Prediabetic number worsening

Status
Not open for further replies.
Welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear it's been rising, what changes to your diet have you previously made?
Also how is your weight? excess weight, particularly around the waist may contribute to insulin resistance, or may make it worse.
 
Thanks for your prompt answer. My penultimate Hbac1 last year was 43 and I weighed around 11 stone, so I joined Weightwatchers which of course meant that all foods are limited, including all those which are most dangerous in diabetes terms. I am fairly active, I walk a lot, use a standing cycle and do tai chi. I now weigh 10st5 with a 26.5bmi. I hope to lose another half stone or so but am not sure what else I can do?
 
Gillyflower101 said:
Now up to 44 having risen gradually for past 3 years. Changed diet has had no effect.
Click to expand...
You are still in the prediabetic zone and newer NICE guideline suggest that diagnostic thresholds be more lenient for more mature folk nonetheless there is no harm in trying to achieve a normal blood glucose level. When you say you have made changes to your diet, what have you changed and how long have you been doing that as it may take a while to be reflected in your HbA1C result.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. See how it compares to what you are doing.
You could get a blood glucose monitor if you haven't and do some strategic testing of your meals.
 
Gillyflower101 said:
Thanks for your prompt answer. My penultimate Hbac1 last year was 43 and I weighed around 11 stone, so I joined Weightwatchers which of course meant that all foods are limited, including all those which are most dangerous in diabetes terms. I am fairly active, I walk a lot, use a standing cycle and do tai chi. I now weigh 10st5 with a 26.5bmi. I hope to lose another half stone or so but am not sure what else I can do?
Click to expand...
Unless you are pretty selective WW meals tend to be too high in carbohydrates for many to tolerate so although you may lose weight HbA1C will not go down much.
 
Gillyflower101 said:
Thanks for your prompt answer. My penultimate Hbac1 last year was 43 and I weighed around 11 stone, so I joined Weightwatchers which of course meant that all foods are limited, including all those which are most dangerous in diabetes terms. I am fairly active, I walk a lot, use a standing cycle and do tai chi. I now weigh 10st5 with a 26.5bmi. I hope to lose another half stone or so but am not sure what else I can do?
Click to expand...

Well done on your weight loss @Gillyflower101

Sounds like you are feeling a bit exasperated and disappointed :(

Personally I think I’d treat HbA1c results that are only one digit apart to be pretty much the same. All of these checks have a margin for error, and I’m not sure 43-44 shows anything all that significant. Though I completely understand that you’d rather it had gone down one, rather than up one!

Does your WW plan give you a carb count to aim for each day? Or would it be relatively straightforward to get a feel of your daily intake of total carbohydrates (not just ‘of which sugars’)?

That might suggest a tweak or two you could make, just slightly reducing your overall carb intake might help your metabolism keep your glucose levels closer to the recommended ranges?
 
Leadinglights said:
You are still in the prediabetic zone and newer NICE guideline suggest that diagnostic thresholds be more lenient for more mature folk nonetheless there is no harm in trying to achieve a normal blood glucose level. When you say you have made changes to your diet, what have you changed and how long have you been doing that as it may take a while to be reflected in your HbA1C result.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/. See how it compares to what you are doing.
You could get a blood glucose monitor if you haven't and do some strategic testing of your meals.
Click to expand...
That is interesting about the NICE guidelines. I have seen some research from the US about that too. I have said before when I saw the DN recently about my going back to 42 and I mentioned getting them right down to about 30 to 35 she felt i might be being unrealistic.

I do recall looking at my records from way before pre-diabetes became an issue and I had a reading of 42 then. One of my friends is wondering if it is just "me" going from 42 to 40 and going backwards and forwards. I don't like it though and want it back to 40 or even lower. I do recall my GP saying a few years that they did not seen 42 as abnormal until they brought the levels down but now they have to tell people. I would rather be told though and I suppose it is particularly important for younger people.

I have been told umpteen times by physios and GPs that I cannot expect my body to work now at my age (70) like it did when I was in my 20s and 30s. I am not meeting problems halfway though if I can avoid it.
 
Maz2 said:
I have been told umpteen times by physios and GPs that I cannot expect my body to work now at my age (70) like it did when I was in my 20s and 30s. I am not meeting problems halfway though if I can avoid it.
Click to expand...
Maybe not, but my HbA1c came down from 104 to 32 in 6 months after my 80th birthday. Low carb diet (Newcastle morphing to Harcombe), no medication, lost 22 kg to get back to my target 'racing weight'.
 
JITR said:
Maybe not, but my HbA1c came down from 104 to 32 in 6 months after my 80th birthday. Low carb diet (Newcastle morphing to Harcombe), no medication, lost 22 kg to get back to my target 'racing weight'.
Click to expand...
I did all that and it would not go below 40. I had no weight to lose. 5 ft 7 in 9 st 2 lbs. Ended up 7 st 10lbs and GP told me to stop it as not weight related. That is where my age came into I thought. The hba1c went up as well instead of reducing. Finally came back to normal the following year.

It is harder when it is not weight related and I think my GP and DN are trying to be realistic as, other than starving myself to death, I am not sure what else to do.
 
Maz2 said:
I did all that and it would not go below 40. I had no weight to lose. 5 ft 7 in 9 st 2 lbs. Ended up 7 st 10lbs and GP told me to stop it as not weight related. That is where my age came into I thought. The hba1c went up as well instead of reducing. Finally came back to normal the following year.
It is harder when it is not weight related and I think my GP and DN are trying to be realistic as, other than starving myself to death, I am not sure what else to do.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the clarification. Something may have happened in the last 70 years to prevent your blood glucose levels going down any further. That is what Professor Taylor found in his Counterpoint study in 2008. A few of his subjects eliminated excess fat from the liver (by dieting) but their HbA1c would not go below 42. He says the only way to find out is to try. I was a lucky one.

As you will know, HbA1c is an indicator of your blood glucose levels over a few months. It depends on diet. You say you have "done all that", meaning you have no more than three meals a day with no snacks, and focus on nutritious foods as described here and here? Maybe you should simply accept what your GP and DN say.

If you want to leave no stone unturned I'd suggest you have a good look at what Marty Kendall has to say about 'satiety' (quite a lot!) on his website and his food charts.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
JITR said:
Thank you for the clarification. Something may have happened in the last 70 years to prevent your blood glucose levels going down any further. That is what Professor Taylor found in his Counterpoint study in 2008. A few of his subjects eliminated excess fat from the liver (by dieting) but their HbA1c would not go below 42. He says the only way to find out is to try. I was a lucky one.

As you will know, HbA1c is an indicator of your blood glucose levels over a few months. It depends on diet. You say you have "done all that", meaning you have no more than three meals a day with no snacks, and focused on nutritious foods as described here and here? Maybe you should simply accept your GP and DN say.

If you want to leave no stone unturned I'd suggest you have a good look at what Marty Kendall has to say about 'satiety' (quite a lot!) on his website and his food charts.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information. That is interesting about Professor Taylor. I had not heard that.

I am not going to say I never "cheat" and have a dessert when I go out for meals but it is not all the time. Even the GP and the DN said I need an occasional treat. Looking back in my GP records before "pre diabetes" came into things I did notice a reading of 42 which they thought was "normal" as it was in those days. Maybe it is normal for me as my friend Jim said but I am still going to have a go at getting it back down. It went back once, hopefully it will do so again.

Not giving in to this. Not going to moan too much either as many, many people have much more to contend with than this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top