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Diagnosed prediabetic

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Erica Barnes

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HI I am a bit confused! I had a health check which included a blood test and my doctor said that I was 42 on the diabetic scale which means I am just prediabetic. I didn't do anything immediately as was in the process of moving house but a month ago I decided to go on the 8 week blood sugar diet. On day 1 I went to my local Lloyds pharmacy in the morning before I had anything to eat and only water to drink and they did a free finger prick test and my level was 5.2. I am confused about the different scales. They told me that 5.2 was normaI. When should go back to the doctor to have the other blood test done? I have now been on the diet for one month. I know I have lost weight as skirts and trousers are a lot looser on me! But I wanted to wait a bit longer before getting on the scale again. I have also increased my exercise and walk every lunch hour as well as doing a weekly Zumba class and swimming. Can anyone explain the differing levels please? Thank you 😱)
 
Hi and welcome.

It can be a bit confusing as you've had two completely different tests even though both involve taking blood, and they're both measured in different units.

The test you got 42 on is called an HbA1C for which the units are mmol/mol, and it's effectively a measure of your average blood sugar during a 3 month period. The other was a fasting glucose test which only measures the glucose in your blood at that particular moment in time, and it's measured as a percentage - 5.2%.

From this chart - http://www.diabeteschart.org/ptom.html - you can see that 42mmol/mol is basically saying that on average your glucose level was 6.0% over the last 3 months. As it's a 3 month average, there's no real point in going back to the doctor for 3 months after the first test, i.e. in 2 months time. FYI, 42 to 48mmol/mol on an HbA1C is regarded as pre-diabetic and anything over 48mmol/mol is diabetic.

As your test is only just into the pre-diabetic range you can probably keep yourself from moving into diabetic territory by cutting out some carbs from your diet - bread (especially white), pasta, rice and potatoes are the worst culprits.

Looks like you're already bringing your glucose level down with diet and exercise changes, which bodes well for the future
 
I presume the blood test you had done by the doctor was an HbA1c test, which gives you a general picture of how you are doing over around a 10 week period. The finger prick test you got at your pharmacy tells you your blood sugar score at that moment in time. An HbA1c of 48 usually gets you a diagnosis of diabetes. As the HbA1c measures over a longer time, it is usually not re-done before three months are up. This will then let you know generally how you gave been getting on.
If you want to find out what sort of carbs (and in what quantities) you can tolerate, you can get a blood glucose testing meter ( which is what your pharmacist used to test you). You can ask for one from your gp, but it is usually unlikely that they will perscribe you one. The cheapest one and one I recommend is the Codefree. It is not the meter itself that costs loads, but the testing strips you put in each time you do a test. The codefree testing strips are the cheapest. There are some great links about why you should test and what to do at the top of the newbies section of the forum.

Sounds like you are doing really well with your diet and DSN hopefully keep from getting that diagnosis, good luck 🙂🙂
 
Hi Erica, welcome to the forum 🙂 I think the others have explained the difference in the two measurements very well, sso I won't repeat it 🙂 If you have any other questions, please let us know! Everything you are doing is great, and will really help you to keep your blood glucose under control, so keep up the good work! As suggested, if you do want to test at home, perhaps so you can remove or reduce some of the worst culprits from your diet, the cheapest meter we are aware of (cheap in terms of strips, that is) is the SD Codefree Meter which has test strips at around £8 for 50. Have a read of Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S in order to understand how to use those precious strips efficiently and effectively 🙂 You might also like to read Jennifer's Advice and Maggie Davey's letter in order to understand diabetes better - knowledge is power! 🙂

Please let us know how you get on, and good luck! 🙂
 
Sorry, cowboy Bob, I must have posted at the same time as you, didn't mean to repeat everything !
 
Hi Erica and welcome to the forum.
 
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