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My Hemoglobin A1C is 5.9 percent. My fasting glucose was 98 mg/dl. I am 29 years old. Am I almost di

(8 posts)

  1. albutterz
    Member

    Diabetes runs in my family. My Dad is currently on Dialysis for Kidney failure resulting from his Diabetes. I am concerned that my H A1C level may hit 6.0 and I will be diagnosed with Diabetes.

    I am 215 lbs, and look like I am in pretty decent shape (mostly muscle.) I love to eat ALL foods, including fruits, vegetables, meats/poultry, rice, potatoes... etc. If it weren't for my Doctor pointing out the increase in my H A1C over the last three years I wouldn't have noticed at thing since I feel fine. Should I be concerned? I am barely sleeping because of this.

    Please advise.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  2. Kelle
    Member

    Glucose is in the normal range.
    AIC is in the normal range. If Doc said it has been increasing, you might want to talk to him about a dietary change.

    See the chart at the bottom.

    http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/glucose/test.html

    http://www.communitycare.com/HealthInformation/pdfs/Type_2_Diabetes.pdf

    Posted 2 years ago #

  3. katya
    Member

    A1C below 6% is still good, but your doctor was good to remind you to be watchful and careful because of the family history and overall increase in A1C. Continue to eat healthy, exercise, and see the doctor regularly. Keeping your sugars within the healthy range as much as possible will decrease the risk of kidney failure and other diabetes-related complications - even if you are diagnosed as some point with diabetes.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  4. Liz C
    Member

    Yes, you should be concerned. People WITHOUT Diabetes (or Pre-Diabetes) generally have an A1C in the 4% range, even though the 'normal' range goes all the way to 6.% I AM VERY SERIOUS. They can down vote me all they want, but this is TRUE. You can get Dr. Bernstain's book, or visit his website. He is a pioneer in Diabetic research and treatment. Or you can check on other Diabetic communities, like TuDiabetes, and dLife, where people actually KNOW about this. If I had the chance you do, right now, I would take it in a heartbeat! What you can do, is get a glucose meter and test 2 hours after one of your meals of the day, particularly if it had a lot of carbohydrates, or a morning fasting reading. Start limiting the amount or portion size of carbohydrates that you have in every meal... to what are considered serving sizes. (Google serving sizes). Consider sweets in the same way you do carbohydrates, and limit how many you have towards your total daily allotment. Try to have less refined carbohydrates, and more complex ones: such as ones which contain fiber. Become more active, cutting down on the amount of time you spend sitting: put some stretching exercises in there, get up and take care of something else... Walk every night after your dinner, for example. It is the HUGE amount of carbohydrates every day that puts a big, big pressure on our body's metabolism, if we are developing insulin resistance.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  5. Gary B
    Member

    Nope. Not even close.

    Your numbers are PERFECT.

    You love of high-carb foods could present a problem, so cut back on the rice, potatoes, corn, and bread product (including pastas)

    AND -- you are not diagnosed with diabetes until your A1C hits 7. Values between 6 and 7 indicate that you need to take better control of your lifestyle -- better diet,m more exercise, and weight control.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  6. Julie Ann
    Member

    Have you asked your doctor? If your doctor is tracking your A1Cs and is pointing out an increase has he/she given you any advice? You need to let your doctor know that you are concerned to the point of losing sleep and you want answers to your questions. Tell your doctor you are so worried that you are looking on the internet for answers. If your doctor isn't answering, ask your doctor for a referral to another who has the time to listen to your concerns and answer your questions and direct you to a solid source of information.

    Since you have a heredity factor, you are at risk for diabetes. 5.9 A1C falls within a normal range, not a diabetic range. Don't let yourself lose sleep over this. Get the answers you need from your doctor.

    My short answer is "no." I have diabetes, but I'm not a doctor.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  7. Tin S
    Member

    I have to say there are some good answers here and some bad one also. So I'll give it a try.
    Normal Fasting Blood Sugar
    A normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see right before a meal) is:

    83 mg/dl (4.6 mmol/L) or less.

    Many normal people have fasting blood sugars in the mid and high 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) range.

    Though most doctors will tell you any fasting blood sugar under 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) is "normal", there are several studies that suggest that testing with a fasting blood sugar in the mid 90 mg/dl (5 mmol/L) range often predicts diabetes that is diagnosed a decade later.And being you have a history of diabetes in your family , heres the only thing to do. Start with a low glycemic diet . Heres the best website you can find.http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
    Its a list of 2,480 food with their index and loads . The loads are the most important. It simple and easy to follow. And not so restrictive , so it won't drive you insane. And the next thing Is EXERCISE. I know you don't want to hear it but it is so Important.Nordic Walking is great.
    Description
    Nordic walking can be done year round in any climate and anywhere a person of any age or ability might otherwise walk without poles. It combines simplicity and accessibility of walking with simultaneous core and upper body conditioning similar to Nordic skiing. The result is a full-body walking workout that can burn significantly more calories without a change in perceived exertion or having to walk faster, due to the incorporation of many large core, and other upper-body muscles which comprise more than 90% of the body's total muscle mass and do work against resistance with each stride. 'Normal walking' utilizes less than 70% of muscle mass with full impact on the joints of the legs and feet.

    Nordic Ski Walking produces up to a 46% increase in energy consumption compared to walking without poles.[1]

    Benefits
    Compared to regular walking, Nordic walking involves applying force to the poles with each stride. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body (with greater intensity) and receive fitness building stimulation not as present in normal walking for the chest, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulder, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles. This extra muscle involvement leads to enhancements over ordinary walking at equal paces such as:

    increased overall strength and endurance in the core muscles and the entire upper body
    significant increases in heart rate at a given pace
    greater ease in climbing hills
    burning more calories than in plain walking
    improved balance and stability with use of the poles
    significant un-weighting of hip, knee and ankle joints
    effective weight bearing exercise - creates positive total body bone density-preserving stress
    I use plain old wooden sticks, works well>
    Kewl!
    Do it and you may dodge this terrible disease.
    Tin

    Posted 2 years ago #

  8. micksmixxx
    Member

    Both your HbA1c level and your fasting blood glucose level are at the high end of 'normal'. This, undoubtedly, is why your doctor has pointed it out to you.

    As others have stated, because you have a close family member, this increases your risk of developing diabetes at some point in your life.

    You don't mention whether your doctor offered any advice on how to lessen the risks, but if s/he didn't I'm a little perturbed. Surely s/he should be looking at your overall medical welfare?

    The reason you may not have noticed your HbA1c levels creeping up over the last few years is because, in type 2 diabetes specifically, it's an insidious condition that has a tendency to creep up on you. This is why many type 2 diabetics aren't diagnosed, sometimes, for years after they develop diabetes.

    You may have read about some of the symptoms that diabetics experience. The truth is, these are more readily recognisable when someone develops type 1 diabetes mellitus ... they come on all of a sudden. Because the symptoms are not so pronounced in type 2 diabetes, many people put any thoughts to the back of their mind, thinking that they're getting older so you must need the toilet more, or that you may not have been drinking enough over the years, so your body's simply telling you that you need to drink more.

    You don't mention that you're physically active ... simply that your body mass is "mostly muscle". If you don't exercise, now might be a good chance for you to change that. You don't suddenly need to join a gymnasium, walking is good. You should try to aim for 30+ minutes a day but, if this is new to you, don't feel that you need to start out immediately at these levels.

    You appear to have a varied diet, sir, though I must point out that both potatoes and rice are high in carbohydrate value. These are the foods that get broken down into a simple sugar called glucose which your body needs to use to create energy. Many fruits, too, have high carbohydrate values. It might be worth asking your doctor for a referral to see a dietitian, though you may find that sticking to a lower GI (Glycemic Index) and GL (Glycemic Load) diet will serve you just as well.

    GI and GL diet are NOT just for diabetics. They can be useful tools for anyone. It's just that diabetics tend to have a great deal of success in using them.

    There are a few websites listed below that specifically relate to GI and GL diets that you may wish to take a look at.

    Be well, sir.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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