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Progression from prediabetes to T2?

R

Rocinante

Well-Known Member
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What's the success for folks with prediabetes in preventing progression to T2?

I have terrible genetics - birth father diabetic at 35... cousins and other family diabetic. I'm 45, and have lost about 16kg in the last 2 years through a keto diet (only have carbs when cycling) and now have a BMI of 25.7.
After feeling out of it for a couple of weeks have tried sticking on a Libre and though the only carbs I've had today are in soya milk and 1 cup of tea with regular milk, my BG has been 6.5-8 which seems very high to me. I'm wondering if I'm unfortunately losing the battle against diabetes.

Any thoughts / comments really appreciated.
 
Hi well mine went from august 47mm to March 54mm I wish I new about it and listen then but I never it totally Shock me up…. So March 54mm diet and exercise only June 36mm then November 35mm still not seen the nurse since March just got the results over the phone of the receptionist.. but we will see in March for my yearly one lol hat they say x but I say I’m reversed or remission any ways..
 
It was covid and lock down at the time tho I blame that to x
 
Jayne1983 said:
It was covid and lock down at the time tho I blame that to x
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I can only say I wish I new about this forum when I got told I was pre diabetic.:: I’d of been straight on the low carb diet I’m on it now and this is my plan for life I like it I can do it it’s much easy than daft diets like weight watchers and slimming world. I’m always full I can still have a drink at the weekends and chicken kabab (no pitta) with salad x
 
Rocinante said:
I have terrible genetics -
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I'm just reading Metabolical by Dr Robert Lustig who says only 15% maximum could be down to genetics, the other 85% is environmental, eg what we eat, and exercise, possibly medication. In other words what goes in from the outside

Remember too that bg can be affected by:
Sleep, or lack of it
Stress
Exercise, intensity, duration and/or lack of it
Medications and/or illness (brewing an infection perhaps?)
And more that I can't remember at this time of night.

One day won't tell you much. If it's any consolation I've been having figures mostly above 6 since before Christmas, and I used to see a lot of 5s and even 4s. I'm putting it down to the weather (lol). It's not where you start, it's more that a meal doesn't rise you more than 2. I once had a stressful day while fasting on just water and one stress incident put me to 9, the next to 12. No food involved at all. Bg did come down once situation had stopped and I was safe again.
 
MrsA2 said:
I'm just reading Metabolical by Dr Robert Lustig who says only 15% maximum could be down to genetics
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I am going to respectfully disagree with Lustig and say he is spouting yet another sweeping generalisation. Some families have type 2 running through them no matter what.

15% of what is down to genetics? incidence? that means at least 15% of us have a genetic issue in how we process carbs. Please expand on what this 15% is actually relating to.
 
My genetics are ... OK. Paternal grandfather was T2 but, so far as I know, no one else on either side of my family is/was diabetic, although I suspect my grandmother on that side would have been had she lived beyond her early 60s.

I was diagnosed pre-diabetic in June 2021 and at that point decided that, for me, the only sensible response was to act as though I was already T2. It seems to me that the diagnostic levels are just points on a continuum, so my glucose metabolism is already messed up. I suppose it is possible that by having gone very low carb and lost a lot of weight I may have fixed my system, but it's not really a chance I'm willing to take.

I almost certainly have more wiggle room than had I waited until I got the full diagnosis, but I'm going to stick with the routine that has worked for the last 7 or 8 months.
 

Have to say I'm inclined to agree with this. I do think genetics play a big part - I apparently (according to my medical records) I was prediabetic at 27 (no one told me until I spoke to a GP a couple of years ago) but clearly my BG levels have fluctuated over the last few years as I have gain and lost weight and as I've exercised more and less (kids + injuries). I was 72kg at 27 (BMI 24)... now I'm 77kg (BMI 25.7), having been at 93kg some 2 years ago. Most of my fat distribution is central and I went from skinny to slight belly... to bigger belly and back again.

Have to say that to be T2D at 35 is (30 years ago - and in Africa) is quite something.
 
My father and his sister, their father (so my grandfather) and me. All T2
Earlier through the generations from 60s to late 40s and in my and my brothers case early 30s

I have begun to feel T2 is wider than just a specific condition of which their seem variants that are genetic. Pure guesswork on my behalf mind you. But perhaps why there are differences with slim T2s, those who find reversal via weight loss and those who need to drop carbs lifelong

there are plenty of morbidly obese who don’t get T2 also. I’m not sure there is any agreed causal factor that has been found in research?
 
I would respectfully disagree with the Dr. about genetics and T2 but I have not the knowledge re: T1.

Within my family (siblings, parents, cousins, their children, aunts, uncles), there is a great deal of mature-onset T2 and all of us gain weight very easily and to the fat-on-the-midriff shape. These are people on different continents raised in different societies with different foods. I suspect in the days when lifespans were shorter, the situation simply didn't crop up.

All sorts of illnesses in animals are inherited, so why not in us? We are animals too.
 

I wonder if changes in altitude make a difference... we were on holiday at 1900m for a couple of weeks over Xmas and since returning I've been quite off colour, which is why I stuck the CGM on.
 
Rocinante said:
I wonder if changes in altitude make a difference... we were on holiday at 1900m for a couple of weeks over Xmas and since returning I've been quite off colour, which is why I stuck the CGM on.
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Any illness or added stress puts up blood sugar levels. As you are feeling under the weather, you may have a mild illness and your body is pushing out more glucose to help you heal
 

Hi Lucy

I think one of the difficulties in all of this is that attributing something to the ‘environment’ can often lead down a path of blame and stigma. The reverse is true when ‘genetics’ are seen to be the cause. I don’t think it’s a simple ‘either/or’.

I haven’t yet read Dr Lustig’s book (although I have bought it), but I was recently listening to a lecture by Dr Hassina Kane, a South African who works with Tim Noakes at the Nutrition Network. She works specifically on the genetic side of things and her take was that while many people will have a genetic predisposition to say Type 2, it takes something in their environment to trigger those genes. So, for example a run of stress which sees cortisol level running out of control for an extended period may trigger the gene which leads to insomnia. I found that to be an interesting and compelling theory.
 
My issue is with the figure of 15%. I think it's much higher.

I think there has to be a genetic predisposition for environmental factors to trigger it. That may include mental health issues, such as high anxiety, self soothing in negative ways, chemical brain imbalances etc which is out of the person's control.

I find that much of the blaming for getting or triggering type 2 diabetes is around things beyond the control of the person having it, often because they are not aware of having the genetic trigger until after diagnosis.
 
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I am going to do a post more detailed on what he wrote. But I need to do it when I have time and can use the pc. My eyesight isn't good enough for this tablet.
I've reread the sections and it is a bit different. You'll just have to be a bit patient I'm afraid
 

There's something in this and agree that to become T2D one must have a predisposition and it must be triggered environmentally.

The key point is what is the threshold for that trigger. Is it a BMI of 29 or 24? There is a HUGE range there.
 
Question for those in the know - is it possible to work out how close to diabetic one is with testing other than HBA1C?
 
Ronancastled said:
Fasting test is the easiest

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Thanks for that. Yup, I know about that - very odd, using my Libre I have been about 4.5-6 in the mornings and then as soon as I've got up and showered I am anything between 6.5 and 7.5... but it does then come down a bit once I start daily activities.

Is there a way to test how much insulin your body produces or how sensitive you are to insulin?
 
Rocinante said:
There's something in this and agree that to become T2D one must have a predisposition and it must be triggered environmentally.

The key point is what is the threshold for that trigger. Is it a BMI of 29 or 24? There is a HUGE range there.
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I think the trigger has more to do with the amount of carbs consumed daily than a particular weight.
 
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