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How to lower insulin to prevent pre-diabetes?

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Posted 5/26/2017 11:13 PM (GMT -5)
Hi everyone,

I keep getting symptoms of what seems like hypoglycemia. I feel faint, dizzy, weak, tremble uncontrollably, become very irritable and irrational, and feel extreme thirst and hunger.

I was tested for diabetes and the only abnormal finding was that my insulin levels are raised. My doctor said I am "pre" pre-diabetic and need to eat low-GI to prevent developing pre-diabetes.

Do you have any advice for how to stop the hypoglycaemic episodes? Do you think it would be caused by the slightly raised insulin levels? I was also recently diagnosed with PCOS which I know is often associated with insulin resistance (IR). I don't have IR, at least not yet.

Any advice for lowering my insulin levels?

Thanks.
Posted 5/28/2017 6:47 AM (GMT -5)
Hi and welcome to the Diabetes Forum! To know if it's your blood sugar causing those dizzy feelings, you would have to test your blood sugar during those episodes. Otherwise, it's hard to know what's really going on. It could also be blood pressure or anxiety. Maybe other things. Since your doctor mentioned pre-diabetes, then ask him to prescribe a meter. Meters are relatively cheap over the counter (no prescription is needed for them) but the test strips would be expensive to keep up with if you're paying out of pocket.

Normally, to keep a more level of blood sugar, it's best to eat smaller meals more frequently. As far as possible hypoglycemic episodes, it would also help to cut back on bread and other food made with flour. Bread, pasta, crackers, breaded food, food with sugar can make blood sugar spike high and then drop low and you may have those dizzy feelings when the blood sugar drops because of the food you eat.

I don't know specifically about lowering your insulin levels but my thinking is that a low-carb eating plan would help since insulin responds to what is eaten and if a lot of carbs are eaten, then insulin needs to work on controlling the blood sugar. Potatoes and rice, beans all have a lot of carbs, so if you're eating a fair amount of these, too, you should probably cut down to help your blood sugar stay level.
Posted 5/28/2017 8:22 AM (GMT -5)
Hi Lanie G,

Thank you very much!

I shall ask the doctor about the meter, and when things calm down in a week or two, I shall try those dietary changes and record them and my symptoms in my diary to see if I notice a change, also recording my emotional states.

My blood pressure, when sitting, is consistently between 90-92 over 60, so borderline low. I get orthostatic hypotension when I get up, as confirmed in the doctor's office by a drop in blood pressure with going from lying to sitting up with the blood pressure cuff on. So I wonder if other circumstances, apart from getting up suddenly, can also make my blood pressure drop below 90?

Thanks

Lilianna
Posted 5/28/2017 8:38 AM (GMT -5)
Yes, if you're getting dizzy feelings when standing up from a sitting position, it could be the blood pressure. Keeping a journal about when these episodes happen is valuable to figure out what's happening and including what you eat, when is also important. If you get a meter, then test right before you eat and then about two hours afterwards. All this should be recorded.

I don't know much about blood pressure changes, so I hope your doctor is a good diagnostician and can help you figure all this out. I'm sure it's frustrating!
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