[Birdwatcher]

I suppose I am prediabetic --- my last fasting blood glucose at my yearly check up was " a little high" to use the docs words and he said, continue to watch your carbs. I told him I tried to follow a low carb diet.
I am a retired RN and have a glucometer and sometimes check my FBS. My average FBS is slowly climbling.
When will I likely be put on meds ? When my FBS are consistently over 100 or over 200 or what ???
I know I can ask my doctor, but don't plan to see him soon. Just curious about what the numbers were for most of you when your doc put you on meds.
Thanks --

 

[Shanny]

Welcome back, birdwatcher.

My initial "a little high" official fasting reading was 130 (7.2) and a few weeks later it was 165 (9.16). My doc put me on metformin immediately & I've been on it ever since.

 

[skb]

Normal is considered under 110 & pre-diabetic under 125. Doctors could prescribe medication anywhere over that or earlier depending on his/your approach to control.

BTW I'm a birdwatcher too.

 

[Spunky]

When will I likely be put on meds ?

I know my 'thingy' says I'm type 2, but that is a self-diagnosis. About 7 months ago my doc said I'm pre-diabetic, but in the beginning my meter was telling a different story (type 2). I am not on any meds, and because of the low carb/high fat way I have been eating, I have excellent control of my bg and if I continue on the same path, I believe it is possible I might never have to go on diabetic meds. There are some type 2's here who have never been on meds and others who have gained such good control of their bgs that they were able to get off their meds. There are others who do not have to be on meds, but have chosen to take Metformin anyway.

If you want to stay off of meds and hopefully avoid becoming a full-blown diabetic, here are a few tips: Each of us is different, so each has to determine how many carbs can be eaten per meal and still keep our bg where we want it. You do that by testing one and two hours after eating. If a food spikes you too much, you eliminate that food from your diet. That is called eating to your meter. Once I found how many carbs I could eat per meal, I was able to cut down on testing my bg as often.

If you go to Blood Sugar 101 and read the section "What is normal blood sugar" it will not only tell you what normal bg numbers are, but what numbers are considered to be pre-diabetic and type 2, and which numbers are dangerous and why.

At 140, much damage can be done to the body. In the beginning I was keeping my bg below 140, but started having tingling (Neuropathy) in the feet and lower legs, so I cut down my carbs even further and now try to keep my bg below 120, and the Neuropathy is gone. Each of us have our own reasons for keeping our bg within a certain range, you will have to determine for yourself what numbers you are comfortable with.

 

[jwags]

Welcome to the forum. Every doctor is different. Coming on DF is a great idea. For the first 2 years of my diabetes I was flying blind. I was dx'd with a FBG of 240 and was not put on meds. After about 3 months I got it down to 160 but it wouldn't budge much farther. I asked for Metformin and now take the maximum 2550 mg. I also do low carb and exercise most days. I aim for 100 in the mornings and 110-120 after meals. Keeping my bgs fairly consistant during the day makes me feel the best. It is those wild bg swings that make many D's feel sick.

 

[Birdwatcher]

Normal is considered under 110 & pre-diabetic under 125. Doctors could prescribe medication anywhere over that or earlier depending on his/your approach to control.

BTW I'm a birdwatcher too.

Hi fellow birdwatcher I thought 100 and LOWER was the new normal FBS. ?????? My lab where my blood work is done --- states 100 to be the upper limit for normal .

 

[smorgan]

I've always seen it as 2 digits: normal fasting BG is 70 - 99.

Hi fellow birdwatcher I thought 100 and LOWER was the new normal FBS. ?????? My lab where my blood work is done --- states 100 to be the upper limit for normal .

 

[julian]

The truth is you're probably diabetic/prediabetic with a fasting BG of more than 85...(lab result not with a meter at home. )

However, if you're diabetic, a fasting BG anywhere between 70 and 110 is really good!
Always keep in mind that you can't always have good BG

 

[smorgan]

I'm pretty certain that is not true. My 26 year old son who is most definitely not diabetic nor pre-diabetic. He checked his waking-up reading for almost 3 weeks and they were all between 92 and 97.

There is a reason they say normal fasting is 70 - 99. It's because it's TRUE.

In my experience, lab results if anything tend to be slightly higher, so even more so in that case.

If some folks are made to believe that only FBS of 85 is "normal' it could cause destructive behavior like over-medication and the like.

The truth is you're probably diabetic/prediabetic with a fasting BG of more than 85...(lab result not with a meter at home. )

However, if you're diabetic, a fasting BG anywhere between 70 and 110 is really good!
Always keep in mind that you can't always have good BG

 

[Guest]

At two "different lab" reports FBG for me state

Lab-1 : 60-110
Lab-2 : 70-110

as normal FBG.

I did hit a 60 (April 2011) on first and 72 (Nov 2011) on second for FBG.

We don't still see 100 as upper limit here at most labs. I remember one social activist going on indefinite hunger strike this year and his health was monitored every few hours ... his BG never went down below 102 (and he isn't diabetic at 70+ age) IIRC, so guess 110 upper limit is what holds as normal here.

The truth is you're probably diabetic/prediabetic with a fasting BG of more than 85...(lab result not with a meter at home. )

 

[julian]

Isn't there this doctor who will treat you for anything higher than 85?

All the non-diabetics I have tested so far were somewhere in the 80s

 

[smorgan]

Isn't there this doctor who will treat you for anything higher than 85?

All the non-diabetics I have tested so far were somewhere in the 80s

Dr. Bernstein is a little fanatical with his definition of "normal" BG - basically just "83". This is not born out by the facts, though.

As for testing non-diabetics, you just need to test some more. I've only done some family members and did indeed find some all-80's all the time, but others elsewhere within the NORMAL range that non-diabetics span, like the son I mentioned.

For a typical spread (2 standard deviations) of BG fasting, peak and 1 and 2 hours in a normal, healthy non-diabetic population, check this out.

Study the values carefully, this is the range that normal people's BG can span. Approximately 60 - 99 fasting, 95 - 162 post-meal peak and 58 - 112 @2 hours.