DH is pre-diabetic?

[roar]

So I'm C&Ping this from the old Nest board.

I am trying to wrap my head around this.

Earlier this week, DH got a call from his physician asking him to come in because there was an abnormality in his blood sugar levels - as in it was higher than normal. So DH went in and the doctor told him his numbers indicate him as "pre-diabetic". Which puzzles me.

He exercises. He monitors what he eats. Heck, he eats better than I do, and he's often chiding ME on what to eat. His meals are fairly balanced. He knows what he has to do because he's lost weight (he put on quite a bit of weight from law school, and lost 50 pounds in 2005, and to this point, I think he's only gained about 10 of that back).

I think I'm more frustrated than he as at this point - all he said this morning about it was "The doctor said my diet is fine and at this point, I just need to up my exercise, and see if we can control it more with diet and exercise." So after my run this morning I stopped by the grocery store and got some more fruit (peaches, strawberries, pears) and veggies (brussel sprouts, carrots, celery). I mean what we eat isn't out of the ordinary - once in a while we'll splurge but a splurge is probably one day out of every two weeks, not a once a day thing.

Anyway, this is probably more a vent than anything else. I'll probably scour the web to learn more about diabetes, but I'm just confused by this. For me, his lifestyle doesn't indicate anything that would lead to obesity, and I always thought that Type II is reserved mostly for those who were overweight/inactive.

DH is working with a trainer, so I told him to tell his trainer about this development, and hopefully he can get some new ideas on how to address the exercise part.

[Deleted]

It can happen to anyone just like a heart attack can happen to a marathon runner.

I do know people who have diabetes who are supposed to avoid certain high-carb fruits (ie. pears) so he may benefit from seeing a dietician to make sure what he thinks is healthy eating is actually good for his condition.

[gummybear]

Although the vast majority of T2 patients are overweight/obese, it can strike a person of normal weight.

What was his blood sugar level? MH was diagnosed with T1 at age 33. He is 6'3" and was actually losing weight (he got down to 155-160) (hence us asking for bw, we thought he had celiac). He exercised and rarely ate poorly.

As for exercise, even being completely insulin dependent as a T1, DH can naturally lower his blood sugar by doing cardio. Even walking helps. He can keep it in a "normal" range without using any insulin even after eating. For instance, he might eat a banana, which would require, say, one unit of insulin, but instead, go out for a run. In fact, if he does not supplement with glucose during a run (every 2 miles or so) he could actually go too low.

[joenali]

I don't know much about diabetes, but I would definitely get a second opinion.

[ebeth]

did they retest his blood sugar? any chance it was just an anomaly?

also, even though T2 diabetes isn't limited to the obese, are you sure it is T2? 60% of people diagnosed with T1 diabetes are over the age of 20.

[katinthehat]

was this a fasting blood test?

[roar]

Yup, he had the test done twice, both fasting, so we don't think it's an anomaly. We'll also have him consult with a dietician to fine-tune his diet. It's definitely a shock to the two of us because we do live as healthy as possible. Do we splurge? Sure. But as I said before, it's not a normal thing. We'll get it under control.

(And yes, I know he's the one with the diagnosis, but eating is a "we" thing because we eat out of the same kitchen!)

[kellina]

It can happen to anyone... I've had GD twice (not the same as T2), but I've lived the diabetic life and done insulin. I agree that he should meet with a diabetic counselor/ nutritionist. It's all about balancing your carbs and protein. So even though fruit is "healthy", it will skyrocket your sugar if you don't eat protein with it, etc.

I'm no expert, but I HTH. I myself have a 50% chance of getting T2 within the next 10 yr thanks to my GD history. Awesome.