[digitalv]

Early this month, after a 10 hour fast, my blood sugar was 101. I realized that I am pre-diabetic. I used to test my levels every week and it was always in the low mid 80s.

On 9/1 it was a dreaded 101. I panicked at the sight and feel that now life is over. The thing I have been afraid of has happened, despite my efforts to deter it, I got it..I have been dieting over a year or so and one day I was stupid and ate 3 cup cakes and a brownie all in one day. The next morning it was 101. After that everyday I have been checking it in the morning. One day it 99, then 98, then 97, then 96, then 95 etc. and today it was 91.

Is it too late for me? I have been getting tingling in my hands and feet and it itches and stings randomly a lot throughout the day. I am eating barely anything now because it sounds like everything I have been eating was bad...white bread..chips..etc. I don't know what to do. Even when I barely eat I can goto sleep with a BG level of 84 and when I wake up it jumps to 93. My levels have consistently been in the low 90s for a while now. Do I still have a chance to reverse the pre-diabetes? I am walking 30 mins a day now and my body aches all over but I am determined to find some hope..

Any feedback would be appreciated..I am scared to hear the bad news..and I hear stress causes levels to rise and I have to be scared of even being scared! This is such a nightmare..that will never end...until I die

 

[Richard157]

Fasting results in the 90's and even an occasional number like 101 is not unusual for a nondiabetic. My wife is not a diabetic and she has the same kind of numbers you are having, before breakfast. I do not think you have prediabetes.

I have had type 1 diabetes for 64 years and I am very healthy. Diabetes is NOT a death sentence. I have joined the Joslin Medalist group in Boston. There are hundreds of us in that group who have had diabetes for more than 50 years. Google William Rounds and you will find a story about a man who has had diabetes for 85 years and he is still going strong. Don't think that you are going to die an early death if you ever have diabetes. Take good care of yourself and eat healthy. Get lots of exercise. Maintain a healthy weight. You will be fine.

 

[digitalv]

Fasting results in the 90's and even an occasional number like 101 is not unusual for a nondiabetic. My wife is not a diabetic and she has the same kind of numbers you are having, before breakfast. I do not think you have prediabetes."

Thank you for the response, I was so scared I forgot to introduce myself right. I am 28 years old, and both my parents and grandparents have diabetes. My blood sugar was 106 on 8-31. After I saw that I went into a huge depression because I've seen what diabetes has done to my parents, they are always in so much pain and misery. My mom said she wants to die a lot because the pain is so bad. I have been on a diet for about a year now and I was 280 last year, now I am 236. I exercise 30 mins a day 5 days a week like it said on the ADA website.

I read today that white bread was a huge cause of diabetes and bought some 100% whole wheat bread that said it had 22 grams of whole grain fiber. I don't know if that was the right kind though.

I read that eggs were good to eat and then I read that they cause diabetes and raise the chance by 58% in men. I read that rice, bread, potatoes, noodles, and anything with added sugar is bad. I don't like many vegetables (I practically throw up just smelling ones like cabbage) so it makes it very hard to even decide what to eat anymore. I read that eating fruit is good like applies but they have sugar in them too? I am so confused.

I am going crazy because I don't know what to eat because it sounds like everything is unhealthy except really expensive foods. I can't find any practical meals to eat online. I am afraid to even eat a sandwich with 2 slices of bread now. The whole grain bread is 20 carbs a slice and that was more than the white bread which was 13 carbs a slice. I have to eat dinner now and I don't know what to eat, I am scared of seeing my sugar levels over 100 again in the morning. Even worse I hear the liver will inject sugar into me after not eating for so long, and raise my blood sugar level!

I am trying not to stress and think of a logical way to handle this but it's so hard, and it says even stress can cause diabetes? Oh my god such a nightmare.

 

[digitalv]

How do you edit a post here? I can't see an edit button anywhere. I forgot to say my blood sugar was 106 after the 10 hour fast not 101. It was 101 the following day, after fasting.

 

[beetal]

How do you edit a post here? I can't see an edit button anywhere. I forgot to say my blood sugar was 106 after the 10 hour fast not 101. It was 101 the following day, after fasting.

Hi! DigitalV,
I want to ask you certain questions..how do you check your bg??through glucometer???
How much delay is there between waking up and you checking your bg??
And why did you started diet?? I want to know what happens if you eat normally for a week and then what is your bg ??? After having normal diet and still you can get mid 90's or so then i would say you are just scaring yourself to the extent where your stress will raise your bg.Please try to be rational.. eating less would also tell your liver to introduce glucose if you are going low at midnight..
take care
and be relaxed..

 

[digitalv]

Hi! DigitalV,
I want to ask you certain questions..how do you check your bg??through glucometer???
How much delay is there between waking up and you checking your bg??
And why did you started diet?? I want to know what happens if you eat normally for a week and then what is your bg ??? After having normal diet and still you can get mid 90's or so then i would say you are just scaring yourself to the extent where your stress will raise your bg.Please try to be rational.. eating less would also tell your liver to introduce glucose if you are going low at midnight..
take care
and be relaxed..

I used the One Touch Ultra 2. I haven't eaten the way I "normally" did before since 8/31. I was usually around the low mid 80s all the time and the one day I ate lots of sugary foods and it was 106 the next morning. Since then I don't eat that much. Is 100% whole wheat bread good? It was from Nature's Pride brand. I am not sure if I can have 2 slices now, I don't know what to eat anymore.

I am afraid to eat a lot and I barely have 100 carbs a day but my BG is still in the 90s after a fast. I check my sugar levels everytime I wake up immediately after getting out of bed before I brush my teeth or anything..

 

[beetal]

I think you are doing just fine. You should get your bg test done from a lab,as machine can elevate results a bit.
I have feeling that as of now you are doing good and can eat what you want.Also you should get ogtt done,results would make the picture clear and it will be easy for you also as you would know the exact situation rather than only guessing.
Take care

I used the One Touch Ultra 2. I haven't eaten the way I "normally" did before since 8/31. I was usually around the low mid 80s all the time and the one day I ate lots of sugary foods and it was 106 the next morning. Since then I don't eat that much. Is 100% whole wheat bread good? It was from Nature's Pride brand. I am not sure if I can have 2 slices now, I don't know what to eat anymore.

I am afraid to eat a lot and I barely have 100 carbs a day but my BG is still in the 90s after a fast. I check my sugar levels everytime I wake up immediately after getting out of bed before I brush my teeth or anything..

 

[Richard157]

Your exercise and healthier eating and your blood sugar levels all sound very good. They sound normal. You do not become a diabetic by eating too much sugar. If someone told you that or you read it somewhere, it is false information. Most of the very overweight people do not become diabetic just because they eat too much and enjoy junk food. If there are relatives (blood related) with diabetes then those overweight people are much more likely to become diabetics. You have relatives who are diabetics so your eating healthier ane exercising is a great idea. Getting your weight down to an ideal level for your age, body size and height could prevent you from ever having diabetes.

I eat low carb bread and have no more than 2 slices per day, usually at breakfast. There are only 8g of carbs per slice in my bread. Whole grain bread with 8 carbs per slice is hard to find in my area. Pepperidge Farm makes it but it disappears off the shelves very fast. I usually use oatmeal bread by Country Kitchen, at 8g per slice. I rarely eat potatoes or corn but all other vegetables are great, especially in a salad. I have a 20-25 carb salad in the evening about 7 pm. Some days I substitute soup instead. There is no food that causes diabetes. The cause of diabetes is usually genetic, an illness or taking high doses of certain types of medication, like steroids. Anything that causes the pancreas to stop working can cause Type 1 diabetes. Anything that causes insulin resistance can causes Type 2 diabetes. Food does not cause either type of diabetes but if you are prone to become a diabetic then eating unhealthy food and being overweight can certainly cause the diabetes to appear sooner than it would have.

 

[digitalv]

Hi Richard, I am still confused because yesterday I ate maybe 100 carbs at most and brisk walked a good 40 mins and 6 hours later my BG was 97. That's bad right? I checked it again 45 mins later after another 10 min jog and it was 96, then I checked again 7 hours later when I woke up and it was 90.

I have a huge question too, I am using my dad's test strips and they expired
on Octorber 2008, will this make my readings more higher (or....lower?).

I am barely eating and exercising a lot now and lost 8 lbs these last couple weeks.

Yesterday my BG level was at 97 after a 6 hour fast after only eating these things throughout the day : 1 cup of Cheerios with less than 1/2 cup of 2% milk (~30 carbs), a fistful of pork, 30 potato chips (spread through the day) (~30 carbs), 1 apple, 1 slice of whole wheat bread (20 carbs), 1 slice of cooked ham, 2 slices of sandwich pepperoni, and 1 slice of mozzerella cheese.

Did I eat something wrong? My BG level shouldn't be 97 after 6 hours of hardly eating right? I am so weak, tired, bad headache, and dizzy right now I don't what to do to improve my levels. I am scared to take a tolerance test because it says I have to drink a large amount of sugar and I keep thinking that may "push me over the edge".

Any help is greatly appreciated please, I don't know how I can live like this for long...

 

[Richard157]

I would never trust strips that had expired that long ago. I hope you will buy new strips and start fresh. Let us know your numbers.

I don't know if the numbers you are getting are accurate since you are using old strips. If the numbers are correct then they are good. The same kind of numbers a nondiabetic should expect.

I never eat cereal, it gives me terrible spikes. The milk just adds to the problem. The bread I eat has only 8 carbs per slice.

 

[digitalv]

Alright thanks, I am eating oatmeal for breakfast now. My levels were 88 a couple hours after eating ceral so I though it was okay but I'll stick to Quaker Oatmeal plain with 0 sugar.

Lunch I am still confused, should I just eat a half of slice of bread then? Then it would only be 10 carbs.

Is there a target about of minimum carbs for a diabetic diet? I feel really weak a lot now and I can't afford to goto the doctor or a nutritionist because I was laid off and I have no money at all now. My only hope is to get help from here from people.

Right now my diet is probably around 600-1000 calories a day and most of that comes from protein foods, depending on what is made for supper.

What's a good example way to eat throughout the day?

My old normal (bad) one was usually

2 servings of cereal for breakfast
1 Turkey or ham sandwich with 2 slices of white bread, and some potato chips
Dinner was probably my worst meal because I would eat 2 large bowls of rice and pasta with a can of soda, and sometimes I would eat a donut or cookie after dinner (this is my OLD OLD diet by the way not now)

Now my diet is this:

Breakfast
1 serving of instant Quaker Oat meal - 20 carbs

Lunch
1 slice of whole wheat bread - 20 carbs (maybe I should only eat 1/2 a slice?)
1-2 slices of ham or turkey
1 slice of Mozzarella or American cheese
5 Saltine Crackers (11 carbs)
1 Apple (are apples bad? maybe they are raising my sugar too much)

Dinner (dinner is the hardest because it depends on what is cooked by my parents, and I can't cook) Yesterday it was this:
1 Chicken breast
1/2 cup cooked white rice (20 carbs)
1 boiled corn on the cob
2 tablespoons of Ragu spaghetti sauce

Am I eating enough? I hope I don't get sick from eating so lightly. I can't find any good advice anywhere. I am limited on what I can eat though.

I can't afford nor can my parents (yes I was laid off and now I'm living with my parents unfortunately) afford new test strips so I am stuck using expired ones. My dad said they passed the "Control Range" test and on the bottle it says 95-127 reading, and the meter read 126, so that means it's good right?

I took readings all day yesterday 2 hours after each meal. My fingers hurt from all the pricks, haha...

upon waking up in the morning it was 90, and when I went to bed it was 96
2 Hours After breakfast it was 88.
2 Hours After lunch it was 105.
2 hours After dinner it was 111.
3.5 hours after dinner it was 114
4.5 hours after dinner, after a 30 min brisk walk it was 80.
1.5 hours after the walk it was 86
2 hours after the walk it was 95 (6 total hours past since dinner)
I went to sleep after checking the 95.
After sleeping I woke up to check it again and a total of 16 hours past since I ate dinner, my reading was 84.

I am so confused right now because after walking hard for 30 mins it looked great at 80. But then a few hours later it goes back to 95? I wasn't able to get an 8 hour fasting reading because I was too tired. Now I read that people with levels in the mid 90s are greatly at risk of getting diabetes..oh boy.

Any help is appreciated I am really lost right now.

 

[Richard157]

Where are you reading about mid 90's numbers being a risk? There is no danger posed by mid 90's.

If you exercise without carbs in your body then your liver will release glucose to provide the needed energy. The problem is that may release to much glucose unless your exercise is very strenuous or for a long duration. I exercise within 30 minutes of a meal so there are ample carbs. That way the liver will not have to release more glucose. You may have had enough carbs for your walk but then those carbs were burned up and you did not eat for 6 hours so your liver may have then dumped enough glucose to raise your BS level to 95. That is the most likely scenario. I never go as long as 6 hours without eating something, even if it is only 10 carbs.

I see nothing wrong with your present diet since you are not a diabetic. I will say that white rice and corn at dinner was not a good combo. Both white rice and corn give a high blood sugar 2 hours later for a diabetic but yours only went as high as 114. If you had replaced either the corn or the rice by something that would act less quickly then you would have had lower numbers when you tested.

You may not be eating enough calories. If you have a large frame or are active then you need more than 1000 carbs. The more active you are, the more calories you need. I eat many vegetables, mostly raw, in a salad. I think you said you don't like vegetables. That makes your food choices more difficult.

 

[digitalv]

Where are you reading about mid 90's numbers being a risk? There is no danger posed by mid 90's.

Thanks for all of the help Richard, I read that right here.

High-Normal Fasting Blood Sugar Above 87 mg/dL Could Signal Diabetes Risk

 

[Richard157]

Thanks, I have never seen that kind of statement before. I don't agree wit it at all.

 

[beetal]

Dear Digital,
The help Richard has provided you is the most accurate you would get in this world.The link you have pasted here is one of the most wierd theory by anyone on this world.That is a pure gimmick to induce fear in normal and diabetic and mint money.Beware of those kinda things.
Most likely i think that you are a normal non diabetic fearful of getting diabetic because you see diabetic around you. By living in stress you won;t help yourself.
I am sure if yougo through ogtt you would come out of this fear....be sure you are not diabetic at this stage and nobody can predict if you will get in furture or not..
relax and live a easy life.
regards

 

[Anthill]

Irregardless of what we eat although some common sense still prevails. Exercise!!! is the key like Richard dose and make it a good habit to do. The drugs that your doctor prescribes you is not kind to your body and your doc will say that you will keep taking these drugs no matter what you do.

Exercise!!!
so that you enjoy life.
:amen:​

 

[digitalv]

Just wanted to thank everyone here especially Richard for all the help and advice. I lost about 15 pounds since I have been on this forum by dieting, eating healthy foods, and exercising. My blood sugar levels have been steadily decreasing and was 86 this morning after an 8 hour fast.

I found the best amount of carbs for me was around 120 per day. I eat apples, cinnamon, endives, low carb bread, low fat turkey, oatmeal every single day now. I am still feeling tired all the time though, but some tell me it may be my thyroid being underactive or something. The annoying pins and needles in my hands and feet still seem to crop up when I am nervous or out of breath, I guess the damage is done already there..

I will pass this advice to my family as well, I hope they listen and stop eating so unhealthily before it's too late for them next..

Thanks for everything again! I have seen life with a new view and will fight diabetes for the rest of my life now. And hopefully along the way help others not make the mistakes I did when I was younger teach them to eat right.

 

[diabetes709]

You have not posted any numbers besides fasting, and I think you are missing a chance to check yourself out before getting too worried over hopefully nothing.

If your numbers fall between 70 and 120 within an hour of whatever you are eating, relax..... relax, and then relax some more.

Fasting numbers are nice, but they are not tests. Everyone's fasting numbers will be up and down, depending on a lot of factors. Heck, a lousy night's sleep can bump them up a bit. What you eat before bed matters. Did you exercise before going to bed. All these come into play if all you are doing is using your morning fasting numbers.

You need to step back, and realize that a few cupcakes and a brownie will not kill you, or damage you as you search for these answers They will also not give you diabetes.....

There are two ways to go on your own. Test before you eat a meal, test an hour later, and test two hours later. If your numbers stay under 120, go back to the relaxing thing. You can go to Walgreens or whomever, and get an A1c home test kit. The A1c test will give you your average blood sugar readings over the last 3 months. One test kit you get a meter and do it all at home, a less expensive one, you send your blood to their lab, and they email you or contact you otherwise, with your number. That is a better number than anything you will get with your meter, first thing in the morning.

Ask your doctor to set you up with a fasting glucose tolerance test. You will fast overnight, go to the lab and they will test your levels, then give you a glucose cocktail of 75 grams of glucose. An hour later, they take your blood, and after two hours, they take it again. Test is over. This will tell you if you are diabetic or not. If its borderline, the doctor will want an A1c test.

Stress can play havoc with BG numbers. Older strips may be okay if you try the control fluid test on them, but since you are unsure of your condition, you should get new strips from the pharmacy.

Carbs is the code word someone decided should be used in lieu of "starch" and that should tell you that bread, pasta, and anything from flour or grains is probably not good for a diabetic.

Blood Sugar 101 is a great web site for information, and any search engine will help you find food that is low carb. calorieking.com lets you plug in just about anything, to get the nutritional information on it. Watch out for anything with sugar, as you work through this. It only complicates things.

Meat is okay, just not fried. Veggies are mostly low carb, and for pete's sake, don't eat cereal. Its loaded with carbs.

Again, the "don't eat it" is for this time when you are trying to find out what your condition is, not a recipe for the rest of your life.

Relax. Take readings that will teach you something you can use. Fasting numbers are not nearly enough to tell you where you are at.

Good luck. I do know the feeling of panic and depression that hits when all these possibilities come flying at you. If you are diabetic, you can't change that. If you are not, keep exercising, and consider changing your diet slightly anyway, to make sure you don't get there.

John

 

[Iriawan]

Hello, I am Newbie in here..

Hello, my name Iriawan. I have an information about diabetes. All about Diabetes. Please check to
get Providing the best, up to date information on the best in Diabetes....

 

[diabetes709]

Lunch
1 slice of whole wheat bread - 20 carbs (maybe I should only eat 1/2 a slice?)
1-2 slices of ham or turkey
1 slice of Mozzarella or American cheese
5 Saltine Crackers (11 carbs)
1 Apple (are apples bad? maybe they are raising my sugar too much)

Dinner (dinner is the hardest because it depends on what is cooked by my parents, and I can't cook) Yesterday it was this:
1 Chicken breast
1/2 cup cooked white rice (20 carbs)
1 boiled corn on the cob
2 tablespoons of Ragu spaghetti sauce

I can't afford nor can my parents (yes I was laid off and now I'm living with my parents unfortunately) afford new test strips so I am stuck using expired ones. My dad said they passed the "Control Range" test and on the bottle it says 95-127 reading, and the meter read 126, so that means it's good right?

I took readings all day yesterday 2 hours after each meal. My fingers hurt from all the pricks, haha...

None of those numbers you posted look bad. Relax some more

Apples may not be a good idea. We all react differently, but most T2's that I know, myself included, cannot eat them. Too much sugar, especially since they get more and more sugar, as they ripen, just like bananas, another no-no.

If your strips pass the control fluid test, they are probably okay. New would be nice, I am where you are in the finance/insurance hole, so persevere.

Corn is not good for most (again, we are all different) and rice is too many carbs for what you gain from it.

The frozen food aisle at wally mart or others will have green beans, lima beans, cauliflower, etc. Buy a bag of each, and have a cup or a cup and a half of any combo for dinner. You need the fiber and the veggies are good for you in lieu of the rice, corn and apples. Most fruits can be a problem.

No matter about the accuracy of your strips. use them to show you trends.

Also, I until you have more proof and confidence in your system, I would stay away from bread altogether. That is a hard one. WalMart sells tortillas that are 9 carbs each, and make good sandwiches with the deli meat, and you can even toss on some cheese and microwave one which isn't bad, and minimal carbs. Mayo is okay in small amounts, along with mustard to make a tortilla sandwich more tasty.

No soda, diet or otherwise, and consider just drinking water. You can use lemon juice and a splenda packet to get a decent version of lemonade flavored drink now and then, but I really believe that until you can be officially tested, its best to stay low carbs best as you can.

Eggs, bacon, and any kind of meat is good. Tuna if you can stand the fishy taste, or else chicken in a can, like Tyson, mixed with Mayo on the tortilla is pretty good.

I am still working on all my choices, and tend to eat the same thing most every day (booooring) but I am a T2, and want to force my A1c number way down there. If you want a list of what I eat every day, send me a private message and I will list it for you.

I don't do meds, just diet and exercise, and have not seen a reading over 140 in better than a month, so I feel pretty okay about that.

Hang tough, and even if you don't know for sure, do what you are doing, as if you are diabetic, until you can do the testing required to verify it. Truth is, exercise and low starch dieting is a good thing, no matter what. Just hard to do

John