Pipe smoking and diabetes?

[Benzadmiral]

I'd suggest you ask about having the A1C test repeated. A single test by itself may not be enough to diagnose this. If I'm understanding correctly, you aren't experiencing symptoms, at least not yet.

@nortac made some good points regarding circulatory problems, which is a common for people with elevated blood sugar levels. Parts of the body with many small blood vessels can be particularly vulnerable (eyes, kidneys, feet, etc). You don't want to go there.

If you are having problems with blood sugar control, it may not necessarily have to progress into diabetes. Many people with this issue produce plenty of insulin, the problem is their body is not responding to it properly. This means it may be possible to manage the condition through lifestyle changes and avoid medications. There's lots of details around that, but the general idea is avoid a sedentary lifestyle, overweight and unhealthy diet.

Right, that's what I'm working on. Symptoms, well, I've known fatigue from lack of sleep for a while; and I live in a nasty hot climate, so being thirsty is not unusual.

I'm slated to meet with my doctor next Monday, and I'll ask about doing the test again.

 

[nortac]

I'm slated to meet with my doctor next Monday, and I'll ask about doing the test again.

You want to get a fasting insulin level as well to check for insulin resistance.

 

[Benzadmiral]

You want to get a fasting insulin level as well to check for insulin resistance.

The fasting one was what I did a couple of weeks ago. My appointment is at 3:30 or so -- I'm not fasting all day long!

How do they check for insulin resistance?

 

[emwolf]

Family history is a huge part of type II diabetes. I'm about 125 lbs overweight (fat) my wife is very fit. She injects insulin after every meal. I am told to lose weight, but have no issues with blood sugar. My mom was a big gal too and lived to 90 without ever having diabetes. She was also a heavy cigarette smoker until her mid 60's.

 

[nortac]

The fasting one was what I did a couple of weeks ago. My appointment is at 3:30 or so -- I'm not fasting all day long!

How do they check for insulin resistance?

By means of a blood test of insulin level, same time as when they test your blood sugar. If your blood insulin level is elevated, you have insulin resistance, particularly if your blood sugar is also elevated.

 

[frbock]

So, here's my take on it.
Yes, tobacco increases A1c even in a normal population.
What you haven't said is have you had any changes in meds.

Drugs like Beta blockers can increase your A1C, even more so if you have Hashimotos.
Have you started drinking beverages with Stevia? It contains sugar alcohol. if you take your blood glucose after drinking it, your blood sugar will go up, even though it has no sugar in it. Your insulin will try to get it out, but it can't.

 

[Benzadmiral]

So, here's my take on it.
Yes, tobacco increases A1c even in a normal population.
What you haven't said is have you had any changes in meds.

Drugs like Beta blockers can increase your A1C, even more so if you have Hashimotos.
Have you started drinking beverages with Stevia? It contains sugar alcohol. if you take your blood glucose after drinking it, your blood sugar will go up, even though it has no sugar in it. Your insulin will try to get it out, but it can't.

No, no Stevia. The only med I'm taking is one to control high blood pressure, but I've been on it for a few years now; it's not new. Pretty much all I drink is spring water, sparkling mineral water, and coffee w/ Sweet 'n' Low. I'm changing over to mostly decaf to reduce the diuretic effect of the caffeine. I intend to ask my doctor whether the BP medicine could have had an effect on the reading.

After a week without cookies and chips, and with very little bread, I think I'm doing better.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Met with my doctor, and he agrees that the A1C could have been a spike or a fluke, as my blood sugar is only a little high. All my other vitals including weight and BP are excellent. New tests are set for January. In the meantime I'll continue with the diet and exercise, and he suggested some natural products (chamomile, etc.) to help me sleep better.

I'm also a little anemic, and have been off and on for years (!), so I'm going to look into some iron supplement as well.

 

[Eric_75]

and he suggested some natural products (chamomile, etc.) to help me sleep better.

I've had good luck with Chamomile and Passionflower and Skullcap. I've taken the capsules many times but I seem to have better luck with the liquid extracts.

 

[Benzadmiral]

I've had good luck with Chamomile and Passionflower and Skullcap. I've taken the capsules many times but I seem to have better luck with the liquid extracts.

I've ordered the capsules, and some Valerian Root tabs as well. And iron for the anemia.

Side effect of the new diet: the heartburn that bothered me off and on for a long time vanished when I cut corn syrup from my diet. Now that sugar is vastly reduced too, I suspect I won't be needing antacids much, if at all.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Update: After three months, the A1C is down to 5.8, almost normal. Turns out what I've been doing since Oct. is pretty much the definition of a keto diet -- meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, a little fruit and some whole grain carbs, no junk food and very little sugar. Who knew.

 

[Eric_75]

Update: After three months, the A1C is down to 5.8, almost normal. Turns out what I've been doing since Oct. is pretty much the definition of a keto diet -- meat, fish, chicken, vegetables, a little fruit and some whole grain carbs, no junk food and very little sugar. Who knew.

Glad to hear, sir.

 

[frbock]

Everything you say makes very good sense. No disrespect to the medical community, but many younger doctors I've found tend to be predisposed to be pill dispensers. I don't like being a long term human trial subject for the pharma industry.

Some years ago, I tested borderline high on cholesterol, right after they lowered the threshold standards. The doctor wanted to put me on the then-usual medication ... which I learned put a tremendous load on the liver, and required regular blood tests to keep an eye on ... on top of a whole list of other possible "side effects" the medication carried.

No way. The side effects of the drug were worse than the condition, IMO.

It turned out I had been on an egg binge right before the test. I generally only eat a couple eggs at a time, 1-2x a week max, for breakfast. Often, I go weeks without an egg. I retested back on my regular diet a month or so later, and it was below the threshold.

For some conditions, the effects of the treatment can be worse than the consequences of just being slightly over some bright line test value. Just my opinion as a non-doctor.

A number of years ago my BP was high, so they put me on a med, and next checkup my bp was exactly the same, but my A1C was 7.0. I tapered off the med, and low and behold, my A1C was 5.4. I found a large research study that showed an increase of over 0.5 in 30% of the subjects, and an A1C increase of over 1 when they were given the med my doctor prescribed. Clearly I was in that last category.
My BP is back to normal without meds. It turned out I have a disease that too much exercise was what was driving the BP.
It's ironic, most people try to avoid exercise. I like it, and and it can make me sick.