Newly diagnosed prediabetic

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picitup

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At risk of diabetes
Hi All

I've just been diagnosed as prediabetic and have booked an appointment with a nurse at my GP to discuss my chocolate, sorry I mean diet 🙂
Obviously the goal is to reverse it by cutting down and losing weight. I took some meds which stimulated my appetite to the extent I was starving much of the time and my weight went up to 17st 7 and should be around 12-13st. I'm down to 16st 8 so a little way to go.

On the bright side, it's a wake-up call to start exercising and get fit again. I used to really enjoy cycling and the bike's out the back, so no excuses, apart from the fact it's so hot at the mo.

The main symptom has been crushing tiredness and I'd really like to address this. Has anyone else had tiredness as a symptom? I've had the tiredness since xmas and have watched 120 Star Treks and completed all 8 seasons of Homeland due to inactivity.

Also should I check my blood sugar to see how I'm doing? Maybe each day as a fasting test before brekky?

And for a bit of fun, I already had a glucose meter and it showed my fasting sugar as 27 which made me raise my eyebrows a bit! Then I checked the strips and they were 2 years out of date so bought some new ones lol. Since then my fasting sugar is around 7 which I think indicates prediabetes.

That's it for now apart from to say thanks for reading.....

Cheers

Steve
 
Hi Steve, sorry to hear about your prediabetes and tiredness. The tiredness may be due to your higher blood glucose level, it's one of the symptoms of (pre?)diabetes, along with weeing more, and thirst. I used to fall asleep and have to have naps in the afternoon some days, which I suspect might have been the effects of the diabetes before I was diagnosed. You've got the chance to change course before you get to diabetes proper.

The main thing that'll help (bearing in mind that I don't have any medical training) is to lose some of the weight, which I think you plan to do by exercising. Can I encourage you to do dieting too as it's something that you can do even if you're tired? Set yourself a target weight, maybe 15 stone (or whatever target you decide on) or a fixed period of time to diet for, for instance three months, and go for it. The good thing about a time limited diet is that you know it won't be for ever and I found that helped me to stay on it, rather than have my head turned by chocolate and Danish pastries. Take photos of yourself now, and every month, and weight yourself also, so that you can see your progress and keep motivated.
Measuring your fasting BG levels is a good idea - you can track how your BG is doing over time, and hopefully as you lose weight, it'll reduce a bit. You can help reduce your BG by going for a walk or other exercise after a meal, as it helps your body burn the glucose in your muscles.
Whatever you decide to do, hope it goes well. Let us know how you're doing.
Star trek marathon watching - which series did you go for? TNG/ original series / voyager / DS9? TNG is my favourite, possibly followed by voyager.
Make it so!, Sarah
 
Hi Sarah

Thanks for your very quick reply 🙂 The the worst part about the tiredness is that I've been bored out of my tree! I'm normally mentally quite active but have been absent without leave for some time. Watching box sets (Voyager) has helped pass the time. Like you I've been having daytime naps and sleeping like a log all night. It was good to hear that someone else experienced tiredness as a symptom. aka losing weight - I wasn't very clear - yes I do intend to diet at the same time as exercising. I'm 6' 1" tall so I don't look too bad apart from a rather large belly lol. Setting target weights over periods of time is a good idea thanks.

I was wondering - what should my fasting levels be? Around 5? I'll get into the routine of taking a measurement before brekky - maybe put a post-it note on the kettle as mornings are fairly automatic.

I will post back on this thread with any progress, thanks.

I see you're a bit of a trekky. NG was my favourite of all time. I remember the original with Kirk fighting a plastic crocodile. You had to be dedicated to watch it lol.

Keep Smilin' 🙂

Steve
 
picitup said:
Hi Sarah

Thanks for your very quick reply 🙂 The the worst part about the tiredness is that I've been bored out of my tree! I'm normally mentally quite active but have been absent without leave for some time. Watching box sets (Voyager) has helped pass the time. Like you I've been having daytime naps and sleeping like a log all night. It was good to hear that someone else experienced tiredness as a symptom. aka losing weight - I wasn't very clear - yes I do intend to diet at the same time as exercising. I'm 6' 1" tall so I don't look too bad apart from a rather large belly lol. Setting target weights over periods of time is a good idea thanks.

I was wondering - what should my fasting levels be? Around 5? I'll get into the routine of taking a measurement before brekky - maybe put a post-it note on the kettle as mornings are fairly automatic.

I will post back on this thread with any progress, thanks.

I see you're a bit of a trekky. NG was my favourite of all time. I remember the original with Kirk fighting a plastic crocodile. You had to be dedicated to watch it lol.

Keep Smilin' 🙂

Steve
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You sound as if you have a plan in progress, it is good you have a glucose monitor but make sure the testing you do gives you useful information on which to progress. Some people have problems with fasting levels as the moment they get out of bed their level can increase so test before they get out of bed. The sort of levels to be aiming at are 4-7mmol/l fasting or before meals and less than 8-8.5mmol/l 2 hours after eating. Though to see if you are tolerating a meal then no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase 2 hours after eating is what will guide you to make dietary changes.
Carbohydrates convert to glucose so reducing the carbs in your meals will reduce the impact of your meal. As you are only prediabetic then some modest changes may be sufficient. Cutting out a few big hitters like cakes, biscuits, sugary drinks and reducing portion size of potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, breakfast cereals should make a difference.
You may do quite a bit of testing to start with but should soon be able to eliminate any problem foods and have a safe repertoire of meals.
This link may help you with some ideas, some do's and don'ts and some meal suggestions. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
 
Hi Steve, there's some stuff on BG levels here and this graphic1655498462890.png
you're aiming for between 4 and 7 mmol/L, so you're in range, but at the upper end of the range, but you're addressing that now with your diet and exercise combo.
Perhaps put the BG monitor in front of the kettle so you test whilst you're waiting for it to boil? It means you can wash your hands first; you can get random high readings if you've accidentally got something sugary on your fingers.
Best of luck, it's not easy to stay on track with dieting and exercise, be kind to yourself if you stumble a little, as long as you get back up and keep going, it's all good. You can do it.
Sarah
PS original Star Trek was ok, but the special effects were terrible, like you say. NG is definitely better, and Patrick Stewart has such a lovely voice!
 
Hi Both

Thanks very much for all the useful info. This forum is very helpful. I took a BG reading of 5.1 at 9:20 and will repeat at 11:20, 2 hours after my All Bran. It's my last strip so off to Boots today to get some more.

I've been cutting back on carbs for some time now, my evening meal is generally some meat and a bunch of veg with no chips, spuds or pasta. My weight is slowly coming down and I think some exercise will help tip the balance a bit more.

I'll take a look at the low carb webs site and see if I can find some scrummy meals thanks.

As far as cakes, chocolate etc, I'll just cut them all out. I won't miss them too much and if it addresses the tiredness all to the good. My wife wants to cut out the sweet stuff too so she simply won't buy it. Now I have a partner in crime...

Well the 11:20 measurement 2 hours after brekky was 7.3 so a 2.2 difference so I guess a bowl of All Bran is ok for me. I'll continue to check before and after meals and get a feel for what's OK.

Cheers

Steve
 
ps Sarah I see from your footer that you're doing well losing the weight. Well done 🙂
 
picitup said:
My wife wants to cut out the sweet stuff too so she simply won't buy it. Now I have a partner in crime...
Click to expand...
Good to hear that you've got an ally, not having the sweet stuff in the house is definitely a help.
picitup said:
ps Sarah I see from your footer that you're doing well losing the weight. Well done 🙂
Click to expand...
Thanks Steve. I've never stayed on a diet successfully this long before, no one is more amazed than me that it's working!

Best wishes, Sarah
 
I had decades of 'healthy' diet advice, all low in fat and high in carbs - and no one would ever accept it made me feel unwell, lethargic etc. I wilted under the sarcasm.
These days I eat meat and stir fry or fish and salad for breakfast and don't take any nonsense about cereal and skimmed milk being good for anyone.
I suspect that if you look on the full disclosure nutritional panel that your 'chocolate' is actually a hefty dose of sugar and also that vegetable fat could feature large in the mixture. I buy the 95% cocoa solids chocolate bars from Lidl and have just one square once in a while.
I found that losing weight was a by product of getting blood glucose under control - it dawned on me when I stood up and my trousers fell down, as I had not been aiming for weight loss and hadn't really noticed it. The Atorvastatin and Metformin put me into quite a state of despair and confusion, which took some time to recover from - if I ever have done so fully and completely.
 
I'm a Type 2 Diabetic in remission and I have to say that graphic that @Windy posted doesn't match up with my experience.
I know of dozens of Type 2's who gat BG finger prick tests of 3.x and yet are nowhere near being hypoglycaemic, I even know f one guy who regularly gets down to 2.x without a hypo. - It all depends upon what you eat and what level your body is used to.
Where the level of 4.0 does come in is for Type 1's and those Type 2's who are taking insulin because of the danger of the insulin driving it too low before they get a chance to take action. It does not apply to Type 2's taking just metformin or those taking no medication.

Then at the other end of the scale it's crazy to sat that a fasting BG of above 7.0 is too high (i.e. hyperglycaemia). Lots (even most) people get Dawn Phenomenon or Foot on the Floor and so their fating BG may well be the highest reading that they gat all day - mine often is! And sure enough it is often above 7.0 even though my HbA1C is in the normal range.
It just so happens that I have a strong Dawn Phenomenon and I eat Low Carb, so my BG reading 2hrs after eating my first meal of the day (usually lunch) is never higher and almost always lower than the fasting reading.


I agree with @Windy about exercise not being enough , but disagree when it comes to dieting. I hate that word, being hungry is no way to spend your life and even if you do use a calorie restricted diet to lose weight the chances are that you have ruined your Resting Metabolic Rate such that your body uses fewer calories to survive - thus ensuring that it becomes easier and easier to get fat and becomes harder and harder to lose that weight.

Instead adopting a low carb way of eating (counting carbs rather than calories and eating until comfortably full) will cause BG to drop along with weight and also blood pressure (if high).

You say you have a BG meter and in-date test strips, so I suggest 'eating to your meter' - learning which foods to avoid/cut down and how much to eat just by the BG rise from before to 2hrs after first bite of each meal. Target 1 meal at a time starting with Breakfast which for most people is a complete carb-fest!
 
Hi @ianf0ster, I'm firmly in the "whatever works for you" school of T2 diabetes management, diabetes is individual to each of use and how we try to manage it. If low carb, or restricted calorie, or eating to your meter, or indeed anything else works, then more power to your elbow.
I did a lot of testing with my meter at first and got an idea of what gave me BG spikes and have based my meals around that. It seems like a good idea to tailor what you eat to what your body can deal with. I'm hoping that I can keep the weight off that I've lost, but time will tell.
Best wishes, Sarah
 
ianf0ster said:
I know of dozens of Type 2's who gat BG finger prick tests of 3.x and yet are nowhere near being hypoglycaemic, I even know f one guy who regularly gets down to 2.x without a hypo. - It all depends upon what you eat and what level your body is used to.
Click to expand...

I can’t agree with that I’m afraid. High 3s are experienced by people without diabetes for sure, but if people are genuinely getting towards 3.0 or into the 2s, then their brain function will be impaired (which generally happens somewhere below 3.5).

Of course if checking with a home BG meter there could be a degree if inaccuracy in the measurements, but it’s important not to confuse asymptomatic hypoglycaemia, where the person doesn’t have (or feel) any warning signs, with not being hypo.
 
picitup said:
Hi Both

Thanks very much for all the useful info. This forum is very helpful. I took a BG reading of 5.1 at 9:20 and will repeat at 11:20, 2 hours after my All Bran. It's my last strip so off to Boots today to get some more.

I've been cutting back on carbs for some time now, my evening meal is generally some meat and a bunch of veg with no chips, spuds or pasta. My weight is slowly coming down and I think some exercise will help tip the balance a bit more.

I'll take a look at the low carb webs site and see if I can find some scrummy meals thanks.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum @picitup

Sounds like you are making some great positive changes, and good to hear you are seeing a reduction in your weight.

Have you had a blood test done at your surgery to measure your HbA1c? Home blood glucose monitors are very useful, but they aren’t intended to be used for diagnostic purposes.

An HbA1c measures changes in red blood cells over the past 120 days or so, and is the test that’s usually taken to check for diabetes. A reading of 42-47 would usually indicate being at risk of developing diabetes.

Hope your fatigue and lethargy begin to ease as you continue to work on your menu changes and increases in activity. 🙂
 
Hi all thanks for you replies. Looks like I have a lot to learn.... @everydayupsanddowns yes I had a hba1c test which confirmed prediabetes although the doctor didn't give me the measurement. I'm seeing the fat nurse (nurse for fat people) on the 7th so I'll ask her what the measurement was.

I see I need to do quite a bit of testing to see what meals make me spike. On the weight loss, I've not touched any refined sugar products since I was diagnosed and I'm not really missing it so no probs there. I weighed myself this morning and have lost a pound since last week so just another 3st or so to go.....

I'm struggling for strips atm. I used my last one Saturday and intended to go to Boots to get some more, then promptly fell asleep for a few hours until Boots was shut lol. I popped into town today and none of the chemists apart from Boots sell the strips for my meter. Boots charge £16.00 for 50 but were out of stock. Anyway, a bit of poking around eBay and I've found 2 boxes of 50 exp 2023 for £16.99 so I'll wait for them to come and make sure I order in advance in future.

On the naughty side, I do like whiskey. In the past I've bought a 1/4 bottle a week and drank it over 2 nights (14 units). I know alcohol turns into sugar so I need to cut that down too.
I've bought a small measuring cyclinder and will drink 1/3 of a bottle each night for 3 nights then the week after 1/4 of a bottle over 4 nights down to 1cc over 6 months lol. The aim will be to pack in the whiskey completely as I know it's not very clever.

I'll post up again when the strips arrive with a list of fasting measurements and I can take these in to show the fat nurse.

@Drummer I take Atorvostatin - what symptoms did you have? I'm chasing crushing tiredness and am hoping chasing diabetes away will be the answer.



Keep Smilin' all

Steve
 
If you are going to be doing quite a bit of testing and can't find strips for your monitor at a better price you would quite quickly recoup the money spent on a monitor that uses cheaper test strips the GlucoNavii is about £10 and the strips £13 for 100 from amazon or similar.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
I can’t agree with that I’m afraid. High 3s are experienced by people without diabetes for sure, but if people are genuinely getting towards 3.0 or into the 2s, then their brain function will be impaired (which generally happens somewhere below 3.5).

Of course if checking with a home BG meter there could be a degree if inaccuracy in the measurements, but it’s important not to confuse asymptomatic hypoglycaemia, where the person doesn’t have (or feel) any warning signs, with not being hypo.
Click to expand...

I certainly notice anything under 4.
If I was driving at 2, god help the rest of you.
 
picitup said:
Hi All

I've just been diagnosed as prediabetic and have booked an appointment with a nurse at my GP to discuss my chocolate, sorry I mean diet 🙂
Obviously the goal is to reverse it by cutting down and losing weight. I took some meds which stimulated my appetite to the extent I was starving much of the time and my weight went up to 17st 7 and should be around 12-13st. I'm down to 16st 8 so a little way to go.

On the bright side, it's a wake-up call to start exercising and get fit again. I used to really enjoy cycling and the bike's out the back, so no excuses, apart from the fact it's so hot at the mo.

The main symptom has been crushing tiredness and I'd really like to address this. Has anyone else had tiredness as a symptom? I've had the tiredness since xmas and have watched 120 Star Treks and completed all 8 seasons of Homeland due to inactivity.

Also should I check my blood sugar to see how I'm doing? Maybe each day as a fasting test before brekky?

And for a bit of fun, I already had a glucose meter and it showed my fasting sugar as 27 which made me raise my eyebrows a bit! Then I checked the strips and they were 2 years out of date so bought some new ones lol. Since then my fasting sugar is around 7 which I think indicates prediabetes.

That's it for now apart from to say thanks for reading.....

Cheers

Steve
Click to expand...

Sounds like me.
Amazingly tired.

But with the help of the NHS, I lost 5 stone by a mixture of a low fat diet for about a year, and exercise, then a shake based 800 calorie diet for another eight weeks.
This actually reversed my diabetes, I eat a healthy Mediterranean diet now. Mostly.
No issues with any of the meds, Metformin, and statins were both side effect free.
I'm still on a statin now.
Still no side effects.
 
picitup said:
I'm seeing the fat nurse (nurse for fat people)
Click to expand...
It made me laugh that you needed to add the clarification!
picitup said:
I weighed myself this morning and have lost a pound since last week so just another 3st or so to go.....
Click to expand...
You can get there. Just need to keep chipping away at it.
Best wishes
 
@Leadinglights thanks for the tip on the monitor with cheap strips. I offered the seller £15.99 for the 100 which was accepted so when I get close to none left, I'll check out the GlucoNavii.

@travellor well done for losing all that weight. Do you still feel so tired after the weight loss? Of course I want to address my blood sugar issue, but the original symptom was crushing tiredness and having to sleep in the day. I'm hoping losing some weight and addressing the prediabetes will make a difference to the tiredness.

On another note, I went for a bike ride today. First time for months. Just a mile round the block, not too demanding but bet I'm walking round like John Wayne who's just got off his horse tomorrow. Brake and gear cables need a spot of oil so that's a job for tomorrow. I'll keep doing the same until I can do it twice and progress from there. At 63, I'm sure progress will be snails pace, but that's ok.

Cheers

Steve
 
Windy said:
It made me laugh that you needed to add the clarification!

You can get there. Just need to keep chipping away at it.
Best wishes
Click to expand...
Glad I made you smile 🙂 Well, a pound a week is a bag of spuds in a year eh? 😎
 
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