Question about diagnosis

[Diabetesdiagnosis]

I’ve had a blood test that came back at a reading of 49. I have a repeat test in a couple of weeks time to confirm.

It looks like up to 48 is pre diabetes limit. Does anyone know what happens if my next test result is 48? I did some googling and the stats on consistent results aren’t clear.

I’ve already started Keto fast 800 as I want to see if I can lose weight myself (going well so far but I appreciate it’s the long run that’s important)

However - I’m away for a long weekend (will be eating out all the time) so I don’t know if I should try to keep up my restricted diet or ease up a bit? Is it likely to make any difference anyway?

If your next result is 48+ you will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is manageable but not curable, you’ll always be considered to have type 2 after that, even if you’re in remission (ie below 42 where pre diabetes is diagnosed without medication for 2+ tests in a row).

You can’t expect to significantly change the hba1c in two weeks of dieting, it reflects the past 3 months

Thanks for responding, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see!

Upto and inluding 47 = pre-diabetes.
48+ = diagnosis of T2 diabetes.

Do. Not. Panic. You can bring your levels down by tweaking your lifestyle/food.

Yes but, 2 tests of 48+ are needed for diagnosis of T2, it can’t be diagnosed on the one 49 alone. It’s just to make sure as other things can falsely raise hba1c, there’s no expectation that someone will bring it down between the two tests.

If you go strict keto you might be able to get your reading to 47 in two weeks which would be great. Long term you should be able to stay out of the diabetes zone by losing weight, doing more regular exercise and eating less carbs & sugar.

Whilst the plus side of it being 48+ again is that you then get all the diabetes monitoring for life, even if you go on to get it into remission

The HbA1c blood test reads the glucose that has attached to the haemoglobin in your blood over the past 2-3 months and shows a long term picture. Reducing it is also a long term thing.

Thank you, this is helpful. I’d not really thought about getting ongoing checks, ironically it might be better if I’m diagnosed then! It’s just an arbatory cut off at the end of the day. Are there any other negatives (apart from my health obviously!) eg travel insurance, driving etc?

Mine Come back at 50 . I went straight on a low carb diet .
The 2nd blood test 2 weeks later came back at 46 .

That’s amazing Lizzy7596! And also good to know, thank you for sharing with me.

Yes I know - I had one false reading that was way higher than normal and they put it down to 'an anomaly' - or equipment malfunction as was reported in the local paper some months later.😂

I'd say do not panic, you should be support from your GP, in terms of advice and regular tests.

In the meantime, you could try and adjust your diet - ie reducing the amount carbs with meals and if you're eating carbs, choose brown rice, wholewheat pasta, granary, oats, quinoa which are slower release. Cut out anything sweet, but if you do go there something like a rich tea biscuit is lower. Greek yogurt, berries and nuts are really nice for breakfast, as a snack or dessert.

If you're not veggie, choose something like salmon or chicken instead of a pie when eating out, or perhaps the salad option.

Losing weight, if you need to, will help. As will increasing exercise (which helps use glucose up in the body and is good for you anyway.) At the same time allow yourself to relax and get a good nights sleep - trying deep breathing.

@IliketulipsThank you for your advice. According to the NHS BMI indicator I’m halfway in the overweight band (I’m not classed as obese) but all my weight goes on my stomach (I’m size 16-18 depending on clothes make) so I’m hoping losing weight will help. I live semi rurally and ironically eat mainly home cooked food, clearly just too much of it! I normally eat meat, veggies and fruit etc. I don’t have sugar in drinks and have skipped breakfast for a few years (intermittent fasting). Hence this is a bit of a shock! I do have a sedentary wfh job so I’m already upping my walks and on a diet. I’ve also ordered a CGM so I can see what’s going on. I’ve calmed down a bit and hope to manage this by permanently tweaking my diet and lifestyle. It’s been an unexpected wake up call!

I would aim to lose 15kg and walk 10,000 steps a day. Maybe give yourself 4-6 months to achieve this. That would make a HUGE difference to your metabolic health and you will feel a lot better too.

@PrincessfluffyI hope I can do this! I am now using a cgm and it’s absolutely fascinating (I love data). I (unusually) had chips yesterday with my dinner - my blood sugars after that were shocking (straight up to 11+) I went on a brisk 10 min walk that helped bring it down quite quickly!

Since then I’ve eaten lower carbs and my blood sugars have stayed in the green zone.

I can tolerate milk in a coffee / tea which is good! I’m going to try a small amount of brown rice/oats/brown pasta/other carbs while I have the CGM to see the impact and will then focus on my diet.

Once I’ve lost the weight I’ll get another CGM to compare. I’m now feeling very motivated and will report back if anyone is interested?

You definitely can do this and I found that a CGM was really useful and motivating. I am not good with chips or roast potatoes but good with potato salad made with new potatoes and refrigerated before eating. I’m not good with rice or bread but pasta and pizza are not bad for me. You will probably be different from me though as we are all individual in how we react to different foods.

In case anyone is interested, I’ve had my repeat blood test and it’s come back at 46. I’m about 9 lbs down and Keto is working for me. Alas even one piece of sourdough bread is a no no at the moment! As is wholewheat pasta :(

Will you be having any more follow up a1cs? If even one slice of bread is too much it sounds like you might actually be t2 diabetic but disguised it in the second reading with your diet.

@PotatoFan I’m waiting to hear from the docs, I suspect you’re right though. All my others bloods have been normal which is positive (even cholesterol is ok). My cgm estimates my a1c as 39 at the moment and I’m 99% time in range. I was 100% before the sourdough

Hi OP, how are you getting on?

@IsItAllMenopause thank you for asking! I’m about 11 lbs down but my weight loss is slowing down (probably to be expected). I’m still sticking loosely to the Keto fast 800 diet and last week made some palatable bread rolls from another recommended book! I’m going to get another cgm over Christmas to make sure I don’t overdo it. I’m also averaging 30 mins a day exercise broken up after meals (DH has joined me, he also needs to lose weight and been very supportive).

I’ve booked an appointment with a diabetic nurse in couple of weeks too. My docs say they’ll test again in a year (which I think is too long) so I’ll ask if I can have another sooner.

My waste size is still too big but I’m feeling positive that I can continue with my current lifestyle.

I have to be very careful with carbs; even though my BMI is easily within the "healthy" range, my glucose metabolism is very poor and I was prediabetic despite my weight.

I've learned that cereals of almost all sorts are out for me. I don't just mean breakfast cereals, but anything made of cereal, so bread, pasta, porridge etc etc. Potatoes really spike my sugar levels. Fruit juice is awful! Rice is also a cereal and affects me similarly.

If you're like me, you might find it worth trying the following and see what your CGM says:

Rolled oats for me - no good. But pinhead oats are fine. So overnight oats with these are my go-to breakfast now. Mornflake are a good brand and available online; health food shops often sell them too.

Precook and then freeze pasta for at least 24 hours. This alters the carb within and means it is much easier to metabolise. Just throw it in boiling water from frozen for a couple of minutes when you want to use it.

Jacket spuds are also awful for me. Chips are much better (though not so good if you want to lose weight!) . Also, look up recipes for cauliflower mash - sounds grim but tastes fine and works well as a substitute.

Thanks for this thread OP. I've been wondering how this diet affects blood sugar readings, so it was interesting to read your journey with it.

@therearesigns my pleasure, I find it interesting too! I’ve now lost about a stone, I’m still 5lbs into the ‘overweight’ category though. I’ve roughly stuck to Keto 800 but mines more like 1000/1200 😂. I’ve been eating fruit after my meals and have snacked on nuts in hungry moments. I’ve also been doing some weight training, I can actually see some muscles in my arms now! My stomach is still too big, I suspect I need to lose at least another stone :(

I saw the diabetes nurse who said Keto was a good idea and confirmed I’m doing all the right things. She’s referred me to the pre-diabetes on line course but I’m still waiting to hear.

I’m the meantime I’ve ordered another cgm to use over Christmas, we’re staying at my PIL for a week and don’t want to make a fuss about carbs. So I’ll track what I eat and will see what the impact is again on my blood sugars and if my weight loss made any noticeable difference - I’ll report back!

UPDATE

Ive eaten at lot of carbs over the hols, according to my CGM I have gone over the ‘green’ zone a couple of times but that was usually due to carbs with mains, followed by pudding/Christmas cake followed by chocolate . CGM says my estimated A1C is currently 39. Somehow I’ve managed to not put on any weight though! It does make me wonder how much insulin resistance contributed to my general weight gain.

I’ll be back on a variation of Keto fast 800 diet again in Jan and will see how it goes (plus will keep going with my exercise).