I'm new here and looking for answers - please excuse the long post but there are so many things that I don't understand and I don't seem to be typical of someone with pre-diabetes.
No one in my family was diagnosed except my brother who was over 100 pounds overweight at the time and has abused himself for years. Heart disease has been the big thing in my family.
I am 66 - 8 years ago I had fasting blood sugars that started going slightly over 100 after a number of years in the 90's. when I mentioned it to the integrative doctor at the time he said 101 was not that bad. I requested a fasting insulin test and the norm was at least 6 - mine was 4.2.
An endo did a GAD test which was negative and said I probably had insulin resistance (but if I ever had high insulin it was before that time) - I had mild bouts of hypoglycemia when I didn't eat for a long time for years before that. I was never a big sweet eater and never wanted sweets when I felt hungry.
In 2011 I was still concerned and requested a 3 hour GTT with insulin levels. Insulin levels were low normal to below normal during the test but blood sugar levels were also low, which was strange in light of my fasting levels over 100 at times but it was ignored and doctor said it was "interesting" and I finally decided I must be OK.
Apparently the blood sugar readings in that test were somehow incorrect! I have taken supplements, gone to integrative docs and eaten a better than average diet for a long time. I also have taken bioidentical hormones and armour thyroid for years. I've had controversy from doctors because I have hypothyroid symptoms unless I take a rather high dose.
Enter a recent doctor when we moved. My first blood work showed my typical great cholesterol - 179 total, 83 HDL, 78 LDL, 88 Triglycerides. And I have perfect blood pressure. I do have a BMI of around 26.3 and it doesn't matter if I am hungry all the time or I eat what I want - weight doesn't budge. I've always tended to put more weight on in other places - not waist but did develop a bit of a roll around the middle in recent years. At any rate - my A1C on his test was 6 - he recommended berberine and did further tests.
He did a plaque test (blood) which I have now found out is not the type that is really stable in results and it came back sky high! So he decided I must have CAD. My second A1C was down to 5.7 but with the plaque test he just seemed to get very hung up on this and wanted to start me on Byduren! When I questioned the drug safety he said "diabetes is worse" and at that time my husband went along with it. he gave me the first shot right in the office!
I was able to see the comments he made on mg record and he implied I didn't have good insight into my disease process, that I was trying to "bargain for a way out" and that I "resisted drugs" - I am the one that took it seriously years ago and requested various tests! - this and the things he was implying about my heart caused me to find out what panic attacks were - I spent a number of really miserable days very upset! i went home after the shot and had migraine headaches and such for two days also.
My husband filled the blasted prescription for a month's supply and the copay was $150! I read about it causing abnormal pancreatic cells and research when they tested the pancreas of people that had died and had been taking those class of drugs - how it can shut down the islets, pancreatic cancer risk, pancreatitis - and also possibly thyroid cancer (I have Hashimotos which already increases that risk) - and from what I could see this is NOT worth the risk and is not going to prevent my getting diabetes! Mean time he sent for a calcium heart scan and it came back perfect - absolutely NO calcium in the arteries! so - all these years I've probably had high blood sugar and also low insulin (he has done C-peptides and they are below normal too) - yet I have no signs of artery disease at all. I have not gone back yet and I have blood test again on Feb 5.
When I see him is end of February and I will see what the A1C is at that point and not even tell him I'm not taking the Byduren (wasted money) at first - if the A1C is lower, which it should be and he thinks the Byduren did it then he will find out I am the one that did it - not a drug! - husband agrees with me after reading what I found.
I am on a ketogenic diet and I'm taking a number of the various supplements to lower blood sugar and such that I see recommended by alternative sites and doctors. Of course on mainstream sites they try to say they are all dangerous but the blasted drugs are wonderful! I've gradually lost faith in most mainstream ideas and I think that my general health at 66 despite family history and such is an indication I've been right.
I'm testing and although I find that even a sweet potato eaten with greens and salmon can cause a spike of 165, what I'm doing now is keeping the highs in the 120s and for two days now I've had a fasting of 95 and 94. I find I have to have a snack before bed or it is higher in the morning than it was when I went to bed - I guess due to liver dumping.
My main frustration is that for a couple of weeks with ketones in urine and calories around 1200 I lost NO weight at all. I then increased just the calories to more like 1500 but still no weight loss. NOTHING makes the weight budge. on 1200 calories I went around hungry most of the time. on 1500 I'm not hungry at all. I am 5'9" and 177-178 first thing in the morning. This is discouraging. I'm figuring if I tell doctor this he will think I'm lying about what I eat! Wondering if anyone else has experiences like I'm having.
No one in my family was diagnosed except my brother who was over 100 pounds overweight at the time and has abused himself for years. Heart disease has been the big thing in my family.
I am 66 - 8 years ago I had fasting blood sugars that started going slightly over 100 after a number of years in the 90's. when I mentioned it to the integrative doctor at the time he said 101 was not that bad. I requested a fasting insulin test and the norm was at least 6 - mine was 4.2.
An endo did a GAD test which was negative and said I probably had insulin resistance (but if I ever had high insulin it was before that time) - I had mild bouts of hypoglycemia when I didn't eat for a long time for years before that. I was never a big sweet eater and never wanted sweets when I felt hungry.
In 2011 I was still concerned and requested a 3 hour GTT with insulin levels. Insulin levels were low normal to below normal during the test but blood sugar levels were also low, which was strange in light of my fasting levels over 100 at times but it was ignored and doctor said it was "interesting" and I finally decided I must be OK.
Apparently the blood sugar readings in that test were somehow incorrect! I have taken supplements, gone to integrative docs and eaten a better than average diet for a long time. I also have taken bioidentical hormones and armour thyroid for years. I've had controversy from doctors because I have hypothyroid symptoms unless I take a rather high dose.
Enter a recent doctor when we moved. My first blood work showed my typical great cholesterol - 179 total, 83 HDL, 78 LDL, 88 Triglycerides. And I have perfect blood pressure. I do have a BMI of around 26.3 and it doesn't matter if I am hungry all the time or I eat what I want - weight doesn't budge. I've always tended to put more weight on in other places - not waist but did develop a bit of a roll around the middle in recent years. At any rate - my A1C on his test was 6 - he recommended berberine and did further tests.
He did a plaque test (blood) which I have now found out is not the type that is really stable in results and it came back sky high! So he decided I must have CAD. My second A1C was down to 5.7 but with the plaque test he just seemed to get very hung up on this and wanted to start me on Byduren! When I questioned the drug safety he said "diabetes is worse" and at that time my husband went along with it. he gave me the first shot right in the office!
I was able to see the comments he made on mg record and he implied I didn't have good insight into my disease process, that I was trying to "bargain for a way out" and that I "resisted drugs" - I am the one that took it seriously years ago and requested various tests! - this and the things he was implying about my heart caused me to find out what panic attacks were - I spent a number of really miserable days very upset! i went home after the shot and had migraine headaches and such for two days also.
My husband filled the blasted prescription for a month's supply and the copay was $150! I read about it causing abnormal pancreatic cells and research when they tested the pancreas of people that had died and had been taking those class of drugs - how it can shut down the islets, pancreatic cancer risk, pancreatitis - and also possibly thyroid cancer (I have Hashimotos which already increases that risk) - and from what I could see this is NOT worth the risk and is not going to prevent my getting diabetes! Mean time he sent for a calcium heart scan and it came back perfect - absolutely NO calcium in the arteries! so - all these years I've probably had high blood sugar and also low insulin (he has done C-peptides and they are below normal too) - yet I have no signs of artery disease at all. I have not gone back yet and I have blood test again on Feb 5.
When I see him is end of February and I will see what the A1C is at that point and not even tell him I'm not taking the Byduren (wasted money) at first - if the A1C is lower, which it should be and he thinks the Byduren did it then he will find out I am the one that did it - not a drug! - husband agrees with me after reading what I found.
I am on a ketogenic diet and I'm taking a number of the various supplements to lower blood sugar and such that I see recommended by alternative sites and doctors. Of course on mainstream sites they try to say they are all dangerous but the blasted drugs are wonderful! I've gradually lost faith in most mainstream ideas and I think that my general health at 66 despite family history and such is an indication I've been right.
I'm testing and although I find that even a sweet potato eaten with greens and salmon can cause a spike of 165, what I'm doing now is keeping the highs in the 120s and for two days now I've had a fasting of 95 and 94. I find I have to have a snack before bed or it is higher in the morning than it was when I went to bed - I guess due to liver dumping.
My main frustration is that for a couple of weeks with ketones in urine and calories around 1200 I lost NO weight at all. I then increased just the calories to more like 1500 but still no weight loss. NOTHING makes the weight budge. on 1200 calories I went around hungry most of the time. on 1500 I'm not hungry at all. I am 5'9" and 177-178 first thing in the morning. This is discouraging. I'm figuring if I tell doctor this he will think I'm lying about what I eat! Wondering if anyone else has experiences like I'm having.
