bear in mind that your BG may respond very differently from mine.
You will probably have a MUCH better tolerance, so please test, when you get your meter, and use those results to inform your diet.

My Baddies:
Banana
Mango
Grapes
Most sweet tropical fruit
Dried fruit
Any tinned fruit whether in juice or syrup

Ok in very small quantities:
Apple (e.g. Half a small apple)
Pear (ditto)
Orange (1/3 small orange)
Satsuma (1/2 one)

My Goodies:
Red, white and black currants
Strawberries
Raspberries
Loganberries
Blueberries
Any berries really
Cherries (so long as I don't eat an entire punnet at once )

And it is my unfortunate duty to tell you that adding a hefty blob of double cream to any of the fruit listed above will slow the digestion, so the sugar will arrive in the bloodstream more slowly, which is a good thing.

There, you heard it here first!
Double cream is a good thing!

 

[Brunneria]

And that reminds me - I was going to mention milk.

Some type 2 diabetics avoid milk.

I suspect that this is completely unnecessary for a prediabetic, but your testing meter will make the decision for you.

(The reason some type 2s avoid milk is that it contains a fair amount of carbs. But how much do you use? A pint to drink is probably not a good idea, but a splash in tea or coffee - hardly significant, is it? Some of us keep using milk, but switch to full fat milk, or lactofree milk. The only milk that I would personally avoid is the skimmed stuff. By talking out all the fat, they just leave water and carbs, plus it tastes vile. Nuff said!)

 

[Lynn1]

And that reminds me - I was going to mention milk.

Some type 2 diabetics avoid milk.

I suspect that this is completely unnecessary for a prediabetic, but your testing meter will make the decision for you.

(The reason some type 2s avoid milk is that it contains a fair amount of carbs. But how much do you use? A pint to drink is probably not a good idea, but a splash in tea or coffee - hardly significant, is it? Some of us keep using milk, but switch to full fat milk, or lactofree milk. The only milk that I would personally avoid is the skimmed stuff. By talking out all the fat, they just leave water and carbs, plus it tastes vile. Nuff said!)

Really surprised about full fat milk.

Are the testing meters easy to use/accurate/easy to understand? Such a minefield at the moment.

 

[Brunneria]

The meters are a doddle to use.

You just insert a strip into the slot.
The meter turns itself on
You prick your finger with the pricker tool
Squeeze a tiny droplet onto the test strip
Wait 5 secs
Get your result.

If you are like me, you will get one, test madly for a few weeks, map out all the foods you eat, then get more and more casual about it.

I mean, once you know that bacon and eggs is WONDERFUL for your BG, then why keep testing it?

 

[douglas99]

And that reminds me - I was going to mention milk.

Some type 2 diabetics avoid milk.

I suspect that this is completely unnecessary for a prediabetic, but your testing meter will make the decision for you.

(The reason some type 2s avoid milk is that it contains a fair amount of carbs. But how much do you use? A pint to drink is probably not a good idea, but a splash in tea or coffee - hardly significant, is it? Some of us keep using milk, but switch to full fat milk, or lactofree milk. The only milk that I would personally avoid is the skimmed stuff. By talking out all the fat, they just leave water and carbs, plus it tastes vile. Nuff said!)

As an aside the only milk I drink is skimmed, I've really gone off the taste of full fat milk, and skimmed appears to have no effect on me.
You really need to test with a meter, and decide for yourself.

 

[Lynn1]

The meters are a doddle to use.

You just insert a strip into the slot.
The meter turns itself on
You prick your finger with the pricker tool
Squeeze a tiny droplet onto the test strip
Wait 5 secs
Get your result.

If you are like me, you will get one, test madly for a few weeks, map out all the foods you eat, then get more and more casual about it.

I mean, once you know that bacon and eggs is WONDERFUL for your BG, then why keep testing it?

And you recommend the SD Codefree?

 

[Brunneria]

Yup. But only because of price.

If you do a bit of web research you will find pros and cons for every type of meter.
And there are comments everywhere about accuracy of the tests.

There have been comparative studies on the main ones, and they all have a fairly high inaccuracy.
But since Prediabetics and type 2 diabetics mostly look at trends, rather than individual readings, then precision is less important than consistency. And I'm happy with the Codefree.

My personal view is that if I can get 50 test strips for a fifth of the cost of another brand, then a smidge less accuracy is a pretty good trade off. Other people do, of course, have different views!

 

[andcol]

The code free I have found is a pretty good meter. I measured about 0.2 mmol higher than my expensive one but it has a lot less failures and therefore wasted strips. I also find that it is more consistent than my expensive one; if I retest I generally get the same number with it but this isnt so with the other make.

Don't forget to wash your hands before the tests otherwise contaminants affect the result.

 

[Lynn1]

The code free I have found is a pretty good meter. I measured about 0.2 mmol higher than my expensive one but it has a lot less failures and therefore wasted strips. I also find that it is more consistent than my expensive one; if I retest I generally get the same number with it but this isnt so with the other make.

Don't forget to wash your hands before the tests otherwise contaminants affect the result.

Thanks for all this good advice. So cross that my doctor dumped this news on me on Tuesday without any advice or guidance re diet. Yet to find out when the prediabetic workshop is.

 

[Lynn1]

Yup. But only because of price.

If you do a bit of web research you will find pros and cons for every type of meter.
And there are comments everywhere about accuracy of the tests.

There have been comparative studies on the main ones, and they all have a fairly high inaccuracy.
But since Prediabetics and type 2 diabetics mostly look at trends, rather than individual readings, then precision is less important than consistency. And I'm happy with the Codefree.

My personal view is that if I can get 50 test strips for a fifth of the cost of another brand, then a smidge less accuracy is a pretty good trade off. Other people do, of course, have different views!

One more thing I should have mentioned. I have Polymyalgia and up until last June I was taking Prednisolone and had been for nearly 6 years. Presume this could well have caused steroid induced diabetes. Where does that leave me?

 

[AndBreathe]

One more thing I should have mentioned. I have Polymyalgia and up until last June I was taking Prednisolone and had been for nearly 6 years. Presume this could well have caused steroid induced diabetes. Where does that leave me?

Is "last June", 2014 or 2013? You said earlier in this thread it transpires you had pre-diabetic levels last year? Was that during your steroid treatments?

Many people find steroid raise their levels for the duration of their treatment, but their levels moderate once they stop.

My father was a steroid induced diabetic, when receiving massive doses of steroids, intra-venously. It was a sudden and profound onset, in his case.

Sorry - to answer your question; it leaves you where you are, with pre-diabetic levels of blood glucose. I don't understand if that's not the question you're really asking?

 

[Lynn1]

Is "last June", 2014 or 2013? You said earlier in this thread it transpires you had pre-diabetic levels last year? Was that during your steroid treatments?

Many people find steroid raise their levels for the duration of their treatment, but their levels moderate once they stop.

My father was a steroid induced diabetic, when receiving massive doses of steroids, intra-venously. It was a sudden and profound onset, in his case.

Sorry - to answer your question; it leaves you where you are, with pre-diabetic levels of blood glucose. I don't understand if that's not the question you're really asking?

I finally stopped the steroids in June 2014 as my consultant would not operate whilst I was taking them. So one test was while taking them and the second three months after stopping.

Was just interested to know if they would affect my results. Think you've answered that question for me. Thanks.

 

[AndBreathe]

I finally stopped the steroids in June 2014 as my consultant would not operate whilst I was taking them. So one test was while taking them and the second three months after stopping.

Was just interested to know if they would affect my results. Think you've answered that question for me. Thanks.

One thing I might comment is that if you were taking steroids at the time of your test last year, your doctor may have attributed your pre-diabetic level to your steroid use. Just trying to be fair to him, and perhaps ease your mind?