Can I Go Lower Now?

[GrahamWaite]

I was told a few months that I had a blood test which was 49 and since the threshold for T2D was 48 I was gutted.

Like having winning lottery ticket in reverse.

Any way less than 6 months down the track lost quite a bit of weight and not through any kind of diet just cutting out bad stuff and smaller plates.

OK I now love fruit almost as much as I did chocolate and drink black coffee. But not many sacrifices really.

Good news my last HBA1C which was non fasted unlike the first one. Primarily because I never read form and it wasn't main reason for test.

Reading 44 now my question is if I keep going may be up the virtually non existent exercise regime will getting it lower be possible or am I setting my self up to fail?

 

[sally and james]

You may need to think about what you are actually eating. Most fruit is very sugary and will, therefore, put up your HbA1c. If you like chocolate, small amounts of very dark choccy (85%) won't do you any harm.
The foods to avoid are bread, pasta, pastry, potatoes, anything sugary.
By the way, fasting isn't necessary for an HbA1c, which measure glycation of blood cells over the past two to three months.
You have made a good start, there is no reason why you should fail!
Sally

 

[Freema]

I was told a few months that I had a blood test which was 49 and since the threshold for T2D was 48 I was gutted.

Like having winning lottery ticket in reverse.

Any way less than 6 months down the track lost quite a bit of weight and not through any kind of diet just cutting out bad stuff and smaller plates.

OK I now love fruit almost as much as I did chocolate and drink black coffee. But not many sacrifices really.

Good news my last HBA1C which was non fasted unlike the first one. Primarily because I never read form and it wasn't main reason for test.

Reading 44 now my question is if I keep going may be up the virtually non existent exercise regime will getting it lower be possible or am I setting my self up to fail?

excercising can do a lot to lower ones blood glucose, the food is though the main road to lower blood glucose...so dont use the ecercise to relax too much in controling blood glucose..

I think maybe you could be able to get real normal non diabetic numbers if you do count your carbs and also do very much excercise...

fruit is a bad choice for diabetic type 2.. it just raises the blood glucose so much so rapidly and this is excactly what we need to avoid... so our spikes do not get too high..

do you measure your blood glucose in the morning before breaking your fast... and 1 -2 hours after eating a meal...

if you could count your grams of carbs a day you could go for being lower than 100 grams of carbs a day... to get really low numbers like non diabetics which is around and under 6 mmol/ (36 HbA1c )..in the morning fasting...

 

[Kristin251]

Yeah, I dumped fruit a long time again a few berries might be ok.
So you have a home glucose monitor to test different foods and meals to see which are ok and which aren't? Invaluable.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes, fruit isn't a good choice for Type 2s. Not least because the fructose it contains will contribute to a fatty liver, and that in turn contributes to blood sugar problems. Small portions of berries with cream or yogurt as part of a meal seem fine for most, or a small apple as part of a meal.

Truly non-diabetic is under 42 for HbA1c. Between 42 and 47 is pre-diabetic or "at risk". No reason at all why you shouldn't get that low next time, but a home glucose meter and proper self testing will help enormously.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @GrahamWaite .. and welcome
I think your numbers look good. I have my first meeting with my DN on Monday 6th and I will be more than happy if mine are anywhere near yours ...

As others have said, managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing - with or without medication - seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day, seems to be working .. I have lost almost a stone since my diagnosis on Feb 7th and my BG levels are down from 12.5 to around 6. There is a wealth of info about LCHF on the forum .. and a host of kind folks ready to provide positive and relevant advice and support.

Ifyou are planning to test your BG levels, this may be useful. I was given the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter and I ordered one which arrived a few days ago . While I was waiting for this I also found the website at: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. I have been using both for comparative purposes since Feb 16th and I have found very little difference between them but .. my personal preference is the TEE2. In a recent email, I received details of a new T2 testing programme offer: https://www.type2testing.com .. another free meter but the test strips and lancets are marginally more expensive than the TEE2 or SD Codefree. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the three packages above. I don't know yet whether my Surgery will provide the strips etc on prescription .. but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

 

[cpea]

Hi @GrahamWaite .. and welcome
I think your numbers look good. I have my first meeting with my DN on Monday 6th and I will be more than happy if mine are anywhere near yours ...

As others have said, managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing - with or without medication - seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day, seems to be working .. I have lost almost a stone since my diagnosis on Feb 7th and my BG levels are down from 12.5 to around 6. There is a wealth of info about LCHF on the forum .. and a host of kind folks ready to provide positive and relevant advice and support.

Ifyou are planning to test your BG levels, this may be useful. I was given the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter and I ordered one which arrived a few days ago . While I was waiting for this I also found the website at: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. I have been using both for comparative purposes since Feb 16th and I have found very little difference between them but .. my personal preference is the TEE2. In a recent email, I received details of a new T2 testing programme offer: https://www.type2testing.com .. another free meter but the test strips and lancets are marginally more expensive than the TEE2 or SD Codefree. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the three packages above. I don't know yet whether my Surgery will provide the strips etc on prescription .. but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

Hi @AM1874 thanks for this info, and really well done on weight loss so fast! Going to look at the websites you suggest - I only got diagnosed last Tuesday and am inspired by your pro activity. I had a meeting with my DN today and got shown the eat well plate (I've lost 3.5 stone doing low fat, carb eating and still got T2) I politely suggested perhaps I should cut carbs, she said no

 

[Chook]

Yes, often the nutritional advice given by our diabetic nurses is okay for people who don't have Type 2 but really isn't the right thing for us.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes, often the nutritional advice given by our diabetic nurses is okay for people who don't have Type 2 but really isn't the right thing for us.

and may well be the reason some people become T2.

 

[kittypoker]

I was told a few months that I had a blood test which was 49 and since the threshold for T2D was 48 I was gutted.

Like having winning lottery ticket in reverse.

Any way less than 6 months down the track lost quite a bit of weight and not through any kind of diet just cutting out bad stuff and smaller plates.

OK I now love fruit almost as much as I did chocolate and drink black coffee. But not many sacrifices really.

Good news my last HBA1C which was non fasted unlike the first one. Primarily because I never read form and it wasn't main reason for test.

Reading 44 now my question is if I keep going may be up the virtually non existent exercise regime will getting it lower be possible or am I setting my self up to fail?

You're doing almost everything right. My exercise regime is walking around Tesco.

Just dump the carbs, particularly sugar, and up the protein and fats. Fruit is, sadly, full of sugar in the form of fructose. Above-ground veg fills up the plate.

 

[CherryAA]

Hi @AM1874 thanks for this info, and really well done on weight loss so fast! Going to look at the websites you suggest - I only got diagnosed last Tuesday and am inspired by your pro activity. I had a meeting with my DN today and got shown the eat well plate (I've lost 3.5 stone doing low fat, carb eating and still got T2) I politely suggested perhaps I should cut carbs, she said no

I was diagnosed mid way through a low fat high carb diet too. In practise that way of eating seems to be both bad for your health and horrendously difficult. I'm fairly sure that my diabetes arrived through my commitment to low fat eating.

Having already lost 3.5 stone, you should find that if you now switch toLCHF you get a renewed boost to the weight loss and much improved blood sugars - again if you are anything like me 1

 

[Alison Campbell]

It looks like your diabetes was caught early. If you have got to 44 without really trying and not much exercise then of course you can get lower by making some more small changes. Lots of great advice above to chose from.

 

[daisyduck]

I was told a few months that I had a blood test which was 49 and since the threshold for T2D was 48 I was gutted.

Like having winning lottery ticket in reverse.

Any way less than 6 months down the track lost quite a bit of weight and not through any kind of diet just cutting out bad stuff and smaller plates.

OK I now love fruit almost as much as I did chocolate and drink black coffee. But not many sacrifices really.

Good news my last HBA1C which was non fasted unlike the first one. Primarily because I never read form and it wasn't main reason for test.

Reading 44 now my question is if I keep going may be up the virtually non existent exercise regime will getting it lower be possible or am I setting my self up to fail?

Sounds like you have done very well so far. It won't take too much tweaking and you can drop those numbers even further.
You said you love your fruit now.. do you have a blood glucose meter ? That will show which fruits have the biggest spike for you. Most of us have to cut back quite a bit on fruits apart from berries... but you may be lucky.
Even gentle exercise helps. Walking is one of the best.. try at least 20 mins a day and build it up ?
Perhaps let us have a typical days menu and we might be able to suggest a few tweaks too.

 

[BarbaraG]

I was told a few months that I had a blood test which was 49 and since the threshold for T2D was 48 I was gutted.

Like having winning lottery ticket in reverse.

Any way less than 6 months down the track lost quite a bit of weight and not through any kind of diet just cutting out bad stuff and smaller plates.

OK I now love fruit almost as much as I did chocolate and drink black coffee. But not many sacrifices really.

Good news my last HBA1C which was non fasted unlike the first one. Primarily because I never read form and it wasn't main reason for test.

Reading 44 now my question is if I keep going may be up the virtually non existent exercise regime will getting it lower be possible or am I setting my self up to fail?

Well, I've had T2D for 19 years and have had my ups and downs with eating and weight over that time. I was 21st at diagnosis, have been as high as 22st and as low as 14st.

Whenever I put the effort in to really manage my diabetes - which always involved losing weight - I did what you described, i.e. Cutting out the bad stuff (which I understood to be anything high in fat or sugar) and reduced portions.

Last year, for the first time, I tried the low carb approach. No grains, potatoes or sugar, and the only fruit I eat is berries. Hard in some ways because I'm a real sugar fiend.... or was. On the upside - pretty much unlimited bacon, cheese and nuts.

My HbA1C dropped from 62 to 40 in 3 months, and would now almost certainly be lower still, because both my weight and BG have dropped further since the last test.

So, yes, I think you can go lower still.

 

[cpea]

I was diagnosed mid way through a low fat high carb diet too. In practise that way of eating seems to be both bad for your health and horrendously difficult. I'm fairly sure that my diabetes arrived through my commitment to low fat eating.

Having already lost 3.5 stone, you should find that if you now switch toLCHF you get a renewed boost to the weight loss and much improved blood sugars - again if you are anything like me 1

Hey thanks @CherryAA for the boost. I've made it my personal mission to reverse this baby. You're dead strict. I have no idea about ketone strips etc and like pulses too much to go to less than 30g carb a day however, if I have to I will!

 

[CherryAA]

Hey thanks @CherryAA for the boost. I've made it my personal mission to reverse this baby. You're dead strict. I have no idea about ketone strips etc and like pulses too much to go to less than 30g carb a day however, if I have to I will!

It's surprising what suddenly seems to be do-able if the alternative is losing a limb, having had two bouts of sepsis , once in both legs before I was diagnosed, I realise I am actually quite lucky to still be in possession of all my appendages . It does wonders for the self control re eating actual carbs even if I am finding it quite hard to actually lose any more weight .

I am sure you will find your own path to success as well !