Most a genetic issue, but lifestyle is keeping you healthy. Diabetes run in your family?

Definitely get your A1c rechecked in 3-4 months as it is simply an expression of the % of your red blood cells with glucose attached (to put it simply) and they "live" for about 3 months.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

Mostly genetic yes.(And obesity obviously.)

Did you fast before the test?

Before you turn your life upside down based on a single test, try having another test at a different lab, and fast at least 12 hours from dinner the evening before to the test (schedule the test for the morning so you aren't hungry all day). See what those numbers look like.

Thanks or the response. Should of mentioned that there is no history of Diabetes in my family neither Type 1 or Type 2.
I plan to take a closer look at my diet as I can't think of any other factors influencing this.

Fasting won't affect your A1C. Its a 3 month average...

FYI - Fasting will not affect one's Hgb A1c much since it is a 3 month average.

But definitely a different lab (though this test is rarely "wrong") or draw as lab tests can be false at times.

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Fatigue is biochemical, not biomechanical.
- Andrew Coggan, PhD

define well balanced diet.

Once I started "really" breaking down what I was eating I was shocked to see just how much sugar I was getting every day.

Not saying that's your issue, but it's a good place to scrutinize.

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My Blog - http://leegoocrap.blogspot.com

Do a web search for Sami Inkinen and read his story.

Sounds a lot like you. Very fit triathlete who was pre diabetic and could not figure out why. You may be different, but in his case sugar was the cause. He has a blog and has written pretty extensively on the subject.

I sure see no reason to have GU every morning. Does not seem Healthy.

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

I have not had this issue, but the cutting edge scientific research encapsulated in these two BBC videos will help and will blow your mind. Certain kinds of exercise will protect from this. And doing more in your life (including exercise) in a fasted state will protect you from this. And avoiding processed sugars will protect you from this.

(ignore the first few seconds of lame advertising)
video 1:
http://www.dailymotion.com/...ive-longer_lifestyle
video 2:
http://www.dailymotion.com/...t-exercise_lifestyle

These will be worth your time. And I think they will change how you live your life. Knowledge is power.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Would you mind posting your A1C and fasting glucose #s? Any other flagged labs?

This. Seems like a piece of fruit would have the same desired affect of some quick calories without the super hit of sugar.

But really do try and keep a food diary over a full week and be as truthful as possible.

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Ian

I'm in my mid 30's and was just diagnosed with prediabetes a few months ago. At the time I was eating whatever I wanted, including alot of candy.

My doctor recommeded a change in diet as well, and to get retested in 3 months. I got my 3 month fasting blood work done last month. My A1C is still borderline prediabletic (unchanged from before), and my glucose levels were normal. There was even a 2 week period in that 3 months when I went to Belgium and ate tons of carbs, and did alot of walking and cycling. I was worried it would mess up my test results, but it didn't.

It has caused me to think more about what I was consuming. I cut out most of the sugar and candy. I try to avoid eating too many carbs other than fruits and vegetables when I am not active. I stick with nuun tablets and/or water for all workouts under 1 hour, they have electrolytes, very few calories, and no sugar. Over an hour I start taking in carbs.

The GU right before a hard workout is probably fine. Your body will use that up pretty fast.

Wait 3 months and take your fasting blood test. Your glucose levels may turn out to be fine. Being prediabetic just means you have an increased risk of getting diabetes. It does not mean you have it or will get it. At least now you know about it and can make informed decisions about your diet.

I'd suggest you get a blood glucose meter and check your own sugars. The small ones shouldn't cost you very much and you'll be able to get a MUCH better idea of what is going on. Test at multiple times during the day, before and after eating / working out, so you can build a profile.

I am a type II diabetic although, through weight loss and training, my HbA1C is now out of the diabetic range. But, part of that is I know what drives my blood glucose levels. I can have a fasting level anywhere from "Normal" to "definitely diabetic" depending upon what I eat.

Those gels in the AM are not something I'd recommend. While I haven't done extensive testing, even having them throughout the HIMs I do isn't the greatest thing. While they will fuel me through the event, I don't feel all that well after and I'm sure they are part of the reason I have to take the recovery time I do after a race.

Find a dietician and work with them to figure out foods that are better for you. Look into the glycemic index of foods and use that to help make choices.

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BC Don
Pain is temporary, not giving it your all lasts all Winter.

A high A1C level can be caused by high cortisol levels.What is your stress level?
Juan

Very interesting videos!!

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Dave Campbell | Facebook | @DaveECampbell | h2ofun@h2ofun.net

Boom Nutrition code 19F4Y3 $5 off 24 pack box | Bionic Runner | PowerCranks | Velotron | Spruzzamist

Lions don't lose sleep worrying about the sheep

They're not just interesting, they will knock your socks off.

.

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Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
DarkSpeedWorks.com.....Reviews.....Insta.....Facebook
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are you on chronic steroids? those will drive up glucose levels. also great advice in the thread.

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http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit

My A1C is 5.7, which is just on the cusp of pre diabetes, but does fall into the range.
I do take Advair, which is a corticosteriod, and have been on it for at least 15 years for my asthma. I will have to look into this and was not aware of this side effect.
And as for stress levels, I'm a type A triathlete that works in midtown Manhattan and my husband is recovering from heart surgery.... so yeah I guess it is safe to say that my stress level can be a bit high.

Thank you all so much for your input, you've given me a lot to look into.

I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic 5 years ago. I'm 5'10" and 135 pounds. (Fluctuates between 132-140). No history of diabetes in my family except for one obese person.

I was a huge drinker of diet coke before (and for 20 years). I cut that out and have had decent numbers since. Not to mention increased energy. Not sure if this had anything to do with it, but it was the biggest change in my diet that I stuck with. I'm still in the pre-diabetic range, but not nearly as close to diabetic as I was when tested and retested first year. I also reduced my stress a lot (started meditating).

Who knows what really worked for me. I'm always on a fine line between being pre-diabetic and not but as long as I exercise and eat right my doctor said I shouldn't worry too much.

I got 5 words for you: Whole foods plant based diet.

It can more or less cure type 2 diabetes in weeks.

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Endurance coach | Physiotherapist (primary care) | Bikefitter | Swede

There are a ton of misconceptions out there about diabetes, some repeated in this thread.

Type 2 is a diagnosis of exclusion, i.e. all it means is diabetes that is not Type 1, with Type 1 being much more precisely defined as the result of an autoimmune condition that damages that body's insulin-production capability.

The primary mechanism for Type 2 appears to be insulin resistance, i.e. the tissues become resistant to the effects of insulin, more is required to be able to deal with a given amount of glucose in the bloodstream, elevated glucose levels cause more insulin resistance and also damage insulin production capacity, and a vicious circle can result.

The primary, but far from the only, reason that people become insulin resistant is being overweight. There are plenty of very lean Type 2 diabetics out there.

Sugar does not cause diabetes. Sugar and other carbohydrates can play a role in the weight gain that, in susceptible individuals, can lead to diabetes. And sugar and other carbohydrates are not handled well by diabetics and can exacerbate existing diabetes.

There are many kinds of sugar, but primarily what we're talking about is glucose, fructose, and combinations of them. For example, sucrose is just a molecule of glucose bonded to a molecule of fructose.

How different these sugars are is debatable, but to the extent that some are worse than others, fructose is probably the bad guy because of the way it's processed by the body. So anyone who tells you to consume fruit, or fruit juice, to avoid "sugar" is confused. (It's worth clarifying that fruit doesn't only contain fructose, in fact as a rule of thumb only about half the sugar in fruit in fructose, the other half being glucose, i.e. the ratios are similar to sucrose, though it varies by specific fruit. Also, this isn't necessarily an argument against eating fruit, which has fiber and other components that are valuable and minimize how much total sugar one consumes, though it is probably an argument against drinking fruit juice, which is basically sugar water.)

There appears to be a dose-response relationship between average blood sugar levels and various medical complications, including macrovascular ones like heart attacks. Whether short-term spikes in blood sugar cause similar damage is more contested, but there's a fair bit of evidence they do.

In your case, I'd suggest trying to take this in stride, definitely getting a follow-up A1c (fasting beforehand is irrelevant), and if possible getting your hands on a meter and some test strips so you can check your waking blood sugars and how high you're spiking 1.5 to 2 hours after beginning to eat higher-carb meals. You may find that certain things--porridge, pizza, white rice, big glasses of fruit juice--spike you very high, and you're well served to avoid them.

Bottom line: even assuming this test wasn't a fluke, and that's very unlikely, this is eminently manageable. The dedication and determination you bring to triathlon will serve you very well here, and the fact that you're physically active is hugely helpful for your health in this context.

Hope that helps. If you want to engage actual diabetics, http://www.tudiabetes.org is a great community.

Probably less though...

Also, corticosteroids can basically induce temporary diabetes, so it seems quite plausible that that's related to what you're experiencing.

http://blog.joslin.org/2014/02/how-prednisone-affects-blood-sugar/