Am I diabetes or prediabetes?
Posted , 6 users are following.
I am 56 male continuing a inactive lifestyle as an office manager, most of the time seated working on the computer.
I am taking Amlor 5mg for hypertension for last 15 years.
Both my parents are diabetes.
Attached are the recent test results, where my Doctor asked me to start diabetic medicine, I believe that I am pre-diabetes and asked him few weeks to control on food and lifestyle change.
Would love to hear any suggestions in the forums.
0 likes, 10 replies
jx41870 smartcard
Posted
Well your lipids are amazing!!!
Your blood glucose is running a little high.
So a couple of comments.
First, before even starting meds, is the question of diet - and exercise! A quick test is one thing, but simply learning to count carbs and mostly avoid bad foods like sugar and white bread, and you might just be fine, your numbers would improve. Also, get out and walk! Walk a mile or two twice a day. Doctors tend to underemphasize the value of even that modest amount of exercise, to blood sugar readings.
Second, diuretics (which I assume is what your Amlor aka Amilor is), can cause higher blood glucose readings. Again, a way to compensate is to count the carbs in your diet and lower the number. That easy.
Third, if the diabetic medicine they want you to take is metformin, it's pretty good stuff for most people. Gives you the runs when you first try it, but most people acclimate over a few weeks and then it's fine. In fact, it's an honor and privilege to take it, it's often touted as a longevity medicine!
And for extra credit you can get your own home blood glucose test kit for a few bucks, run your own fasting tests and one/two hours after meal tests, and just the visibility of those numbers is really helpful in encouraging you to count those carbs and take those walks!
You would like to get that FBS down around or under 100, and you'd like to get that A1C down below 6.0. You're not in terrible shape, but as it runs in the family, it's probably something you do need to take seriously.
smartcard jx41870
Posted
Hello jx41870
I truly appreciate for taking your time and effort to reply my post.
With regards to the Amlor the pill that I take for HTN, it is "Amlodipine"
jx41870 smartcard
Posted
Amlor/Amlodipine - don't know of any link offhand between such calcium channel blockers and blood glucose or diabetes ... oops a little searching turns up that it might. Hmph.
FWIW I was prescribed three blood pressure drugs for a number of years, amlodipine being one, but I had discontinued it about a year before I was hit with a massive, sudden diabetic attack. I have not taken it since being diagnosed, either.
So - maybe something to discuss with your doctor. Maybe want to switch to an ACE or ARB, those seem to be the first choice these days.
smartcard jx41870
Posted
Thanks for this details. I have tried Cozar (losartan) initially it was not reducing my BP, few years ago I tried Minipress (Prazosin HCl) it did no reduce the BP either, additionally I started dizziness & headache.
Since I have ear problem & vertigo I am very careful on taking drugs that make dizziness.
If Amlor/Amlodipine is going to increase my blood glucose, then I don't really know what BP drugs I will have to select 😦
jx41870 smartcard
Posted
There's a lot to try. Cozaar did nothing for me either, but olmesartan (generic for Benicar) seems pretty good. Everything works better for me with a diuretic - which as I noted, can raise your BG. Can be a very tricky balancing act!
There are a lot of different drugs and combinations to try, and individual differences just cannot be predicted at this point, just have to try them and see.
lee12629 smartcard
Posted
I believe a fasting blood sugar between 101 and 125 is prediabetes,if slightly above they usually will retest one more time before declareing diabetes I'm sure you can Google. this.
jane16431 smartcard
Posted
What JX wrote is spot on. Technically you are pre diabetic. However with some immediate lifestyle changes you can likely get your numbers into non diabetic range. Diet and exercise are the keys. Both are important. ADDRESS IT RIGHT NOW.
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Posted
Many thanks for all your replies and suggestions.
By the way I forgot to mention that my weight is 63Kg and 170cm height
anne50728 smartcard
Posted
If you're hypertensive then you need to try and reduce your salt intake as much as possible. In terms of activity, have you tried thinking about a standing workstation? Just standing rather than sitting at work can make quite a difference. It's not about counting calories it's the right sort of calories. See anything by Robert Lustig, American Physician. The body is good at self regulating if given a chance but can't cope with sugars and large amounts of refined carbohydrates. If you're pre-diabetic you might also be best to start off with a very low calorie diet to give your insulin producing cells the chance to recover. There has been some really good research from Newcastle University on this and large scale trials for newly diagnosed diabetics are now underway. Quite a high proportion of actual diabetes can be reversed. Prospects for pre-diabetics are even better. I think you could have this 8 week low carb low calorie diet without the sachets of meal replacements it would just be a bit harder to work out and you'd need to know what you were doing and make sure you had sufficient vitamins and minerals. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/newcastle-study-600-calorie-diet.html
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Posted
This morning when I get a test at my home with the device, I was fasting for 8 1/2 hours and the reading showed 138