High risk, feeling rubbish

[KennyMillar]

Hi. I am a newbie. I do not currently have diabetes, but the online calculator on this site gave me a score of 28 (High risk).

For the past few months I've been feeling rubbish - not really bad, just not great.
I'm getting lightheaded, dizzy, nausious etc.

Initially I thought I was lactose intollerant due to being really ill after drinking a milkshake (happened twice, 6 months apart). I cut out as much lactose as I could, but it hasn't helped.

So I was keeping an eye on my blood pressure, and it seems OK. I already take blood pressure medication. (Zemtard 240)

I saw a prescribing nurse (could not get a doctor appointment) and was told it's most likely benign vertigo. She gave me some tablets for the nausea.

I still feel rubbish, and get periods where I feel like I am going to pass out, accompanied by blurry vision, so someone told me to keep an eye on my blood glucose levels. So I've been doing that, but I have no idea really what the numbers mean, or whether they are good or bad. Googling seems like a bad idea, and gives me confusing results. So I'm here to learn about the risk factors and hopefully make sense of the numbers.

For the past week I've been taking finger-prick tests with a glucose meter about 4 times a day. [1]Before breakfast, [2]before lunch, [3]2 hours after lunch and [4]before bed. They are roughly the same every day. They are (approx):
[1] Before breakfast about 6.5 every day
[2] Before lunch about 7.0 every day
[3] 2 hours after lunch about 9.0 each day
[4] Before bed about 9.9 each day

The lowest reading I've had in the past week was 5.5 and the highest was 10.1
My blood test machine says my 7-day average is 7.8

Of course my dizzyness might have nothing at all to do with glucose, I'm just trying to make sens of it all!

 

[saffron15]

I have seen this and the other post. My advice is ask your doctor to test for diabetes. I asked for a test last year when I discovered they were not testing my annual blood test as I have high blood pressure and was classified as obese ( bmi 32) I feel very let down i wasn't being routinely tested. I've since seen a poster in my GPS office offering a course for those at risk of diabetes. An hba1c test is a standard diabetes test. An alternative is to ask for a medical which will include the test. I asked about a medical but now I've been diagnosed with diabetes I no longer qualify. I suspect you may already be diabetic but the sooner you tackle it the better. Whilst waiting to see the nurse I cut back on bad things sugar obviously, pastry cakes pasta rice potatoes and bread. I ate lean meat fish and veg cheese and eggs plus an occasional fry up. I now usually have Greek yoghurt berries and nuts or seeds for breakfast. I dropped 2lb a week without feeling hungry.
Tackle your diet.carbs turn to sugar. Try and move more. A brisk walk swimming or stair climbing. If you are diabetic don't rush changes as it will shock your body. In particular blurry eye sight maybe a symptom. Unless you need new glasses desperately it would be better to use ready specs u tilyou are stable. You may come out as prediabetic between 42 and 47 but changes to diet and exercise now will be good for your health.

This nhs website is very helpful plus resources linked to the forum.

Diabetes & Metabolic Health | New Forest PCN

newforestpcn.co.uk

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi. I am a newbie. I do not currently have diabetes, but the online calculator on this site gave me a score of 28 (High risk).

For the past few months I've been feeling rubbish - not really bad, just not great.
I'm getting lightheaded, dizzy, nausious etc.

Initially I thought I was lactose intollerant due to being really ill after drinking a milkshake (happened twice, 6 months apart). I cut out as much lactose as I could, but it hasn't helped.

So I was keeping an eye on my blood pressure, and it seems OK. I already take blood pressure medication. (Zemtard 240)

I saw a prescribing nurse (could not get a doctor appointment) and was told it's most likely benign vertigo. She gave me some tablets for the nausea.

I still feel rubbish, and get periods where I feel like I am going to pass out, accompanied by blurry vision, so someone told me to keep an eye on my blood glucose levels. So I've been doing that, but I have no idea really what the numbers mean, or whether they are good or bad. Googling seems like a bad idea, and gives me confusing results. So I'm here to learn about the risk factors and hopefully make sense of the numbers.

For the past week I've been taking finger-prick tests with a glucose meter about 4 times a day. [1]Before breakfast, [2]before lunch, [3]2 hours after lunch and [4]before bed. They are roughly the same every day. They are (approx):
[1] Before breakfast about 6.5 every day
[2] Before lunch about 7.0 every day
[3] 2 hours after lunch about 9.0 each day
[4] Before bed about 9.9 each day

The lowest reading I've had in the past week was 5.5 and the highest was 10.1
My blood test machine says my 7-day average is 7.8

Of course my dizzyness might have nothing at all to do with glucose, I'm just trying to make sens of it all!

From what you have just said then an HbA1C test would be a good idea as that is really the only test used for diagnosis. From those numbers I would hazard a guess you would be over the threshold for diagnosis of diabetes which is anything over 47mmol/mol. Note this is not the same as tyour blood glucose monitor which only is a moment in time level and is mmol/l. This would explain why you feel unwell as the symptoms you describe would be indicative. *

 

[Inka]

Definitely see your GP for an HbA1C blood test @KennyMillar Your blood tests could - note the ‘could’ - indicate you’re verging on pre-diabetes or diabetes, but they’re not super-high, and it could well be your nausea, dizziness, etc, is caused by something else.

 

[KennyMillar]

Thank everyone!
I'm going to ask my GP for an HbA1C and see what that brings. Thanks for being so kind to a newbie just trying to get my head around this.
Thanks for the diet and excercise advice - I will try hard to make it work!