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Prediabetic BG but underweight, seeking advice.

Hi I know this is an old post but if you see this please reply! I’m having same problems with my hba1c was diagnosed in may hba1c of 42 which is 6 I think and with very much difficulty I got my hba1C down to 38 in 2 months of extremely low carb 20 a day and in the meantime I’ve lost so much more weight I’m now underweight but I don’t exercise and my arms look awful. Sorry it shouldn’t be this much effort just to lower to 38 from 42? I was already slim to begin with so have no idea why I got this diagnosis. Did your hba1c improve???
 
Hi,
I'm sorry to hear you're having similar difficulties to me. You certainly did well to get your HbA1c down to 38 but it's hard to know why that happened unless you were carrying some deep-seated visceral fat which the low carb diet addressed. In my own case, I have seen no improvement at all, 47 at the last test in May but am due to have another next month. I use a finger prick monitor before and 2 hrs after all meals (expensive as a non-diabetic but worth it to keep tabs on the levels) and am pretty sure the next HbA1c will not show an improvement. I had an MRI scan as part of a trial last year and it showed very low visceral fat and the doctor told me that I am not, therefore, insulin-resistant. My BMI is 18.1. I started on 500g metformin in February but it had no effect so the dose was doubled in May. It looks as if it is still not having an effect so I'll need to discuss this with the doc soon. I do a lot of exercise, and, having read that resistance exercises help to reduce glucose levels, now go to the gym 3 times a week for both machine weights and cardio work, as well as walking and doing 3 classes of Pilates a week. I haven't noticed that this helps at all with BG levels but it does make you strong and fit and more likely to cope with health problems so it might be worth looking into that to see if it influences your levels better than mine. You might find that, if you take a 15 minute brisk walk 30 minutes after a meal, it reduces blood sugar spikes but you'd need to be testing to know for sure.

I have done enough research into 'lean diabetes' to virtually be able to write a Ph.D thesis on the subject! It is starting to be recognised as a phenotype in its own right but research is sparse, obviously because there are so many T2 diabetics who need to change their lifestyle and lose weight so that's where the interest and the research money is going. I'm fed up with hearing that all you have to do to reverse T2 is to exercise and lose weight - a very simplistic solution, even though it works for a lot of people who need to make those changes. It does seem though, that our problems could be caused by either malfunctioning or diminishing beta cells, possibly with a genetic connection. Research is currently being done at Leeds Uni into targeting beta cells in lean T2 diabetes (Google it) so it might be worth watching for the results of that in due course. Sorry I can't shed more light on the issue but I'd be interested to hear how you get on!
 
Just some information.

Type 1/LADA's are often misdiagnosed. 35% of us are misdiagnosed as a type2 at first. One of the problems is when we get it as an adult it is a slower process, it can take up to 8 years plus to totally lose the ability to make our own insulin in some. Since we make some insulin for a while, medications and lifestyle changes will work at first.......... until they don't anymore.

Losing weight when eating is a sign of being a type 1. If you don't make enough insulin you can't utilize all the food you eat, it literally goes through you. There are two tests that are needed to tell if you are a type 1. One is an antibody test. There are a few tests but because of costs a lot of countries only do the GAD antibody test as it is the most likely one to be positive. But there are others. If positive it is a sign of being a type1. Some type 1's test negative, but don't make insulin and they don't know why. My diabetic educator (DE) is one of those. The next test is a C-Peptide. If low or low normal it's a sign of being a type 1 as you are lacking making insulin. High or high normal is a sign of being a type 2 because you are insulin resistant and you make extra trying to make up for it.

I am not trying to say anyone is a type 1.. but you need to be aware and pursue the possibility if things don't make sense.
  • C-Peptide
    While most tests check for antibodies, this test measures how much C-peptide is in a person’s blood. Peptide levels typically mirror insulin levels in the body. Low levels of C-peptide and insulin can point to T1D
  • Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase Autoantibodies (GADA or Anti-GAD)
    This test looks for antibodies built against a specific enzyme in the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells.
  • Insulin Autoantibodies (IAA)
    This tests looks for the antibodies targeting insulin.
  • Insulinoma-Associated-2 Autoantibodies (IA-2A)
    This test looks for antibodies mounted against a specific enzyme in beta cells. Both the IA-2A and GADA tests are common T1D antibody tests.
  • Zinc Transporter 8 (ZnT8Ab)
    This test looks at antibodies targeting an enzyme that is specific to beta cells.
  • Islet Cell Cytoplasmic Autoantibodies (ICA)
    Islet cells are clusters of cells in the pancreas that produce hormones, including insulin. This test identifies a type of islet cell antibodies present in up to 80 percent of people with T1D.
 
Hi,

Can I remind everyone that we cannot diagnose members on the forum.
That includes “re-diagnosing” what is officially been on medical record by an HCP.

Thanx in advance.
 
It was mentioned earlier, sometimes people can be misdiagnosed. you can ask for further tests to rule out Lada and so on, especially if you are now underweight. This has happened to others on this forum.
I do suggest to start a new thread and it would be more helpful to you.

Good Luck
 
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