Pre Diabetic

[mrscam]

Hello to Everyone

I was diagnosed as pre diabetic with a reading of 42 earlier this year. I bought a glucose meter reading and my readings are 4.6 to 4.9 on waking and throughout the day go to anything between 5 and 6 and sometimes over 7. Are these numbers a good reading as I have been told only to go by the blood tests from the doctors. I am a bit confused and I see a lot postings with the digital numbers. I would be very grateful for any help.

Thank you vey much

Mrscam

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome

Those are really great readings! What changes have you made to your diet and lifestyle?

Are the over 7 readings after you have eaten a meal and if so, how long after the meal? If you get quite high readings 2 hours after a meal then it usually indicates that there were too many carbs in that meal for your body to cope. Understanding what constitutes a high reading is important if you are testing so you know if you need to adjust your diet a bit more. What we normally recommend is to test just before eating a meal and then 2 hours afterwards. You are looking for the second reading to be no more than 3 whole units higher than the first and ideally, rarely go above 8.5.
If you can keep within those guidelines as much as possible you should be back into normal HbA1c range for your next blood test.

 

[Drummer]

I have got my Hba1c down to 42, it was much higher, but I don't like to see my after eating readings much over 7mmol/l. If I was to see numbers even as high as 7.3 I would be thinking about what I had eaten and resolving to be more careful in future.
I think that 7mmol/l is, for me, a tipping point and I don't feel quite right until my BG level drops below that - it might be all in my head, but then, that is where I live.

 

[Docb]

Hi @mrscam and welcome to the forum. Everybody's blood glucose goes up and down during the day. Lots of things affect it but the thing you will be able to spot is the effect of carbohydrate in food, which makes it go up.

The blood glucose readings you are seeing, more than four but less than eight, are what you would expect to see when your system is coping well with what you are eating so there is nothing to worry about. Keep on with what you are doing!

 

[mrscam]

Thank you all for your replies, all very helpful. I have continued testing and still getting good readings, interesting seeing the numbers after different foods. I haven't lost weight but do get out walking quite a bit. Just have to keep going with it.
Many thanks
Mrscam

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sounds like you are doing really well @mrscam

In general the guidelines for T2 always used to be to aim for readings of 4-7mmol/L before meals and no higher than 8.5 mmol/L by 2hrs after eating, so it looks like you are making food choices that really suit your body.

Many members here check immediately before as well as 2hrs after the first bite of a meal to check the BG rise that resulted from the combination of foods - then look at reducing the carb load or perhaps trying different types of carbs if the 'meal rise' is greater than 2-3mmol/L

Good luck and keep us posted with how things are going for you 🙂

 

[grovesy]

That result puts you in the normal range.

 

[mrscam]

Thank you for your replies. Last January my reading was 42 which meant I was pre diabetic, now my reading is 38. I have followed a gluton free diet this year as I was diagnosed with celiac disease and my reading is now 38. I hav'ent lost any weight as I always struggle. So does following a gluton free diet help with reducing blood glucose levels. Many thanks for reading.
Mrscam

 

[Drummer]

As gluten is found in wheat, then excluding it can be a good option for type twos, but when it is replaced with other carbs, it is not a better choice, but you are not all that high in the Hba1c tests, so it might be enough to keep you out of the prediabetes range.
Avoiding more carbs could help you lose weight, as protein and fat seem to be less likely to cause weight gain and low carb reduces the production of insulin and allows body fat to be used more easily when exercising so it gets used up. It also makes activity easier.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

There’s nothing specific about gluten that will affect your BG levels except that it is found in foods made from wheat flour which contain carbohydrate.

So it really depends on what you eat instead as to whether gluten-free has benefits to your BG levels. Best bet is to check with a BG meter to see how your body is responding

 

[mrscam]

Thank you so much for your replies. One other thing, do you think taking turmeric tablets each day helps?
mrscam

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Thank you so much for your replies. One other thing, do you think taking turmeric tablets each day helps?
mrscam

Very unlikely to have any significant effect I’m afraid - thoigh unlikely to do any harm.

Most of these ‘take x every day to help’ are the same I think - high promises from the people that sell them in tablet form, but it seems to me that if they were actually as effective as all that the pharma companies would have isolated the compound that creates the effect, concentrated it, put it through a proper blinded clinical trial, and would be selling it!

 

[mrscam]

Very unlikely to have any significant effect I’m afraid - thoigh unlikely to do any harm.

Most of these ‘take x every day to help’ are the same I think - high promises from the people that sell them in tablet form, but it seems to me that if they were actually as effective as all that the pharma companies would have isolated the compound that creates the effect, concentrated it, put it through a proper blinded clinical trial, and would be selling it!

Thank you for your reply.
Mrscam