Is my Dad diabetic

[David Benjamin]

Hello. My 88 year old dad had a blood check for diabetes last year. The result without fasting was 6.2. Someone told him that this made him diabetic. He then cut virtually as much sugar from his diet as is possible. Recently he had another non fasting result of 5.3. Am I wrong in saying that this means he is not diabetic, nor ever was. He refuses to eat fruit because of the natural sugar content which I think is affecting his digestion and general health.

 

[Mark Parrott]

Hi David. What was the test the GP did? Was it a blood test or finger prick test? The numbers on there own don't mean anything as there are different ways to test and different measurements.

 

[Amigo]

Hello. My 88 year old dad had a blood check for diabetes last year. The result without fasting was 6.2. Someone told him that this made him diabetic. He then cut virtually as much sugar from his diet as is possible. Recently he had another non fasting result of 5.3. Am I wrong in saying that this means he is not diabetic, nor ever was. He refuses to eat fruit because of the natural sugar content which I think is affecting his digestion and general health.

Frankly David, he wouldn’t register as diabetic on any kind of testing with levels like that especially non fasting. A 6.2 on a Hba1c test would make him pre-diabetic but a finger prick test would be totally unreliable if he’d eaten.

At 88, he needs to concentrate on a balanced, healthy diet and it’s a great shame someone gave him unnecessary fears that have impacted on his general health. See if you can get him to have berries and the lower carb fruits. Show him the list of different carb content fruits and convince him he needs them for essential nutrients and fibre (older people like to stay regular). Best wishes and at least he’s taking his health seriously!

 

[David Benjamin]

Hello and thanks for your replies. The test was a sample dual taken at our local hospital. The results take a while. It definitely wasn't a finger prick test. A couple of weeks ago they thought he had a clot, which he has had before. He told the doctors at the hospital he was diabetic which he clearly isn't. To my mind this is dangerous and giving the doctors something else to think about which is an unnecesary concern. You can't tell him now as he thinks the nurse that told him is right. The same nurse told him the pain in his calf which turned out to be PAD was a bladder infection. Dangerous

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

I'd say if he won't believe he's not diabetic, it's not worth arguing (I have a 90 year old Mum like that!) - the thing to do is to say you've consulted people who are knowledgeable about diabetes and they say that fruit can be divided into:
Fruit with virtually no carbs which are suitable for diabetics - eg strawberries, raspberries, blackberries
Fruit which is OK for diabetics to eat in moderation - eg apples, pears
Fruit which tends to raise blood sugar too quickly so is less suitable for diabetics - eg bananas, exotic fruit, dried fruit

In reality it's a bit more complicated than that, and it does depend a bit on what each individual can tolerate, but most diabetics do eat some fruit. It's total carb count which he needs to watch if he is pre-diabetic (which is what it sounds like, if the 6.2 was an HbA1c test), not just sugar - a bowl of strawberries or even an apple is generally much safer for a diabetic than a bowl of pasta or a pizza, as well as being healthier generally.

If you want to check carb counts for individual foods so you can show them to him, I'd suggest using this site: http://www.calorieking.com/foods/