PreDiabetes recommended Daily Sugar and Carbohydrates intake

Posted by m188213 @m188213, Jan 29, 2019

I am a 64 year old 265lb male who has recently been diagnosed as being "prediabetes" and need to know how much sugar and carbohydrates i must limit myself to daily so I can make certain not to exceed.

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@m188213

Carol..My HGB A1C value was 6.2% and Average Glucose A1C value was 131mg. These results were provided to me on 1/24/19.
If possible, please send me the link to the Mayo daily newsletter and information tip sheet. Very interested in reading this material to get better educated. I am also going to invest in purchasing a blood glucose test kit. My Pharmacist has one made by GE, but I am also going to see what Walgreens and CVS has in stock. Thank you.

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@m188213 That's interesting, and may be something you will find when you go to an endocrinologist. Endos say you have diabetes if the A1C is 6.0 or over. The American DIabetes Association says A1C at 7.0. So I err on the side of caution since my A1C is usually 6.0 or 5.9 or once 6.1. That's Diabetes for my endo. I think you'll find that for most. It will be interesting to see what you are told. Since I was low, my endo calls me a controlled diabetic. I take no medicines and I exercise and log in my meals.
I will send you the link tomorrow. I realized I have already deleted today's info. since they're every day, I can't save them all unless there is a reason. Maybe another Mentor has the info. I'll check.
One thing you may find is that the blood glucose kit is free or maybe not. In my case the kit is free, but the strips to read the blood require a prescription. This may vary with insurance; I don't know.
I'll look and see if I can find the links in other places, but will send them tomorrow if I can't locate them today.
It's great that you are being proactive with your diagnosis. Getting ahead of the Diabetes game is having a great attitude and helps control the numbers.
I'll be in touch tomorrow.
Carol

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@m188213 I looked for the links to the daily newsletter, but I have not located it yet. I didn't get one today----maybe the weather. I'll continue to look and when I find the link, I'll send it along.
I hope you had a good day getting everything in order to battle this disease.
Stay in touch.
Carol

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@m188213

Hello JK, Thank you so much for your response. I have taken your advice and contacted my Primary Health care physician today requesting to be referred to a endocrinologist and a dietician. Waiting patiently to here back from her. Thank you for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it.

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@m188213 we are always happy to help them in whatever way we can.
You are doing all of the right things to help yourself avoid having the pre-diabetes developing into diabetes.

You are definitely sounding motivated. In your quest to lose weight, take a look at MyFitnessPal.com. You record everything you eat and it tracks nutrients for you. I found it to be hugely helpful. I lost a great deal of weight using it. It makes you very conscious of those little things you might mindlessly snack on because if you don’t record everything you are cheating yourself.

I also have a digital scale and weighed myself every morning. Digital is of course more precise. Mine also approximates BMI and fluid retention. It cost less than $50 when I bought it about 5 years ago. The approximations tend to balance BMI with fluid retention so when I am retaining a lot of fluid my BMI appears to be ridiculously low. I don’t pay a lot of attention to that but I do like that it tells me a fluid retention %. That way if my weight is up but I see that my fluid is also up I realize that I probably just had too much sodium the day before.

The other thing I use is a fitness tracker. They run the gamut from very reasonable to very costly ones that have all the bells and whistles. I find it helps to motivate me to exercise.

I wish you success in losing weight and reversing your pre-diabetes before it develops into diabetes. Please keep us up on your progress, we can cheer you on!
JK

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@contentandwell

@m188213 we are always happy to help them in whatever way we can.
You are doing all of the right things to help yourself avoid having the pre-diabetes developing into diabetes.

You are definitely sounding motivated. In your quest to lose weight, take a look at MyFitnessPal.com. You record everything you eat and it tracks nutrients for you. I found it to be hugely helpful. I lost a great deal of weight using it. It makes you very conscious of those little things you might mindlessly snack on because if you don’t record everything you are cheating yourself.

I also have a digital scale and weighed myself every morning. Digital is of course more precise. Mine also approximates BMI and fluid retention. It cost less than $50 when I bought it about 5 years ago. The approximations tend to balance BMI with fluid retention so when I am retaining a lot of fluid my BMI appears to be ridiculously low. I don’t pay a lot of attention to that but I do like that it tells me a fluid retention %. That way if my weight is up but I see that my fluid is also up I realize that I probably just had too much sodium the day before.

The other thing I use is a fitness tracker. They run the gamut from very reasonable to very costly ones that have all the bells and whistles. I find it helps to motivate me to exercise.

I wish you success in losing weight and reversing your pre-diabetes before it develops into diabetes. Please keep us up on your progress, we can cheer you on!
JK

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@jk I have read and been told by endo that pre-diabetes, like full blown diabetes cannot be reversed but can be controlled. Do you think pre-diabetes can be reversed? I see ads on TV and read articles that say even diabetes can be reversed, but I know that is definitely not true---just quacks to sell junk meds. I was never told I had pre-diabetes; I was just informed I had diabetes. I asked my endo when my A1C was 5.9 if I was still a diabetic, and he said once a diabetic, always a diabetic. He said it cannot be reversed because the damage has been done. How do you reverse pre-diabetes?

Carol

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@retiredteacher

@jk I have read and been told by endo that pre-diabetes, like full blown diabetes cannot be reversed but can be controlled. Do you think pre-diabetes can be reversed? I see ads on TV and read articles that say even diabetes can be reversed, but I know that is definitely not true---just quacks to sell junk meds. I was never told I had pre-diabetes; I was just informed I had diabetes. I asked my endo when my A1C was 5.9 if I was still a diabetic, and he said once a diabetic, always a diabetic. He said it cannot be reversed because the damage has been done. How do you reverse pre-diabetes?

Carol

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@retiredteacher Carol, I know that diabetes cannot be reversed, but I did think that Pre-diabetes could be. I could be wrong on that though. I had gotten the impression somewhere that if you lost weight and improved your diet you could avoid it progressing.

Diabetes cannot be reversed probably because whatever part of you controls insulin production has pretty much given out. This is an interesting topic though. Whomever sees their endo next should ask, he/she would be more up on it than a PCP. My next appointment is in August or September.

Ok, that being said, I had to do some googling. Diabetes has been reversed by weight loss! Apparently the pancreas can resume insulin production! Here are two articles on it. I think the sources are fairly reliable.

https://www.endocrineweb.com/news/diabetes/60067-reversing-diabetes-weight-loss-stronger-evidence-bigger-payoff

And
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20180917/lose-weight-reverse-type-2-diabetes-why-it-works

It says in the second
Type 2 diabetes, he says, "is simply due to too much fat inside the liver and pancreas of people who happen to be susceptible to the fat-induced damage.'' Losing a substantial amount of weight can kill off that fat, often allowing the organs to work again, including a return to normal insulin production by the pancreas.

This makes me wonder what effect a liver transplant has on diabetes. After all, I do have a beautiful new liver.

JK

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@contentandwell

@retiredteacher Carol, I know that diabetes cannot be reversed, but I did think that Pre-diabetes could be. I could be wrong on that though. I had gotten the impression somewhere that if you lost weight and improved your diet you could avoid it progressing.

Diabetes cannot be reversed probably because whatever part of you controls insulin production has pretty much given out. This is an interesting topic though. Whomever sees their endo next should ask, he/she would be more up on it than a PCP. My next appointment is in August or September.

Ok, that being said, I had to do some googling. Diabetes has been reversed by weight loss! Apparently the pancreas can resume insulin production! Here are two articles on it. I think the sources are fairly reliable.

https://www.endocrineweb.com/news/diabetes/60067-reversing-diabetes-weight-loss-stronger-evidence-bigger-payoff

And
https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20180917/lose-weight-reverse-type-2-diabetes-why-it-works

It says in the second
Type 2 diabetes, he says, "is simply due to too much fat inside the liver and pancreas of people who happen to be susceptible to the fat-induced damage.'' Losing a substantial amount of weight can kill off that fat, often allowing the organs to work again, including a return to normal insulin production by the pancreas.

This makes me wonder what effect a liver transplant has on diabetes. After all, I do have a beautiful new liver.

JK

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@jk Thanks. I have seen so many articles and ads that I just think they are scams. Of course, they always have some magic exotic herbal concoction for the cure. I just always think that isn't true; it's just an ad to sell a product. I have an appointment with my endo in a couple of weeks. I'm going to ask him. I know he will say absolutely No cure!
I have developed neuropathy in my feet in the last six weeks or so. It has really added to the difficulty of having diabetes. It seems that no matter what I do, I get more problems. I am really tired of all of this. I gave up food I enjoy and going out to eat and friends because I always had to turn them down because I can't go out to eat anywhere. I am paranoid on contolling what goes in my food. Diabetes is just a lousy disease.
I'm just down in the dumps today.
Carol

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@m188213 I feel bad for you, as you are getting some confusing input in this thread. The fact is that you can certainly reverse your Type 2 symptoms through lifestyle changes. I learned about this after being prediabetic (undiagnosed) for years and then being diabetic post liver transplant. I was determined to not be diabetic, so I set off to learn as much as I could about it and living the best I could to make it go away. And lo and behold, it went away.

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@mickj

@m188213 I feel bad for you, as you are getting some confusing input in this thread. The fact is that you can certainly reverse your Type 2 symptoms through lifestyle changes. I learned about this after being prediabetic (undiagnosed) for years and then being diabetic post liver transplant. I was determined to not be diabetic, so I set off to learn as much as I could about it and living the best I could to make it go away. And lo and behold, it went away.

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@mickj You present some interesting information that goes against almost everything that is advertised and that doctors tell diabetic patients. How did you do it? If you published your success, you could make millions instead of Big Pharma. Those of us who are Volunteer Mentors and even Connect members don't diagnose. We use our own experiences and try to give suggestions that worked for us. We also include difficulties--those things we've been through as diabetics. If you could give us the magic formula for reversing our diabetes, we would celebrate and sing your praises. I have been true to myself in eating the right foods, checking my blood twice a day, exercising, and doing whatever I can to keep my diabetes under control. I do not take any medicine and see my endocrinologist every six months. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks, and I would love to tell him my diabetes can be reversed because his favorite saying is "Once a diabetic, always a diabetic." I'd like to hear what he'd say if I told him my condition can be reversed. Do you have anything I can begin doing to reverse my diabetes 2 in addition to what I already do? I would love to hear from you. As a teacher for 42 years, I have researched and read from the time I was diagnosed, but I never saw anything definitive like this. It's miraculous! Thanks for telling about your success. I would love to experience it too.
Carol

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@retiredteacher

@mickj You present some interesting information that goes against almost everything that is advertised and that doctors tell diabetic patients. How did you do it? If you published your success, you could make millions instead of Big Pharma. Those of us who are Volunteer Mentors and even Connect members don't diagnose. We use our own experiences and try to give suggestions that worked for us. We also include difficulties--those things we've been through as diabetics. If you could give us the magic formula for reversing our diabetes, we would celebrate and sing your praises. I have been true to myself in eating the right foods, checking my blood twice a day, exercising, and doing whatever I can to keep my diabetes under control. I do not take any medicine and see my endocrinologist every six months. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks, and I would love to tell him my diabetes can be reversed because his favorite saying is "Once a diabetic, always a diabetic." I'd like to hear what he'd say if I told him my condition can be reversed. Do you have anything I can begin doing to reverse my diabetes 2 in addition to what I already do? I would love to hear from you. As a teacher for 42 years, I have researched and read from the time I was diagnosed, but I never saw anything definitive like this. It's miraculous! Thanks for telling about your success. I would love to experience it too.
Carol

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@retiredteacher In June, my HgA1c was 6.3, fasting glucose of 134. I had a transplant at the end of June, and thanks to some meds, my pre-meal glucose went as high as 263 in July. In November, my HgA1c was 4.6 and fasting glucose of 85. And I still take meds that are not friendly to my liver and kidneys. So maybe, just maybe, it really is possible. This was done through diet and exercise. I eat no sugar or other refined carbs. None. I also exercise at least 5 hours/week with an average heart rate of 140-145, sleep 7-8 hours/day, and drink at least 4 liters of water/day. And the results are what the results are. I went from pre-diabetic/borderline diabetic to clearly not diabetic in 5 months.

For a doctor to tell a patient, "Once a diabetic, always a diabetic" is just flat wrong. Does a person have hypertension if they once were 185/120 but are now 115/75? Or from a more personal slant, is a person obese if they once had a BMI of 38 but now have a BMI of 21? If so, I sure look pretty slim for an obese person.

Watch Dr. Robert Lustig's "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" on YouTube. Let me know what you think.

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@retiredteacher

@jk Thanks. I have seen so many articles and ads that I just think they are scams. Of course, they always have some magic exotic herbal concoction for the cure. I just always think that isn't true; it's just an ad to sell a product. I have an appointment with my endo in a couple of weeks. I'm going to ask him. I know he will say absolutely No cure!
I have developed neuropathy in my feet in the last six weeks or so. It has really added to the difficulty of having diabetes. It seems that no matter what I do, I get more problems. I am really tired of all of this. I gave up food I enjoy and going out to eat and friends because I always had to turn them down because I can't go out to eat anywhere. I am paranoid on contolling what goes in my food. Diabetes is just a lousy disease.
I'm just down in the dumps today.
Carol

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I think you can ask every single member here who has diabetes, and they would all tell you that they have had days like that! You are not alone! I am Christian, I send all my prayers to Jesus; not just prayers, complaints, grumbling, even yelling at times. Tell it all to Him, He died for you, and has a very big back--He can handle it all!!!!!!!!!!! Mine have sounded like this at times--why did you give this to me, I don't want it, take this away from me!!!!! Even Jesus asked God to take away the suffering He was about to endure. That prayer from Jesus to His Father, always inspires me--if Jesus was allowed to feel that way---we should be able to too!!!!!!! God Bless, and hang in there---He always has time to listen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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