Quote:
Originally Posted by serenityseeker
Hey Buckeye. Just thought I would take the time to give you a little info from an Internist's point of view.
The bad news is you got a dignosis of pre-diabetes, the good news is you got a diagnosis of pre-diabetes.
It stinks and is scary to receive this kind of info, but you have a heads up alot of people do not get. You are in the early stages of something that could potentially be bad, and you have the opportunity to grab it by the throat and control it. Pre-diabetes is a relatively "new" categorization of diabetes. As more and more information is gathered over the years the numbers for elevated blood sugar and cholesterol do seem to ratchet downwards, as we find out more about the cumulative damage of the various levels.
So what to do? Certainly lifestyle changes as some have outlined above are the top priority in not only avoiding medicines, but in staving off full diabetes for as long as you can. Keep it simple.
-Exercise at least 5 days a week with a target of 30-60 minutes each session(eventually) as long as your doc feels you are heart healthy enough to pursue it.
-Avoid the "white stuff" as much as possible (refined white flour and sugars, white rice and white pastas) and look for whole wheat and sugar alternatives.
-Watch your calories. Most of us eat more than we need to.
-Lose weight if you need to.
As far as medicines go you may indeed need some. The American Association for Endocrinologists recomends the above noted lifestyle modifications as first line treatment along with aggressive treatment of risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol (which may also eventually respond to exercise and diet changes). Even moderately elevated blood sugar can significantly increase the risks of heart disease when coupled with high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so sometimes medical treatment of these is really in your best interest. Additionally, if the lifestyle changes don't correct the sugars, those with "pre diabetes" and other risk factors DO likely need to be treated with medicines for blood sugar.
Bottom line is you can likely correct this by really changing your life. Can you send it packing forever? Not sure beacause everyone is different, but you can certainly inprove your chances of it and your health in general. Be prepared that some medicines may be recomended, and by all means get a second opinion if you are not comfortable..no doctor worth his salt should mind that. Just don't take this lightly, this is your "red flag" moment, we all don't get those so take advantage of it.
Anyway, a little free advice and it is worth about what you pay for it lol.
I wish you luck and lots o' health.
Take care
|
hey, thank a lot! I am fighting it head on...one reason I am here asking people about it. I am taking Metformin 500 mg ER once a day. At first is was like a laxative for a few days...well, laxative is putting it mildly...but I think it will help a lot from what I have read. My BP has always been perfect and my cholesterol is in the good range...weird thing is...my triglycerides are high. One time a couple years ago...they were 1200! They are down to under 300 now, still too high.
Anyway, I am grateful for the warning and have been gung ho about it ever since...bordering on excessive. I have a treadmill and a dog, so I do more walking now than ever. I found an awesome SWEETENER...but it sure is hard to give up noodles, bread, potatoes and rice. I found an awesome 100 whole wheat bread, but I guess if I mention the brand name, my post will be deleted for copyright infringement?
Thanks for taking the time to help me bro...