Newbie - Pre-Diabetic and confused!

Greetings all, from Central California.

I saw my Dr. a couple of months ago for a routine physical. At that time she had me do some blood work. The results came back with a diagnosis of hypo-thyroid and rheumatoid arthritis. my sugar levels were a bit elevated so she had me do a fasting glucose test. That test also revealed some elevation in my sugar so I went for an A1C. The A1C came back and my level was 6.3%, which she said was pre-diabetic. She did not put me on medication but feels we can treat it with diet and exercise. She also gave me a glucose monitor to test my blood sugar levels at home.

I have followed her instructions for testing: I test every morning when I first get up, then before a meal and 1 1/2 - 2 hours after a meal, and before I go to bed. So far, my highest reading at any time has been 130 (after I ate some fruit) but it's usually no higher than 110 and the average for the week has been 103. First off, I'm not sure if these numbers are good or not.

When I got the diagnosis, she also said she would be sending me to an endocrinologist and dietician as well as an opthamologist. I'm still waiting for the referrals and that's where I'm confused.

Until I can get in with the nutritionist, I'm not sure what foods I can and can't eat. I've stopped eating all bread, have quit soda and am reading every label for carbs and sugars before anything goes into my mouth. The problem is that I have no clue how many carbs/sugars I should be eating and won't know until I can get to see the nutritionist. Also, I've been trying to read up as much as possible and I keep seeing posts about "exchanges" and I don't really get that. Can someone maybe enlighten me on this?
I'm glad I found this place and will probably be posting here several times until I can understand more about this disease.

If there's anybody that can shed some light on whether I'm doing things right or wrong, I'd appreciate it!