As many will know I am great fan of life style changes not just in helping control AF but in general well being.
Back end of '18 I decided I was a little too heavy so January last year I set to loose a stone in weight (14lbs for our colonial friends) which I successfully did by late last year. OK I put on about 4lbs over Christmas as one does but this has now gone again.
In addition, I decided to eat less meat whenever I could and more vegetables which having a vegetarian wife was going to be easy. Imagine my horror then to be told at my annual wellman clinic that I am now high risk to develop Type 2 diebetes. Apparently one of my blood test numbers clicked over the magic marker!
I have now to attend regular " education classes" whilst already cutting down on sugar in my tea, a previously happy indulgence but wonder if any of the drugs I have been taking (propafanone for one) may have influenced this change. All strange really since my BMI has at last dropped to the magic 25!
I am coming to the conculsion that whatever I do I am doomed.
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BobD
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Could the jump towards diabetes 2 be due to another health problem? I have been told,for example,I am much 'more likely 'to develop diabetes due to coeliac disease/dermatitis hepedermis .Then I was told that any autooimmune 'disease' could slip you towards diabetes!You can't win Bob.!
Makes you think doesn't it Bob! Who knows what to do for the best!
Sugar is hidden in so many foods including what we think is healthy such as potatoes and and other veg. What on earth is it safe to eat?
I was told quite a while ago that I was on the first rung of being pre diabetic, but doc gave me no indication of what I should and shouldn't eat. So I've cut out all cake, biscuits and sweets. I mentioned it to a nurse who was taking out some stitches for me the other day and she looked up my blood results and said, "Oh that figure is nothing to worry about". So still no advice. Thank goodness for Google.
If you get any amazing tips at your classes, let me know please. Going for a walk now as I know exercise is one thing that helps.
A 'safe' food for one isn't necessarily safe for another, though, so I have given up worrying about it. I am a reasonable weight for my age and height, but I still have the dreaded spare tyre and belly fat most women seem to get. I found the stress of worrying about every morsel that passed my lips counterproductive, so I avoid alcohol and added sugar, but eat (almost) everything else in moderation.
Sorry to hear that Bob, as they say, not much fun getting old, but hopefully better than the alternative!!
That is certainly no reward for good behavior! I was told once years ago the same news, took the class, etc. After more careful investigation, a month prior to my new diagnosis, I had a steroid injection in my frozen shoulder and that is what jacked my sugar up. All is well now. If you are on a statin drug,betablocker, niacin, certain depression/anxiety meds, birth control pills are a few that can sometimes play with a persons sugar levels. I take a statin and betablocker and they havent affected my sugar levels. Good luck with everything. Keep exercising and watching your food, you entire body will thankyou.
Oh Bob how annoying, you just can't win sometimes.
My AF lifstyle changes include a Mediterranean diet so I have substituted butter for olive oil with my bread.
I recently had a blood test for Apixaban monitoring and a cholesterol test was done at the time. Feeling rather smug when being told that my levels had gone from 5.2 to 4 I was then advised I should be taking Statins which was never mentioned when my levels were higher...
Sorry to read that Bob and my first reaction would be ah, bu**er! Sugar is the curse of our diets - hidden in everything - even processed cheese. Just another bump in the road and you’ve dealt well with much, much worse.
Sorry to hear that Bob. So frustrating! I was in the same position. But reading the Diabetes uk website it says that diuretics, statins and beta blockers can all increase blood sugar and insulin resistance. Half the world are on them!
The re-education course was actually rather interesting and informative. Now i'm eating fewer carbs more olive oil and the stone is staying off and the Hb test is down to 39.
Other factors are lack of exercise and lack of sleep. Received wisdom is that stress hormones can definitely push you over the Hb1AC levels and FBG levels if you have a tendency towards diabetes. 🙄.
Now then Mr Bob....don't fear the worst till it happens. One dodgy blood test doesn't mean it's inevitable surely? I often get recalled as my white blood cells can often go over the trigger alert but fluctuations occur as in most things.
I hope it is good news for you.
It seems they have a Cunning Plan to help you if you do develop Type 2...
No take heart 💖 if you hadn’t made all those changes it could be worse. I have a niece that lost 4 stone and is now happily drug free and no diabetes. Keep going.
Don’t despair and overreact! Your next blood test may well show a different reading. Everyone I know found here were tested for lots when they got to 70. They all rated diabetic risk! Next year without any drastic change in their diet or activity they were normal.
Well we are all doomed, its how we get there that counts.
Sugar in tea - sacrilege
From what I can gather there is a potential to reverse the journey to Diabetes, by doing no more than eating healthily (you do that anyway) and leaving 12 to 16 hours between your last meal at night and first in the morning. It has something to do with allowing your body to take its nutrient as it should, following digestion from your cells rather than directly from the food in your stomach/gut. As you know I am no expert but personally I found it did help me to loose weight. I think it takes a few months to work though.
Schldaivies yes! Eating a whole foods plat based diet can allow u reduce and even reverse pre-diabetes and type-1 diabetes. Its not good carbs (potatoes beets are fine) its fat the is creating insulin resistance to your cells preventing them from absorbing glucose. Guess where the glucose stays! In your blood stream. Thx for sharing your experience. There is so much miss information on these posts about this disease. Your Med diet experience is a good example because with the exception of the olive oil the Med diet is largely plant based in nature!
Table sugar has a lower GI ( glycemic index ) than most breads , cereals ( except Oats and Bran ) .
On my blood tests low carb bread ( wasnt )
Also I notice your test was after the Xmas splurge and the blood test shows 90 days of what your blood averages - which is totally different to what a finger check would show today.
Hi Bob. Diabetes is one of my biggest fears. I am very obese but have always kept my blood sugar down by sticking to a relatively low carb diet. A vegetarian diet does often contain more grains/ starches than a meat diet and it is certainly possible this is the cause.
Look carefully at your diet. You can do a low carb diet without going as far as Atkins or keto, which tend to be very low carb. You might want to research low carb diets and initially starting at 70-100g net carb per day. Research starch resistance, which shows how we can lessen our sugar intake by cooling our starches before eating them. Think rice salad and cold salad potatoes. If you don’t want to stop the sugar, research erythritol, which is a sugar replacement which allegedly doesn’t cause an insulin spike.
Walk, walk, walk... Half-an-hour a day is the magic cure-all “pill” according to a leading doctor. I heard him speaking about this on a BBC radio show the other year and he convinced me. He claims that our lack of walking, not our sugar intake, was the main cause of diabetes. I remember him saying that the illness had been wrongly labelled as “sugar diabetes” and should be called “sedentary disease”.
Walk, walk, walk... Half-an-hour a day is the magic cure-all “pill” according to a leading doctor. I heard him speaking about this on a BBC radio show the other year and he convinced me. He claims that our lack of walking, not our sugar intake, was the main cause of diabetes. I remember him saying that the illness had been wrongly labelled as “sugar diabetes” and should be called “sedentary disease”.
My sister got rid of her diabetes by buying a treadmill and using it daily. Recently, running has proved too much, so at age 77 she goes to the gym. She doesn't have an ounce of fat on her and loves the attention she gets there as she also looks quite young for her age.
Not doomed Bob, how could you ever be doomed, you are a God - least we let you believe that!
The myth is that diabetes is caused by being overweight - it’s not. Cut sugar and carbs altogether and increase protein and fat - look at the Keto diet or a moderate version of it.
Well said! My poor beloved is a scant 67 kg , ex Para, ex Himalayan climber & on a raft of heart drugs , diagnosed with type 2 Diabetes 5 years ago. So far , it managed with diet & managed to stay away from more drugs, but he did develop glaucoma.
Blueberries , broccoli 🥦 nuts 🥜 Olive oil have always featured heavily ,in fact we’ve been eating mostly Mediterranean for years. The devil is finding & eliminating extra sugars ! Anno domini is a b*gger
PS - hope you know the real Blackadder lived (sadly now demised) lived on Dartmoor. Does funny things to you does Dartmoor. Had you been to Dartmoor recently?
Take heart - it may NEVER happen. My friend had the same problem couple years ago. She is as thin as a rake! She just stopped sugar in her tea, and carried on as normal. She is fine. It didn't develop into anything. She is elderly, and I am beginning to think it is something to do with getting older. Our immune systems don't work so good. You stay as sweet as you are. All good wishes to you, and thanks for always being there for us.
G'day Bob,
Your comments on "education classes" made me laugh and think of the old TV series with Patrick McGoohan, " The Prisoner" !
Must say I had a narrow escape a few years ago when my optician did the regular 2 yearly eye test and picked up an anomoly which suggested to him I maybe prediabetic. Gave me the heeebie jeeebies as my Dad was a diabetic 2 and it did eventually end his days. Optician refused to prescribe me new lenses and referred me to GP which then ended up me having an Hba1c blood test which confirmed the opticians findings.
The first thing I did was cut out all added sugar from my diet and over time my bloods dropped back to normal levels with no further medication or treatment required. Been OK ever since. You may be interested in the FODMAPS diet in the context of sugar in fruit and veg.
A year or so ago I went for blood test at local hospital where you take a ticket. Mine was No 6! When called I of course replied "I AM NOT A NUMBER I AM FREE MAN!" Completely blank looks all round.
I think blood test results change with age. I saw a local endocrinologist for thyroid nodules who spent 40" of my 1 hr visit rabbiting on about how I was pre- diabetic and ignoring why I had really come. I then decided to see a professor of endocrinology specialising in thyroids and showed her my test results. She wasn't in the least bit bothered. I think some drs are a bit obsessed with cholesterol and diabetes and can be a little ardent in their warnings. My new endocrinologist and cardiologist find nothing wrong with either even though my cholesterol has always been over 5.8 . I am a vegetarian and have been for about 30 years. If our readings don't confirm to the " norm" general panic by some in the medical profession ( you must take statins etc) usually manifests. But everyone's metabolism is different! Well done for your new BMI Bob ( mine is normal too) and keep tweaking the nose of fear and farting in the face of fate 😂👍
Its the "hidden" sugar, and not just in pre made foods, potatoes, pasta, rice, most root veg, beans, are all high starch [sugar] foods, A low carb diet will help reduce sugar, unfortunately a lot of veggy diets rely on beans and roots for protein.
Hi Bob my husband has been type 2 diabetic for 19 years and is on tablets and insulin AND statins as a precaution. . I regularly get the Diabetes UK newsletters and the last article that I read funnily enough was about the link between statins and diabetes. I’m in permanent AF and have been on Simvastatin for the five years I’ve been in AF, Last year I was told that I’m pre diabetic. We are both just a little overweight and try hard to eat reasonably well but can’t help but think there is a link.
I’ve come to the conclusion that we are all doomed so might as well enjoy every minute we can 😊.
Was your suspicious test fasting glucose? If so you could equip yourself with a blood glucose monitor and measure your own blood sugars. The most important ones to measure are the PPs - post prandial or after meals as this shows how your blood sugar is responding to various foods. Also fasting blood glucose can be deceptive as there is a phenomenon called "dawn effect". This is an evolutionary hangover where our blood sugar can rise in the morning to give us a bit of energy to go out and "hunt" our breakfast. It does not mean we are pre diabetic. Just that our early morning cortisol surge has worked too well. If the PPs that you take one hour and two hours after eating are within the totally normal limits there is no need to worry. A few years ago I had problems with falling blood sugar making me feel ill and my GP gave me a spare device he had hanging around in a drawer. As I occasionally have fasting glucose ( which is tested every 6 months along with my thyroid and liver and kidney function) just in the prediabetic range,I buy some test strips and test intensively till the strips run out for about 10 days twice a year. The sore fingers are worth the reassurance that all is well. The doc has never mentioned the prediabetic results! You can buy all the necessary at Boots.
"Fortune vomits on my duvet " actually. Blackadder's crudities were sculpted so as to pass the BBC censor whilst conveying the starkest and most elemental of mind-pictures
New research is showing its not your sugar intake that is raising your blood glucose as much as it is the fat in your diet. Check out nutritionfacts.org and Dr McGregor. Insulin Resistance in the body is due in a very large part to saturated fats from meats and other process foods not letting cells absorb glucose ( which ends up in your blood stream) While not eating added sugars in your diet is much healthier(fruits are fine because they come wrapped it a fiber package that helps reduce their natural sugar impact) you can benefit from a low fat diet as natural carbs are not your enemy. Also check out Cyrus Khambatta and Robby Barbaro on the Rich Roll Podcast and the success and research on this topic. It could chg your life! Good luck.
Processed carbs are a no no. Carbs from fruits and plants are fine and actually shown to reduce blood glucose levels. The book on Amazon is called Mastering Diabetes by Robby Barbaro and Cyress Khambatta. Both have diabetes and have controlled it thru diet resulting in being medication free. There is other strong evidence by Dr Neal Benard and others showing reversing type 1 diabetes and pre-diabetes thru a few lifestyle chgs is possible. Processed foods and sugars are still not good but fat seems to be the culprit in turning almost 1/3 of the US population to either pre-diabetes or type 1 diabetes but the year 2030( current projections if nothing chgs) Again the podcast might be easier than reading the book if you want more info. Best and just eat more whole foods and less process foods and see how you do. Cant loose.
Sorry to hear that Bob. Sounds like you are doing the right things. You mentioned propafenone. I was on it for a quite a long time and was told after one my blood works that I was getting close to being type 2 diabetis. After few months from my ablation my cardiologist took me off it, even though I was still getting afibs. Well now I only take it as PIP and it works better than before I was taking it three times a day. Might be worth a try if you can. I also reduced my bisoprolol from 5mg to 1.25mg and told my cardiologist it just does not fit into my life style, since it made me so short of breath, hardly could do anything without stopping to catch my breath. I golf, walking the 18 holes 3-4 times a week. So he was okay with it! And cannot say I am any worse. I still get an afib every three weeks or so, but it’s the same when I took all my pills. So figure that out. Feeling SO much better now. Good luck to you Bob and you are not doomed!
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how annoying, you just can't win sometimes.
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