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I had labs drawn last Friday and they came back as high. I had the A1c test, and the result was 6.4. I know, I know its very, very close to the cut off of officially having diabetes (6.5 and up), but still technically, I am still in the gray area (pre diabetes is from 5.7 - 6.4). So what my doctor said was "the cut off for a normal a1c is 5.7, and yours is 6.4, so you have diabetes". He immediately put me on metformin, 2 tabs a day (1000 mg), and wants me to monitor my glucose for the next 10 days. He said if I lose 10% of my body weight, chances are my blood sugar will elevate itself and he could take me off the meds. This is a wake up call for me, and I am trying my best to exercise and diet but pretty bummed that he categorized me as a diabetic. I mean I am only 25, if my sugar does get better, and at some point I lose a significant amount of weight, would I still consider myself as a diabetic?
He gave me a glucometer at the visit this morning and I was so anxious to test as soon as I got out the car. My fasting glucose level was 106. Not the greatest, but upon further research, that would not put me in the diabetic range (although very close, since morning bs cut off is 110 for non diabetics). So based on my research, I am pre diabetic, but based on doc I am a diabetic (again, his cutoff is 5.7 - he's going by the "normal" range). So, what am I? In the future, when I fill out health questionares, do I check box "diabetes" in my health history form?
I had labs drawn last Friday and they came back as high. I had the A1c test, and the result was 6.4. I know, I know its very, very close to the cut off of officially having diabetes (6.5 and up), but still technically, I am still in the gray area (pre diabetes is from 5.7 - 6.4). So what my doctor said was "the cut off for a normal a1c is 5.7, and yours is 6.4, so you have diabetes". He immediately put me on metformin, 2 tabs a day (1000 mg), and wants me to monitor my glucose for the next 10 days. He said if I lose 10% of my body weight, chances are my blood sugar will elevate itself and he could take me off the meds. This is a wake up call for me, and I am trying my best to exercise and diet but pretty bummed that he categorized me as a diabetic. I mean I am only 25, if my sugar does get better, and at some point I lose a significant amount of weight, would I still consider myself as a diabetic?
He gave me a glucometer at the visit this morning and I was so anxious to test as soon as I got out the car. My fasting glucose level was 106. Not the greatest, but upon further research, that would not put me in the diabetic range (although very close, since morning bs cut off is 110 for non diabetics). So based on my research, I am pre diabetic, but based on doc I am a diabetic (again, his cutoff is 5.7 - he's going by the "normal" range). So, what am I? In the future, when I fill out health questionares, do I check box "diabetes" in my health history form?
You're a young person with a window of opportunity to reverse your situation.
Treat yourself as a diabetic and fix this.
Get yourself to a nutritionist. A referral can help with insurance coverage, if cost is an issue. If you must, cough up the money.
Figure out how to work some (more) physical activity into your routine. Ask your doctor if you have current/prior injuries or other relevant health issues (ie heart trouble).
I would be less worried about labels than with the complications that come along with diabetes.
For reference: I'm 25, too. My father was diagnosed with type II diabetes circa age 40. Obesity, heart problems, and diabetes are rampant throughout his family - probably linked to their god-awful eating habits* and the Standard American Diet. I've been overweight or obese (bmi 29-31) for two periods of my life (10-18, 22-24). Currently, I'm back down in "normal" at 175 pounds. I exercise twice a day. Having a diabetic parent coupled with a propensity to be fat (courtesy of inherited eating habits I am currently breaking) puts me at a frighteningly high risk.
I really don't want to deal with amputations, blindness, kidney failure, or God-knows-what. So I fight it. I've got the stretch mark "scars", but also more stamina and musculature.
Tons of white carbs with every meal. Lots of sugary drinks. Fast food (my weakness) was constant. There were always cakes in the house (fortunately I don't have much of a sweet tooth, otherwise I'd be full-on diabetic by now). Even now dad will pop his pills and have a slice of apple pie for dessert.
You're a young person with a window of opportunity to reverse your situation.
Treat yourself as a diabetic and fix this.
Get yourself to a nutritionist. A referral can help with insurance coverage, if cost is an issue. If you must, cough up the money.
Figure out how to work some (more) physical activity into your routine. Ask your doctor if you have current/prior injuries or other relevant health issues (ie heart trouble).
I would be less worried about labels than with the complications that come along with diabetes.
For reference: I'm 25, too. My father was diagnosed with type II diabetes circa age 40. Obesity, heart problems, and diabetes are rampant throughout his family - probably linked to their god-awful eating habits* and the Standard American Diet. I've been overweight or obese (bmi 29-31) for two periods of my life (10-18, 22-24). Currently, I'm back down in "normal" at 175 pounds. I exercise twice a day. Having a diabetic parent coupled with a propensity to be fat (courtesy of inherited eating habits I am currently breaking) puts me at a frighteningly high risk.
I really don't want to deal with amputations, blindness, kidney failure, or God-knows-what. So I fight it. I've got the stretch mark "scars", but also more stamina and musculature.
Tons of white carbs with every meal. Lots of sugary drinks. Fast food (my weakness) was constant. There were always cakes in the house (fortunately I don't have much of a sweet tooth, otherwise I'd be full-on diabetic by now). Even now dad will pop his pills and have a slice of apple pie for dessert.
Thanks for your input and great job on fighting the battle! Its super hard when you have parents that eat unhealthily. My family have the standard Asian diet which consist of white rice...A lot of white rice! We are not a fan of sugar though, just the white rice is the culprit. However, I am the first one in my family to have diabetes because I am overweight. My half siblings and mom eat the same amount of rice as me (maybe even more) but they are not overweight. My mom is chubby, but not dangerously overweight. I grew up on rice, and never had a problem with diabetes or anything. I feel like rice by itself cant do much damage.
When I went away to college, thats when I started living on the American diet (lots of fast food), and being sedentary. Thats how I got so overweight. I know white rice is not all that good, and its actually amongst one of the bad foods to cut back on, but my husband eats a lot of rice and doesnt even have to watch his intake, yet he is absolutely fine. So freakin lean if you ask me. My husband sometimes doesnt understand why I opted for hamburgers and fries, had I stuck to rice I wouldnt have turned out this bad.
Totally agree with Amelorn. The OP needs to accept responsibility for this, AND to accept that the #1 most beneficial treatment for obesity-related diabetes is to stop being obese. That is much much MUCH better than popping a pill and injecting insulin into your skin to make up for the damage that a bad diet is doing to you.
Someone close to my family has obesity-related diabetes (I use this term because not everyone with type II is obese, though that is a common cause). He pretended he was going to do all the right things. He made all the right sounds, said all the right words, but he still eats however he wants, and figures that since injecting insulin fixes whenever he overdoes it on the sweets, he can just do that and not try to cut down on the sweets. He has trouble sleeping, he has sleep apnea, he works a physically demanding job but because he is so horribly out of shape and overweight, he's suffering with aches and pains that go well beyond a hard day at work. He's basically eating himself into an early grave.
As I say in other threads - it's not the starch that'll kill you. It's eating TOO MUCH starch. How much is too much? Whatever level that doesn't hurt you - one single bite more than that, is too much. The same with sugar, and every other edible thing in existence. However much you can eat and still be healthy - is enough. One single bite more - is too much.
While you're Googling, check out the books by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I just read "End Diabetes Now." I recently got diagnosed with Diabetes 2, and I refused to take any pills, as they don't really work. So I switched my diet, per Dr. Fuhrman's book. It's not easy, but I've already lost 8 lbs since I started the diet a week ago. I'm fully committing to the plan, and hope to lose all my excess weight and get my blood sugar levels down to normal!
While you're Googling, check out the books by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I just read "End Diabetes Now." I recently got diagnosed with Diabetes 2, and I refused to take any pills, as they don't really work. So I switched my diet, per Dr. Fuhrman's book. It's not easy, but I've already lost 8 lbs since I started the diet a week ago. I'm fully committing to the plan, and hope to lose all my excess weight and get my blood sugar levels down to normal!
It's not just the rice, basically when you have diabetes, your body can't process carbs the right way. So you have to get around that by taking meds to help your body work the right way, and eating less carbs.
You can lose weight and the problem may go away, but if you go back to your old eating habits, the problem will return. One of my neighbors has "cured" herself of diabetes three different times by dieting, but as soon as she's not considered diabetic anymore, she starts eating like normal, gains the weight back, and the diabetes comes back.
Other than having diarrhea the first few weeks you take it, metformin doesn't have many side effects and may be helpful to your weight-loss efforts. (You should also be extra careful with your birth control while you're taking metformin.)
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