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liniloo

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hi
i have just been given my fasting results as 6.9. what does that mean to me? im not seeing my g.p until next week. can this be managed by diet alone?
also, am i not to have any sugar/glucose at all?? or can i have some?
does this result mean im diabetic? or borderline ? im so upset. im very overweight and since november i have lost 10kg in weight and im swimming nearly everyday for 45 minutes and go to the gym about 4-5 days a week for 40 minutes if i continue with this regime does this mean i can keep diabetes at bay? sorry for all the questions its just im in shock , im so upset.:(
any advice would be extremely appreciated. also would i benefit from a home glucose kit at this stage?

thanks
liniloo
 
liniloo said:
hi
i have just been given my fasting results as 6.9. what does that mean to me? im not seeing my g.p until next week. can this be managed by diet alone?
also, am i not to have any sugar/glucose at all?? or can i have some?
does this result mean im diabetic? or borderline ? im so upset. im very overweight and since november i have lost 10kg in weight and im swimming nearly everyday for 45 minutes and go to the gym about 4-5 days a week for 40 minutes if i continue with this regime does this mean i can keep diabetes at bay? sorry for all the questions its just im in shock , im so upset.:(
any advice would be extremely appreciated. also would i benefit from a home glucose kit at this stage?

thanks
liniloo
Click to expand...

Hi liniloo, welcome to the group!

A fasting result of 6.9 is just below that used to diagnose diabetes (7.0 mmol/l). Has the doctor asked you back for more tests? Often, people are asked to do what is called an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to confirm whether or not you have diabetes. They measure your blood glucose before (another fasting test), then get you to drink some lucazade, then measure your BG again after 2 hours. If it's over 11.1 then the diagnosis is confirmed.

But don't panic! It sounds like you're already doing everything right with the weight loss and exercise, and even if confirmed there are many people that can manage the condition without medication.

I wouldn't buy a monitoring kit at this stage, not before your next appointment, where you can discuss it with your GP.

Let us know how things go, hope everything turns out OK🙂
 
hi
thankyou for your reply. im due to see my g.p next monday :(
maybe she will organise an oral test. i will certainly keep up with up with the "diet" that i have been doing. will i still be able to eat potatoes and brown rice? have heard conflicting stories about that.

thanks again for your reply 🙂
 
Hi,

As with any chronic condition the advice and treatment can change over time. Diabetes is a condition than can vary considerably from person to person, as you'll probably gather from reading the various posts here. There is one school of thought that any carbohydrates, such as pasta, potatoes and rice must be kept to a minimum to achieve good blood glucose control. Equally, there are others who will say that you simply need a balance of fat, carbs and protein, coupled with exercise, to achieve good control.

I think you should stick with your current diet until you have seen your doc again, when he/she may give you the opportunity to speak with a dietician who will be able to advise you better of how to adapt your diet to your lifestyle.

If you are confirmed as having diabetes you will begin a learning curve to discover what foods will be fine for you and which will have an adverse effect on your blood sugar. For example, I'm ok with most things but find that cereals like branflakes send my readings high.
 
hi again!
thanks for that! i will wait patiently until i have seen the doctor next monday🙂 if i can!! there is room for improvement on my diet and now i will have a good reason to keep going!! thanks liniloo🙂
 
Hi Liniloo

Just wanted to say that Northerner has given you great advice. Please try not to panic and wait to see what your doctor says.

The best thing you can do is continue to have a healthy diet and exercise. Your result is below diagnosis so your doctor may decide to do more tests or perhaps just keep an eye on you. When I was first diagnosed, I was given 6 months to try and improve things myself. I didn't manage it at the time, and went on medication 6 months after diagnosis. But since then I improved my health, and eventually got back off pills. So, I do know a healthy diet and exercise proved beneficial for me, and therefore may help others too. Keep up the good work, and let us know how it goes.
 
thanks alba37
i know that i probably shouldnt have but i bought a home testing kit.
before my evening meal(about 30 minutes after exercise) i took a reading it was 5.9
and this morning after fasting it reduced down to 6.5
i am working harder than ever on the exercise and diet! im eating porridge even though i dont like it!LOL!!i feel bad that im moaning about my problems when clearly others have it far worse! im seeing the g.p on monday and hope that they just monitor me for now as im doing well on the weight loss!
i think that this site is fantastic and very informative.
another question though --is it better for me to avoid all sugar altogether to get the readings down? i think i can manage it but not sure on things like pineapple juice and fruit.what do you think?🙂

Liniloo
 
Hi liniloo,

I don't see any harm on you buying a kit to be honest, and your results are encouraging.

I cut out as much "sugar" as possible, I also cut down on carbs, pots, rice, bread etc. But I did continue eating lots of fruit, and it did me no harm. I feel the best you can do is a healthy diet. You'll need carbs when you're excercising so much so don't reduce them too much. Try a couple of tests 2 hrs after food and see how they are.

I know every doctor is different, but I think it's unlikely you'll doctor will do much if he doesn't get a fasting reading over 7, or a random reading over 11ish.

You're doing really well, and sounds like you're doing everything possible to get yourself healthy.

A x
 
liniloo said:
thanks alba37
i know that i probably shouldnt have but i bought a home testing kit.
before my evening meal(about 30 minutes after exercise) i took a reading it was 5.9
and this morning after fasting it reduced down to 6.5
i am working harder than ever on the exercise and diet! im eating porridge even though i dont like it!LOL!!i feel bad that im moaning about my problems when clearly others have it far worse! im seeing the g.p on monday and hope that they just monitor me for now as im doing well on the weight loss!
i think that this site is fantastic and very informative.
another question though --is it better for me to avoid all sugar altogether to get the readings down? i think i can manage it but not sure on things like pineapple juice and fruit.what do you think?🙂

Liniloo
Click to expand...

Hi liniloo,

Regarding sugar, or sugary foods: sugar is a form of carbohydrate, but a form which is easily taken up into the blood thus boosting blood glucose levels very quickly. It's the reason that diabetics who are suffering the symptoms of low blood sugar (usually below 4 or 3.5) will eat glucose tablets, jelly babies or drink sugary drinks like lucazade or non-diet coke - to quickly get their glucose levels up. Other forms of carbohydrate like pasta, potatoes and rice are 'complex' carbohydrates which take longer for the body to digest and turn into glucose in the blood.

So, with straightforward sugar, sweets, fruit juice, cake etc. you'll probably get a 'spike' where your BG goes up quickly, but then drops again. Complex carbs will give a slower, more even release. I'd say to keep the sweet stuff to a minimum if you can for the time being.

It does get a little more complicated though (of course🙂), as eating sweet things after a meal of more complex carbs will lessen the efffect of the 'spike'. This is called 'glycaemic loading' - there are books available explaining how it works.

Don't overdo the exercise - you don't want to get an injury and then have to give it up for a while, I know, I'm a runner and there's nothing worse!
 
All brilliant stuff. Porridge is a good carb, so if you can eat it do. To make it more interesting add fruit to it like a banana or add a handfull of mixed nuts. Although things like sultanas and raisisns have a certainamount of sugar in them, added to the porridge, it will become more interesting
 
liniloo said:
hi
i have just been given my fasting results as 6.9. what does that mean to me? im not seeing my g.p until next week. can this be managed by diet alone?
also, am i not to have any sugar/glucose at all?? or can i have some?
does this result mean im diabetic? or borderline ? im so upset. im very overweight and since november i have lost 10kg in weight and im swimming nearly everyday for 45 minutes and go to the gym about 4-5 days a week for 40 minutes if i continue with this regime does this mean i can keep diabetes at bay? sorry for all the questions its just im in shock , im so upset.:(
any advice would be extremely appreciated. also would i benefit from a home glucose kit at this stage?

thanks
liniloo
Click to expand...
In 2000 i had a highish fasting blood sugar my dr then sent me for a glucose tolerence test, whcih came back as I had impaired glucose tolerance( some call pre-diabetes). I was advised to loss wieght and have annual fasting blood gluose. I was advised against testing at home at this point.
In 2004 I again had a raised fasting blood glucose, followed by another glucose tolerance test, though this time I was now diabetic. though I know i had not been for long.
 
Alba37 said:
Hi liniloo,

I don't see any harm on you buying a kit to be honest, and your results are encouraging.

I cut out as much "sugar" as possible, I also cut down on carbs, pots, rice, bread etc. But I did continue eating lots of fruit, and it did me no harm. I feel the best you can do is a healthy diet. You'll need carbs when you're excercising so much so don't reduce them too much. Try a couple of tests 2 hrs after food and see how they are.

I know every doctor is different, but I think it's unlikely you'll doctor will do much if he doesn't get a fasting reading over 7, or a random reading over 11ish.

You're doing really well, and sounds like you're doing everything possible to get yourself healthy.

A x
Click to expand...

hi again!
thankyou for the information i feel a lot more positive. if i do a test 2hrs after eating what sort of result am i looking for? what results are normal after 2hrs? please.🙂
 
hi
i have been eating porridge for the past 3 weeks!! that was going to be another question i was going to ask LOL!!i shall continue with that then!! you are all so kind giving me such constructive advice. i will let you know what my g.p says monday!!EEK!!!
xx
 
Hi

In 2005 I developed hypothyroidism (autoimmune) and my GP decided to do a fasting glucose which was 6.7mmol. He then said I should have a Glucose tolerance test which showed my fasting as 6.9mmol and my 2 hours post glucose load as 5.2, This showed my body had responded to the sugar load appropriately.

He concluded that I didn't have diabetes but I had what was called impaired fasting glucose which can increase the risk to developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Well I never developed type 2 diabetes but my good old immune system kicked in and knackered my pancreas just the same and I developed type 1 diabetes instead.
Good thing though is I haven't caught a cold in over 5 years due to my robust immune system.
You never know that might be normal for you after all there is a normal reference range which medics go by, but not all normal values will fall in that range. Have you ever tested normal ever in your life before?

Emma
 
liniloo said:
hi again!
thankyou for the information i feel a lot more positive. if i do a test 2hrs after eating what sort of result am i looking for? what results are normal after 2hrs? please.🙂
Click to expand...

area of much debate to be honest. For someone without diabetes then back to normal range. for someone who has diabetes the official target is less than 9mmol after eating.

If your results are in double figures 2 hours after eating then it's likely that you will be diagnosed with diabetes.
 
hi again!
one last question before i go to the doctors -- i did a test 2 hours after eating and it was 7.6 what is your verdict on this result??
is it ok? 🙂 im one of these people that like to visit the doctors with as much information i can so im not shocked by anything she says!!! thats it until i go on monday . any replies would be appreciated xx🙂
 
liniloo said:
hi again!
one last question before i go to the doctors -- i did a test 2 hours after eating and it was 7.6 what is your verdict on this result??
is it ok? 🙂 im one of these people that like to visit the doctors with as much information i can so im not shocked by anything she says!!! thats it until i go on monday . any replies would be appreciated xx🙂
Click to expand...

Hiya,

It depends partly on what you've had to eat, but I think that a person without diabetes would be expected to have returned to normal levels after 2 hours i.e. between 4-6. Sounds to me like you may be on the borderline, especially given your previous readings. There are two other conditions which might apply - Impaired Fasting Glycaemia (IFG) or Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT). Both these suggest that your blood glucose levels are chronically higher than normal, but you are not yet diabetic.

IFG is when your fasting glucose levels are between 6.1-6.9 mmol/l. IGT is when your levels are between 7.8 and 11 mmol/l two hours after taking oral glucose.

Hope this helps, and that all goes well on Monday!🙂
 
Hi,

Great! Like Nikki said, you are looking at (around) 11 upwards to be diagnosed Diabetic. Tests can vary considerably, and depends on what you ate and when, but if all your tests are below 11, that's good news. If you have any others questions, just ask.

Let us know how it goes on Monday. Good luck.
 
hello
thankyou for replying so quickly.thankyou for your help. i will let you know what happens monday fingers crossed!!! xx🙂
 
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