Prediabetic BG but underweight, seeking advice.

[tpower]

Hello, I'm a skinny pre-pre-diabetic (recent A1c 41) with a BMI of under 16.5. I strongly recommend you to get hold of a copy of one of Jenny Ruhl's books. She is a long-term diabetic who has survived intact to be over 70 and has spent years researching and sharing info on diabetes. She also has a site:

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

I have read her more recent book "Your Diabetes Questions Answered". By her own account her earlier book "Diabetes 101" is more detailed about the research studies on which she has based her ideas, and therefore a heavier read. She is very sane, explains about LADA, and even has a chapter explaining why our GPs are so useless to us and how to get the best out of them! Ruhl says that skinny T2s have more trouble than most controlling our bgs, probably because we produce very little insulin.

I am considering seeing a diabetes specialist privately, partly in the hopes he will tell my GP to get me tested for LADA. However I am holding off for now, as currently I am keeping my bg mostly under 6 and certainly under 7 by restricting my carbs. The snag is, I can't seem to run at all well on this regime and that is wrecking my morale. I am also considering privately seeing a sports dietician who also covers diabetes. I have an NHS appointment for November with a general dietician, but I doubt if she will be able to address my problem in fuelling sporting activity.

Interestingly, like you I can cope with carbs better for breakfast and seemingly not at all in the evening. Most people seem to experience the opposite.

Good luck with getting a diagnosis soon!

Thanks Alexandra100. I really appreciate hearing I am not alone , skinny and prediabetic. I have read a lot of stuff on Jenny’s website and particularly appreciate all the solid research references. I am managing to keep my BG below 8 mmol/ l most of the time by very careful eating and exercising after meals. However neither my GP or the specialists I have seen so far understand what hard work it takes and that without my efforts my BG would go sky high. It seems that I would have to go back to eating lot of carbs and letting my BG get a lot worse, before they take me seriously. It would be easy to prove that I am not crazy by eating a piece of bread in front of them and waiting an hour ( or two) and show with a glucose meter how very high my BG gets after just 10-20 g carbs. There is strong research evidence that the spikes are harmful? Only first thing in the morning can I still tolerate bread, rest of the day completely different story. So interesting to hear you have experienced something similar. It seems to me that maybe our insulin stores and production declines during the day. I am managing to keep my weight right now by eating lots of fat ( walnuts, butter, sunflowerseed butter by the spoonful, olive oil, home made sugar free full cream ice cream), but can’t gain back what I lost ( BMI currently 16.5). I do wonder how bad does this weight loss have to get before the medical professionals are willing to believe me that it has to do with BG, and what health consequences the weight loss will have ( osteoporosis etc). I want to get properly tested for LADA again ( all the antibodies and not just GAD) but wondering if I should wait a bit longer so I have a stronger case ( until I can’t control it?). It will be demoralising if the results are negative and I will be dismissed again. Negative result of course does not mean I don’t still have a problem ( 15% of LADA don’t have the antibodies, or could still be type2 with declining insulin).
By the way I am taking some supplemets which do make a small difference to my evening BG when taken just before eating( Alpha-lipoic acid, evening primrose oil, herbal supplement which has Gymnema sylvestre herb). I am going to trial other herbal supplemts too but it is expensive and I do wonder about long term effects of unregulated supplements too.

 

[tpower]

I suspect that two lots of multiple antibiotics which did not work put me on course for diabetes way back in my teens and twenties, one for simple tonsillitis and then for tonsillitis with serious complications which had the GP calling around twice a day until he brought some brand new antibiotics for me, and I was better in a couple of days.
I think that set me on course for diabetes long ago.

Hi Resurgam. Yes I firmly belive antibiotics are to blame in my case. I had strong antibiotics several times before it became very obvious to me that something was wrong and discovered the BG spikes. Getting the spikes under control made a huge difference to my well being ( not having to get up 4-6 times per night to pee, to start with...). More recently had to take lots of antibiotics for a persistent tooth infection ( eventually cleared with surgery, not antibiotics) which totally wrecked my digestion. Still in recovery with worsened BG after one year and dependent on probiotic supplements.

 

[Alexandra100]

Thanks Alexandra100. I really appreciate hearing I am not alone , skinny and prediabetic. I have read a lot of stuff on Jenny’s website and particularly appreciate all the solid research references. I am managing to keep my BG below 8 mmol/ l most of the time by very careful eating and exercising after meals. However neither my GP or the specialists I have seen so far understand what hard work it takes and that without my efforts my BG would go sky high. It seems that I would have to go back to eating lot of carbs and letting my BG get a lot worse, before they take me seriously. It would be easy to prove that I am not crazy by eating a piece of bread in front of them and waiting an hour ( or two) and show with a glucose meter how very high my BG gets after just 10-20 g carbs. There is strong research evidence that the spikes are harmful? Only first thing in the morning can I still tolerate bread, rest of the day completely different story. So interesting to hear you have experienced something similar. It seems to me that maybe our insulin stores and production declines during the day. I am managing to keep my weight right now by eating lots of fat ( walnuts, butter, sunflowerseed butter by the spoonful, olive oil, home made sugar free full cream ice cream), but can’t gain back what I lost ( BMI currently 16.5). I do wonder how bad does this weight loss have to get before the medical professionals are willing to believe me that it has to do with BG, and what health consequences the weight loss will have ( osteoporosis etc). I want to get properly tested for LADA again ( all the antibodies and not just GAD) but wondering if I should wait a bit longer so I have a stronger case ( until I can’t control it?). It will be demoralising if the results are negative and I will be dismissed again. Negative result of course does not mean I don’t still have a problem ( 15% of LADA don’t have the antibodies, or could still be type2 with declining insulin).
By the way I am taking some supplemets which do make a small difference to my evening BG when taken just before eating( Alpha-lipoic acid, evening primrose oil, herbal supplement which has Gymnema sylvestre herb). I am going to trial other herbal supplemts too but it is expensive and I do wonder about long term effects of unregulated supplements too.

It sounds as if you have really got a good grip on all this, insofar as that is possible. It's hard, isn't it?

This evening I ate a total of 12.68 carbs, including some frozen berries and Greek yoghurt. I knew it was risky, but was still upset to see a 1 hour bg of 7.3 (risen from 5.9 before dinner). I checked on my other meter and got 7.4! So I rushed out into the darkness and walked a hilly 1.5+ miles. I got back just in time for my 2 hour test: 4.8 I think I am finally convinced that post prandial exercise really does work.

I think it must be as Jenny Ruhl says, we both make very little insulin rather than, like most T2s, being insulin resistant. And we make less and less during the day. I wonder if this is linked to our internal clocks, or to accumulating fatigue. It might be interesting to experiment with taking a siesta before dinner.

I think the link between low BMI and osteoporosis may be due to suppression of menstruation. (Already suppressed for me at 75!) And/or the unbalanced diet the person may have eaten to arrive at that weight, or malabsorption from which s/he suffers. If you continue to be unable to tolerate cheese, it might be worth investigating calcium supplements?

BTW I am taking 1T apple cider vinegar before meals (when I remember) but I can't say if it makes any difference. However, it is also supposed to reduce the bad effects of saturated fat, and with all the cheese I am now eating that sounds like a good idea.

 

[AloeSvea]

Kia ora @tpower. Please know from the outset that I feel for you. I have an Aunt who is about your height and weighs about the same as you, so I can only imagine what you are going through. And I hope I am not being being too blunt? I am not a wholly anglo-saxon Kiwi and I can be a bit more direct than anglo-saxons are comfortable with. (I am trying not to be too blunt.)

But - you do realise you have never been in the prediabetic blood glucose zone, don't you? This is the simple answer to why you have not been treated as a diabetic, because your blood glucose levels are below Impaired blood glucose regulation levels. (HBA1c of 40 and under are not considered prediabetic in New Zealand. It isn't in the prediabetic zone in the US reckoning either, which has lower levels by one point compared to ours.) If I have understood you correctly, your highest HBA1c was 37? You don't actually have impaired blood glucose regulation to the extent it registers on your blood cells as overly glycated. At the very most you could be classed as pre-prediabetic, but I have never heard this category myself. Especially if the person has never been in the prediabetic zone in the first place.

As for checking your FBGs, and putting yourself in the prediabetic zone by judging your FBGs. If you are like me, and have a CareSens meter, as is prescribed in NZ, please know that these metres are consistently out by a whole point. (I have been checking readings against my wonderful Accuchek meter for years.) (NZ used to have accucheck on prescription, but changed to CareSens due to CareSens being cheaper.) New Zealanders using those metres can wax unlyrical about this for hours! (I have myself on this forum.) I would never make huge judgements on my own health on the basis of a CareSens meter reading! If I am right, then your FBG is more like in the high 5s rather than the high 6s, which puts it into a non- prediabetic perspective. Especially when your meter reading is saying 6.0, if it is really a very healthy 5.0. I cannot stress this enough.

I am not saying you are not battling something serious! But perhaps the answer is not in diabetes?

 

[pavlosn]

Hi tpower
Sorry to hear of your troubles with trying to gain weight and avoid post prandial spikes.
What was your last Hba1c score? Was it in the pre diabetic range or the normal range?
You mentioned having problems because of taking too many antibiotics, I assume with the fauna in your digestive system. Did you have endoscopic test such as gastroscopy to ensure that everything is OK now? Loss of weight could be related to this.

Hope you have your answers soon.

 

[tpower]

It sounds as if you have really got a good grip on all this, insofar as that is possible. It's hard, isn't it?

This evening I ate a total of 12.68 carbs, including some frozen berries and Greek yoghurt. I knew it was risky, but was still upset to see a 1 hour bg of 7.3 (risen from 5.9 before dinner). I checked on my other meter and got 7.4! So I rushed out into the darkness and walked a hilly 1.5+ miles. I got back just in time for my 2 hour test: 4.8 I think I am finally convinced that post prandial exercise really does work.

I think it must be as Jenny Ruhl says, we both make very little insulin rather than, like most T2s, being insulin resistant. And we make less and less during the day. I wonder if this is linked to our internal clocks, or to accumulating fatigue. It might be interesting to experiment with taking a siesta before dinner.

I think the link between low BMI and osteoporosis may be due to suppression of menstruation. (Already suppressed for me at 75!) And/or the unbalanced diet the person may have eaten to arrive at that weight, or malabsorption from which s/he suffers. If you continue to be unable to tolerate cheese, it might be worth investigating calcium supplements?

BTW I am taking 1T apple cider vinegar before meals (when I remember) but I can't say if it makes any difference. However, it is also supposed to reduce the bad effects of saturated fat, and with all the cheese I am now eating that sounds like a good idea.

At first glance 7.4 does not sound alarming but after only 12.68 g a normal person would probably not have any rise in BG at all. My husband can eat a full carb dinner with potatoes and an hour later just 6.4 ( mine would be 10-12 if I eat what he does). I have an exercycle in my living room. I am not measuring all the time ( the strips are too expensive ) but when I suspect and catch a spike ( 8-12 mmol/l), I only need to do 10 min. exercycling to bring my BG back to normal. Without exercise could be many hours before it comes down, and in the evening won’t necessarily come down before bed time ( still around 7 mmol/l four hours after eating) and then I will definitely wake up with high BG next morning. High fat and protein in my evening meal will slow down the BG rise, I don’t get a spike over 8 mmol/ l but I end up having moderately high BG hours later. Having read Jenny’s website I understand I lack the phase 1 insulin response ( 1 hour spike) and the phase two is weak too. Probably same for you.

 

[Alexandra100]

At first glance 7.4 does not sound alarming but after only 12.68 g a normal person would probably not have any rise in BG at all. My husband can eat a full carb dinner with potatoes and an hour later just 6.4 ( mine would be 10-12 if I eat what he does). I have an exercycle in my living room. I am not measuring all the time ( the strips are too expensive ) but when I suspect and catch a spike ( 8-12 mmol/l), I only need to do 10 min. exercycling to bring my BG back to normal. Without exercise could be many hours before it comes down, and in the evening won’t necessarily come down before bed time ( still around 7 mmol/l four hours after eating) and then I will definitely wake up with high BG next morning. High fat and protein in my evening meal will slow down the BG rise, I don’t get a spike over 8 mmol/ l but I end up having moderately high BG hours later. Having read Jenny’s website I understand I lack the phase 1 insulin response ( 1 hour spike) and the phase two is weak too. Probably same for you.

I don't think I found that bit on the website. I'll have a look for it. What I am finding is that quite often my bg has risen at 1 hour either not at all or very little, so that my 2 hour figure is way higher. In a way I suppose it doesn't matter if the rise comes later, as long as it falls fairly soon, except that it can mean going into the next meal with my bg still elevated from the last. I have experimented a little with doing my first test at 1hr30, but since often my bg does rise more normally, that risks missing the spike. And as you say, the strips are expensive (and fingers get sore!).

I am wondering if I have a mild form of gastro-paresis, a complication of diabetes which can delay stomach emptying in an unpredictable way and make meaningful testing difficult. (Recently a number of pre-diabetics agreed here that they are already experiencing various diabetic complications.) I am hanging on to the quasi-certainties that: (1) Post prandial exercise, even just 10 minutes, does work. (2) Reducing carbs does help. (3) It's best to indulge in a few carbs at breakfast and then eat less and less of them as the day wears on. Let's hope we can identify a few more certainties with time.

 

[tpower]

Kia ora @tpower. Please know from the outset that I feel for you. I have an Aunt who is about your height and weighs about the same as you, so I can only imagine what you are going through. And I hope I am not being being too blunt? I am not a wholly anglo-saxon Kiwi and I can be a bit more direct than anglo-saxons are comfortable with. (I am trying not to be too blunt.)

But - you do realise you have never been in the prediabetic blood glucose zone, don't you? This is the simple answer to why you have not been treated as a diabetic, because your blood glucose levels are below Impaired blood glucose regulation levels. (HBA1c of 40 and under are not considered prediabetic in New Zealand. It isn't in the prediabetic zone in the US reckoning either, which has lower levels by one point compared to ours.) If I have understood you correctly, your highest HBA1c was 37? You don't actually have impaired blood glucose regulation to the extent it registers on your blood cells as overly glycated. At the very most you could be classed as pre-prediabetic, but I have never heard this category myself. Especially if the person has never been in the prediabetic zone in the first place.

As for checking your FBGs, and putting yourself in the prediabetic zone by judging your FBGs. If you are like me, and have a CareSens meter, as is prescribed in NZ, please know that these metres are consistently out by a whole point. (I have been checking readings against my wonderful Accuchek meter for years.) (NZ used to have accucheck on prescription, but changed to CareSens due to CareSens being cheaper.) New Zealanders using those metres can wax unlyrical about this for hours! (I have myself on this forum.) I would never make huge judgements on my own health on the basis of a CareSens meter reading! If I am right, then your FBG is more like in the high 5s rather than the high 6s, which puts it into a non- prediabetic perspective. Especially when your meter reading is saying 6.0, if it is really a very healthy 5.0. I cannot stress this enough.

I am not saying you are not battling something serious! But perhaps the answer is not in diabetes?

Hi. I don’t mind your bluntness. I know my HbA1c is within normal. However that can hide the high postprandial spikes which can wreak havock unknowingly. That is why GP did not pick up my symptoms as being BG related (need to urinate 6 times per night, weight loss, thirst etc). I have BG spikes up to 12 mmol/ l after eating just one piece of toast. It does not matter whether my HbA1c is normal ( reflecting the medium of ups and downs) , spikes like that several times a day ( not just occasionally after high carb meals!) are harmful and detrimental to my health ( there is lots of research proving this). Once I changed my diet to higher fat and lower carb and managed to get the spikes under control, my health improved a lot ( no more yoyo urinating all night, managed a bit of weigh gain). Having read a lot about the subject and observed my BG, it seems I lack the phase one insulin response but phase two still works so eventually the BG comes down. Fasting BG has deteriorated though despite diet and exercise and HbA1c has not improved.
I caliberated the Care Sens meter when I had the Lab tests of venous blood ( three times). The difference was only 0.3 mmol/l each time. So that would make my fasting BG probably 6.2-6.5 mmol/l.

 

[tpower]

I don't think I found that bit on the website. I'll have a look for it. What I am finding is that quite often my bg has risen at 1 hour either not at all or very little, so that my 2 hour figure is way higher. In a way I suppose it doesn't matter if the rise comes later, as long as it falls fairly soon, except that it can mean going into the next meal with my bg still elevated from the last. I have experimented a little with doing my first test at 1hr30, but since often my bg does rise more normally, that risks missing the spike. And as you say, the strips are expensive (and fingers get sore!).

I am wondering if I have a mild form of gastro-paresis, a complication of diabetes which can delay stomach emptying in an unpredictable way and make meaningful testing difficult. (Recently a number of pre-diabetics agreed here that they are already experiencing various diabetic complications.) I am hanging on to the quasi-certainties that: (1) Post prandial exercise, even just 10 minutes, does work. (2) Reducing carbs does help. (3) It's best to indulge in a few carbs at breakfast and then eat less and less of them as the day wears on. Let's hope we can identify a few more certainties with time.

Yes I too find that the spikes come unpredictably, sometimes a couple of hours later. I think it depends on how much protein and fat was in the meal. In the evening, if I have had a high fat meal, I do sometimes notice the delay and have suspected gastroparesis as a cause for the high BG at bed time. My BG can stay high for hours though unless I exercise. Very much agree with your three points that help

 

[Alexandra100]

Yes I too find that the spikes come unpredictably, sometimes a couple of hours later. I think it depends on how much protein and fat was in the meal. In the evening, if I have had a high fat meal, I do sometimes notice the delay and have suspected gastroparesis as a cause for the high BG at bed time. My BG can stay high for hours though unless I exercise. Very much agree with your three points that help

That's an interesting suggestion, about the protein and fat. I'll check through my records.

 

[tpower]

Hi tpower
Sorry to hear of your troubles with trying to gain weight and avoid post prandial spikes.
What was your last Hba1c score? Was it in the pre diabetic range or the normal range?
You mentioned having problems because of taking too many antibiotics, I assume with the fauna in your digestive system. Did you have endoscopic test such as gastroscopy to ensure that everything is OK now? Loss of weight could be related to this.

Hope you have your answers soon.

Hi pavlosn. Thanks for your interest. Yes I did have gastroscopy, colonoscopy and even a full body CT scan.No cause was found for weight loss. I also had a registered dietitian look through my diet and she confirmed it as healthy and more than adequate calories ( 1790-200Kcal per day). Yes I think that the 6 causes of antibiotics last year did damage to my gut microbes and it has taken a long time to recover from severe gastro problems.

 

[tpower]

That's an interesting suggestion, about the protein and fat. I'll check through my records.

Yep, high fat really slows down stomach emptying and some of the protein gets converted into glucose by your body later ( so can cause a later BG rise).

 

[AloeSvea]

I'm pleased I wasn't too blunt @tpower!

Indeed, our experiences with the difference between a lab on-the-spot FBG reading, and a CareSens on-the-spot- FBG reading is indeed quite different then. I compared lab readings with both my Accuchek and my CareSens over a two year period (and I reported a couple of the periods in this forum in a meter thread, I believe) and stopped, as the difference was fairly consistent with each new tub of CareSens test strips. Now we just adjust my CareSens reading based on past consistent differences to both the lab and the Accuchek meter.

Every now and then I order Accuchek test strips online, as it good for me psychologically to see healthier BG readings on a meter . But I was diagnosed three years ago with an HBA1c of 93, so you can imagine I have seen quite high readings on meters, until I discovered the true meaning of low-carbing . A bit of psychological encouragement is not such a bad thing.

I have strong feelings about our country adopting such a shoddy BG meter against the strong advice of diabetics using the very reliable Accuchek, and I would say especially the T1s, which is more directly a life and death matter that they see what is going on for them. (If I have understood the T1 experience with BG readings correctly?)

When I was first diagnosed in NZ, I did not know this about the CareSens meter, and was appalled at my FBG readings. (I get significant Dawn Phenomenon as part of my BG dysregulation.) Then I moved back overseas as a diagnosed diabetic and got an Accuchek meter and felt a lot better about it! As it actually reflected my HBA1c (ie the level of glycation of my blood cells) going down and down and down as I ate less carbs and moved more. The CareSens meter still does not do that. All my recorded readings from my CareSens meters are adjusted readings, which match up much better with my HBA1c readings as adjusted. (My Accuchek ones did without recalibrating.)

I have my full blood lipids and HBA1c tested regularly still. Every month until recently. (Now every three months.) I have a lot of data. (I had a wonderful amount of Accuchek test strips prescribed when living overseas and I experimented a lot.) (Most experiments documented on this forum until a year ago when I inadvertently offended some poor poster! And the moderators to boot! Hence my checking I am not being too blunt. And I make sure not to use irony, even with emoticons.)

As a diagnosed diabetic with such a high level of glycated blood cells at diagnosis, and insulin resistance off and on for decades prior to diagnosis, I can get BG test strips prescribed as a 'selected individual' in NZ, which prediabetics (as reflected in an HBA1c result) don't normally in our country.

I guess you know this too, as a pre-prediabetic? (I guess you are paying for your own test strips?)

I guess we should have a pre-prediabetes sticky thread going, do y'all think? Or just incorporate worried or irregular 'normals' into this forum generally? As is here.

 

[tpower]

I'm pleased I wasn't too blunt @tpower!

Indeed, our experiences with the difference between a lab on-the-spot FBG reading, and a CareSens on-the-spot- FBG reading is indeed quite different then. I compared lab readings with both my Accuchek and my CareSens over a two year period (and I reported a couple of the periods in this forum in a meter thread, I believe) and stopped, as the difference was fairly consistent with each new tub of CareSens test strips. Now we just adjust my CareSens reading based on past consistent differences to both the lab and the Accuchek meter.

Every now and then I order Accuchek test strips online, as it good for me psychologically to see healthier BG readings on a meter . But I was diagnosed three years ago with an HBA1c of 93, so you can imagine I have seen quite high readings on meters, until I discovered the true meaning of low-carbing . A bit of psychological encouragement is not such a bad thing.

I have strong feelings about our country adopting such a shoddy BG meter against the strong advice of diabetics using the very reliable Accuchek, and I would say especially the T1s, which is more directly a life and death matter that they see what is going on for them. (If I have understood the T1 experience with BG readings correctly?)

When I was first diagnosed in NZ, I did not know this about the CareSens meter, and was appalled at my FBG readings. (I get significant Dawn Phenomenon as part of my BG dysregulation.) Then I moved back overseas as a diagnosed diabetic and got an Accuchek meter and felt a lot better about it! As it actually reflected my HBA1c (ie the level of glycation of my blood cells) going down and down and down as I ate less carbs and moved more. The CareSens meter still does not do that. All my recorded readings from my CareSens meters are adjusted readings, which match up much better with my HBA1c readings as adjusted. (My Accuchek ones did without recalibrating.)

I have my full blood lipids and HBA1c tested regularly still. Every month until recently. (Now every three months.) I have a lot of data. (I had a wonderful amount of Accuchek test strips prescribed when living overseas and I experimented a lot.) (Most experiments documented on this forum until a year ago when I inadvertently offended some poor poster! And the moderators to boot! Hence my checking I am not being too blunt. And I make sure not to use irony, even with emoticons.)

As a diagnosed diabetic with such a high level of glycated blood cells at diagnosis, and insulin resistance off and on for decades prior to diagnosis, I can get BG test strips prescribed as a 'selected individual' in NZ, which prediabetics (as reflected in an HBA1c result) don't normally in our country.

I guess you know this too, as a pre-prediabetic? (I guess you are paying for your own test strips?)

I guess we should have a pre-prediabetes sticky thread going, do y'all think? Or just incorporate worried or irregular 'normals' into this forum generally? As is here.[/QUOT

OK mate AloeSvea, you were a bit blunt at the end there and could not help your irony No worries though.

Interesting what you said about the meters. Yes I pay for it all myself, of course. Will keep your assessment of the Accucheck in mind for the future.

 

[tpower]

OK mate AloeSvea, you were a bit blunt at the end there and could not help your irony No worries though.

Interesting what you said about the meters. Yes I pay for it all myself, of course. Will keep your assessment of the Accucheck in mind for the future.

 

[Biggles2]

Yes I too find that the spikes come unpredictably, sometimes a couple of hours later. I think it depends on how much protein and fat was in the meal. In the evening, if I have had a high fat meal, I do sometimes notice the delay and have suspected gastroparesis as a cause for the high BG at bed time. My BG can stay high for hours though unless I exercise. Very much agree with your three points that help

@tpower, did you see this recent forum post by @kokhongw which featured a documentary on glucose spikes? http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/nhk-documentary-on-glucose-spikes.127150/

 

[Kristin251]

Without reading completely through all of the posts, I get it. I had to keep reducing FOOD as well as most carbs to get good numbers. Told the docs what I was eating and they should have promptly acknowledged that wasn't near enough food for anyone to survive on but since I kept my numbers low they said I ' WAS FINE'. I was far from fine and continuous wright loss. They told me to take melatonin and eat lol. I was eating ing loads by the time I was dropping oodles of weight.
If you can't eat enough to be nourished and still dropping DEMAND the tests. Don't wait until it's health threatening.
I do still have to watch protein and if I eat above my tolerance I will have higher fastings and highe for days. Some says it's only for type 1 but my belief is low carb vs higher carb. Ones body will always draw off carbs. If not there it draws off protein. Doesn't matter what 'type' you are. More what your macros are. I'm sure I'll be debunked.

 

[tpower]

Without reading completely through all of the posts, I get it. I had to keep reducing FOOD as well as most carbs to get good numbers. Told the docs what I was eating and they should have promptly acknowledged that wasn't near enough food for anyone to survive on but since I kept my numbers low they said I ' WAS FINE'. I was far from fine and continuous wright loss. They told me to take melatonin and eat lol. I was eating ing loads by the time I was dropping oodles of weight.
If you can't eat enough to be nourished and still dropping DEMAND the tests. Don't wait until it's health threatening.
I do still have to watch protein and if I eat above my tolerance I will have higher fastings and highe for days. Some says it's only for type 1 but my belief is low carb vs higher carb. Ones body will always draw off carbs. If not there it draws off protein. Doesn't matter what 'type' you are. More what your macros are. I'm sure I'll be debunked.

You are spot on there.
May I ask, did you get tested positive for LADA antibodies while controlling your BG or did you have to wait for the BG numbers to get diabetic first? It does seem ridiculous with this level of weight loss that I would have to allow myself to get sick first. And all other causes for weight loss have been ruled out.

 

[tpower]

@tpower, did you see this recent forum post by @kokhongw which featured a documentary on glucose spikes? http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/nhk-documentary-on-glucose-spikes.127150/

That was a great video ( although the dramatisation perhaps a bit over the top considering the facts speak for themselves). It confirms everything else I have read and strengthens my resolve to control the spikes. My mother was a slim diabetic ( diagnosed around my current age), my father died of stroke,almost all other extended family members have or had heart disease/stroke, my aunt had alzheimers as well. I want to do better than that since I know better.
Here is a link to research showing that relying on just HbA1c tests can completely miss diabetes
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21166843

 

[Kristin251]

You are spot on there.
May I ask, did you get tested positive for LADA antibodies while controlling your BG or did you have to wait for the BG numbers to get diabetic first? It does seem ridiculous with this level of weight loss that I would have to allow myself to get sick first. And all other causes for weight loss have been ruled out.

You guessed it!! My bg went up to 300-400 overnight and exercise did nothing. It was under 100 by reducing food and carbs and complaining I couldn't eat anything without raising fast and high. . My doc just said don't worry about it just eat . Of course I couldn't eat carbs but I was pounding nuts by the pound and so much protein I could barely breathe. Bg still climbed. 3 hospitals in one month and finally started insulin. I was clearly close to death and within 2 months on insulin I was SO MUCH better. And so angry. Never should have happened. It was so simple. I did ask about LADA and insulin and they said I didn't need it. HELLO? At the end of the day a won a small malpractice settlement on my own for their negligence. When I asked for GAD and cpeptide they said I didn't need it. Of course I did. I have no idea why docs are so against it. LADA is not very uncommon!! This from both a primary and a diabetic endo specialist. Who in fact is no longer in practice !!!! Yay