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'Normal' HBAc1?

JohnEGreen said:
Some times they are totally incomprehensible I can eat a meal and most of the time handle it ok then bam I get a spike and some times I'm congratulating my self on how low carb I've been and will get a spike have to admit a few of them are down to an extra carby meal but at times it seems completely random mind you the prednisolone doesn't help diabetes can be a mystery and unpredictable at times.
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Are you taking any other meds besides prednisolone?
 
Just a few :
Pyridostigmine 360 mg daily
Azathioprine 200 mg daily
Losartin potassium 50 mg daily
Alendronic acid 70 mg once a week
Lansoprazole 15 mg daily
Ventolin inhaler
Clenil Modulite inhaler
Adcal-D3 3000 mg per day chewable tablets
Soluble Asprin 75 mg per day
Furosemide 20 mg per day

Oh yes I am supposed to be on statins but have declined them for a while now.

Sorry forgot the metformin of all things but on lowest dose as is just to help control weight now.
 
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Just looking at that lot I have no idea what the combined effect would be, maybe the unpredictable nature of my blood sugars shouldn't really surprise me so much.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Just looking at that lot I have no idea what the combined effect would be, maybe the unpredictable nature of my blood sugars shouldn't really surprise me so much.
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Well, you are certainly rattling. Maybe time to read up about them all and see if anything crops up.
 
Well thinking about it Pyridostigmine is cholinesterase inhibitor and Acetylcholine has an integral role in insulin production and utilization it seems though it is quite complex and a little unclear to my mind there may be an interaction there but I have not been able to find any definitive info on what increasing your levels of Acetylcholine may do in respect of blood sugars via its interaction with beta cell activity could may put bs up or lower it am not sure it may also affect insulin resistance big question mark I think.

Edited to add

Of course my Acetylcholine levels will vary considerably over the day from low to high depending on what my MG is doing and how much Pyridostigmine I have actually had to take its a weird med the same amount one day will be OK the next too little and another day too much and make you really ill.
 
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JohnEGreen said:
Just a few :
Pyridostigmine 360 mg daily
Azathioprine 200 mg daily
Losartin potassium 50 mg daily
Alendronic acid 70 mg once a week
Lansoprazole 15 mg daily
Ventolin inhaler
Clenil Modulite inhaler
Adcal-D3 3000 mg per day chewable tablets
Soluble Asprin 75 mg per day
Furosemide 20 mg per day

Oh yes I am supposed to be on statins but have declined them for a while now.

Sorry forgot the metformin of all things but on lowest dose as is just to help control weight now.
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Looks low carb to me ;)
 
Thanks - very interesting replies. My GP told me my HBA1C is above 'normal' he added it is not as good as 'they', I presume he means the Practice Doctors would like it!
 
lollyann1 said:
Thanks - very interesting replies. My GP told me my HBA1C is above 'normal' he added it is not as good as 'they', I presume he means the Practice Doctors would like it!
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And you accepted that without seeing the results for yourself? or do you know what your HbA1c was? If you don't, you must find out. "above normal" is not good enough.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Furosemide 20 mg per day
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I can't comment on the other medicines you are taking, but I do know that Furosemide can raise bg. However I also know, because I am taking it myself at present, alas! that there is nothing else that works as well to combat fluid retention. It might be worth going through the list and checking if there are others that also raise bg, and if there are any you could discontinue or that might clash with each other. IMO you can not rely on your GP to pick up these concerns.
 
Whether down to meds or what I get all that unpredictability and variation but my HbA1c is now 35 and considered normal.
As my spikes are alway for the most part counteracted by lows so on average which is what the HbA1c is a measure of my bloods are normal and no longer in the diabetic range.

I'm not actually at ease with that.

A bit like saying if you have your head in the fire and your feet in the freezer you should be quite OK over all.
 
JohnEGreen said:
Whether down to meds or what I get all that unpredictability and variation but my HbA1c is now 35 and considered normal.
As my spikes are alway for the most part counteracted by lows so on average which is what the HbA1c is a measure of my bloods are normal and no longer in the diabetic range.

I'm not actually at ease with that.

A bit like saying if you have your head in the fire and your feet in the freezer you should be quite OK over all.
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The fallacy of average
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/40/8/994
 
IncyB thats quite a journey! You should be proud above all other feelngs. As a newbie maybe its easier but the way I am looking at the food restrictions is well at least I was able to have pizza for most of my years or whatever so now that chapter is closed and I eat other stuff. There is always something new n the lc menu that surprises me in a good way
 
helensaramay said:
For people with diabetes or people without diabetes?
And, can you explain why you want to know as it may help provide the answer you are after?
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Normal is normal. If you're diabetic and your Hba1c is over 41, then it's not "normal", it's diabetic (or pre-diabetic, but that's NOT normal). Often diabetes nurses talk about lowish levels being "normal" for diabetics, which in a sense they are, because if you follow the NHS guidelines, that's what you will have. If you want to get your levels back to real normal, and not diabetic levels, then follow the low carb programme, and you will get them back to normal. Thousands of those of use who follow a low carb regime have reversed their diagnosis, and got levels under control (mine were 68, and now 32).
 
Except there is no 'normal' there is just a range of points in an almost infinite continuum of points which is for convenience described as the normal subset.
 
Eliza52 said:
Normal is normal. If you're diabetic and your Hba1c is over 41, then it's not "normal", it's diabetic (or pre-diabetic, but that's NOT normal). Often diabetes nurses talk about lowish levels being "normal" for diabetics, which in a sense they are, because if you follow the NHS guidelines, that's what you will have. If you want to get your levels back to real normal, and not diabetic levels, then follow the low carb programme, and you will get them back to normal. Thousands of those of use who follow a low carb regime have reversed their diagnosis, and got levels under control (mine were 68, and now 32).
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I assume you are referring to type 2 diabetes.
I have not heard (although there may be someone) of anyone with type 1 who is able to safely get their Hba1c to under 41.
When mine was 48, I was advised this is likely to be due to too many hypos so I should aim to increase my Hba1c.
 
Grateful said:
.... Should anyone who is non-diabetic be concerned if their A1c is 5.5% (37)? To me the clear answer to that question is a resounding "no" which is why I was not warned in 2009, even though with hindsight it now seems likely that my A1c at the time was probably in the middle of a continuous, stealthy increase that ended years later in a T2 diagnosis.

So to me the really important thing is "direction of movement" even if your A1c is "normal" based on a single test. ...
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Yes. This is very important. In addition to have repeated measurements of A1c, it would be extremely good to measure also the insulin level. Even if the A1c level is "normal", one could note that it so due to high insulin level. Thereafter, it would be much easier look at different options immediately and not after 5 or 10 years!
 
PekkaJ said:
Yes. This is very important. In addition to have repeated measurements of A1c, it would be extremely good to measure also the insulin level. Even if the A1c level is "normal", one could note that it so due to high insulin level. Thereafter, it would be much easier look at different options immediately and not after 5 or 10 years!
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Agreed. High insulin levels are just as bad for us as high glucose spikes, if not worse. It is a travesty that in the UK insulin levels are not measured.
 
My experience differs somewhat. Massive weight loss in Jan 17, treated as T2. Subsequent test revealed T1 LADA, so meds changed - meteor in and sitagliptin. Always have been active some am somewhat of an anomaly on the clinics books - they have no other T1 LADA in the area. My last HBA1c was 38, which just confused them more! Not on insulin at this time Still living and learning
 
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