Borderline diabetic

[ajandjjmum]

I had a call from my GP last week to say that from some (non-fasting) blood tests taken recently, I am virtually diabetic - he mentioned a figure of 48 or 49. Of course, I was in too much of a panic to clarify. I am to have another blood test in a month or so, and he suggested I cut out sugar, try and lose a bit of weight etc.

Really looking for experience/tips if anyone has been in this position.

Certainly the kick up the backside I need to start looking after my own health, rather than worrying about everyone elses!

Thank you.

Did he say 4.8 rather than 48?

Either he said the first which is normal. Or he said the second and I think you would be dead. Or he's using a totally different scale to the one im used to.

I'm not pre diabetic myself but do worry about it as I am overweight.

I'm trying to lose weight and have joined a gym. I know from my friend who is diabetic that exercise is important as well as diet. I guess cutting out refined carbs, like white bread, pasta, cake would be good. I've read about people reversing actual diabetes using the 5:2 diet.

My mum was pre diabetic for years. My understanding is that you can prevent this developing if you limit sugar and lose weight. She didn't. She's now classed as diabetic BUT has it under control with diet. Good luck. You can control this.

My only tip is to do what he said - make healthier choices about what you're eating. To be honest, it's not that difficult to tell which foods are best for you, the issue here is having the willpower to reach for the fruit instead of the chocolate.

Saying that, fruit has more sugar in it than you know. It is natural, but too much could be dangerous for you, so try not to eat more than one or two servings per day. Try to get most of your 5 a day from vegetables.

Drink plenty of water

Try not to set yourself unrealistic goals for weight loss. In fact, don't even think about the weightloss, just focus on being a healthier version of yourself, and the weight loss will happen.

If you're going to exercise, start of slowly, maybe 10 minutes every couple of days, so that you're not doing too much to soon, and then slowly build on that. Or try something lighter like Yoga to begin with.

What worked for me when I started trying to be healthy was the 30 Days of Yoga challenge with Adriene on YouTube. I did that whole 30 days, and then started introducing cardio every couple of days as well. I also did not think about dieting. I found just exercising gave me the confidence and awareness to instinctively start making healthier choices about food.

i am not diabetic, or close to it, but both my mum and nan have / had the condition, and complications with it. To be honest, what made me think about being healthier is the state my mum is in now. She's diabetic, has high blood pressure, has had a stroke and is currently undergoing dialysis. The sad thing is, she never looked after herself. If she had, all of this could have been prevented. If that's not motivation to be healthier, I don't know what is!

Either he said the first which is normal. Or he said the second and I think you would be dead. Or he's using a totally different scale to the one im used to.

The latter. It's in mmol/mol from a Hba1c test. 48 (or 6.5%) is the cut-off between diabetic and not diabetic.

I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant. I think that means there's a 50/50 chance I'll go on to get type 2 diabetes in the future. My daughter is nearly a year old now and I have been in diet denial since she was born, but I'm back on the (no sugar) wagon tomorrow. I don't mind really, but it's just so terminally dull

I don't think I'm dead Pikachu - it was presumably the test Apple refers to.

That's interesting Wolfie - so there is hope! I need to be far more careful than I have been of late. It's like Melibu says, I need to make smarter choices. I'll have a look on the 30 days of yoga - and maybe join DH in more of the dog walks!

Just taking a bottle of water for my drive to London rather than stop for a coffee. Also cut out sugar completely in drinks and porridge.

Body preservation starts now!

Hopefully Tootsie you'll be one of the 50% who don't get it.

Does anyone know how soon I could expect to see an improvement - is it a gradual thing, or pretty instantaneous?

You can reduce your blood glucose level quite dramatically by doing the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) way of eating (there is a topic on LCHF on the boards). Many diabetics are using this method (you only have to look on the Diabetes forums to see how effective this is). It's not just the sugar you are aware of, but ALL carbs convert to sugar in the blood, so cutting out foods such as potatoes, bread, rice and pasta will lower blood glucose levels pretty quickly. A bonus is that you should lose weight too, but you need to do a bit of reading on the subject. I was nearly pre-diabetic and have been doing LCHF for about 5 months, and have lost almost a stone in weight, plus my Hba1C has reduced. My friend has also done it - her Hba1C was 44, but after doing LCHF for 3 months it has gone down to 37, and has also lost a stone in weight. (The pre-diabetes range is from 42 - 47 so you are really in the diabetic range if over 47)

But nan surely eating a high fat diet will just cause other health issues eventually??

Not really, SoHereItIs, you are switching the fuel your body uses from sugar to fat - from glucogenic to ketogenic. Fat doesn't make you fat - sugar does. If you read the Low-carb Boot Camp threads on the boards, there is plenty of info about this way of eating, even more on the Diabetes UK forums (and other Diabetes forums). Basically, it is the way Man used to eat 10,000 years ago, hunter-gatherer, before agriculture, and before we imported the potato and grains, so it is a very natural way to eat.

So 6 weeks down the line....I looked at the LCHF diet as you suggested Nan, and it is praised heavily on diabetic boards. I reckon I've lost around a stone in weight, and am genuinely not really hungry. Occasionally think I would love a chocolate bar, but am being really sensible until I have my next test. GP is on board for me waiting to test until just before Christmas.

I can't believe how confused my dietary knowledge was - I honestly thought I knew what was good/bad, and yet I got it totally wrong. Trying to stick with less than 40 carbs a day, although frequently in the 50s and occasionally much higher!

Keeping a close record on what I'm eating daily - although I have the occasional bad day, like yesterday when I was out with DH and had a pizza, but it was genuinely all the restaurant to do in the half hour we had before the concert. See - there's always an excuse

AJ, that's amazing. Well done, and keeping fingers crossed for a good test result for you...

Congratulations on giving LCHF (Low Carb Healthy Fat) a go, aj. I am not prediabetic but had serious weight issues and was definitely on the way to diabetes.

I decided to try LCHF in March this year and like you had a real difficulty getting my head around eating fat freely after decades of low fat diets.

The growing evidence is compelling though; we have been conditioned to believe that low fat high carb is healthy eating; it isn't . Carbs turn into fat, not fat. Healthy fat is in fact an essential fuel for our body (and brain) and, as I found out, satiates you beautifully like nothing else.

Fast forward to today I am more than 70lbs down and dress size 24 to 16 so far. I eat lots of lower carb vegetables, good proteins, including salmon, offal (lambs liver), bacon, etc, and use healthy fats including olive oil, butter, lard, avocado oil, coconut oil in my cooking.

I would never have believed it would work and the most wonderful thing is, that I am not dieting any more, just eating to live (healthy lifestyle [happy]) rather than living to eat (bingeing on carbs ).

I know of a few people on a fb group I belong to who have reversed their Type 2 diabetes by doing this and are now back in the 'normal' range. It is so simple and I cannot understand why we are not all being advised to do this way of eating. Best of luck with continued success, aj.

MyCats! You star!!!!!

Well done aj. I'm a LCHF convert too after getting a T2D diagnosis in July - was 69 now 52 At least 1.5 stone lost and now in 'normal' BMI range.

Good luck with your next HbA1C

ajandjjmum, thanks for posting and updating. I've fallen off the wagon fairly badly this last year , after a brilliant LCHF six years , and today was the right day for me to read this.

Glad it helped Footle! And thank you to everyone who responded.

The 'you're nearly diabetic' conversation was the kick I needed, but I am surprised just how much conflicting information there is out there. My GP has been great - he says he really excited to see my next results. He suggested that I have the test pre-Christmas, so I can enjoy Christmas (obviously within moderation!).

I'm having surgery next week under GA, so I'm getting the test done before then, as apparently the levels can be messed around by a GA. Learn something new every day.

Fingers crossed.

That's brilliant, aj! Your next HbA1C should show quite a drop - fingers crossed for you!

MyCats what a huge endorsement for LCHF - and congrats on such a weight loss! It really is a good way to eat, and eventually, maybe the NHS will finally recognise the evidence of low carbing, and revise their policy of pushing the "Eatwell plate" which for diabetics is actually "Eatbad" and harms more than helps.

And you have a very enlightened GP aj, too many GPs aren't aware of the benefits of low carb, but maybe the tide is beginning to turn!

The Swedish health service has adopted LCHF as standard dietary advice.

Hi ajandjjmum , also anyone else with worries about diabetes.

               It is great that you have found a way to prevent your body ( cells ) failing to prevent blood glucose levels rising to levels that are higher than required for optimum health.  Your cells are most likely unable to limit your blood glucose because of a  measure called insulin resistance ,  also  another measure known as insulin sensitivity.  ( I am referring to  Type 2 diabetes -  NOT  type 1 ) .      I assume you have type 2 ? ,  which is most common in adults.  


             You might like to be aware of some research, which may be of help in deciding how to proceed.

              If you have either reduced insulin sensitivity or greater insulin resistance then blood glucose may rise inappropriately, which I assume is your problem.  The reason for both these effects upon your cells is not confirmed at present.   However ....   It has been shown that insulin sensitivity is greater and insulin resistance is lower in people with higher Vitamin D levels.   

                      There is a cohort of about 7000 people that have increased their vitamin D  levels  , from the average westerner level of about 50  or less ,   to 100  or more.    Among these people the diagnoses of diabetes has dropped by about 90%.  Please look at  <a class="break-all" href="//www.grassrootshealth.net" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.grassrootshealth.net</a> for more information.    

                      There is another reason to suspect that Vitamin D  can have an effect on the progression of diabetes ,   Professor Heaney,  at Creighton University, Nebraska ,   published a paper showing that insulin resistance decreased,  and insulin sensitivity increased when blood levels of this important hormone precursor became higher, i.e.  in the 80 to 90 area. 

                   If  your situation is higher than normal blood sugar,   then , in my opinion , you should consider raising your blood levels of vitamin D.  It could very well help you and may stop you progressing to full blown diabetes.  

                IF  , you ask your doctor to test your level , you most likely will find it is around 50  ish ,   if you are a UK resident,  where levels are quite low, especially in the winter.    In order to raise your level ,  you will need to supplement by about  1000  I.U.  per day.   to raise your level by 25 nmol/litre of blood.  Try to get your level , over the long term ,  (  not just a few months ) ,  to 120   to 140 ish.      This will be very beneficial to your health status. 

              Have a look at this thread ....     where I have tried to point out and also explained why a Vitamin D level that was prevalent throughout human evolution is good... !    Nowadays in this country ...UK ,   we are sadly deficient, with many adverse health consequences.

         <a class="break-all" href="http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2421492-Vitimin-D-can-it-have-this-effect" target="_blank">www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2421492-Vitimin-D-can-it-have-this-effect</a>


Best of luck , 


                              and I hope this is helpful to you.   

BTBH

I had a very high level (in the 60s) when routine bloods were taken for my BP medication review. I was terrified as my dad is an insulin dependant diabetic (t2) so knew what it would mean for me. I took the nurses advice to cut back on sugar, fat etc and struggled to lose about 18lbs, and my 2nd test was around 46, so they decided to let me continue with diet control and since then, I've gone low carb and it's been a revelation. I don't feel hungry, never crave sugar or carbs and have lost nearly 4 stone in total. Sugar is hidden in so many foods, it's really so unnecessary and you need to be really careful with labels. My rules are to cook everything from scratch, no ready meals or processed foods and no sugar. Once you go cold turkey on it, it's easy and I can taste it now very very easily. Most supermarkets are full of crap these days, and most of it is poison to us. Good luck, it can be done but it's not always easy.

Hi there. I had this same conversation with my GP 6 weeks ago. She has given me 8 weeks to turn things around. I have closely followed the 8 week sugar diet. Amazing! I have never felt better. Fasting glucose levels were 7.5+, in the diabetic range. Levels now usually around 4.1. Huge change and I have lost over 15kg! Life changing

Wow, I am so encouraged to read these experiences about the benefits of low carbing. I wondered if it was just me, but for more than forty years I have yoyo dieted with low fat foods and they were NEVER sustainable and I was always hungry, deprived, miserable, and ultimately fatter than ever.

This low carb healthy fat way of eating has been a revelation, I cannot envisage eating any other way ever again. It seems so natural and easy, once you get over the mental block of living without carby foods. I've done two cruises LCHF and again, it was easy. I also got through the summer holidays this year (normally a time when I fall off the wagon on diets ).