View Full Version : pre-diabetes?
I bring this topic up because it complicates life and health for so many and maybe mine too. I read that many of us are pre-diabetic and don't know it. I am constantly hungry and sometimes feel like I will faint if I don't eat something so decided to test my blood sugar. It was 140 upon waking for two days straight and higher after eating lunch. I am lean, active and eat lots of veggies and sweets rarely so this baffles me. Had non-fasting blood tests done at docs and they were similar but she didn't seem concerned. I am going to buy a fresh testing kit and use it after different foods to see how it reads.
How familiar are you with things like the glycemic index and the keto diet?
You could eat a lot of vegetables but if they are starchy ones with lots of carbs (potatoes being one example) it can affect your blood sugar adversely. The same is true of "healthy whole grains".
I'm currently listening to Gary Taubes' The Case for Keto (so far, very good)--A refresher for me--while eating a bowl of ramen with pork and scallions. Oops.
Constant hunger would seem to me to be a danger signal. Carbohydrates drive insulin, which is known as the "hunger hormone." Excess insulin, over time, can lead to pancreatic burnout--e.g.diabetes.
I've done LCHF/keto. I've done--am still doing--intermittent fasting. It's probably time to combine the two.
If you want to test for pre-diabetes, you need to get your HbA1c done. The glucose level is just a snapshot in time. Your HbA1c is a much better gauge of whether you have diabetes or pre-diabetes or are fine.
you need to get your HbA1c done. The glucose level is just a snapshot in time.
This is important. HbA1c measures over a period of about three months, a much better barometer of a body's inability to compensate for glucose levels with insulin. A1c is not perfect, of course -- it is not a measure of control, merely of averages over a good period of time. But foods can spike blood glucose even three hours after they've been eaten.
We also have found that people who switch from a "standard" diet to a low-carb/keto diet experience what feels like blood sugar lows even though their blood glucose levels are normal or even high. The body can get so used to high levels of carbohydrates that cutting the supply can make the body think it's deficient in glucose even when it isn't.
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We also have found that people who switch from a "standard" diet to a low-carb/keto diet experience what feels like blood sugar lows even though their blood glucose levels are normal or even high. The body can get so used to high levels of carbohydrates that cutting the supply can make the body think it's deficient in glucose even when it isn't.
Years ago, I used to experience regular bouts of "hypoglycemia," resulting in faintness, nausea, an inability to speak fluently, and other troubling symptoms if I went too long without eating. (It would have been interesting to see what my blood sugar level really was.) LC eating seemed to solve that problem, and I regularly go 18 hours between meals now with no problems.
The doc wasn't interested in further testing (which is unusual these days). I don't think I could do a full on keto diet for very long but will limit carbs further and see if that helps. I just make sure to carry nuts with me so if I get hungry while out I have something to eat. It's more aggravating than worrying at this point.
ApatheticNoMore
7-7-21, 12:47pm
Sheesh, I'd push the doctor for further testing. I know cost cutting medicine, but I'd say it runs in your family or something, you have relatives with diabetes and are worried. Diabetes is a basic health screening every bit as much as cholesterol (probably more so, but I'm talking what they do basic screenings for), can't believe they are so stingy running an A1C test. Actual diabetics are having them 4 times a year sometimes, and they would deny people worried about diabetes maybe screening tests at most once a year. It's like they do not get the concept of *preventative* medicine at all, "get back to us when you have full blown diabetes".
Diabetes is a basic health screening every bit as much as cholesterol (probably more so, but I'm talking what they do basic screenings for), can't believe they are so stingy running an A1C test. Actual diabetics are having them 4 times a year sometimes, and they would deny people worried about diabetes maybe screening tests at most once a year. It's like they do not get the concept of *preventative* medicine at all, "get back to us when you have full blown diabetes".
I agree! It's a simple blood test!
I questioned the doc about it but she said all my other readings were normal and its probably just a blip. Told me to avoid sweets and drink more water. I guess she sees a lean, healthy-looking older person with no family history and comes to the conclusion that its not an issue.
I questioned the doc about it but she said all my other readings were normal and its probably just a blip. Told me to avoid sweets and drink more water. I guess she sees a lean, healthy-looking older person with no family history and comes to the conclusion that its not an issue.
Interestingly, I just had my first physical in 6 years. All is fine. But I brought up to her that my fitness watch is telling me that I have extremely low HRV, and that there is literature saying that there is a correlation between low HRV and risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. I asked if I could get a referral to a cardiologist for a cardiac workup, and she declined it. What annoyed me was I have spent a LOT of money paying into insurance premiums and have gotten back very, very little in services. It's not like I'm a drain on the healthcare system. But she said unless I have cardiac symptoms, she would not refer me. She didn't know what HRV was, which is OK, understandable. An Apple Watch is not a diagnostic tool, and HRV is used mostly by fitness programs, not medical programs. But she tried to make stuff up about it--stuff that I had to correct her on.
So pinkytoe, I felt just like you. I think she doesn't consider me to be "worthy" of healthcare because I'm "too healthy." But hearts are sneaky things. They don't often send you a message telling you they're going to take you down.
iris lilies
7-7-21, 4:53pm
You all could always pay for your own diagnostic tests you know.
No one is denying you healthcare. Just sayin’.
You all could always pay for your own diagnostic tests you know.
No one is denying you healthcare. Just sayin’.
Yeah, but the gatekeeper is still the PCP. Unless you have fancy-schmancy concierge service like someone I know :)
But to your point, DH told me to insist I get a cardiologist or I'll switch doctors.
Teacher Terry
7-7-21, 5:35pm
Considering the high cost of HI most of us pay no one wants to pay for a diagnostic test. If I lived in Poland where HI is free and you could choose what to pay for cheaply then it’s no big deal.
You all could always pay for your own diagnostic tests you know.
No one is denying you healthcare. Just sayin’.
I was thinking that very thing. There are private labs where I understand you can order whatever test you want.
Also, with people self-monitoring their every obscure physiological function, don't we run the risk of becoming a nation of worried well hypochondriacs?
I was thinking that very thing. There are private labs where I understand you can order whatever test you want.
Also, with people self-monitoring their every obscure physiological function, don't we run the risk of becoming a nation of worried well hypochondriacs?
If I have paid thousands upon thousands of insurance premiums without submitting one claim, do you think I'm going to willingly pay out of pocket for a test that is a legitimate ask?
As for the self-monitoring/hypochondriac issue, maybe that's a hazard for some, but I know I'm not a hypochondriac. If you "monitor" yourself when you walk outside in January and you're cold, you tell yourself you should put on a coat. If you learn from a monitoring device that a validated score puts you in the bottom decile of people your age, are you being a hypochondriac to inquire about it, or are you smart to simply get more information from an HCP?
ApatheticNoMore
7-7-21, 6:25pm
I really don't think an A1C is an obscure test one should have to order from a private lab. That seems bonkers. As for the PCP gatekeeper, unless I had no option, I don't do HMOs., precisely because I can't see relying on one gatekeeper. There is just if the insurance pays of course. Which is a random @#$#shoot with any procedure. Will they pay for basic recommended screenings, they should, but ultimately who knows. I mean I've gotten a notice ("not a bill") from my insurance I have to pay for my COVID VACCINE, which is supposed to be free by law. Now I am most likely to never get billed by the provider for this. But the insurance apparently thinks I will owe on my covid vaccine ...
"I really don't think an A1C is an obscure test one should have to order from a private lab."
Agreed. In fact, I think everyone should be routinely screened for HBA1C as part of a complete workup. But I also think our medical system is flawed almost beyond repair.
iris lilies
7-7-21, 6:44pm
Yeah, but the gatekeeper is still the PCP. Unless you have fancy-schmancy concierge service like someone I know :)
But to your point, DH told me to insist I get a cardiologist or I'll switch doctors.
Mine isnt conceirage, it is termed Direct Patient Care service” and it costs less than $1,000 annually.
Three things:
thing 1:
My doctor wouldn't order a test outside of her office if it wasn't indicated. Any cardiologist visit has nothing to do with any $ I pay to her as far as it being already covered by my fee to her. All tests outside of her office are charged to me and to my insurance. And really, what tests can doctors do in their office these days? Very few.
Thing 2: yeah, I thought that finding another doctor would be another option although there’s probably not a lot of them up there in isle snow-land.
thing 3: I would bet money right now that I will be dead, cold, and long in the ground by the time you two, , pinky toe and Catherine, are toddling around with old age heart conditions. I am fat and have all the indicators. That is why I know if I went into my doctor and clutched my heart she would look concerned and immediately pull out the whatever equipment she has in her office and then send me to whomever for whatever.
Covid slowed down a lot of the testing she wanted to do. I’m just not into it.
iris lilies
7-7-21, 6:55pm
Catherine, honestly— I can hardly wait until socialized medicine covers us all. If you think that you will be able to beat whatever national government standard exists for a test because you “want it” well, you won’t. But you know that.
I can only hope that God grants us the NHS style of healthcare service like in the UK where we can still go off and get private service if we wish.
But I have often said here that NHS style health service would probably be fine for me since I’m a low level consumer of healthcare services. I don’t require advanced stuff. I don’t care about it.
Thing 1: I'm just looking for a consultation with someone who knows something about the correlation between HRV and cardiac disease. Why is this score so low? Why am I in the lowest decile among all my peers? It's aggravating.
Thing 2: haha, yeah, you're right, but Burlington actually has a very good medical center. Plenty of cardiologists there.
Thing 3: My DH always taunts me with, "well, we all know you'll live forever" while he thinks he's counting down the days to his demise because of decades of abuse to his body. But as I keep telling him, only God/Universe/The Fates know when our time will come. My aunt-in-law was healthy as can be, caring for her invalid husband who was paralyzed in a car accident, and she said she didn't feel that well on a Saturday, and she waited until Monday to see a doctor, and she had a fatal event RUNNING to the door of the doctor's office on Monday, leaving her pocketbook in the car, so she knew she was done. 66 years old. We have no idea. I think it's entirely feasible that you will be sitting overlooking your beautiful fields of iris in Hermann raising a glass of red many, many years from now.
iris lilies
7-7-21, 7:05pm
Thing 1: I'm just looking for a consultation with someone who knows something about the correlation between HRV and cardiac disease. Why is this score so low? Why am I in the lowest decile among all my peers? It's aggravating.
Thing 2: haha, yeah, you're right, but Burlington actually has a very good medical center. Plenty of cardiologists there.
Thing 3: My DH always taunts me with, "well, we all know you'll live forever" while he thinks he's counting down the days to his demise because of decades of abuse to his body. But as I keep telling him, only God/Universe/The Fates know when our time will come. My aunt-in-law was healthy as can be, caring for her invalid husband who was paralyzed in a car accident, and she said she didn't feel that well on a Saturday, and she waited until Monday to see a doctor, and she had a fatal event RUNNING to the door of the doctor's office on Monday, leaving her pocketbook in the car, so she knew she was done. 66 years old. We have no idea. I think it's entirely feasible that you will be sitting overlooking your beautiful fields of iris in Hermann raising a glass of red many, many years from now.
dude! Someone has to be in the lowest decile! It’s a standard. Why you so special?
haha just kidding, sort of.
dude! Someone has to be in the lowest decile! It’s a standard. Why you so special?
haha just kidding, sort of.
I’m a first born overachiever. If I never accepted a “C” in school I certainly won’t accept being in the bottom decile of anything! Also just kidding, sort of.
I've finally accepted that I'm not immortal. I don't like it, but I'll go along with it. :)
My medical philosophy is in line with Dr. Nortin Hadler: "In The Last Well Person Dr Nortin Hadler argues that unfounded assertions, massaged data, and flagrant marketing have led to the medicalization of everyday life. He systematically builds the case that constant medical monitoring and unnecessary intervention are hazards to our health, severely reducing our quality of life...."
I am by nature a skeptic of most things medical and/or pharmaceutical. I continue to get reminders that I haven't had all my old people preventive tests (colonoscopy, boobygram etc or my flu and shingles shots. Not going to. But the blood sugar thing scares me a bit since being hungry an hour after eating is not normal for me. I am learning that getting older has interesting twists and turns though.
I have been getting hungry an hour after eating too. I need to stop eating all the unhealthy free food at work. Some of it is also eating out of boredom.
iris lilies
7-7-21, 8:28pm
I've finally accepted that I'm not immortal. I don't like it, but I'll go along with it. :)
My medical philosophy is in line with Dr. Nortin Hadler: "In The Last Well Person Dr Nortin Hadler argues that unfounded assertions, massaged data, and flagrant marketing have led to the medicalization of everyday life. He systematically builds the case that constant medical monitoring and unnecessary intervention are hazards to our health, severely reducing our quality of life...."
A friend of mine my age joined the DNA analysis group 23 and Me for the medical information. I think all of that is suspect. I mean, what genetic problems would I find out about find out about in that kind of analysis that I don’t already know in my parental and grandparent generations? My friend is not adopted so he knows his parents.I think it’s a big scam.
He also was the first of our group to get a hearing aid. I played with it and perhaps it helped me, not sure. I don’t know couldn’t really tell. I have some hearing loss, have not been tested. And our latest Zoom calls he talked about gout and so we exchanged stories about gout but he’s getting medication for it. He relayed all the horrors of gout Why I should get medication. But I won’t.
At this point I think I should probably call him with any malady I have to see if he’s had it and what his take is on it.
I joined 23 and Me for the sole purpose of finding Scottish relatives. That hasn’t happened and at this point I’m giving up on that the Scots and turning to my German side.
But back to using 23 and Me for any kind of serious health identification. How can that be useful?
iris lilies
7-7-21, 8:30pm
I am by nature a skeptic of most things medical and/or pharmaceutical. I continue to get reminders that I haven't had all my old people preventive tests (colonoscopy, boobygram etc or my flu and shingles shots. Not going to. But the blood sugar thing scares me a bit since being hungry an hour after eating is not normal for me. I am learning that getting older has interesting twists and turns though.
Before Covid, I trotted my chubby little self into the pharmacy to get a shingles shot because shingles scares me. By that time I was visiting a physician after more than a dozen years of not doing so and of course she gave me the lecture about shingles! But even if I hadn’t been going to the doctor I still would’ve gotten the shingles shots and insurance did not pay for it but I didnt care.
ApatheticNoMore
7-7-21, 9:21pm
23 and me might be useful for BRCA gene (yes you would mostly know from relatives, but something like Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry is enough of a reason to wonder), for Alzheimer's APO genes etc..
Is it the best genetic testing in the world? Probably not. It's relatively affordable is all.
I wish I knew who my dad's dad actually was (THE BIG MYSTERY), but ancestry much beyond that I don't think I care about much, it's the lives of poor nobodies with little record.
I got the shingles shot (both doses) after being in bed with shingle on my 49th birthday. It was a bad case that affected the strength of my left leg. I had to have 10 sessions of PT. I couldn't left my left leg to get it into the car. I had to grab it with both hands to bring it into the car.
Get the shingles shot. There's no reason not to. A lady at church had it on her face and she came close to losing an eye.
But back to using 23 and Me for any kind of serious health identification. How can that be useful?
I know of some adoptees that have used 23 and Me. Their opinions (when I asked) were that at least it gave them some idea(s) as to what to watch out for, ask a dr. about, etc.
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