[Hailey38]

I am 22 years old and have always been worried about diabetes since it runs in my family (mom was gestational diabetic and my grandfather is diabetic and many other family members)

I am extremely active, I bike to work everyday and also run about 3x/week. I'm about 5'2 and 100 pounds- and i usually eat relatively healthy.

I have had a lot of the symptoms of diabetes- all of the known ones such as urinating frequently (every night- often more than once throughout the night) and extreme thirst etc. and more recently have had constant yeast infections which my gynecologist informed me was often linked to high blood sugar levels.

I decided to test myself after dinner last week with my grandpas glucose monitor and found my blood glucose to be at 6.9 (about an hour after eating). I had a normal dinner and hadn't bothered with dessert- the rest of my family tested there sugars and were all around 4.5- even after having chocolate cake.

I was a bit worried, and so have tested my blood sugar the last few days and am always somewhere between 5 and 7.2 (at 7.2 an hour after eating a meal). Is this considered high?

I have researched a bit and have found that average levels are usually between 4 and 7, and can go a bit higher after a big meal even in non diabetics. I'm a bit worried though as every where i have looked has said to increase physical activity and lose weight to lower blood glucose- but I am already relatively thin/healthy and am extremely active.

Any suggestions on what I could do? or am i worrying for nothing...?

 

[diabetes86]

Hi and welcome
those numbers are great for after eating (if your a diabetic) I cant say for non diabetics. You say you "eat healthy" what do you call healthy, for most people that is a diet high in grains,fruits and veges. If your diabetic "healthy" eating is little or no grains, less fruit, more fat, and veges. We diabetics turn the food pyramid upside down and eat that way.

 

[Shanny]

Hi Hailey. You aren't worried for nothing, I assure you. As d-86 says, those are good postprandial numbers for a diabetic, but as you discovered, non-diabetics register much lower even after chocolate cake or equally high-carb foods.

Your present level of activity & your present weight can be maintained & coordinated with controlling your blood sugar levels. The thing is to plan your menus with more protein & fats, so you can eliminate the carbs which are elevating your blood sugar. People With Diabetes (PWD) have to learn to ignore the blaring sirens of the "healthy eating" lobby who persist in recommending ever more fruit, vegetables & whole grains. These are the foods which are most likely to elevate blood sugars. Limiting or avoiding them will go a long way toward keeping your levels down.

The other detriment to diabetes health is the low-fat lobby. There is nothing wrong with using moderate amounts of fat in your diet. It will help you maintain your present weight, and it will keep you from feeling hungry all the time as you lower your carb intake. The problem that arises when diabetics try to eat low-fat, is that most products which have the fats removed, have had them replaced with carbs. Better to avoid processed foods as much as possible - simple is just easier for PWDs. Go ahead & enjoy a little butter on your veggies or some real cream in your coffee. (forget about the coffee creamers, etc. - they're loaded with high fructose corn syrup - another bane of our existence!)

The best thing you can do right now is get your own meter. If you have insurance, you may need a diagnosis & and prescription, but outlets like Walgreens, Walmart, Krogers, etc., carry their own brands of meters/strips, and at much lower cost. I use the Walmart ReliOn brand, which runs about $9 for the meter, and $39 for 100 strips, and I don't bother getting a prescription from my doctor, because often the insurance companies put a cap on how many strips we can buy & I want to test as often as I need to test - not when the insurance company decides.

And until you can get an official diagnosis, you can still guard against high levels just by restricting or eliminating higher carb foods from your diet. My own diet runs on less than 60g of carbs per day . . . what carbs I get are from high-fiber vegetables like spinach, cabbage, kale, artichoke hearts, etc. The only fruits I eat are avocados & tomatoes. It isn't a spartan diet - I enjoy eating as much as I ever did, I just choose not to eat the foods which spike my blood sugar. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, olives . . . these are the foods I now enjoy without limits.

Thank you for joining us! Please take care & hurry back . . . you can handle this without losing weight or increasing your activity. We'll help you all we can!

 

[Hailey38]

Hi,

I have gotten my test results back, and am not quite sure what they mean.

My HBA1C is 5.4%... my fasting blood gluocose is 4.9 and my 2 hour glucose tolerance was 4.0!

I have seen some websites that have said that pre diabetics have HBA1c's that are 5.4-6? is this true?? or is 5.4 % a healthy value?

Any information would be very helpful! i find a lot of sites on the internet very contradictory.

thanks!

 

[Shanny]

Your A1c is a little high - it converts to an average BG of 114 - almost 115, but your other numbers are good. I think you are wise to continue monitoring your blood sugars, and perhaps curbing your carbs intake somewhat. What did your doc say about these numbers?

 

[RobertIA]

Shanny has laid it out clearly and correctly. I would add keeping up the exercise and bicycle riding. Get yourself into a routine and keep it up. Many people that find out early are able to control their diabetes very stringently and maintain control without medications with nurtrition and exercise. I say nutrition because in my mind diets fail all too often. A good heart healthy menu is a must. Limit the carbs as much as you can. Let me know if you want to read a blogger that is controlling with nutrition and exercise.

When you do take a holiday and have a treat, add some extra exercise to help offset the additional carbohydrate intake. Yes, it is okay to plan (emphasis on plan) a day for treats. We all do it, and I personally try to plan one day a month. Of course because my exercise in limited by neuropathy, I don't over do it. I am on insulin and thus I still use a moderate to low carb menu.

Good luck and keep a positive attitude. See your doctor at least once a year or two times a year to keep you motivated to control your blood gulcose levels. Record your A1c results to keep track of trends.

 

[Hailey38]

My doctor actually called me and said my values all came back normal and that i had nothing to worry about- it was only when i asked her what my values were and did a bit of research that I realized they were a bit high.

I already exercise daily, it must be my diet that has caused my elevated hba1c?

I rarely eat sweets (like cookies, chocolate, candy etc.) but I definetely eat a lot of cereals and breads. Sometimes if i don't pack enough food for the day and have done alot of biking then I get home and will eat a few bowls of cereal (like raisin bran or mini wheats) or will often have cereal as dessert after a meal- thinking that this is healthier than the typical "junk foods"- but it means i end up eating 3 or 4 bowls of cereal throughout the day.... I guess this is probably not good for blood sugar values...

Does anybody know of any good sites or good books that can really explain what a good diet would be to lower blood sugars?

Thank you for all of your advice!!

 

[breezeonby]

My doctor actually called me and said my values all came back normal and that i had nothing to worry about- it was only when i asked her what my values were and did a bit of research that I realized they were a bit high.

I already exercise daily, it must be my diet that has caused my elevated hba1c?

I rarely eat sweets (like cookies, chocolate, candy etc.) but I definetely eat a lot of cereals and breads. Sometimes if i don't pack enough food for the day and have done alot of biking then I get home and will eat a few bowls of cereal (like raisin bran or mini wheats) or will often have cereal as dessert after a meal- thinking that this is healthier than the typical "junk foods"- but it means i end up eating 3 or 4 bowls of cereal throughout the day.... I guess this is probably not good for blood sugar values...

Does anybody know of any good sites or good books that can really explain what a good diet would be to lower blood sugars?

Thank you for all of your advice!!

The best thing that you can do is to watch your carb intake. One of our moderators named Shanny, follows a very low carb diet and this works well for her. Hopefully, she will log on here soon and maybe she can explain what works for her. I take insulin and have a little more flexibility with my carb intake. I allow myself to have about 130-150 grams of carbs per day. You can eat alot of protein without raising your blood sugar. I like eggs, meat & cheese which I can eat without raising my blood sugar. I try to watch my fat intake because I have high cholesterol, but you can also have things like mayo without adding carbs. Watch the sugar free foods since many contain hidden sources of carbs such as maltodextrin which can cause your blood sugar to spike. Be a food label reader and you will be surprised what is in the food we eat.

 

[Shanny]

Sugar & sweets aren't the only or even the primary source of carbohydrate. That much cereal is prob'ly what drives up your A1c, and bread is a major offender too, even if it's whole-grain. While your fasting numbers are low, I bet if you would test an hour after eating two bowls of cereal, you'll be surprised at the spike it gave you.

The thing is to plan your menus with more protein & fats, so you can eliminate the carbs which are elevating your blood sugar. Persons With Diabetes (PWD) have to learn to ignore the blaring sirens of the "healthy eating" lobby who persist in recommending ever more fruit, starchy vegetables & whole grains. These are the foods which are most likely to elevate blood sugars. Anything made from corn or wheat is apt to spike you. Many of us can't even eat oatmeal.

There is nothing wrong with using moderate amounts of fat in your diet. It will help you maintain your present weight, and it will keep you from feeling hungry all the time as you lower your carb intake. The problem that arises when diabetics or pre-diabetics try to eat low-fat, is that most products which have the fats removed, have had them replaced with carbs. Better to avoid processed foods as much as possible - simple is just easier for PWDs. Go ahead & enjoy a little butter on your veggies or some real cream in your coffee. (forget about the coffee creamers, etc. - they're loaded with high fructose corn syrup and/or corn syrup solids - another bane of our existence!)

My own diet runs on less than 60g of carbs per day . . . what carbs I get are from high-fiber vegetables like asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, kale, artichoke hearts, etc. The main fruits I eat are avocados & tomatoes. It isn't a spartan diet - I enjoy eating as much as I ever did, I just choose not to eat the foods which spike my blood sugar. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts, olives . . . these are the foods I now enjoy without limits. Infrequently I can enjoy small bowls of strawberries sweetened with Splenda, and bathed in heavy cream to buffer the carbs. I can also eat half an apple if I put peanut butter on it. Using these fats with the fruits helps reduce the impact of the carbs on your blood sugars. It would be great if using butter on bread could have the same reduction effect, but unfortunately bread has way too much fast-acting carbs to be alleviated by a little butter. DARN it!

 

[warrenh]

I would continue exercising and eating healthy, not over doing the carbs, but not cutting them out either.

Only a doctor can tell you if you are "pre-diabetic". I tested similar back when I was 20 years old. They told me I had inhibited glucose tolerance, and that I should have my BG checked every now and then, as I was at risk of becoming a diabetic one day. That day came 21 years later, after probably about half a year of unexplained symptoms.

Don't stress it too much, but do get checked every so often.