HbA1c TEST

jasonhinds610

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Hi even though I have dropped 5 KG and cut down on carbs my reading went from 87 to 8. Does this mean that my type 2 will keep going the wrong way or are there ways of getting back down . my mum was type 2 and my dad was type could that explain my serge. Thank you .
 

13lizanne

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Hello there @jasonhinds610 as Bluetit said above it looks like your HbA1c has gone down from 87 to 64 and that's good - right? Have another look at your figures to check, hope they have gone down. It is possible to bring the levels down by cutting the amount of carbohydrate you eat, lots of us on this forum are doing that. I'll tag @daisy1 who will send you lots of good information which can help you manage your diabetes including glucose levels. Best wishes
 
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jasonhinds610

Active Member
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Type 2
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Hi,

Have you made an error? There is no such HbA1c level of 8. You would be dead I'm afraid! Did you mean 8%? In which case your HbA1c was 64. http://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-units-converter.html
Sorry No not 8 the score on my chart is a indicator shows from 30 to 86. My. Number was 87 and now it gone up to 89 which gives around a average of 13.6 .just got chart so its about 10%.made typo earlier
 

daisy1

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@jasonhinds610

Hello Jason and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. This will help you with your diet, especially with reference to carbs. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find over 150,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to bloodglucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 

Bluetit1802

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Sorry No not 8 the score on my chart is a indicator shows from 30 to 86. My. Number was 87 and now it gone up to 89 which gives around a average of 13.6 .just got chart so its about 10%.made typo earlier

OK. I understand now.

It hasn't gone up much, and there is a small margin of error on HbA1c tests, so you may be much the same as before. You say you have cut down on your carbs, but have you cut down (or cut out) all the dangerous ones such as rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, cereals and anything made with flour? (That includes sauces, gravy, some soups etc). Maybe if you list the foods you normally eat in a day we can point you in the right direction. Well done on the weight loss!
 
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