Teen with Very High Insulin-Help Please!

  • Hi,
    I am sorta new to all of this and would love a little help if possible.
    My 15 year old daughter recently went to her Gynecologist for significant cycle issues, the doctor did a GTT, results as follows:

    Fasting Glucose: 88
    2 Hr Glucose: 143

    Fasting Insulin: 55.5
    2 Hr Insulin: 338.5

    A1C: 4.8

    Her nurse called to say the Insulin level is VERY HIGH and she is sending her to an endocrinologist at the end of the month. The only thing she would tell me is that she will likely need to follow a strict diet and exercise program and may need to start medication.
    I am so worked up about this. Again, she is only 15 years old.......

    Any insight or anyone with experience with numbers like this? From what I can find this is not diabetes, but "Pre diabetes" and it appears as though this is a "life long" illness?? What I can't find is information about the insulin level being this High. Is there something else that could be going on???

    Thanks in Advance!!
    Dee
  • If she'll eat it, a can of sardines, mackerel or salmon every day for a month will work wonders.

    Add in some exercise and she will do even better.
  • As of her diet, making sure she has a lean type protein is a big help, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, so that's where my past experience was from. What will probably happen diet wise is they will set a certain number of carbs per meal for her to reach. As it was explained to me, if you do a sweet do a protein. She may have to meet with a diabetes educator/dietician as well to get a diet plan in place.

    Quick limits to her diet that you can begin immediately would be stopping the sodas and extra sweets if you can. If she does need a sweet follow it with a piece of string cheese or some almonds. A lot of it has to do with portion control and what you are taking in. You'd be surprised at what you think is the right amount vs what you really should have. Encourage her to drink more water during the day. Make sure if she can during school hours have a small snack in the morning and one in the afternoon (or right after school if she's not in activities) these would be something like almonds or a small bit of fruit with cheese. And have her keep active, a walk or jumping on the trampoline - anything to get that body moving. She may have to be more conscious of what she is eating if she is indeed pre-diabetic. I was always found to have a higher fasting number each morning, but the rest of the day I was in normal range. I was checking blood sugar 4X a day and was able to control mine with diet and exercise. Since having GD I now have to be checked yearly for diabetes. So far, my A1C has remained good and in the normal range. I just have to continue remaining mindful of what goes in my mouth, exercising and taking the weight off is good help.

    I don't know if you looked here: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/basics/tests-diagnosis/con-20033091

    Good luck mom! Another place you may look is diabetes.org for some help.
  • lakegirlz! I am so sorry your young daughter is having to deal with pre-diabetes. Thank goodness it was discovered now so that she can get it under control and keep it from going into type 2 diabetes. There is lots of information online about pre-diabetes online so research and have her research as much as possible. She needs to be very involved in learning all about it so that she will understand how important it is for her to watch what she eats. You've gotten some good advice so far, and you may want to post on our diabetes sub-forum also: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/diabetes-support-203/. There is a monthly thread there for diabetes/prediabetes support. I wish her and you the best!