Pre Diabetic - what to do

[PurplePangolin]

Oakey said:

PurplePangolin said:

I think it needs to be fasting otherwise all sorts of things can affect the levels - blood glucose meters are inexpensive off Amazon if you want to track the levels for a while

Ordered one yesterday, it was here when I got home

Is this promising then?

Take it at different times of the day - it will go up a bit on waking and you can also check how it drops after eating (2 hours later )

Check on the uk diabetes site for normal levels

I think it’s sortable

[PurplePangolin]

Oakey said:

Last ate around 1pm.

I've just found the little indicator card that comes with it, 6.2 is in the normal range whereas 7.1 to 10.00 are 'borderline' and 10.1 - 13.8 is 'high'., Everything over that is 'dangerous'.

Where does the HbA1c result of 42 fit in to this? If this result is 6.2mmol/L, what is 42 of?

The little meter measures the current glucose level in your blood , the HbA1c tracks glucose over (?) 3 months and may give a more accurate idea of what is happening - get all the info and then you can make some dietary adjustments

[mike9009]

Phil. said:

mike9009 said:

When was the last time you ate something? 6.2 is a little high but not abnormal for you normal people. After eating your blood sugar will rise....as the insulin kicks into action. Even for a healthy normal person.....

See attached a plot of my last 24 hours blood sugar. I am a T1 so slightly different. Ps I only get 100% in target once in a blue moon.....

That looks pretty well controlled Mike.

I tend to fast overnight and until midday ish and my sugars rise too after I wake up. I’ve tried eating a little fat-based something on waking but it doesn’t make much difference. Same with exercising in the morning, still peaks and then eventually drops.

That is definitely the exception rather than the rule but thanks. I have a WhatsApp group with two other T1 mates and it is a competition to get 100% in target over 24 hours, hence the snap shot today. Only managed it six times in the last year!!

My blood sugar naturally rises on waking, without eating a thing. I find it easier to control if I am doing some exercise throughout the day, even gentle gardening really helps. Difficult with a desk job......

Since having libre, I can clearly see what food does to me. Obviously, sweet stuff is a no-no. Wholewheat stuff seems to make little difference over regular stuff oddly. Pasta, noodles and pizza are horror shows. I have cut out any fruit for the same reason. They just spike my blood sugar's despite time of injection etc. Rice/ potatoes are okay though, along with other starchy carbs. Never had a particular issue with root veg either ( carrots, onions, turnips etc.) As for differences between cabbage and broccoli, it makes no difference at all.

Obviously every person is different and will react differently. It might be worth paying for a Libre for two weeks to see the impact of different food groups on your particular body/ metabolism. You can get them from any pharmacy......

And obviously I am T1 not T2......

[mike9009]

PurplePangolin said:

Oakey said:

Last ate around 1pm.

I've just found the little indicator card that comes with it, 6.2 is in the normal range whereas 7.1 to 10.00 are 'borderline' and 10.1 - 13.8 is 'high'., Everything over that is 'dangerous'.

Where does the HbA1c result of 42 fit in to this? If this result is 6.2mmol/L, what is 42 of?

The little meter measures the current glucose level in your blood , the HbA1c tracks glucose over (?) 3 months and may give a more accurate idea of what is happening - get all the info and then you can make some dietary adjustments

. This link might help

https://freestylediabetes.co.uk/https://freestyled...

Note the values are not directly comparable to actual blood glucose readings as HbA1c is measuring something different. I used to mix the two as they used to be similar values, but I was told it is a good guide......


Mine is currently about 51, but has been up to 68. I have been diabetic for 40 years. But don't let that stop you, you don't want to be fully diabetic if you can reverse it early through simple changes.....

Edited by mike9009 on Wednesday 8th September 19:01

Edited by mike9009 on Wednesday 8th September 19:04

[Oakey]

Thank you all for the advice.

[Phil.]

This is a useful conversion chart that gives an indication of what’s normal.

Edited by Phil. on Wednesday 8th September 21:03

[Oakey]

Did another test last night around 11pm and it was 5.0.

[DaveGrohl]

Evoluzione said:

Sticks. said:

Evoluzione said:

Hmmm, psychology.
It would cost a lot of money to try and change how I feel about a cabbage in comparison to a big bag of crisps.

point taken. For me Broccoli is the devil's work. You'd be surprised I think though. I used to eat too many crisps but stopped buying them and don't miss them. Well, not enough to be arsed to go out and get some

I'm no newcomer to this
Broccoli beats cabbage any day, I find veg is ok as long as it's disguised or blathered in something, same as my daily salad with dressing. I think i've something wrong nasally though and my sense of taste is poor.
I view it like alcoholism, it's always there, I always want it. I was never massively into sweet things, but do love savoury.
I fall off the waggon now and again and briefly. That to me is going and stuffing my face with Ferrero Rocher or crisps for a while, heaven, always will be.

See, I'm the opposite. I've never been much of a fan of taties and derivatives. Pasta is utterly tasteless. Root veg in general is boring to me, give me loads of cabbage/sprouts/broccoli etc. As long as it's salted I love it. Maybe people aren't keen of leafy veg cos they're terrified of salt after decades of being told it'll kill you?

Starch tastes of nothing, it's the flavourings on crisps etc that taste of something. I'm not diabetic but have been lower carb for nearly two years now. I actually prefer my food now I've cut down on starch and increased fats. Hunger is a thing of the past for me.

[mike9009]

Oakey said:

Did another test last night around 11pm and it was 5.0.

That sounds pretty reasonable, for one data point.

However, it does depend on how long it took to get down to 5.0 after eating and what you ate. If you ate a bowl of lettuce leaves your pancreas would not be working that hard.

If you had a Domino's pizza followed by cookie dough ice cream, washed down with your favourite cider that is a different matter. ( And 5.0 would be a most favourable result!)

The best measure is getting a blood test and measuring your HbA1C. This gives an average measurement over 90 days and will give your doctor a better overall view of things......

[Oakey]

It was a blood test that brought all this on! My result was 42.

Did another one myself this morning when I woke up and it was 7.4 which seems rather high

[Mr Whippy]

Phil. said:

I get it, it’s your opinion is to keep the message to simpletons with pre-diabetes (insulin resistance) simple. That’s your opinion. Simple. But not everyone’s opinion. So we are allowed to disagree that the key point isn’t about conveying a simple message, its about conveying the right message that helps people become more healthy, which might not be as simple as you would like.

As an example please explain to everyone, in your opinion, how someone with a pre-diabetes or T2 diagnosis should lose weight. What happens if they sensibly cut calories and up the exercise but don’t lose weight? Oh, but that’s not simple then is it.

Try looking up either the Prof or GP I mentioned in my earlier response to you and you will get an explanation as to how someone who is insulin resistance might lose weight. The GP (Dr David Unwin) has published many articles explaining how to reverse T2 through diet, but I fear his message won’t be simple enough for you. There’s lots of Dr Unwin on YT tube too.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/authors/dr-david-unwin

Simples!

Yes so basically what South Park did.

The pyramid is upside down.

This isn’t rocket science and it’s been around a good long while considering South Park parodied it 2014.

Cripes it’s been around since humans evolved eating meat, veg and fats, and not loads of refined carbs and sugary fruits.

Yet right now everyone is being pushed into carby non-meat food for protein.

The whole reason this is the way it is, is because of industry liking high profit margin, high shelf life carb foods... even though they’re terrible for you.
The medical world seems to keep pushing this out-dated idiocy too, set about in the 70s and 80s by saying fats were bad, resulting in carbs taking precedence.

Now they’re pushing meats out for carbs again.

No doubt most GPs are happy with much of this because fixing people isn’t as profitable as selling drugs.


So yes, it’s not as simple as just dropping calories. It’s about not eating st too.

If South Park can get the message across, then there is hope.

A doctor is probably the last person to go see if they just want to give out drugs.

[Evoluzione]

Oakey said:

It was a blood test that brought all this on! My result was 42.

Did another one myself this morning when I woke up and it was 7.4 which seems rather high

What you're doing is pointless, It's your HBA1C after a few months which counts.
I think those gadgets are aimed at T1Ds.

[MC Bodge]

To complicate matters, there is an environmental element:

Growing grains in large quantities is cheap and relatively low intensity.
Farming protein is expensive and requires a lot of energy (including grains!) and water.

An enormous human population (in both numbers and in girth) requires a lot of food.

[MC Bodge]

Personally, I have reduced the amount of stodge(growing up we ate a lot of it) and biscuits and increased the veg, nuts & seeds. I do eat oats and some sourdough whole grain bread. I rarely eat processed food and rarely have take-aways. I drink milk, eat meat and fish. I/we eat really nice meals.

Most importantly, I don't graze/snack -this seems to be the source of many hidden calories.

Three meals a day, and occasionally some late night food after training, is enough to sustain regular training/exercise. I'm siure tht many people put away similar or more calories for far less exertion.

At 44, my weight remains stable and my health indicators are good.

[Evoluzione]

DaveGrohl said:

Evoluzione said:

Sticks. said:

Evoluzione said:

Hmmm, psychology.
It would cost a lot of money to try and change how I feel about a cabbage in comparison to a big bag of crisps.

point taken. For me Broccoli is the devil's work. You'd be surprised I think though. I used to eat too many crisps but stopped buying them and don't miss them. Well, not enough to be arsed to go out and get some

I'm no newcomer to this
Broccoli beats cabbage any day, I find veg is ok as long as it's disguised or blathered in something, same as my daily salad with dressing. I think i've something wrong nasally though and my sense of taste is poor.
I view it like alcoholism, it's always there, I always want it. I was never massively into sweet things, but do love savoury.
I fall off the waggon now and again and briefly. That to me is going and stuffing my face with Ferrero Rocher or crisps for a while, heaven, always will be.

See, I'm the opposite. I've never been much of a fan of taties and derivatives. Pasta is utterly tasteless. Root veg in general is boring to me, give me loads of cabbage/sprouts/broccoli etc. As long as it's salted I love it. Maybe people aren't keen of leafy veg cos they're terrified of salt after decades of being told it'll kill you?

Starch tastes of nothing, it's the flavourings on crisps etc that taste of something. I'm not diabetic but have been lower carb for nearly two years now. I actually prefer my food now I've cut down on starch and increased fats. Hunger is a thing of the past for me.

You weirdo

Seriously though, yes you're right and i'm probably a little envious of someone who enjoys this diet. For me food has gone from something I enjoyed immensely to something which I just shove down my cakehole now.
I do love roast meats which I can eat a lot of, but that and fish are expensive and it's also very time consuming.
As said earlier i'm lucky my OH is onboard, she buys all the recipe books and cooks the healthy evening meals.
We're going to get some chickens so fresh eggs will then be readily available too. Omelettes are easy, tasty and filling.

[Jessicus]

Oakey said:

It was a blood test that brought all this on! My result was 42.

Did another one myself this morning when I woke up and it was 7.4 which seems rather high

OK, basic blood test explanation (diabetic on insulin)

Finger test is to give a point in time reading. Normal PiT reading would be between 3 and 7mmol/l. Insulin users need these to determine doses.

Blood sugar rises first thing in morning naturally without food/drink - called sunrise effect. Probably better to check at noon, prior to lunch, if you are going to check at all. Sugar levels naturally rise and fall during the day/night.

HBa1C is average of blood sugar over approximately 10-12 weeks. The number that you get can be translated to mmol/l - for example 42 is an average of 7mmol/l

A HBa1C of 42 is nothing to be immediately concerned about - over 50 on a couple of tests and there is the possibility of medical intervention, but doing moderate changes - reducing carbs, increase physical activity, losing weight (if appropriate) should stave of any treatment needs for years - if not forever.

[Oakey]

Well, saw the nurse this morning and was diagnosed as pre diabetic and told to stop eating cakes, sweets and biscuits. Said I clearly didn't need to lose weight, just lay off the sugary stuff and come back in 12 months for a follow up.

[DaveGrohl]

MC Bodge said:

To complicate matters, there is an environmental element:

Growing grains in large quantities is cheap and relatively low intensity.
Farming protein is expensive and requires a lot of energy (including grains!) and water.

An enormous human population (in both numbers and in girth) requires a lot of food.

Farming protein CAN involve a lot of grain energy but doesn't have to. You can thank the relentless driving down of prices by the supermarkets for that evolution, among other aspects of proper food being pushed aside in the pursuit of profit.

[jwo]

Well, since my initial post I’ve knocked off 5% of body weight - nothing drastic, cutting out sweets/snacks, sensible portions of food and monitoring carbohydrate intake. More walks/exercise too. Still have a drink at the weekend (but in moderation)..

Seems positive and certainly feeling better for it - not sure how blood sugar is as no test (and need 3mths to get accurate data). GP was happy with my proposed approach. Fingers crossed.

[ORD]

Good work!