Stressed and worried

[Gargoyletaz]

Hi,

I've been pre-diabetic nearly all of my adult life (I am 52), floating between 43 and 47 mmol.
My mother is type 2 insulin dependent and my dad was, like myself, pre-diabetic.

My dad passed away in Jan and I fell off the carb wagon.

My last blood glucose was done in December 2022 and was 47 mmol. My readings for 15 Nov 2023 was 55 mmol and 1 Dec 2023 was 57 mmol.

I know this is due to my carb intake going from very low to comfort food overload.

My question is, previously I was able to go 3 months and get retested but this time I've been booked an appointment with a diabetic nurse before I've even seen a doctor.
I don't want to go on to medication, but do I have a choice based on my results?

I was hoping to get a blood glucose monitor and have the 3 months making a food diary of any spikes.

Thank you

 

[lessci]

Talk it over with the DN, but at the end of the day they can't stand over you and force medication down your neck, you probably won't be able to get a meter on the NHS unless you're prescribed a medication that can cause hypo's, BUT you could buy one and self fund the strips

 

[catinahat]

They can suggest medication that may help, but it is just a suggestion, what drugs you take is entirely up to you. If you want to give diet a try first you don't have to ask their permission.
Getting a meter and monitoring what your food is doing to your blood sugar levels , is the most effective way for you to design a diet that works for you.
It's extremely rare for a meter and testing strips to be supplied for an unmedicated T2, but not unheard of. If you ask you might be one of the lucky ones, otherwise you will need to buy your own meter and strips like most of us have to.
I'll tag @Rachox , she has compiled a very useful list of meters and where you can get them from.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi,

I've been pre-diabetic nearly all of my adult life (I am 52), floating between 43 and 47 mmol.
My mother is type 2 insulin dependent and my dad was, like myself, pre-diabetic.

My dad passed away in Jan and I fell off the carb wagon.

My last blood glucose was done in December 2022 and was 47 mmol. My readings for 15 Nov 2023 was 55 mmol and 1 Dec 2023 was 57 mmol.

I know this is due to my carb intake going from very low to comfort food overload.

My question is, previously I was able to go 3 months and get retested but this time I've been booked an appointment with a diabetic nurse before I've even seen a doctor.
I don't want to go on to medication, but do I have a choice based on my results?

I was hoping to get a blood glucose monitor and have the 3 months making a food diary of any spikes.

Thank you

I'm sorry about your loss. Much the same happened here when my mom passed in March: hello grief, hello carbs, goodbye wagon. Very understandable, and quite a few of us have been there.

With a HbA1c of 55 you are in diabetic territory instead of prediabetic, so... I'm guessing that set the wheels in motion for you to be treated as one, and an appointment with the nurse was set up. Fact is, as long as you're prediabetic, nothing much happens. A lot of us don't even know there was such a thing as elevated blood sugars in years prior to diagnosis, because no-one bothered to inform us of said test and their results, if they were done at all.

If you can go back to a low carb lifestyle, you can certainly opt for that. No-one's going to force feed you medication if you don't want it. It's your body, your decision. I don't know whether you might want to go lower carb than before, get to non-diabetic numbers entirely? Dunno how much room there is within your current diet for lowering carbs further than you had, previously. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html might help some though.

Don't count on getting a monitor as a T2 without insulin or other rather strong meds. The bulk of us T2's here, self-fund. But sometimes you have a nurse who is sympathetic and gets it arranged, so.... No harm in asking!

Good luck.
Jo

 

[Rachox]

Hi @Gargoyletaz and welcome to the forum. Thanks for the rag @catinahat, here’s some info on UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have pre diabetes or diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)

 

[Gargoyletaz]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your advice.

I have no problems with cutting carbs out, so if I can get my HbA1c back down to pre-diabetic level with diet only, I'll be happy.

I am diary intolerant so cakes, chocolate etc is no problem and I don't have sugar in any hot drinks or have sugary drinks.

I have swapped wine for gin and tonic and reduced my units down to 8 per week. That was a conscious decision I made about 4 weeks ago so I am hoping all these changes will reflect in my next blood test.

I can increase my daily walks too which will also help.

I was looking to buy a monitor & strips myself as I had gestational diabetes 9 years ago and I do find I am more controlled with my diet if I am seeing what spikes my numbers and what doesn't.

My diabetic nurse appointment isn't until 22 Dec, so I will discuss my options with the doctor, and hopefully, they will hold back on the medication.

If I ultimately need to medicate, then I will. I just like to be in control

Thank you all, and I'll update you as and when.

 

[J_P]

Thank you so much, everyone, for your advice.

I have no problems with cutting carbs out, so if I can get my HbA1c back down to pre-diabetic level with diet only, I'll be happy.

I am diary intolerant so cakes, chocolate etc is no problem and I don't have sugar in any hot drinks or have sugary drinks.

I have swapped wine for gin and tonic and reduced my units down to 8 per week. That was a conscious decision I made about 4 weeks ago so I am hoping all these changes will reflect in my next blood test.

I can increase my daily walks too which will also help.

I was looking to buy a monitor & strips myself as I had gestational diabetes 9 years ago and I do find I am more controlled with my diet if I am seeing what spikes my numbers and what doesn't.

My diabetic nurse appointment isn't until 22 Dec, so I will discuss my options with the doctor, and hopefully, they will hold back on the medication.

If I ultimately need to medicate, then I will. I just like to be in control

Thank you all, and I'll update you as and when.

My experience (diagnosed with a tasty 125 end of June) was that when i presented a thought through plan of action (i.e. this is what i'm going to do and for how long and here is how i will measure the outcome) then they were happy for me not to medicate to start with.

In real terms i said give me three months of diet and lifestyle without medication and if it doesn't make a difference to the HBA1C i would agree to medication.

Three months was enough time to change the numbers to make a case against medication going forward

 

[Gargoyletaz]

J_P that's exactly my thoughts.

Fantastic news you managed to lower your numbers in the 3 months which has given me hope.

 

[Ryhia]

I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 53mmol and then a subsequent blood test was 52mmol. this was in 2019. When I saw the GP, rather than put me on meds he just told me to go sort by diet, and come back in 3 months. I've got to say, when I first saw the GP, I was already dieting, so this may have influenced his recommendations to leave well alone. After 3 months my bloods had dropped to pre-diabetic levels and I have now been in remission for over 4 years. Unfortunately not all health care professionals will be as supportive as he was but I hope yours is. particularly as you have had much stress and sorrow to deal with over the last few months which will have impacted negatively on your blood glucose levels. Unfortunately, until you see the DN you have no way of knowing whether they will suggest medication or not, but if they do, it is very much up to you whether you agree to taking them; you can always ask for 3 months grace to try diet first.

Wishing you well.

 

[Gargoyletaz]

I have been looking at the glucose monitors suggested.

Does anyone use a lancet device & lancets?

I was viewing the Betachek C50 as it's an all in one and I won't need to pay out extra for lancets.

 

[Gargoyletaz]

I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 53mmol and then a subsequent blood test was 52mmol. this was in 2019. When I saw the GP, rather than put me on meds he just told me to go sort by diet, and come back in 3 months. I've got to say, when I first saw the GP, I was already dieting, so this may have influenced his recommendations to leave well alone. After 3 months my bloods had dropped to pre-diabetic levels and I have now been in remission for over 4 years. Unfortunately not all health care professionals will be as supportive as he was but I hope yours is. particularly as you have had much stress and sorrow to deal with over the last few months which will have impacted negatively on your blood glucose levels. Unfortunately, until you see the DN you have no way of knowing whether they will suggest medication or not, but if they do, it is very much up to you whether you agree to taking them; you can always ask for 3 months grace to try diet first.

Wishing you well.

I do think if I go in armed with a plan and self monitor, the GP & DN will be happy to do review in 3 months.

 

[Antje77]

I was viewing the Betachek C50 as it's an all in one and I won't need to pay out extra for lancets.

Looks expensive to me, and you'll still have to manually change the lancets, there's a video on their website.
Lancets should be changed for every test. But many of us only change them once a day, once a week, once a month or even less. (I'm a 3 month person, if that, and I test multiple times a day. )
Mind, this is very much not official advice, but it is how it works for many of us in real life.
There are even lots of memes about it...

 

[Resurgam]

Are you also cutting down on starchy foods? They are as much carbohydrate as sugars, and I have come across people happily eating wholemeal bread, baked potatoes and beans and thinking that they were eating a low carb diet.
I used a Tee 2+ meter from Spirit Healthcare when sorting out my diet. I didn't consider getting anything fancy as I hoped that I would only need it for a few months - which proved to be the case.
I went from HbA1c of 91 to 41 at the 6 month retest. I was eating under 50gm of carbs a day, which was such a relief after the horrible stodge of brown carbs I'd been pressured to eat for so long.

 

[PenguinMum]

I have been looking at the glucose monitors suggested.

Does anyone use a lancet device & lancets?

I was viewing the Betachek C50 as it's an all in one and I won't need to pay out extra for lancets.

Take a look at the Accuchek Fastclix I wouldn’t be without mine and btw you can use each lancet in the cylinder several times even if they don’t suggest that.

 

[Gargoyletaz]

Are you also cutting down on starchy foods? They are as much carbohydrate as sugars, and I have come across people happily eating wholemeal bread, baked potatoes and beans and thinking that they were eating a low carb diet.
I used a Tee 2+ meter from Spirit Healthcare when sorting out my diet. I didn't consider getting anything fancy as I hoped that I would only need it for a few months - which proved to be the case.
I went from HbA1c of 91 to 41 at the 6 month retest. I was eating under 50gm of carbs a day, which was such a relief after the horrible stodge of brown carbs I'd been pressured to eat for so long.

I cut out all bread, potatoes and pasta and I don't eat a lot of rice.
I mainly have meat/eggs/fish with a lot of vegetables.

I'm just learning about herbs & spices and carb contents as I'm a slow cooker gal & like to cook from scratch.

It's beans and vegetables I have no idea about and I'm now frightened to eat any fruit!

I'll be happier once I get a BGM and I can experiment with what works and doesn't work.

I have found so much information on this site. Everyone has such good advice and there's always someone who has had a similar experience.

I'm so grateful.

Thank you

 

[aylalake]

Take a look at the Accuchek Fastclix I wouldn’t be without mine and btw you can use each lancet in the cylinder several times even if they don’t suggest that.

I was about to write this same thing but @PenguinMum beat me to it! I tried about 6 before settling on this one.

 

[Resurgam]

I cut out all bread, potatoes and pasta and I don't eat a lot of rice.
I mainly have meat/eggs/fish with a lot of vegetables.

I'm just learning about herbs & spices and carb contents as I'm a slow cooker gal & like to cook from scratch.

It's beans and vegetables I have no idea about and I'm now frightened to eat any fruit!

I'll be happier once I get a BGM and I can experiment with what works and doesn't work.

I have found so much information on this site. Everyone has such good advice and there's always someone who has had a similar experience.

I'm so grateful.

Thank you

Berries are the low carb choice - I buy frozen ones so there is no waste.
Herbs and spices are best added fairly late in cooking to preserve all the aromatic elements - some herbs can go a bit nasty if cooked too long.
I have a pressure cooker that is very handy for stews, casseroles and the like. Actually I have three, one in the fridge with stock for when I need it, one does the things I don't want to keep the liquid for the meal, one to construct the meal in.

 

[Gargoyletaz]

Take a look at the Accuchek Fastclix I wouldn’t be without mine and btw you can use each lancet in the cylinder several times even if they don’t suggest that.

I've found my testing bag from when I had gestational diabetes and I have a Freestyle lancing device......with 51 lancets!

Thank you

 

[Gargoyletaz]

Berries are the low carb choice - I buy frozen ones so there is no waste.
Herbs and spices are best added fairly late in cooking to preserve all the aromatic elements - some herbs can go a bit nasty if cooked too long.
I have a pressure cooker that is very handy for stews, casseroles and the like. Actually I have three, one in the fridge with stock for when I need it, one does the things I don't want to keep the liquid for the meal, one to construct the meal in.

That's fab thank you.

I have some frozen berries so I'll snack on those in future.

 

[aylalake]

I've found my testing bag from when I had gestational diabetes and I have a Freestyle lancing device......with 51 lancets!

Thank you

Wow, that’s a year’s worth of lancets