New to the forum

[Julie1419]

I have many questions re my pre diabetic assessment from doctor. I was sent to see the diabetic nurse at my surgery. All she said was you're pre diabetic. Try to lose weight and watch what you eat. I was given a booklet and that was that.

I then received a letter from hospital to make an appointment. I went online to find a 24 week waiting list so I couldn't make any appointment.
My question is: should the diabetic nurse at my surgery given me more assistance. I thought I would be weighed. Have my blood pressure taken. Given a test or whatever to let me know my diabetic reading or some such thing.
I have no idea where to start or what to do?
Thank you

 

[Proud to be erratic]

Hello @Julie1419,

I have many questions re my pre diabetic assessment from doctor. I was sent to see the diabetic nurse at my surgery. All she said was you're pre diabetic. Try to lose weight and watch what you eat. I was given a booklet and that was that.

I then received a letter from hospital to make an appointment. I went online to find a 24 week waiting list so I couldn't make any appointment.
My question is: should the diabetic nurse at my surgery given me more assistance. I thought I would be weighed. Have my blood pressure taken. Given a test or whatever to let me know my diabetic reading or some such thing.
I have no idea where to start or what to do?
Thank you

Alas, you are by no means the first person to ask such questions and it is both unsatisfactory and depressing that the assistance given can be so woeful. But there is good news also - in that you are prediabetic, which means you are at risk of getting Type 2 diabetes, and with relatively minor adjustments in your lifestyle this can often be reversed. Also you have found this forum where there is a huge wealth of experience that members are happy to gently share with you.

In the Welcome and Getting Started opening section of this Forum is a posting that explains a lot more about prediabetes. The link to that is here:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-is-prediabetes.95408/

One important first step is to get back to your Surgery and get the exact reading that has defined your prediabetic status. A number between 41 and 47 mmol/mol is normally given (sometimes described as between 6% and 6.4%). Knowing that will immediately tell you how close you are to a formal diagnosis of T2 diabetes. In the possible event that your Surgery is obstructive in telling you this [it happens and for the life of me I don't understand why ....!] politely but robustly insist you are told. It is your body, your medical info and you need to know where you are starting from.

The Surgery Nurse was broadly correct in saying that losing some weight is extremely helpful in reducing your Blood Glucose (BG) readings along with exercise and awareness of what you would be best to avoid eating. Without knowing what the booklet you were given tells you, you need to reduce your carbohydrate food input: this disease is about blood glucose being too high and ALL carbohydrates are converted into glucose. So it's not just the sugars and sweet things, but high carb foods such as bread, pastry, potatoes, pasta and rice. This does not necessarily mean you must instantly stop eating all of these things, but you would help yourself by reducing the quantities of high carb foods with reduced portion sizes and replacement wherever possible by non-root vegetables that are much lower in carb content.

I'll step away for now. Others will add far more value than my comments. Meanwhile sorry that you are having to post here, but Welcome to the Forum and I hope we can help you wrestle successfully with this prediabetes "thing" and turn it around.

 

[Julie1419]

Hello @Julie1419,

Alas, you are by no means the first person to ask such questions and it is both unsatisfactory and depressing that the assistance given can be so woeful. But there is good news also - in that you are prediabetic, which means you are at risk of getting Type 2 diabetes, and with relatively minor adjustments in your lifestyle this can often be reversed. Also you have found this forum where there is a huge wealth of experience that members are happy to gently share with you.

In the Welcome and Getting Started opening section of this Forum is a posting that explains a lot more about prediabetes. The link to that is here:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-is-prediabetes.95408/

One important first step is to get back to your Surgery and get the exact reading that has defined your prediabetic status. A number between 41 and 47 mmol/mol is normally given (sometimes described as between 6% and 6.4%). Knowing that will immediately tell you how close you are to a formal diagnosis of T2 diabetes. In the possible event that your Surgery is obstructive in telling you this [it happens and for the life of me I don't understand why ....!] politely but robustly insist you are told. It is your body, your medical info and you need to know where you are starting from.

The Surgery Nurse was broadly correct in saying that losing some weight is extremely helpful in reducing your Blood Glucose (BG) readings along with exercise and awareness of what you would be best to avoid eating. Without knowing what the booklet you were given tells you, you need to reduce your carbohydrate food input: this disease is about blood glucose being too high and ALL carbohydrates are converted into glucose. So it's not just the sugars and sweet things, but high carb foods such as bread, pastry, potatoes, pasta and rice. This does not necessarily mean you must instantly stop eating all of these things, but you would help yourself by reducing the quantities of high carb foods with reduced portion sizes and replacement wherever possible by non-root vegetables that are much lower in carb content.

I'll step away for now. Others will add far more value than my comments. Meanwhile sorry that you are having to post here, but Welcome to the Forum and I hope we can help you wrestle successfully with this prediabetes "thing" Thatsand turn it around.

 

[Dave_Z1a]

Hello @Julie1419,

Alas, you are by no means the first person to ask such questions and it is both unsatisfactory and depressing that the assistance given can be so woeful. But there is good news also - in that you are prediabetic, which means you are at risk of getting Type 2 diabetes, and with relatively minor adjustments in your lifestyle this can often be reversed. Also you have found this forum where there is a huge wealth of experience that members are happy to gently share with you.

In the Welcome and Getting Started opening section of this Forum is a posting that explains a lot more about prediabetes. The link to that is here:

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/what-is-prediabetes.95408/

One important first step is to get back to your Surgery and get the exact reading that has defined your prediabetic status. A number between 41 and 47 mmol/mol is normally given (sometimes described as between 6% and 6.4%). Knowing that will immediately tell you how close you are to a formal diagnosis of T2 diabetes. In the possible event that your Surgery is obstructive in telling you this [it happens and for the life of me I don't understand why ....!] politely but robustly insist you are told. It is your body, your medical info and you need to know where you are starting from.

The Surgery Nurse was broadly correct in saying that losing some weight is extremely helpful in reducing your Blood Glucose (BG) readings along with exercise and awareness of what you would be best to avoid eating. Without knowing what the booklet you were given tells you, you need to reduce your carbohydrate food input: this disease is about blood glucose being too high and ALL carbohydrates are converted into glucose. So it's not just the sugars and sweet things, but high carb foods such as bread, pastry, potatoes, pasta and rice. This does not necessarily mean you must instantly stop eating all of these things, but you would help yourself by reducing the quantities of high carb foods with reduced portion sizes and replacement wherever possible by non-root vegetables that are much lower in carb content.

I'll step away for now. Others will add far more value than my comments. Meanwhile sorry that you are having to post here, but Welcome to the Forum and I hope we can help you wrestle successfully with this prediabetes "thing" and turn it around.

What a great answer to the question.

 

[DiabloT2]

One important first step is to get back to your Surgery and get the exact reading that has defined your prediabetic status. A number between 41 and 47 mmol/mol is normally given (sometimes described as between 6% and 6.4%). Knowing that will immediately tell you how close you are to a formal diagnosis of T2 diabetes. In the possible event that your Surgery is obstructive in telling you this [it happens and for the life of me I don't understand why ....!] politely but robustly insist you are told. It is your body, your medical info and you need to know where you are starting from.

Good advice from @Proud to be erratic ....being polite is always sensible.

Re: test results: A GP surgery is legally obliged to tell a patient test results, in this case the HBA1c (HBA1c is the name of the blood test to determine a person's diabetic status) The only exception to this being if they feel it would be to your detriment to be told (extremely unlikely as you've already been told that you are pre-diabetic).

I've always obtained my actual readings after being diagnosed but have had to ask. Even then the first reply was "it's normal" so now I very explicitly ask for the actual measurement reading to reduce the wasteful back and forth.

 

[Proud to be erratic]

@DiabloT2, great to see your "My Diabetes Story". I have not yet read it thoroughly but will look in more detail today/tomorrow. Meanwhile your experiences seem most helpful for anyone else new to our D world.

 

[Leadinglights]

Yes @Julie1419 as prediabetic diagnosis is a wake up call that your body is struggling to cope with the amount of carbohydrates in your diet but there is no need to panic but some action to reduce your blood glucose by making some lifestyle changes is needed. Those are likely to be modest, losing weight and getting more exercise will help but dietary changes will have the greatest impact. Cutting out foods like cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks including fruit juice and reducing portion sizes of other high carb foods like potatoes, rice. pasta, breakfast cereals, pastry, tropical fruits, pre-prepares sauces, crisps and savoury snacks and basing meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy, nuts with vegetables, salads and fruit like berries will still give options for tasty meals.
Many find a low carbohydrate approach successful and although this program is aimed at those with a Type 2 diagnosis the principals are good and there are some meal plans to suit various tastes and budgets as well as a good explanation.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Julie1419

Hope you have found the replies to your thread helpful, and sorry you didn’t get more information and support from your surgery.

Experiences do seem to vary from person to person, but I think one factor can be that ‘prediabetes’ (a term we’ve imported from the US) isn’t really a formal diagnosis as such in the UK. It’s more a sort of “we‘d better keep an eye on this” flag that your results suggest your metabolism is beginning to struggle a little, but that nothing definite has happened yet. So some surgeries have a more relaxed approach to it than others.

The good news is that we have had many newcomers over the years who joined in just your situation, and who were able to positively impact their glucose levels with a few tweaks to their menu, a little weight loss, and some increased activity. So don‘t be too hard on yourself or fatalistic. For many members this ’at risk’ news (or a formal T2 diagnosis) becomes a catalyst for making positive changes to their lifestyle which leads to them feeling fitter and healthier than they have for years, often with unexpected improvements to other aches, pains, and ailments as a bonus 🙂

 

[Felinia]

Hello and welcome.

You have been given lots of helpful advice advice above. I'm just going to chip in with what I did when first diagnosed at a similar age - I was just into the diabetic range.

I got an app which measures calories and carbs, and I use it to plan my meals daily in advance. I got a set of digital scales which I keep on the kitchen top so I can measure portions. It might seem a bit of a faff, but it only takes a couple of minutes, and you know exactly what you are putting into your body. Portion sizes might surprise you. I use NutraCheck but there are others like MyFitnessPal and Cals and Carbs. It is suggested you aim for less than 130gm carbs per day. I experimented and found 75-90gm a day suits my body.

If you are concerned about your BP you can get an arm home monitoring kit - I got mine from Boots. You can use it for one off measures, but it needs to be done after you have been seated for 30 minutes and have not eaten or drunk in that time. I still have memories of being rushed into surgery after a brisk 10 minute walk from home and immediately measured whilst questions were being fired at me. Needless to say my result was sky high. I have familial hypertension and since then I do a 3 week monitoring programme at home every 6 months.

The exercise I chose to do was aquafit. We are all ladies of a certain age, and come in all shapes and sizes. It's good fun and has helped my mobility and muscle strength.

Best wishes

 

[jane58]

Good advice from @Proud to be erratic ....being polite is always sensible.

Re: test results: A GP surgery is legally obliged to tell a patient test results, in this case the HBA1c (HBA1c is the name of the blood test to determine a person's diabetic status) The only exception to this being if they feel it would be to your detriment to be told (extremely unlikely as you've already been told that you are pre-diabetic).

I've always obtained my actual readings after being diagnosed but have had to ask. Even then the first reply was "it's normal" so now I very explicitly ask for the actual measurement reading to reduce the wasteful back and forth.

Hi your diabetic story is trully inspirational, you should be so very proud of yourself. i have had type 2 for 18 months. i Hb1Ac was 48 on diagnosis, 6 months later it went up to 50 then in Dec 2023 it is 63. i am waiting to see a doctor (diabetic nurse left surgery) i dont think i ever took my diagnosis serious. i thought all id have to do is cut back on junk food and eat a bit healthier. then i tried to replace bread and pasta for the the brown varieties, obviously this hasn't worked. NHS does not give enough information. i probably should have researched myself, but like i said i never took it seriously. I am expecting to be put on meds after seeing the doctor. don't really want to but maybe necessary for me. i have been just told i have stones in my bile duct any not able to eat much of anything as when i eat im in a lot of pain. im afraid if doctor puts me on the likes of Metformin i will get a lot of hypos because i can hardly eat food right now. i really need to learn what i can eat for meals .... i hate veg and it makes me gag.... any suggestions welcome x

 

[Drummer]

Hi your diabetic story is trully inspirational, you should be so very proud of yourself. i have had type 2 for 18 months. i Hb1Ac was 48 on diagnosis, 6 months later it went up to 50 then in Dec 2023 it is 63. i am waiting to see a doctor (diabetic nurse left surgery) i dont think i ever took my diagnosis serious. i thought all id have to do is cut back on junk food and eat a bit healthier. then i tried to replace bread and pasta for the the brown varieties, obviously this hasn't worked. NHS does not give enough information. i probably should have researched myself, but like i said i never took it seriously. I am expecting to be put on meds after seeing the doctor. don't really want to but maybe necessary for me. i have been just told i have stones in my bile duct any not able to eat much of anything as when i eat im in a lot of pain. im afraid if doctor puts me on the likes of Metformin i will get a lot of hypos because i can hardly eat food right now. i really need to learn what i can eat for meals .... i hate veg and it makes me gag.... any suggestions welcome x

You should not need to worry about Metformin as it is not the sort of medication which causes hypos. As long as you can tolerate it you should be fine. It tried to turn me inside out, I had such a violent reaction to it, but for many people the side effects reduce to tolerable, and some people get no reaction at all.
Brown carbs are still carbs and I count them just the same as they raise my blood glucose just the same. I don't know why claims are made for them to be better in some way. The NHS has appeared fixated on their idea of a healthy diet being appropriate for everyone throughout my adult life.
I think that I had a few gallstones when first diagnosed - the pain was memorable, but once it subsided I was fine - I suspect they were ejected and things returned to normal afterwards but if you have that as a constant possibility it must be miserable. I do hope that something can be done to help, and soon.

 

[jane58]

You should not need to worry about Metformin as it is not the sort of medication which causes hypos. As long as you can tolerate it you should be fine. It tried to turn me inside out, I had such a violent reaction to it, but for many people the side effects reduce to tolerable, and some people get no reaction at all.
Brown carbs are still carbs and I count them just the same as they raise my blood glucose just the same. I don't know why claims are made for them to be better in some way. The NHS has appeared fixated on their idea of a healthy diet being appropriate for everyone throughout my adult life.
I think that I had a few gallstones when first diagnosed - the pain was memorable, but once it subsided I was fine - I suspect they were ejected and things returned to normal afterwards but if you have that as a constant possibility it must be miserable. I do hope that something can be done to help, and soon.

Thank you

 

[DiabloT2]

Hi your diabetic story is trully inspirational, you should be so very proud of yourself. i have had type 2 for 18 months. i Hb1Ac was 48 on diagnosis, 6 months later it went up to 50 then in Dec 2023 it is 63. i am waiting to see a doctor (diabetic nurse left surgery) i dont think i ever took my diagnosis serious. i thought all id have to do is cut back on junk food and eat a bit healthier. then i tried to replace bread and pasta for the the brown varieties, obviously this hasn't worked. NHS does not give enough information. i probably should have researched myself, but like i said i never took it seriously. I am expecting to be put on meds after seeing the doctor. don't really want to but maybe necessary for me. i have been just told i have stones in my bile duct any not able to eat much of anything as when i eat im in a lot of pain. im afraid if doctor puts me on the likes of Metformin i will get a lot of hypos because i can hardly eat food right now. i really need to learn what i can eat for meals .... i hate veg and it makes me gag.... any suggestions welcome x

If you eat meat and fish, mostly they are very low in carbs so would have minimal impact on your blood sugar. Be careful of sauces though as some of them have sugar in the ingredients so are high carb.

For breakfast full fat greek yoghurt is what eat every other day with a few defrosted frozen berries, a few mixed nuts, some chia and linseed seeds and sprinkle of cinnamon. This has replaced the cereals I used to eat which I now know very high in carbs. I alternate this breakfast with eggs - can be scrambled, boiled, fried, omelette, etc.

Other than berries the only other fruit I eat regularly is avocado. It tends to go well with salads or sometimes just seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. I do eat cheese too.

I do rely a fair bit on veg though, especially things like cauliflower (which substitutes for rice in dishes, and in mashed form for potato) and broccoli.