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Witchylin

Witchylin

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I am 77 and have just been told I have pre-diabetes, on the high side. The nurse at the practice was not helpful as to what to do or where to get help. So here I am hoping to find lots of answers.
 
Witchylin said:
I am 77 and have just been told I have pre-diabetes, on the high side. The nurse at the practice was not helpful as to what to do or where to get help. So here I am hoping to find lots of answers.
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Hi, and welcome. Pre-diabetes, or 'at risk of diabetes', means your blood sugar levels are pushing up towards the point at which a diagnosis of diabetes would be given. The HbA1c test that would have shown your pre-diabetes has come up with a number in the range 42-47, so nearer 47 than 42 if you've been told it's on the high side. Shame you got no help from your practice but unfortunately that's not uncommon. However, you've come to the right place now and there are things you can do to reduce your level - changing your diet, being more active and (if needed) losing weight. Being 'at risk' should mean that you only need tweaks so please feel free to ask questions as to where and what.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum
You may be feeling a little lost and confused about what to do for the best. I would start by making the obvious changes immediately (less sugar / cakes / biscuits - if you eat those).

The next step would be to learn a little about diabetes. You may come across conflicting information and opinions, this is mostly a combination of personal preferences and the fact that we are all individuals, and one persons body can react differently to a specific food than another's will. Going with 'core' tried and tested eating plans may be helpful to avoid confusion while learning.

One thing you may find useful is only to make one change at a time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It's very easy to go and buy an untried food thinking it's good for diabetes, only to realise later it's not quite so good.
Take your time, learn a little and make further changes as you learn more.
 
Welcome to the forum @Witchylin

We have had lots of new members over the years who have joined being told they are at risk of diabetes, and who have been able to turn their BG levels away from the diagnosis threshold. Hope you are able to see the same!

If you would like a good overview of T2 diabetes, to add to the knowledge you’ve already picked up, you might want to register for an account with the Learning Zone (the orange tab in the main menu) which is packed full of informative bite-sized modules. Additionally, for a more personal take, many members here have found Maggie Davey’s Letter to the Newly Diagnosed helpful.
 
I know it's a bit late but I like to say hello and welcome to the forum @Witchylin.
 
Some modest changes to your diet should be all that is needed to maintain where you are and maybe reduce your level a bit but some recent NICE guidelines indicate that for more mature people the diagnostic levels for diagnosis should be more lenient but there is no harm is having a healthier diet for your general well being and losing some weight if you need to.
This link may give you a few ideas for some tweaks to your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
 
Thank you all for your helpful advice. I only found your replies today as I had not seen that there were replies to my first post.

Thank you too for the Dr. David Unwin link. I have printed it off and will look at it often.
I wasn't a 'sugar' person. My weight gain probably came from too much rice, pasta and cheese. Until recently I didn't know that there was a high sugar content in many carbs. I thought my diet was quite healthy. No cakes and only the odd digestive biscuit now and then. (A packet lasted at least 6 weeks). I do not eat meat but I do eat a lot of fish, mostly salmon and cod. Not in batter. Some eggs and loads of pulses, especially chickpeas, and green leafy veg. I now know I need to cut down on carrots and parsnips. There isn't a veg that I don't like so eating more of the 'good' veg will be easy.
I am reading my way through the Learning Zone but a lot of the terminology is a mystery to me. My GP practice were not at all helpful and left me scared and confused.
My weight is down by 24 pounds and there is still 14 to go. Right now exercise is a little difficult as I have a knee injury so walking is not easy. My next blood test is at the end of this month so I hope there will be some good news. My HbA1c was 44. Fingers crossed it will be lower after the weight loss and altered diet.
Thank you again everyone for your help. I feel a bit better now.
 
It might be worth searching online for chair exercises or sitting tai chi. What way you can at least exercise your upper body and has to be a plus in the activity department. If you're in the UK, many areas offer a nine month programme where you can attend meetings or meetings online and goes through diet, activity, sleep and stress - not all of it's relevant but you can take what you can from it - do ask your GP if there's one available you can take part i.
 
Thank you for the advice on chair exercises. I was doing some upper body stretches etc. My knee is improving slowly so I hope to get back to brisk walking in the very near future.
 
Witchylin said:
Thank you for the advice on chair exercises. I was doing some upper body stretches etc. My knee is improving slowly so I hope to get back to brisk walking in the very near future.
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Fingers crossed you knee continues to improve @Witchylin 🙂

Hope your weight loss continues to edge downwards too
 
Witchylin said:
Thank you for the advice on chair exercises. I was doing some upper body stretches etc. My knee is improving slowly so I hope to get back to brisk walking in the very near future.
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I had a lot of trouble with legs and feet a while back and found that using Nordic walking poles was a great help on the uneven pavements and potholes around here.
They gave me the confidence to take normal strides and I went a lot further using them. I still use them when I have to cross rough ground but that is more because I am carrying my melodeon and would not want to fall over on that - they are not cheap.
 
Welcome to the forum @Witchylin

Sorry, I'm a bit late to the party. I was diagnosed with diabetes 3 months ago at 51 HbA1c so just into the diabetic range and will be booking my 3 monthly blood test today which I'm hoping will show Pre or non diabetic

For 3 months I have concentrated on weight, diet and exercise which is all I can control at the moment

I have lost a total of 22lbs, upped the exercise and followed a sticked (ish) low carb diet.

My finger prick test has gone from 7.5 to the low 5's so am hoping this is indicative of what my HbA1c blood test will show.
Will know very shortly I guess ?

Alan 😉
 
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