Hi, newly prediabetic

[rene2014]

Hi, I've just been told I'm prediabetic. I'm 44. I also have long standing inherited high cholesterol (on statins about 25 years now) and an underactive thyroid. I've only had one test, the hbA1c so far. I don't know whether this could be a one off reading or likely to be pretty accurate.
Any tips about what to expect and the chances of getting a better result next time would be great. I'm awaiting referral to diabetic nurse and a diabetes group.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi, I've just been told I'm prediabetic. I'm 44. I also have long standing inherited high cholesterol (on statins about 25 years now) and an underactive thyroid. I've only had one test, the hbA1c so far. I don't know whether this could be a one off reading or likely to be pretty accurate.
Any tips about what to expect and the chances of getting a better result next time would be great. I'm awaiting referral to diabetic nurse and a diabetes group.

Welcome to the forum.
The HbA1C is the test used for diagnosis of diabetes and how high it is shows where you are in the scheme of things.
Below 42 mmol/mol is normal, 42-47mmol/mol would be prediabetic and anything over that diabetes. It shows blood glucose level over the previous 3 months so likely to be a good guide. You are in a position to do something about it by making some modest changes to your diet and losing weight if you need to.
As it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose reducing your intake of high carb foods by either cutting some of those out or reducing portion size. Foods to be cautious of are things like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals as well as the more obvious cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, vegetables and salads, fruits like berries with small portions of those higher carb foods will still give plenty of options for tasty meals.
Have a look at this link which may give you some ideas about modifying your meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

 

[rene2014]

Welcome to the forum.
The HbA1C is the test used for diagnosis of diabetes and how high it is shows where you are in the scheme of things.
Below 42 mmol/mol is normal, 42-47mmol/mol would be prediabetic and anything over that diabetes. It shows blood glucose level over the previous 3 months so likely to be a good guide. You are in a position to do something about it by making some modest changes to your diet and losing weight if you need to.
As it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose reducing your intake of high carb foods by either cutting some of those out or reducing portion size. Foods to be cautious of are things like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals as well as the more obvious cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, vegetables and salads, fruits like berries with small portions of those higher carb foods will still give plenty of options for tasty meals.
Have a look at this link which may give you some ideas about modifying your meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

Thanks very much. My reading was 43 so at the lower end of prediabetes. I'm always tired, keep getting chest infections etc and the little I've read today seems to show I'm one of very many in this situation.

I'm not going to pretend it will be easy though. My will power is going to need the most exercise as you've listed everything lovely to eat that needs reducing or cutting out! I have a reasonable awareness of health eating but putting it into practice is what counts. I'm going to look at low GI foods too.

On the plus side, I don't smoke and only drink the odd drink, maybe 10, over the course of a year. It will be interesting to see what the diabetes nurse says.

Thanks for welcoming me to the group and putting a response on already.

Good luck to everyone else on this path, especially the newbies trying to get their head around all this.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks very much. My reading was 43 so at the lower end of prediabetes. I'm always tired, keep getting chest infections etc and the little I've read today seems to show I'm one of very many in this situation.

I'm not going to pretend it will be easy though. My will power is going to need the most exercise as you've listed everything lovely to eat that needs reducing or cutting out! I have a reasonable awareness of health eating but putting it into practice is what counts. I'm going to look at low GI foods too.

On the plus side, I don't smoke and only drink the odd drink, maybe 10, over the course of a year. It will be interesting to see what the diabetes nurse says.

Thanks for welcoming me to the group and putting a response on already.

Good luck to everyone else on this path, especially the newbies trying to get their head around all this.

Where you are means you do not need to cut some of those things you like completely and there are many more tasty substitutes you can make. Low GI means the carbohydrates are converted more slowly but are the same amount of carb.
You may find the book or app Carbs and Cals useful for making better choices. It has carb values for a whole range of foods with portion sizes in grams and pictures. That and some digital scales are a good investment. It is very easy to underestimate portion size.
Sadly what might be considered healthy for non-diabetics is not necessarily so for somebody who is Type 2 diabetic or heading that way.
If you would like to post some typical meals then people might spot some problem foods

 

[offspin]

Welcome to the forum.
The HbA1C is the test used for diagnosis of diabetes and how high it is shows where you are in the scheme of things.
Below 42 mmol/mol is normal, 42-47mmol/mol would be prediabetic and anything over that diabetes. It shows blood glucose level over the previous 3 months so likely to be a good guide. You are in a position to do something about it by making some modest changes to your diet and losing weight if you need to.
As it is all carbohydrates which convert to glucose reducing your intake of high carb foods by either cutting some of those out or reducing portion size. Foods to be cautious of are things like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals as well as the more obvious cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks including fruit juice.
Basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts, vegetables and salads, fruits like berries with small portions of those higher carb foods will still give plenty of options for tasty meals.
Have a look at this link which may give you some ideas about modifying your meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/

Hi , what I find frustrating that so many opinions are published regarding diabetic control and medication so my head spins out of control.

As a contributor od less than 12 hours I don't want to rock the but again should I try to work out a plan based on current medical knowledge and fine tune it for my body.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi , what I find frustrating that so many opinions are published regarding diabetic control and medication so my head spins out of control.

As a contributor od less than 12 hours I don't want to rock the but again should I try to work out a plan based on current medical knowledge and fine tune it for my body.

You have to have as your starting point a plan based on current knowledge but because that that tends to be a bit one size fits all which with diabetes of any Type we know that is not the case and people have to fine tune for them as everybody is an individual and their sensitivity to carbohydrates is different.
There are many examples where even the same gram quantity of carb will be tolerated differently depending on wheter it is rice, bread, beans or any other carbohydrate.
This is why many people find having a home blood glucose monitor enables them to fine tune a dietary approach which suits them.

 

[nonethewiser]

Hi, I've just been told I'm prediabetic. I'm 44. I also have long standing inherited high cholesterol (on statins about 25 years now) and an underactive thyroid. I've only had one test, the hbA1c so far. I don't know whether this could be a one off reading or likely to be pretty accurate.
Any tips about what to expect and the chances of getting a better result next time would be great. I'm awaiting referral to diabetic nurse and a diabetes group.

Wife was in same predicament 4 years ago, told she was prediabetic & wanted to do something about it to stop it tipping over.

Trouble was she had weight to lose after period of ill health & inactivity, she joined local Slimming group & went on to lose 5 stone, she's managed to keep weight off & all bloods since have been normal & hopefully will remain so.

 

[rene2014]

This is good to hear. I was already signed up to a local weight loss group as I knew I needed to address this. I've lost about a stone and got about two more to go to hopefully that'll really help.

 

[nonethewiser]

This is good to hear. I was already signed up to a local weight loss group as I knew I needed to address this. I've lost about a stone and got about two more to go to hopefully that'll really help.

Sure it will, or at least you'll feel better overall, well done so far.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

This is good to hear. I was already signed up to a local weight loss group as I knew I needed to address this. I've lost about a stone and got about two more to go to hopefully that'll really help.

Good to hear from you again @rene2014

Congratulations on the weight loss! That should help to improve insulin sensitivity, and if you can lose visceral fat around organs as lart of your weight loss, that can be key to improving BG levels and potentially reversing things.

Keep going!