I've been wondering about increased carb sensitivity.
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Prediabetic range for A1C starts at 5.7, correct? Or is that outdated?0
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Well, it depends whom you want to believe. If it seems sensible, I tend to go with the lower thresholds (since you only live once, and, all things being equal, I'd prefer to keep my toes, eyesight, and sanity).
Here's a chart I like. The risk levels are set lower than many. (My personal HbA1c goal is 5.0 or below, which takes mild CVD into account. I'm rarely there, though):
http://www.rajeun.net/HbA1c_glucose.html2 -
I hear you. My younger sister has A1C's that are often around 12 and really struggles to keep her diabetes under control. She's only 34 and her neuropathy is already really bad. I worry about her.
She is planning to try keto now though. Really hoping it works out for her! 0 -
I need to find my blood work from March again and find out exactly what it is. If it's 'bad' even on keto I'm not sure what to do. I am definitely eager to find out what it is when I have my next annual physical this coming March though! Hopefully it will be at least in the "OK" range if not lower!0
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macchiatto wrote: »I need to find my blood work from March again and find out exactly what it is. If it's 'bad' even on keto I'm not sure what to do. I am definitely eager to find out what it is when I have my next annual physical this coming March though! Hopefully it will be at least in the "OK" range if not lower!
There was a discussion about this a long time ago too. There is info out there that suggests an A1c on keto can actually show a higher average bg simply because the red blood cells live longer than they did prior to keto. So because they are older cells, they actually just have more stuck to them and it actually becomes an inaccurate measure.
You could get a better idea of your actual average bg if you asked your doctor to set you up to wear a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) for a week. It checks bg every 15 minutes for a full week. You would be able to trust its info.1 -
macchiatto wrote: »I need to find my blood work from March again and find out exactly what it is. If it's 'bad' even on keto I'm not sure what to do. I am definitely eager to find out what it is when I have my next annual physical this coming March though! Hopefully it will be at least in the "OK" range if not lower!
If you're really concerned about your prediabetes/diabetes/insulin resistance and have the time and energy to deal with it in your current life circumstances, my humble advice would be --->
!! Don't wait for an annual physical to check your BG!!
Keep a careful food log and start testing regularly - that is, multiple times daily, not once yearly, until you know what your own healthy food choices are.
Make it your promise to yourself for a healthy 2017?2 -
Well, I wasn't concerned about my current state until this thread.
I *thought* my A1C was OK and just below prediabetes range, my blood sugar levels have been good (I also had non-fasted blood work recently and blood sugar was still in the 90s, about 2 hrs after a meal) and my symptoms of hypoglycemia have totally cleared up. Like I stay low carb and try to keep my weight down so the prediabetes doesn't come back but I hadn't thought/realized I should be checking my blood sugar on a regular basis or thought my A1C was bad before that chart. Not sure what to think!
Thanks for your input, @RalfLott and @Sunny_Bunny_ ! You've both given me good food for thought and I want to do some more research now!0 -
You're probably in good shape. It may be worth checking 1-hour post-meal levels, as that tends to be more telling for many T2Ds.
Worst case scenario - you blow a little $$ on a meter and some test strips assuring yourself that you're doing fine!1 -
I've also had no real medical advice about this. When I had that oral GTT, my PCP actually said, "Your results are normal; not sure why you've been having those symptoms of hypoglycemia. Must be your MS!" He is now my ex-PCP. :tongue My diabetic sister told me the 107 was a little high so I researched myself and found out my results were in the prediabetes range.
By the time I found a new PCP and had more testing done, I had already lost the weight and my blood work was great. I have been through several PCP's in the past few years (they keep moving on me; hopefully the newest one will stick). They're all aware of my family and personal Hx and thankfully have been supportive of my WOE and said to just keep doing what I'm doing, that it seems to be working. I definitely want to research this some more though before I talk to my newest PCP again! (She had a sign in her exam room recommending low carb for weight loss, which I was glad to see!)1 -
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There's a great discussion on another current thread - including 1 vs. 2-hour BG levels.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10490291/interesting-dr-follow-up-with-lchf-friendly-doc-for-t2
Yep, you're your own best doctor. Like @Sunny_Bunny_ says, our bodies are smarter than we are.1 -
FYI you can often get free blood glucose meters from the companies themselves (in an effort to make more money of test strips).Worst case scenario - you blow a little $$ on a meter and some test strips assuring yourself that you're doing fine!
Just google "free blood glucose meter" and see if you can find some offers. It's amazing what you can get sometimes.2 -
I'll add that T1D's get a ridiculous amount of free supplies through the years and if you happened to ask on a local FB group for T1D, if anyone has a meter they don't need, you'd likely get lots of responses.
Someone on my local group recently had about 15 meters of various brands they were offering up for free but there weren't many takers because everyone kept saying how they had so many too. Lol1 -
Btw I looked it up and my A1C in March was 5.5.0
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Nice.0
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Testing is good because it gives you information about how you handle different foods in different quantities - and some of info will likely be pleasantly surprising! (For me, it was discovering that some well-aged cheeses, cream cheese, and live-culture yogurts are ok, even though other dairy isn't.)
I like Marty Kendall's stuff on how to tailor one's food choices: https://optimisingnutrition.com/2015/03/22/cheat-sheets/
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Testing is good because it gives you information about how you handle different foods in different quantities - and some of info will likely be pleasantly surprising! (For me, it was discovering that some well-aged cheeses, cream cheese, and live-culture yogurts are ok, even though other dairy isn't.)
I like Marty Kendall's stuff on how to tailor one's food choices: https://optimisingnutrition.com/2015/03/22/cheat-sheets/
I like Kendall's approach. His talks are good too.
I wonder about the insulin load, though - whether individual insulin responses to various foods are as varied as BG responses. At least you can test the latter...0
