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Self-diagnosed as pre-diabetic

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martian13

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What a farce with the doctors. The nurse I saw about my blood results wasnt clear about the results and never mentioned diabetes. I had a HbA1C of 6.1%. I left, thinking I had low blood glucose and just needed to eat differently - vague, unclear, non-informative. Only when I returned for a blood pressure test did I get the info off the computer enabling me to look online.
I do not follow the typical profile. I run every day and cycle, I am not overweight, dont smoke or drink. It came as a surprise to say the least. I can only think it may be a recent change to being more sedentary combined with a long-term habit of eating too much carbohydrates to fuel my sport, thinking I could burn anything off, and age - Im now 49.
I returned to see a doctor, much more clued up and ready to assert myself. I asked for tests such as FPG but she said it wasn't reliable. I asked her then if I should assume I have pre-diabetes and follow information for diabetes in terms of diet. She answered yes. I asked should I get a glucose monitor and she said no. 'Change your lifestyle and diet and have another HbA1C in six months'. No information as to how to do those things or what it means!
I spent weeks after this reading on the internet trying to filter out misinformation and myths, trying to figure out what to do. I was appalled that I could easily have walked away from the doctors in the first place not knowing my condition.
I now realise the way forward for me is to shift to a lower carb diet with increased protein and fibre, get rid of all the refined carbos. I am considering getting a blood meter to learn more about my levels on a day to day basis.
I am happy to have found this forum because it appears to be a source of solid information and support.
 
hello Martian

(that's sentence I always wanted to say!)

Welcome

Try the book Carbs and Cals - it's really helpful resource.

If you do get your own monitor lots of companies give them away for free but the strips are expensive. So you could look at SD Codefree, which is found on Amazon among others. Strips work out roughly one third the price of others.

Let us know how you get on


Cara
 
You should get a welcome message from Daisy, one of the moderators, which is full of useful stuff.
Take a look at that and see if you have any questions but you seem to have made a good plan.

I love carbs!! but cutting back has really helped me. More energy, weight loss,

If you get a meter, test before breakfast and before meals and 2 hour afterwards, take a note of your results and post them on here.

Although for Martians there may be a different scale than here on Earth....
 
Hi Martian and welcome to the forum :)

Here is the information which we give to new members as mentioned by Cara. Ask all the questions you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
Hi I am also in the same boat. I was diagnosed with Coeliac disease 2 years ago and am on a gluten free diet. I went to the doctor this morning with an infection and the GP said well this is quite common with diabetes. I said but I don't have diabetes and she said yes you do your hbA1c was 45. I was a little taken a back as I had been told everything was fine, I hadn't even been told the number. So I assumed all was ok! I also need to say I am a Podiatrist and have seen what the complications are if not treated.
I am now in shock and need to get my self sorted. I have been looking up recipes on gluten free recipes for diabetes and feel this is going to be hard!


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Your hba1c is in the prediabetes range so I can understand the GP saying make some changes and lets see how it goes. However, they are not very good at specifying what those changes are and couch it in vague terms, try to lose weight, try to take some exercise.

My tip would be avoid white bread, white rice, mashed potatoes, all sugary drinks, sweets biscuits etc and make sure that you do some walking at a brisk pace. No sauntering around. Go out when its raining. That'll hurry you along. You'll probably see a resultant drop in your HBA1c.

Getting a meter is a good idea. They are not terribly accurate but are very good for seeing how you react to certain foods. Take a reading before a meal and two hours after a meal. You might learn for example that white rice raises your BG level but brown rice doesn't or that mashed potatoes spike your blood but boiled new potatoes don't. You have to do it a few times for each food type but, over the weeks and months, you do get a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't work for you. You simply adjust your diet to those things which keep your BG levels low. You will become your own expert.
 
Thanks Yorksman I am probably my own worst enemy. I need to take food with me for work the I wont be tempted to go to the hospital shop and buy junk (chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks). I know how to do it as I tell my patients to eat healthily and exercise. I need to practice what I preach. I work in a high risk department so know how bad things can get if the BG levels are unstable. Having lectured my patients that if they don't get it under control their foot ulcer will never heal. I just panicked a bit as I thought I was reasonably healthy and just a little over weight.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using DCUK Forum mobile app
 
Hi Martian,

HBA1c is a measure of your average blood glucose over the past 2-3 months, an many healthcare providers only run them every 6 months or yearly depending on the person as you don't get much fluctuation quickly as it takes time and a new diet and exercise or medication (for those worse off than you) to make a real change.

If you do get a blood glucose meter to test your sugars, the times you should test are pre-breakfast, pre-lunch, pre-dinner, bedtime. If you want to see how your body deals with the food you are eating, you can do your blood sugars 2 hours after the start of your meal. Don't test your sugars before that 2 hour mark, as they are not going to tell you anything at that point. For someone with diabetes, the goal is to be less than 180 mg/dL (I am from the USA, so we use these units). In a normal person, sugars should not rise above 140 mg/dL ever, and are typically more like 100-120 2 hours after eating. These numbers are much more important to people that have diabetes and need to inject insulin and ensure they are injecting the correct amount, but for your purposes, it could help you figure out more about yourself and whether or not you really have the start of diabetes.

Good luck!
 
Hey Martian

Well done on doing your own research. I'd say take it a step further and look into the Low Carb/High Fat (LCHF) or the Keto diet. It is showing very promising results for pre-diabetics and type 2's. Even if you choose 'better' carbs, they will still have a significant impact on your blood glucose levels.

I've been a type 1 diabetic, injecting insulin for 27 years. Following the advice of educators and health care professionals, I couldn't stop the rollercoaster effect of low and high blood glucose levels and have experienced complications, as a result. Since I started the low carb way of eating, cutting out all grains, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, sugar, chocolate and fats high in omega 6, I have noticed a vast improvement.

My insulin requirements have gone down by over half and my glucose levels are stabilising. What the doctors thought was autonomic neuropathy, severe problems with my stomach, cleared up on the second day and I haven't had a problem since.

To my mind it seems crazy that they treat diabetes by recommending carbohydrates, which is in effect, sugar! LCHF is not for everyone but it's worth looking into and making up your own mind - controversial or not! ;-) (Julie)
 
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