I Had a doctor app the other day because i was feeling crappy kind of like the flu without the vomit and fever plus a sigificant weight gain in a few short months, so anyways my doc thinks i may have diabetes or blood sugar problems and she ran a blood test to rule out everything first before she diagnoses me with it, she put me on glucophage too i guess to help with my blood sugar levels. She said she wants me to do a low carb high protein diet kind of like atkins i have never done a low carb diet i've always been a calorie counter so this is very new for me i have no idea what to eat other then veggies and chicken so if anyone knows where i can get some menu ideas or websites where they talk about prediabetics ect.. it could really help out thanks so much!

There is lots of info available online such as atkins.com or atkins-diet-advisor.com or aboutatkinsdiet.com but I recommend you call back your doctor to get a list of proteins, carbs and fats (with portions) he/she says you should eat. That's terrible to send you on your way without specific information!! Your doctor should give you information from their office, or at least a list of books you can get from the library, bookstore, or information online! GL

I agree i wish she would have sent me with more info but i think she didn't because she wants to make sure it isn't a few other things first thanks for those links!

I was also wondering about the gi diet? is that a good one for prediabetics or diabetics?

My mom who is diabetic and has been working with a dietician for the past several years has been told to watch her glycemic index and follow a low carb food plan. She has also lost about 40 lbs in the past three years as well.

Since there is such a high incidence of diabetes on both sides of my family and I too suspected that I might be headed down that road, I have been following the South Beach Diet since January 1st of this year.

There are several websites devoted to persons with diabetes. It is a disease that affects all of your organs and your eyesight so it is important to begin to do what you can to manage this chronic disease.

Essentially, a low carb diet will have more emphasis on eating low glycemic vegetables and minimal fruit and breads/grains. Most meats can be eaten although watching how much fat you have will also be one of the things you will monitor. There are a lot of great no-sugar or reduced sugar desserts out there so you won't have to stop eating desserts.

Good luck! You can do it!

Please do not take glucophage without knowing if you have diabetes or not. I'm sorry but your doctor is very irresponsible to prescribe a medicine without clear indication of it's need. Why would he/she prescribe medicine without first seeing if you truly have diabetes is my first question, my second question is why would he/she prescribe medication without allowing you to first manage your blood sugar (if it's high, and we don't even know that yet) with diet and exercise? Do you even own a glucometer? Are you measuring your blood sugar at home? If not, how will you know if it is too low to safely take the glucophage? I'm sorry to sound harsh about your doctor, but clearly you are being mismanaged. I would urge you to seek a second opinion before doing anything. A good doctor will run tests first, then diagnose second. New diabetics need to meet with a diabetic educator to learn about proper nutrition, the signs and symptoms of high/low blood sugars, foot care....and a million other things. It is unacceptable to treat a patient the way you are being treating, and dangerous.

I know you came looking for diet advice, but diabetes is a serious disease and needs to be managed by someone who knows what they are doing.

My son has diabetes and has been able to control his diabetes with diet and exercise, and his doctor has taken him off his diabetes medication as he has lost a lot of weight. I wonder , though about your doctor, seems like he should have given you better information. Have you thought about seeing an endocrinologist? You should have no trouble getting information on diabetes as so many have it. If you do have diabetes and get proper information on what you should eat you will find calorie counting works really well.That is the beauty of calorie counting it will work with any diet plan.

She said that the glucophage wouldn't hurt me if i didn't have diabetes so it was ok for me to take it now she thinks it will help me feel better because of the problems im having and the test was a very extensive one testing lots of things she said she was sure i am prediabetic because i had low blood sugar levels in my first pregnancy so i think that's why she decided to give me the meds then to see if they would help right away. who knows but she has been my doctor for years and i've never had an issue with her so we will see.

Sorry I sounded so harsh. I worked in the ER for 14 hours yesterday and I am totally wiped out and grouchy. We had icy weather here yesterday and the ER was swamped, I literally ran my butt off for all 14 of those hours and I am so tired and crabby. Again, sorry if I sounded like a jerk. All you did was ask for some info and I go on a rampage. Anyway, here is a great site for information (as a peace offering...lol)

http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp

oh your fine, I understand. I am wondering the same things myself but i really do trust my doctor so i hate to question her because she has never lead me astray but like i said we will see thanks for the link

Yeah glucophage is not likely to bring down sugar levels to dangerous levels. Many women with PCOS have been prescribed metformin (glucophage), you'll see both names for that.

How many milligrams did you get? Usually you are started slow on it and then it is increased depending on your needs. It can be hard on your stomach so always take it with food.

I went on a low carb diet because of diabetes and have lost 102 pounds in 2 years. I am grateful for diabetes because it saved my life.

I'll give you the link that I have used in terms of managing my diabetes with diet and my blood glucose meter:

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/jennifer.htm

It can be overwhelming at first, so don't feel bad if you don't reach those goals. It's hard to say cause we don't have any numbers to go by. I assume you've had blood work and that your doctor has scheduled a follow up appointment with you to go over that work. A lot will depend on if you are indeed diabetic or prediabetic or what.

If you are, then you will need a meter and the meter will become your best friend. Once you have that then you can follow Jennifer's advice in that link.

If you have more questions, please PM me or ask me. I have some nice charts that explain common carbs. I hope for your sake that you don't have it, but your doctor must have some reason for suspecting it. Let us know, whatever you do find out. And a low carb diet can be atkins but it can be something less restrictive as well. It will be your choice, but yeah you can't go wrong with chicken and vegetables (but not corn, peas, potatoes).

Hi Kimberly

I'm 53 and a Type 2 Diabetic... and have lot's of family members with the disease as well. I've got to agree with missingmyerica... glucophage is a serious drug and I've seen the adverse effects of it - especially on my mother.

I'd get another opinion...

I started out about ten years ago being diagnosed as prediabetic... and kept it at bay with diet (Weight Watchers is great) and exercise. WW has a core plan that really limits carbs (I guess there are a ton of other diet programs that do as well)

Complex carbs are key for me - they take longer to digest and that's good for our condition... these include whole grains, like barley, brown rice, quinoa, whole oats, oatmeal, yams and sweet potatoes, 100% whole grain cereal - the Kashi brand and the Hidden Valley brand are great. Fruits like apples that have a lot of fiber.

I'm sure the other gals can add a lot of others I'm just not thinking of right now.

Patch

Hi Kim - Sorry you aren't feeling good. I agree it's a little odd that she put you on meds w/o a diagnosis or a trial run of attempting to control it by diet and exercise. Did they test you in the office with a glucometer? And at least I hope they sent you home with one so you can start tracking. You *should* have your blood draw results today. I assume she ran a basic chem panel along with hemoglobin A1c which will show where your glucose levels have been averaging for the past 3 months or so. They are straight-forward tests with a quick turn around time from the lab. (At least our lab gets them back to us the next day.) Check out the link mentioned above for the American Diabetes Association.

On a positive note, I'd say it's a good thing that she didn't give you the *real* diagnosis of diabetes, because usually with weight loss and physical activity, people with pre-diabetes can delay or prevent type 2 diabetes!

I'd be careful on the glucophage also. My Dh was dx'ed with Type 2 DM 10 years ago and put on Glucophage right away - he's blood sugar was over 1000 though and HemA1c was 10. Anyways, he had a couple episodes of passing out from low blood sugar - especially after exercise. He was only on the meds for 2 months and since that time controls it with diet and exercise.

And if it is confirmed that you are having blood sugar issues, I'd strongly suggest taking a diabetes education class. It was so helpful for us when DH was diagnosed.