To ask for advice about blood sugar, I’m scared

[Pixydust]

Posting here for traffic. I’ve been feeling a bit off and my tummy has been upset for months. I had some blood tests and the doctor has phoned to say my blood sugar is “a bit high” and we need to talk about how to bring it down.

I am shitting myself thinking I must be diabetic. The receptionist said it doesn’t say that on my record, it just says we need to discuss it. I have to wait two weeks for an appointment.

Please can anyone advise? I’m so scared. I know I’m a stone overweight and eat too many biscuits but I’m only 42 and I didn’t expect this.

I don't know how much Libre costs but my son has type 3 c diabetes ( rare type caused by pancreas damage) and is treated as type1_so the NHS has funded a Dexcom, for him its about £800/ three months according too.the diabetic team!

x2boys My Libres are now also funded, thankfully! I had no idea the Dexcom was so much more expensive.

I don't think many places fund type 2s, and even where they do they probably wouldn't for someone in the early stages like the OP.

Agree that HBA1C looks at the average, but 5hrs of swimming with no food or drink can affect the results. Ketone levels will be higher and pt quite likely to be dehydrated.

I think its just people who need to.take insulin so that would mainly b be type 1or those treated as type 1.I imagine.

It was 2hrs of very stressful swimming (trying to stop an autistic 5yo from drowning himself), but I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for about 5hrs before the test.

@LMNT yes all of those things.
The issue I have is I should eat a low residual diet. White rubbish so it sticks. Am on a lot of medication.
Doctor just said ' stick another sugar in your tea' but I don't want to do that. I have an internal mesh after having a parastomal hernia and lots of bowel surgery. I can't afford to put on weight.

@Stomacharmeleon the problem with sticking another sugar in your tea is that the low blood sugar is likely caused by high blood sugar preceding it.

Going by your username am I right that you have a stoma? Do white carbs slow the GI symptoms?

@LMNT honestly no. Nothing does. I have never been in remission and take huge amounts of loperamide a day.
Problem I have is I tend to starve myself (as I am worried about the pain and bag issues) suffer severe low blood sugar symptoms then grab quick fixes eg biscuits.
I seem In a bad cycle. Breaking it is difficult though. I have been warned (it goes really low) that it's difficult to reverse.
Am on nifedipine, st marks solution for dumping and when struggling to eat. Have crohns from top to bottom :/

Sorry for the essay but I want to give you as much information as I can.

It sounds like you are super frustrated and I can totally understand that. Orthodox treatments are limited and come with their own side effects.

My work is in Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy so I help people with disease prevention and remission. I think keto might work for you for three reasons.

Firstly low carb will take care of the blood sugar problems and stabilise your energy.

Second, the output on keto is not only low but very predictable.

Thirdly with a careful approach to moderate protein and healthy fat means that you don’t have to eat much veg so you can keep fibre to a minimum which also helps with output and keeps symptoms to a minimum.

I’ve worked with loads of Crohn’s patients with and without a stoma and it’s an extremely effective treatment.

Please feel free to DM me if you want more info. I’m not in the UK but can point you to the right people if you want to chat with someone about it.

Stomacharmeleon Do you have to avoid high-fat meals? I know many people with digestion problems do. If not, eating high fat along with carbs (like a cheesy pizza) helps to keep your BG up longer.

@Stomacharmeleon I don’t know why it removed the tag from my last post 🥴

Mixing fat and carbs is detrimental to health long term.

A bold statement that can't be justified with current knowledge.

Will do you thanks @LMNT. My friend does keto and she has recommended it also.
@ItsNotRocketSalad there is no rhyme or reason. Cheesy pizza though would give me the runs (cheese) and I would be asleep within five minutes!
Thanks all though I really appreciate it. When I was young and was diagnosed with crohns I would bounce Back fairly quick after a bad bout but after numerous operations and 'incidental' cancer I am trying to plan taking better long term care of myself!
Cancer in thyroid and lymph nodes which probably isn't helping!

Start with learning about the Randle Cycle and expand your knowledge from there.

@Stomacharmeleon good luck! There have been great clinical trials done in the efficacy of keto as an adjunct treatment for cancer too so even more reason to try it!

This is likely nothing to worry about at all - even if it turns out that you're diabetic, there will be a clear, straightforward treatment path which would help you. Perhaps you could call the GP and ask for some reassurance rather than having to wait for the appointment.

Also if you are anxious about health, I worry it was a mistake to post here given the contradictory info you're receiving. Speak to your GP and try to avoid google.

Speak to your GP and try to avoid google
I would happily speak to my GP if I could get an appointment! It’s two weeks to see a nurse and I haven’t even been offered a GP. I posted because I’m shitting myself and I’m scared to eat, and I was hoping someone might know something about it to ease my mind a bit.

Just eat sensibly (more veg/less carb, alcohol and refined sugar) and try to be active each day. Keep a food diary to review at your appointment and you will probably get offered dietary advice.

About 20 years ago I had some blood tests and was called back because my glucose was a bit high. They made me do a glucose tolerance test and the results were normal. If they were just testing your blood glucose rather than the hb1ac test then it could just as easily be a blip caused by the swimming.
Can you look up your test results on the nhs app?
Nothing bad will happen if you avoid high sugar foods and try and eat more vegetables while you're waiting for further tests.

I’ve installed the NHS app but had to do the ID verification so probably won’t be able to get into it till next week.

I know I’m a stone overweight, I’ve been eating too many biscuits and not doing enough exercise. I walk about 30 minutes a day and that’s all. I drink maybe 1-2 units a week. I know I’m not super healthy and fit but didn’t think I would rank among the most unfit and unhealthy people, yet I’m the one who’s been told my sugar is high. It’s a nasty shock because I didn’t think I was unwell, loads of people treat their bodies much worse than me.

It can be anything. It could be you had a cold etc.
I had raised values on liver test few years back, just a bit. Gp repeated the test month later and all was fine. I was bit ill before the first blood test and it can show.

Just wait for further checks

And OP, you will get 700 nutritional experts arguing over what you should and shouldn't eat and recommend diets even with absolute no knowledge of your health😉 Don't go overboard by taking all advice @millsiem was spot on

OP, I had this nasty surprise a couple of years ago, a full blood test triggered by the discovery of a bleed behind an eye showed my hba1c was 44. I completely get that it is really scary, it has taken me a long time to think thank heavens that I found out I was prediabetic so I could work on preventing diabetes.

I was somewhat overweight after medical problems in the year it so before. I had been eating an unhealthy diet. I have a family history of diabetes so that is another risk factor
I was referred by the gp to a diabetes prevention course, there are several running and they seem to vary, mine seemed to be quite a good one.
Risk factors as well as being overweight and having a family history include stress, poor sleep, smoking and or alcohol, being less active than you should be, some ethnic groups have a higher risk than others too.
I managed to get my numbers down to under the prediabetic range, but have to watch that it doesn't creep back up. I've concentrated on things I can control, perhaps a bit more than some on diet as for various reasons exercise isn't that easy for me because of other medical issues.

I thought I was pretty clued up about nutrition but learned some useful stuff on the course. Your 5 a day for example, shouldn't be 4 fruit and 1 veg for example, tropical fruits high in sugar aren't my friend sadly, and fruit smoothies sugar is very quickly absorbed, so not the healthy drink I'd thought,naim for no more than 2 portions of fruit, and portion the size of your fist, but the veg should.be 2 fists size. Potatoes don't count as a veg on this way of eating. Have fruit after a meal and try and eat your veg before you eat anything carb heavy. The body produces glucose out of carbs, so it's not just added sugars that contribute to the blood sugar. When it's under control a balanced plate can make it easier to feel a bit more normal. I can't go back to my old way of eating or my blood sugar will be back up. It's remission rather than a cure
Useful.books include Dr Jason Fung's diabetes code which talks about what is happening in your body, how it got to that state. Michael Mosley is good too.
I had high blood pressure and lipids too, all the changes are good for your long term health in general
But it is a bloody scary thing to find out, but I'm personally glad I found out I was prediabetic rather than diabetic

I got into the NHS app and it looks like my HBA1C is 42. Normal is 41.9 or below. So I am borderline. I don’t drink or smoke, I don’t eat processed foods or takeaways, and I don’t drink soft drinks or smoothies. However I am a stone over what would be a healthy BMI, I don’t exercise apart from 30 minutes a day walking to the bus stop, and I eat 4-5 KitKats a day. And I am also anaemic which can apparently raise your HBA1C result.

Like I said, I know I’m slightly overweight and eat too much chocolate, but I didn’t think that was enough to cause this. There are loads of people who are fatter and unhealthier than me, who exercise way less than me, and they aren’t being called and told their body is fucked.