young with abnormal numbers

[ddown]

Hello all,

This is my first post. I am a 31 yo fit individual (7'5" 142lbs) with some abnormal fasting glucose levels and I would like some of your opinions. I work out at least 3 days a week and have a pretty good diet (lots of fruit and veges, low fat).

Lab values:
March '07 - A1c 5.3%, 3-hour post-meal 100mg/dL (70-110mg/dL)
May '08 - FBG 103 mg/dL (ref 70-105)
June '09 - FBG 109 mg/dL
July '09 - FBG 104 mg/dL , A1c: 5.2%

My primary care doc says Im worried about nothing. My cholesterol (32 HDL could be higher), triglycerides, and blood pressure are normal.

I've started doing some home monitoring and my fasting levels have been in the range of 88-103. Random 91-113.

Post-meal readings:
spaghetti dinner - 1hr 149 2hr 121
oatmeal/piece of toast 1 hr 145 1.5hr 126
lunch with fruit/whole wheat sandwich - 2hr 105

I tend to get very anxious prior to lab tests, could this cause my fasting levels to be a bit elevated? Should I get an appt. with an endo for further testing? Thanks for your input!

[Gordonm]

Other than being extremly tall 7'5" and only weighing 145 the other numbers looks very good. I am assuming you are 5'5" tall????

[yannah]

i would keep an eye on this and keep testing periodically.

my fasting went from 100 to 108 to an over 300 random within one year. but I do not know what my post food numbers were during this period.

but with your numbers, I would not obsess about it. just keep an eye on it.

that is what I would do at this point.

[ddown]

ha! apparently I need to worry about dyslexia as well, make that 5'7" tall!

So is pre-diabetes even a concern for me with these numbers?

[jps]

Stress can always elevate your glucose.

I'll fully admit, that I do err on the side of caution with regards to diagnosis of diabetes.

Your numbers are running very similar to some people I work with in the hospital laboratory. Personally, I think fasting sugars in the 100-120 range is cause for concern.

I work in a lab and I tracked my fasting sugars for 12 years (there's a post here somewhere in the prediabetes forum here outlining the exact numbers). But I progressed basically from a fasting of 85 to 120 before diagnosis. The next year I did my fasting, it was 299; boom, diabetic.

Now, would I lose sleep over this if I were you? Absolutely not, however, I urge you to take action. There are no guarantees either way, but you may well be on your way towards diabetes.

Your post meal glucoses after those carby meals are admittedly not bad.

Personally, I think it would be wise if you got a meter from your physician so you could check yourself. The good news is that you can bring your fasting numbers down. You just might have to modify your diet a little bit, which is difficult for a lot of people. A few simple adjustments can make a world of difference and keep your pancreas healthy and happy.

You are already exercising - if you weren't, you might see higher fasting numbers.

[ddown]

As far as modifying my diet....What's the best strategy? I plan on continuing to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and cutting out all refined grains, sugars, etc. With whole grains, do need to somewhat limit them, or should be doing the low carb thing. What is the consensus as Ive heard people saying both?

[yannah]

As far as modifying my diet....What's the best strategy? I plan on continuing to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and cutting out all refined grains, sugars, etc. With whole grains, do need to somewhat limit them, or should be doing the low carb thing. What is the consensus as Ive heard people saying both?


I don't know.

I mean, I think refined carbs and fast acting carbs are bad for all of us. So I surly don't think it hurts to cut out those.

but again, I wouldn't panic. but eating healthy is never a bad idea.

[jps]

I think you are on the right track when you state "I plan on continuing to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and cutting out all refined grains, sugars, etc.".

In regards to the whole grains, if I were you, I'd just cut back. I don't think there is any need at all for you to go low carb. Even though I do believe a low carb lifestyle IS healthy for "normal" people as well as T2, with the way you are reacting to carbs, there's no reason to be overly drastic. You might want to just cut back on the intake of all grains, especially refined but even whole.

But the thing is, if you do cut back on the carbs, it may be tough for you to maintain weight and it sounds like you are on the trim side already.

Just remember, don't be afraid of fats. I don't believe they are harmful to us in moderation, even a little over that.

Opt for non-processed foods for snacks - eat nuts instead of chips - don't worry if they are macadamia's either. Like I said, don't worry about the fat, they are healthy fats. Eat cheese for a snack. Eat fruits or veggies for snacks. Eat eggs. Don't be afraid of butter. Don't be afraid of meat at all. It's not that hard.

Of course, I am not a doctor and these are based on my own personal observations. It worked for ME and I can only make claims as such. My A1c went from 10.5 to 5.4 in three months. I got off medicine altogether in 6 months. My lipid panel (fats) went from moderately abnormal to very desirable in 7 months (and that was with INCREASING my fat intake, only limiting carbs). My increased liver enzymes (fatty liver) all went from very high to normal in 3 months. My waist went from 42 to 30 in 10 months. Basically dropped 80+ lbs.

Physically, I feel tremendous and I attribute it completely to a low carb lifestyle and exercise.

[ddown]

Thank you for your replies! I tend to be a worrier and this has really gotten me down as of late.

[ddown]

One more question. Could I be seeing the early signs of LADA or DM 1.5 since I am not overweight? Is there anyway to know other than undergoing more testing

[jtausch]

One more question. Could I be seeing the early signs of LADA or DM 1.5 since I am not overweight? Is there anyway to know other than undergoing more testing
Have you doctor test for it. I think that you would have lost a bunch of weight in the past couple of months Personally I would not worry about it But the DR can let you know for sure

[ddown]

Thanks for all the replies, I guess all I can do is eat healthy, exercise, and see what happens. By the way, I just recently spoke with my mom who is in her fifties and living a pretty sedentary lifestyle. Her recent fasting sugars are about 120...you may be seeing her on here before too long. Maybe I've got some bad genes.