Just Diagnosed with Pre-diabetes. Have Any of You Had This?

My father died of complications from diabetes and heart disease. He was never in his life overweight. He worked hard as a farmer, but never "exercised". His diet was not good.

I dated a man who was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, lost 10-15 lbs and completely changed his diet. He has not shown as Type II for almost 10 years now. He walks and bikes regularly, also. The diet is mostly lean protein (chicken/fish) and vegetables and fruit, limited carbs.

My 65 year old neighbor was diagnosed with prediabetes and began walking an hour a day, briskly for 30 minutes of the hour. She stopped eating out and began eating healthy and lost 45 pounds. She is now off her other meds and calls it her wake up call for a second chance at life.

I began taking Metformin and the levels decreased to not prediabetic. I was a fool and though I didn't gain weight, I didn't lose weight. I ate lots of lunch meats and canned foods. We ate out every weekend and often picked up fast food. I never carb counted and my doctor thought I was doing great so I never worried.

It turned into full-fledged diabetes and now it is so much harder to control. I am on insulin and three times I have gotten sick and had to enter the hospital to get IVs this year. I am serious about eating and exercising yet my levels are up and down. I have a "good A1C" under 7 but I am exhausted. I am on 16 prescriptions including 2 types of insulin.

I wish I had taken it seriously and lost the weight when I was younger, before the bad effects surfaced. Diabetes is one of the hardest diseases and it causes serious issues. My doctor is surprised I am doing so poorly.
Diabetes doesn't play by the rules. Illness, hormones, exercise, stress, and what you eat can make your levels go up and down.

I had gestational diabetes with both pregnancies and know because of that and family medical history I am very likely to have it eventually. I would buy a glucometer and begin taking your readings. In the morning, fasting, my doc likes to see below 100. It is equally important to take readings after you eat to see what foods trigger your blood sugar to elevate. I never eat fruit without a protein because it spikes my sugar.

I find if I limit my animal protein intake, my sugar is much easier to control. If i have chicken, fish or beef I try to have it at lunch. There is a great book called reversing diabetes by neil barnard and I recommend reading it. My sister is a p.a. And one of the docs she works with read this book and applied it. He is off all insulin and has lost weight and feels so much better. I have done some of the things in the book and had success.

Exercise is very important. I walk at least 30 mins every night but Sunday. I try to park further away from my destination so I get extra walking in there as well. Taking stairs instead of elevators etc.

My dad successfully managed type II diabetes for 25 years with diet and exercise. My daughter is 14 and I've been keeping up with my sugar since I was first diagnosed. I'm not as militant as I should be but am getting back on the wagon. Thanks for posting and the others who've responded to inspire me to get with it!

Also, you can get a prescription for your testing strips from your doc if that's any help to you. The monitors are not all that expensive and the strips are a little pricey. It's worth it to know your readings on a regular basis. Knowing your numbers will help you know if you need more help than diet and exercise.

Feel free to pm me if you want to visit! Take care of yourself!

Blessings,
L.

My A1C was 6.1 the time before last. I've lost about 10 lbs and cut out a lot of white foods and fast foods. I eat protein in the morning and complex carbs, like an English muffin or oatmeal with protein. Carbs in the morning are the worst. I've changed from white potatoes or fries to sweet potatoes. I stopped making deserts. I have some small treats around.
I've eaten a lot of salads at restaurants. it went down by 2 tenths, much better.

My mother and grandfather had diabetes and I'm set on not letting that happen. I exercise and wear a pedometer to challenge me to move more.

Don't go there. Stop it here. It would make everything about your health, much more difficult.

I was informed last week that I am pre- diabetic. I am in shock. I do not eat sweets, sugars ( desserts) at all. I am petite 5'5" and less than 120# size 0-2

I am going thru more blood work to figure things out but it's is so odd for this to happen to my age group as well as my weight group.

I've been told not to lose weight. My issue was " so what can I eat". I'm on a healthy diet from the get go and now I feel that all I have is salads and soup. Thankfully I love both but I do love alternatives

Keep us posted... Your info can help us all!!! .

No, not personally, but my sister did. Losing weight did help. My husband now has diabetes. I firmly believe if he had lost weight in a healthy way and learned to eat properly he would have avoided diabetes.

I would suggest you contact your local hospital and ask to go to a class that explains how a diabetic eats. They will teach you what carbs to choose, fats and proteins. Once you learn this it is easy! And since you are prediabetic you can still eat "the good stuff" now and again.

We took a class at presbyterian dallas. It was not a long ordeal. 2-3 classes and it really really helped.

Not personally. My father reversed his with a plant based diet. My husband recommends the following book to his patients all the time; "How to prevent and Reverse Heart Disease ." He brought his cholesterol from 230 to 170 in 6 weeks after reading this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Prevent-Reverse-Heart-Disease-Nutri...

though written specifically about heart disease, the same diet that reverses heart disease is the same diet that reverses diabetes. And type II diabetes is totally preventable and reversible. The medical establishment is woefully uneducated on how to use nutrition to prevent and reverse disease. I hope you can find inspiration in this book to take control of your prediabetes.

My husband is surprised at how many people are willing to give up the meat, dairy, sugar, and refined oils. But so for, his patients that have taken to this diet are seeing drastic results, feel great, and are surprised how little they miss their old diet.

I've had prediabetis for 2-3 years now. I've lost and gained and lost again
5-10 lbs. Exercise has also been hit and miss tho I'm consistently active on living. I'm not a sedentary person. I limit carbs from time to time. My diet is generally not high in carbs. I eat a lot of protein. I don't drink soda nor much sweets.

Later: I took a class offered by a hospital that taught me how to eat. It will help you not only what foods to eat but also how much and when to eat them. They will teach you how your body reacts to specific foods.

I also got a glucose testing meter which my insurance paid for. I tested at various times to learn how my body was responding.

Your Doctor, should be referring you to a Nutritionist, per your, condition.
That way, you will learn... what you need to do/eat, and about the foods you eat and glycemic indexes etc.

it is not just about "dieting."
It is a combination of various things.
And learning, from a professional Nutritionist, how to eat and what YOU can or cannot eat. Per YOUR condition.
Because, everyone is different. No one has the same make up or medical stats, as you.

Even super skinny people, can have diabetes.
So it is not only about dieting or weight or a person's physique.

My Dad, had type II Diabetes.
You need to be referred, to a specialist or Nutritionist, per your, condition.
So you are not just guessing... about what to do.
You NEED to see a specialist, have your Doctor refer you to one.

I have not had it, no. I have known some who have, however.

I'm surprised they did not mention any dietary changes.

I have 2 aunts that go from prediabetic to full blown and back again. They have been on and off of insulin for years. But, one of them starting using Sparkpeople.com a couple of years ago, and she has been super successful. She doesn't even have prediabetes anymore and hasn't for over a year. Its so funny to think that 10#s would make that much of a difference, for them, it was closer to 100 or 150.

I know that diet and exercise are the best ways. Good luck!

I was diagnosed with this condition at age 54, about 12 years ago. I am still maintaining quite well without insulin, though I have recently had to start taking Metformin (one of the safer and less expensive drugs for diabetes). Two doctors have told me this is a genetic predisposition, and even thin people with good life habits can develop it. However, with enough care, many patients can stall the onset of full-blown diabetes II, and sometimes even reverse it. I've been stalling pretty effectively.

When I was diagnosed, I had gained weight following menopause, though my food habits and exercise were excellent. But when you don't know you have it, a rich meal, a carbohydrate snack, a special dessert can all cause damaging blood sugar spikes. I saw the doctor because of intense burning foot pain from neuropathy, which has never gone away. I worked for months to lose 30 lbs. This helped lower my overall A1c readings, which I can now maintain at a near-normal level.

But my eyes and blood vessels have been compromised, probably before I knew I was having blood sugar issues. And neuropathic pain has actually increased over the years, in spite of good eating and exercise. My podiatrist tells me I'm "lucky" to be in a subgroup of patients who experience heightened sensation in the extremities rather than numbness, and foot pain has become an unrelenting companion. But theoretically, I will keep my feet for my whole life because I can feel if there's an injury.

My diet is mostly plant-based, but combining beans and grains has proved to be too much carbs for me, so I also eat about 4 oz. of animal protein daily for best control. Almost no carbs, only small portions of whole grains, virtually no sugars. My blood tests reveal huge spikes from even minimal amounts of sugar or refined carbs.

Monitoring your blood sugar t learn how you react to foods is probably the other most important thing you can do for yourself. Meters are really cheap, but I hope you have good insurance because the test strips are hellishly expensive for those of us on tiny incomes. My medicare insurance has finally kicked in, but for 10 years, I was spending up to $4 daily on test strips.

I hope you get fabulous results with dietary changes. It can happen! And you will adjust to your new foods, and eventually stop missing the ones you can't eat any more. Wishing you the best!

I got my sugar levels lower and lost weight too, as did a number of my colleagues and friends. We went to some seminars on cellular nutrition and looked at some interesting clinical trials on reducing A1Cs using a simple patented supplement, either by itself or as part of an overall supplementation program (with other vitamins & minerals, replacing what we were already spending money on, with less effectiveness). In the trial, there was over a 50% reduction and an average 16 pound weight loss in 8 weeks without doing anything else differently. There's new research out too on controlling the hormones in the brain that control satiety (i.e. letting you know you are "full" and decreasing the urge to eat). I also found that cellular nutrition gave me more stamina for exercise, so it was a win-win.