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Hello Everyone, I have just been diagnosed with pre-diabetes - which was a shock!
I haven't been given much info, apart from to cut out sugar, carbs, and fat because my cholesterol was raised too, and to exercise more. So I thought I would join this group to help me - I feel quite stressed about it, not knowing what I can eat, and in what proportions!
I have another blood test in two weeks time.
My first question is, could someone recommend a blood test machine please, that I could use at home, that is easy to use!
Thank you!
Fiat 500 Lady. x
It is completely normal to feel shocked and overwhelmed and sometimes angry and frightened and guilty and a whole host of other emotions at first, but the important thing is to seek knowledge and take control and that seems to be exactly what you are looking to do. A BG meter is an invaluable tool to help you with that and the 2 most often recommended here on the forum for both reliability and economy of use for those self funding are the Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. They both come as a kit with the meter, a lancing device and usually 10 test strips and lancets. You will go through a lot of test strips in the early days of intensive testing, so you would be well advised to order at least 2 extra pots of 50 test strips to go with your meter kit.
If you are anything like me, a video tutorial is worth a thousand instruction leaflets so do look on You Tube for a "How to use a BG meter" video. There may be one for your particular meter, but they are mostly very similar in how they work. If you get stuck though, do ask us and we will try to talk you through it. Most people waste a few test strips before they get the hang of it.... so if you manage first time, give yourself a gold star!
Hi @Fiat 500 lady, welcome to the forum. There's more information here about pre-diabetes and what to do to reduce the risk of going on to get type 2 diabetes.
When you have your blood test appointment, will you be able to ask the nurse/GP questions? Maybe ask for advice on diet and exercise and what you can do to move out of the pre diabetes range back into the non range?
Plus ask any questions you have here - loads of well informed people on the forum who can tell you what worked for them and answer any queries you may have.
Best wishes, Sarah
It is completely normal to feel shocked and overwhelmed and sometimes angry and frightened and guilty and a whole host of other emotions at first, but the important thing is to seek knowledge and take control and that seems to be exactly what you are looking to do. A BG meter is an invaluable tool to help you with that and the 2 most often recommended here on the forum for both reliability and economy of use for those self funding are the Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. They both come as a kit with the meter, a lancing device and usually 10 test strips and lancets. You will go through a lot of test strips in the early days of intensive testing, so you would be well advised to order at least 2 extra pots of 50 test strips to go with your meter kit.
If you are anything like me, a video tutorial is worth a thousand instruction leaflets so do look on You Tube for a "How to use a BG meter" video. There may be one for your particular meter, but they are mostly very similar in how they work. If you get stuck though, do ask us and we will try to talk you through it. Most people waste a few test strips before they get the hang of it.... so if you manage first time, give yourself a gold star!
Hi, Thank you very much for your reply, and understanding words, it is very much appreciated!
I will look on You Tube at the video that you suggested, and at the meters. Thanks again.
Good recommendations on the blood glucose monitors. As you are only in the prediabetes range it is a good opportunity to make some adjustments to your diet. Cutting out sugar and things containing sugar is a good idea and reducing portions of some of the other high carbohydrate foods like cereals, rice, bread, pasta, pastry and tropical fruits may be all that is needed but by establishing a testing regime that will give you information that you can base any changes on is a good start. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours is the usual way.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruits like berries will give you plenty of options for tasty meals. Beware of low fat products as the are often higher carbohydrate than full fat. Many people find that reducing carbohydrates and having normal fat or even higher fat actually reduces their cholesterol.
Hi @Fiat 500 lady, welcome to the forum. There's more information here about pre-diabetes and what to do to reduce the risk of going on to get type 2 diabetes.
When you have your blood test appointment, will you be able to ask the nurse/GP questions? Maybe ask for advice on diet and exercise and what you can do to move out of the pre diabetes range back into the non range?
Plus ask any questions you have here - loads of well informed people on the forum who can tell you what worked for them and answer any queries you may have.
Best wishes, Sarah
As a rule of thumb, if you are overweight/obese and eat low carb higher fat in order to reduce your Blood Glucose, it is unlikely to raise your LDL cholesterol and indeed is likely to raise your HDL cholesterol.
Only if you are normal or underweight (as I was ) is it likely to raise your LDL cholesterol, though it still reduced my BG, my weight and my Triglycerides and raised my HDL cholesterol - all of which is good. So don't fear fat !
Good recommendations on the blood glucose monitors. As you are only in the prediabetes range it is a good opportunity to make some adjustments to your diet. Cutting out sugar and things containing sugar is a good idea and reducing portions of some of the other high carbohydrate foods like cereals, rice, bread, pasta, pastry and tropical fruits may be all that is needed but by establishing a testing regime that will give you information that you can base any changes on is a good start. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours is the usual way.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruits like berries will give you plenty of options for tasty meals. Beware of low fat products as the are often higher carbohydrate than full fat. Many people find that reducing carbohydrates and having normal fat or even higher fat actually reduces their cholesterol.
Thank you very much for the information.
I was very surprised to read that eating normal fat reduces cholesterol, and that it is the carbohydrates that contribute to the raised cholesterol!
Also, you said you should test the blood before a meal and then 2 hours after - should the 2 readings be roughly the same?
Thanks again!
Hi and welcome
When you test your blood 2 hours from when you ate (or took the first bite), you are looking for a raise of no more than 2 - 3 mmol/l - anything higher than that can be considered a spike and you need to look at the carbs you have just eaten, either reduce the portion size or find an alternative for the next time. It is all trial and test and a lot of adjusting to start with - a lot of us keep an online food diary (plenty of free ones about) - you log everything you eat and drink, it will show you the calories, carbs, sugar, fat, protein etc so you can watch your limits as the day goes on.
By the way, the GlucoNavii BG monitor has the cheapest test strips right now, so it seems the best buy and is the one I just changed to recently. I use My Fitness Pal as my food diary and log my exercises (steps and exercise bike) on that too, update my weight and measurements so I get a good picture of how I am doing.
Personally I don't worry too much about calories and fat - I rarely reach my calories limit but do watch my fat intake just to make me feel better, it is my carbs intake that I aim to keep lower. but I don't fret or feel guilty should I go a touch over - just mustn't make a habit of it lol The trouble with low fat is that the sugar content may be higher, such as in a fruit yoghurt. Fruit contains sugar, so we tend to stick with the various "berries" as they are at the lower end - some apple or pear, especially with 100% nut butter is a good snack from time to time. Tropical fruit tend to be the highest sugar, so that's pineapple and oranges etc - and that goes for fruit juices too. Vegetables with the highest carbs are those that grow under the earth, most that grow above the earth are better, though peas and sweetcorn have a fair bit of sugar, so have those occasionally rather than a daily veg. Meat and fish are carb free, but processed meats aren't very good for us, cheese is good and a matchbox size piece is another good snack, as are eggs - 0 carbs and eaten how you like them - they are far healthier than carb-laden breakfast cereals too.
Hope this helps you, and hope you can stay pre-diabetic, it is quite a minefield to get through when we first start this journey, but we are making ourselves healthier and that is no bad thing 🙂
Good recommendations on the blood glucose monitors. As you are only in the prediabetes range it is a good opportunity to make some adjustments to your diet. Cutting out sugar and things containing sugar is a good idea and reducing portions of some of the other high carbohydrate foods like cereals, rice, bread, pasta, pastry and tropical fruits may be all that is needed but by establishing a testing regime that will give you information that you can base any changes on is a good start. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours is the usual way.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruits like berries will give you plenty of options for tasty meals. Beware of low fat products as the are often higher carbohydrate than full fat. Many people find that reducing carbohydrates and having normal fat or even higher fat actually reduces their cholesterol.
Hi and welcome
When you test your blood 2 hours from when you ate (or took the first bite), you are looking for a raise of no more than 2 - 3 mmol/l - anything higher than that can be considered a spike and you need to look at the carbs you have just eaten, either reduce the portion size or find an alternative for the next time. It is all trial and test and a lot of adjusting to start with - a lot of us keep an online food diary (plenty of free ones about) - you log everything you eat and drink, it will show you the calories, carbs, sugar, fat, protein etc so you can watch your limits as the day goes on.
By the way, the GlucoNavii BG monitor has the cheapest test strips right now, so it seems the best buy and is the one I just changed to recently. I use My Fitness Pal as my food diary and log my exercises (steps and exercise bike) on that too, update my weight and measurements so I get a good picture of how I am doing.
Personally I don't worry too much about calories and fat - I rarely reach my calories limit but do watch my fat intake just to make me feel better, it is my carbs intake that I aim to keep lower. but I don't fret or feel guilty should I go a touch over - just mustn't make a habit of it lol The trouble with low fat is that the sugar content may be higher, such as in a fruit yoghurt. Fruit contains sugar, so we tend to stick with the various "berries" as they are at the lower end - some apple or pear, especially with 100% nut butter is a good snack from time to time. Tropical fruit tend to be the highest sugar, so that's pineapple and oranges etc - and that goes for fruit juices too. Vegetables with the highest carbs are those that grow under the earth, most that grow above the earth are better, though peas and sweetcorn have a fair bit of sugar, so have those occasionally rather than a daily veg. Meat and fish are carb free, but processed meats aren't very good for us, cheese is good and a matchbox size piece is another good snack, as are eggs - 0 carbs and eaten how you like them - they are far healthier than carb-laden breakfast cereals too.
Hope this helps you, and hope you can stay pre-diabetic, it is quite a minefield to get through when we first start this journey, but we are making ourselves healthier and that is no bad thing 🙂
Hi, Thank you so much for your very helpful message, that is so useful for me!
I can see there is a lot to learn and take in!
A few weeks ago I bought a Gluco Rx Nexus monitor, but I just can’t get it to work! I put the blood on the strip and no result comes up, not sure what I am doing wrong - are they tricky to use?
By the way, I have 30g of Kellogg’s Bran Flakes with a little semi milk for breakfast each morning, is that ok?
Thanks again.
Hi, Thank you so much for your very helpful message, that is so useful for me!
I can see there is a lot to learn and take in!
A few weeks ago I bought a Gluco Rx Nexus monitor, but I just can’t get it to work! I put the blood on the strip and no result comes up, not sure what I am doing wrong - are they tricky to use?
By the way, I have 30g of Kellogg’s Bran Flakes with a little semi milk for breakfast each morning, is that ok?
Thanks again.
Might be a silly reply, but check that the batteries are in correctly, mine were a bit fiddly and didn't want to stay in place, so worth a check. Always wash your hands before testing your BG, save any cross-contamination from something you have touched. You put the new strip into the machine and that should activate it, then you do your finger prick and then put the free end of the strip (still in the meter) next to the bead of blood and it should "suck it" along the centre and your meter should then give you the 5 second countdown before displaying your result. The part of the strip with the longest metal (gold?) section is the part that goes into the meter, though you may know that, I'm just trying to cover all possibilities 🙂 Let us know if you can get it to work.
Bran flakes aren't as high a carb as other cereals, but a lot of T2s have greek style plain yoghurt with berries and maybe a teaspoon of chia seeds mixed in - though I'm more prone to have that as a dessert 🙂 Once you get your BG meter working, test before you have the cereal and then 2 hours later, see if it gives you a spike or not - for some it will, for others it won't, just have to test and see how it is for you.
I used to use a Nexus Rx and found it fine to use. Are you waiting until it asks you for the blood sample? I think it is a flashing drop of blood on most devices. It is important to hold the test strip to the drop of blood quite steadily for a few seconds until it sucks up enough of the blood sample into the test strip and then it will count down to the result.
This is a link to a You Tube tutorial...
You may find that you would be better off with full fat milk... blue top as it has slightly less carbs than skimmed milk particularly if you drink a lot of tea and coffee with milk. The sugar in milk, lactose, is water soluble like most sugars so the cream has very little carbs by comparison. My morning coffee with cream is one of my little luxuries, that makes up for the cakes and biscuits and bread and sweets that I no longer eat. The fat will also help to keep you feeling full and provide you with slow release energy. Similarly, full fat natural yoghurt is much more filling. Many of us have it with a few berries..... I am currently having raspberries with mine which are one of the lowest carb fruits and really tasty, with a scattering of mixed seeds and some chopped nuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Along with my coffee and cream, that will often keep me going until my evening meal, with maybe just a chunk of cheese at lunchtime if I am a bit peckish.
I know we have been bombarded with low fat advice for pretty much all our lives, but if you look around, people are much more overweight now since we adopted that advice in the 1950s and getting progressively worse. Highly processed carbs including sugar are the problem but the low fat message has been promoted for so long, can you imagine government organizations having to say that "Actually we got it wrong and the dietary advice we have been giving you for the past 70 years is making you fatter and sicker when we thought it would make you healthier".... Added to that, there is a multi billion pound low fat and grains industry which is not overly keen to see that advice change. It's a very political situation that is unlikely to change any time soon. Fat doesn't make you fat, it makes you feel satisfied with a smaller amount of food and stops the cravings that make you want a snack every couple of hours. I know how odd that will seem, but all I can suggest is for you to try it yourself. I love the fact that I now have control over my food intake. I don't get those knuckle gnawing cravings which were almost insatiable at times. I am not always thinking about what I can eat next and I eat less without feeling hungry. It really has been a revelation for me and I was a sugar addict and carb monster pre diagnosis. Best of all, I don't feel like it is difficult to eat this way for the rest of my life. It doesn't take any willpower, because I don't have those cravings. Not denying it was difficult at first but mostly because I have spent my whole life filling my plate up with carbs and bread is a carrier for so many foods, so it takes a bit of getting your head around for what to have instead and how to serve it.... ie a sandwich without bread is a bit mind blowing.... but you do gradually figure it out and then you realise that the bread and pasta and rice were all quite boring tasting anyway, compared to the flavours of all the other stuff you have with them and the lower carb veggies that you bulk your plate out with instead.
Thank you very much for the information.
I was very surprised to read that eating normal fat reduces cholesterol, and that it is the carbohydrates that contribute to the raised cholesterol!
......................
Only a minority of Type 2 diabetics (TOFI's like me) will encounter this situation when they try a Low Carb or Keto 'way of eating'.
At first I thought you had to be really lean (not just not overweight) and really fit in order to fall into this category, but apparently the cut off is a BMI of under 25 (at your fattest). So I almost sneak in OK so my HDL and LDL don't quite make it up there either, but you get the drift!
Incidentally this doesn't take the view that such an elevated LDL is OK in the context of high HDL, low triglycerides and a Low Carb way of eating. Just that there are other people like this and so you're not a walking 'dead person'.
It's also reassuring for anybody with Type 2 who is overweight/obese and concerned that a Low Carb Higher Fat diet would raise their LDL - the evidence shows it's unlikely to do so!
Good recommendations on the blood glucose monitors. As you are only in the prediabetes range it is a good opportunity to make some adjustments to your diet. Cutting out sugar and things containing sugar is a good idea and reducing portions of some of the other high carbohydrate foods like cereals, rice, bread, pasta, pastry and tropical fruits may be all that is needed but by establishing a testing regime that will give you information that you can base any changes on is a good start. Testing before you eat and after 2 hours is the usual way.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, vegetables, salads and fruits like berries will give you plenty of options for tasty meals. Beware of low fat products as the are often higher carbohydrate than full fat. Many people find that reducing carbohydrates and having normal fat or even higher fat actually reduces their cholesterol.
It is completely normal to feel shocked and overwhelmed and sometimes angry and frightened and guilty and a whole host of other emotions at first, but the important thing is to seek knowledge and take control and that seems to be exactly what you are looking to do. A BG meter is an invaluable tool to help you with that and the 2 most often recommended here on the forum for both reliability and economy of use for those self funding are the Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare Tee2. They both come as a kit with the meter, a lancing device and usually 10 test strips and lancets. You will go through a lot of test strips in the early days of intensive testing, so you would be well advised to order at least 2 extra pots of 50 test strips to go with your meter kit.
If you are anything like me, a video tutorial is worth a thousand instruction leaflets so do look on You Tube for a "How to use a BG meter" video. There may be one for your particular meter, but they are mostly very similar in how they work. If you get stuck though, do ask us and we will try to talk you through it. Most people waste a few test strips before they get the hang of it.... so if you manage first time, give yourself a gold star!
I used to use a Nexus Rx and found it fine to use. Are you waiting until it asks you for the blood sample? I think it is a flashing drop of blood on most devices. It is important to hold the test strip to the drop of blood quite steadily for a few seconds until it sucks up enough of the blood sample into the test strip and then it will count down to the result.
This is a link to a You Tube tutorial...
You may find that you would be better off with full fat milk... blue top as it has slightly less carbs than skimmed milk particularly if you drink a lot of tea and coffee with milk. The sugar in milk, lactose, is water soluble like most sugars so the cream has very little carbs by comparison. My morning coffee with cream is one of my little luxuries, that makes up for the cakes and biscuits and bread and sweets that I no longer eat. The fat will also help to keep you feeling full and provide you with slow release energy. Similarly, full fat natural yoghurt is much more filling. Many of us have it with a few berries..... I am currently having raspberries with mine which are one of the lowest carb fruits and really tasty, with a scattering of mixed seeds and some chopped nuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Along with my coffee and cream, that will often keep me going until my evening meal, with maybe just a chunk of cheese at lunchtime if I am a bit peckish.
I know we have been bombarded with low fat advice for pretty much all our lives, but if you look around, people are much more overweight now since we adopted that advice in the 1950s and getting progressively worse. Highly processed carbs including sugar are the problem but the low fat message has been promoted for so long, can you imagine government organizations having to say that "Actually we got it wrong and the dietary advice we have been giving you for the past 70 years is making you fatter and sicker when we thought it would make you healthier".... Added to that, there is a multi billion pound low fat and grains industry which is not overly keen to see that advice change. It's a very political situation that is unlikely to change any time soon. Fat doesn't make you fat, it makes you feel satisfied with a smaller amount of food and stops the cravings that make you want a snack every couple of hours. I know how odd that will seem, but all I can suggest is for you to try it yourself. I love the fact that I now have control over my food intake. I don't get those knuckle gnawing cravings which were almost insatiable at times. I am not always thinking about what I can eat next and I eat less without feeling hungry. It really has been a revelation for me and I was a sugar addict and carb monster pre diagnosis. Best of all, I don't feel like it is difficult to eat this way for the rest of my life. It doesn't take any willpower, because I don't have those cravings. Not denying it was difficult at first but mostly because I have spent my whole life filling my plate up with carbs and bread is a carrier for so many foods, so it takes a bit of getting your head around for what to have instead and how to serve it.... ie a sandwich without bread is a bit mind blowing.... but you do gradually figure it out and then you realise that the bread and pasta and rice were all quite boring tasting anyway, compared to the flavours of all the other stuff you have with them and the lower carb veggies that you bulk your plate out with instead.
