Hi, had pre-diabetes diagnosis in July, bloods were 46. Had bloods last week and I'm now 47. Totally devastated as I've lost a stone and smugly thought, hey, it's bound to have gone down! Also have high cholesterol so double whammy to deal with. Feeling low today and could do with support, advice and something to make me laugh. thanks
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
Pre-Diabetic but only just...
- Thread starter kinny
- Start date
- Status
Neens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
@kinny if you click on forums and follow the threads down there are some for entertainment and some amusing posts to read/watch, that might cheer you up.
I know it is a shock and it feels like the end of the world but this is a good thing - as it is a warning of potential danger zone. You may find you can reduce your levels or remain pre-diabetic (millions do). As far as I understand the complications associated with diabetes only start with diabetes. This doesn't make pre-diabetes feel any less serious, but you are now in a position where you can get help and support and hopefully turn it around. I wish I had had the chance, I didn't have symptoms (I did but they, I thought, were side effects of other meds I was on) and I wasn't pre-diabetic.
This is your turning point. Scary but okay. You have made a great start, I know the levels went up but losing that stone is doing you good. You have proved you can do it. Diabetes isn't all about the weight or the sugar as the general population (or at least me pre-diagnosis) are informed, excess weight generally won't help any medical condition and comes with its own set of challenges. You will have good support now because there is a huge drive to help pre-diabetics to prevent any worsening in their condition.
I hope I haven't made you feel worse.
There are lots of good people around here who will cheer you up.
I know it is a shock and it feels like the end of the world but this is a good thing - as it is a warning of potential danger zone. You may find you can reduce your levels or remain pre-diabetic (millions do). As far as I understand the complications associated with diabetes only start with diabetes. This doesn't make pre-diabetes feel any less serious, but you are now in a position where you can get help and support and hopefully turn it around. I wish I had had the chance, I didn't have symptoms (I did but they, I thought, were side effects of other meds I was on) and I wasn't pre-diabetic.
This is your turning point. Scary but okay. You have made a great start, I know the levels went up but losing that stone is doing you good. You have proved you can do it. Diabetes isn't all about the weight or the sugar as the general population (or at least me pre-diagnosis) are informed, excess weight generally won't help any medical condition and comes with its own set of challenges. You will have good support now because there is a huge drive to help pre-diabetics to prevent any worsening in their condition.
I hope I haven't made you feel worse.
There are lots of good people around here who will cheer you up.
Neens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @kinny and big congratulations on your weight loss. That’s a terrific start, and while you are understandably a bit disappointed that it wasn’t reflected in your HbA1c, as folks often say here - Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint. And these are positive changes you are making for the long term, rather than a quick fix and then back to ‘normal’. There’s a lot of research that suggests that weight loss (particularly if you can reach 10% of your body weight) will have a big impact, particularly if you are losing visceral fat around the organs.
If you’ve not found it already, I’d suggest you take a read of Maggie Davey’s letter to the newly diagnosed (even though a diagnosis of full blown diabetes is what you are trying to avoid!) It’s a useful overview of T2 diabetes, and you can apply some of the thinking to what you are doing already to help reduce your risk.
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s.61307/
You might also find AlanS’s ‘test review adjust’ a simple, methodical way of finding out what the foods you are currently eating are doing to your blood glucose and how different carbohydrates affect you personally. Tweaking your diet (most often by reducing/changing the amounts and types of carbohydrate you are eating) will significantly affect your blood glucose variation, and in turn, lower your HbA1c
https://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html
Good luck and keep us posted. 🙂
Hi kinny, Since you say you have high Cholesterol I suspect that you kept eating lots of so-called healthy Carbs while trying to lose weight.
If that is the case then it is no surprise that your HbA1C is slightly worse even though you have lost 1 stone.
I'm afraid that the way most of us control T2 Diabetes is by a Low Carb High(er) Fat 'Way Of Eating' ( not a diet - since no Calorie counting).
An alternative is to reduce Carbs and increase Protein.
It is understandable if you are afraid of Fat since it has been wrongly (in my opinion) blamed for Heart disease and even for Type 2 Diabetes. But there is plenty of evidence that Low Carb puts T2D into remission in around 50% of those who try it, plus they lose weight provided they go higher Fat instead of cutting their total Calories.
There is plenty of evidence that dietary Fat (even Saturated Fat) doesn't increase LDL Cholesterol (in most people) and is known to increase HDL cholesterol.
Here is a recent (October 2019) study in PubMed saying that a 10gm increase in dietary Saturated Fat reduces the (relative) risk of Stroke by 6%.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/317...-of-prospective-cohort-studies/?dopt=Abstract
Personally, since my T2D diagnosis I eat fatty meat, fatty fish, eggs, cheese, full fat dairy, avocado , nuts etc. despite being on a high carb way of eating for over 10 yrs.
I started on High Carb 6yrs before I needed a 3x Coronary Bypass, getting a T2 D diagnosis less than 3 yrs later was just too much for me to continue to believe in the dietary advice of my GP.
If that is the case then it is no surprise that your HbA1C is slightly worse even though you have lost 1 stone.
I'm afraid that the way most of us control T2 Diabetes is by a Low Carb High(er) Fat 'Way Of Eating' ( not a diet - since no Calorie counting).
An alternative is to reduce Carbs and increase Protein.
It is understandable if you are afraid of Fat since it has been wrongly (in my opinion) blamed for Heart disease and even for Type 2 Diabetes. But there is plenty of evidence that Low Carb puts T2D into remission in around 50% of those who try it, plus they lose weight provided they go higher Fat instead of cutting their total Calories.
There is plenty of evidence that dietary Fat (even Saturated Fat) doesn't increase LDL Cholesterol (in most people) and is known to increase HDL cholesterol.
Here is a recent (October 2019) study in PubMed saying that a 10gm increase in dietary Saturated Fat reduces the (relative) risk of Stroke by 6%.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/317...-of-prospective-cohort-studies/?dopt=Abstract
Personally, since my T2D diagnosis I eat fatty meat, fatty fish, eggs, cheese, full fat dairy, avocado , nuts etc. despite being on a high carb way of eating for over 10 yrs.
I started on High Carb 6yrs before I needed a 3x Coronary Bypass, getting a T2 D diagnosis less than 3 yrs later was just too much for me to continue to believe in the dietary advice of my GP.
- Status