Latest A1c . February 11.4,june,5.8 Yesterday.6.0.

[Moggely]

I don't know what i have done wrong. I did everything right. LC diet, exercise and when i say LC it was pretty much under the 20 grams a day, not per meal and my A1c went up. I really feel ashamed about this and so depressed and a failure. Why in all the is Holy would my levels go up. Please if anyone does comment try and be kind as i am quite a mess about it. I know people will say but it's only 2 points up. But i have already lost breast through cancer and don't want anymore of my parts cut off. I am not after sympathy either i just want someone to tell me what else i can do to get them down to at least 5.5. Also i did have the shingles for about a month and someone did tell me that would affect the levels.Thank you everyone for all the advise i have received in here I have really appreciated every single comment good or bad. Please forgive the self pity.

 

[Deleted member 308541]

Also i did have the shingles for about a month and someone did tell me that would affect the levels

This happened to a friend of mine who has T2 she had shingles earlier in the year as well and it bumped her hba1c, as well as day to day readings.

Do not beat yourself up, as it happens to a lot of people for no reason at times.

 

[Mike d]

Figures fluctuate all the time ... shingles would NOT have helped at all. Neither would the apparent stress. Relax a bit. It will help

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Look where you are from February though!

 

[zand]

You have done remarkably well in a short space of time. I am sure the shingles would have put your BGs up. It's always disappointing when the figures fluctuate upwards a bit, but don't stress about it, just keep on doing what you have been doing.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

I really feel ashamed about this and so depressed and a failure.

Not sure why you should feel a failure, you've achieved a lot since February = well done!

Also, if Diabetes UK is anything to go by "If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%)." You're well within that, out of interest, why the aim to get to at least 5.5?

This is what Diabetes UK say about what affects HbA1c -

• if you’re unwell
• if you’re taking other medicines, like steroids
• changes in lifestyle
• if you’re feeling very stressed or you’re depressed.

That's just a short list, if you Google what affects HbA1c results you will find a lot of scientific papers written regarding HbA1c results. This one is one of the easier to understand:- https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/factors-affecting-hba1c-how-to-optimize-hba1c-levels/

You've had shingles which is stress related for one month out of the last 8 - 12 weeks (June - August). So, if that was late June, then 8 weeks. My humble opinion and I'm no doctor, you've got your reasons right there.

I've mentioned Diabetes UK twice, diabetes.co.uk (the global diabetes community) will say exactly the same.

I know people will say but it's only 2 points up.

Well yes, because it is only a small rise and considering the shingles, not too much of a surprise. My personal experience has been that after 4 years of successful low carb (HbA1c always around 44) my HbA1c jumped to 64. I now find that eating protein will affect my BG and in fact to avoid the dawn phenomena I have to go vegetarian.

In conclusion, you should not be worried about your recent HbA1c, it's good. Keep doing what you've been doing.

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[Moggely]

Thanks @Tipetoo @Mike D @Jo_the_boat and @zand for all the encouraging words. It was such a shock and i really did fall apart but has since been to town to get away from everything so to speak. I honestly never knew how very taxing this condition, i hate calling it an illness because i don't feel sick, is so emotionally draining and i'm guessing all you guys know all this but i didn't. Now i think i have finally realized that it's forever and to be happy that they at least diagnosed me reasonably early. Thanks for being kind. Ok as someone or many of you say, onward and downwards, well to the bloody bloods anyway. Can i ask either one of you one more thing.." do you think a person can get obsessed with finger pricking"? I'm just T2 and find myself doing it sometimes 8 times and then use another meter, yes i know that is sad and is obsessive.Thanks in advance.

 

[Moggely]

@DavidGrahamJones . I asked the doctor yesterday about having the a1c every 6 months and he said when it's down to 5.5 for a year then yes. In Australia the normal blood sugar is between 4 and 5.5 any aussies out there can correct me if i'm wrong but that's what i thought, so for all this time i was aiming for normal sugars like a person without diabetes. Thank you for responding .

 

[MrsGruffy]

Oh Moggely, I feel you. I really do. You've been working so hard to improve your health and you get an A-. You deserve an A+! When you're already an A grade average, being told that it's better than a B doesn't really cut it. The only thing to do is blame the lousy marker. HbA1C results can be out by as much as 0.8mmol/L. I found this article, which might cheer you up a bit.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/news/201...-red-blood-cell-age-variability-91218453.html

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

In Australia the normal blood sugar is between 4 and 5.5

That's interesting, non diabetic BG would be nice, but if you have insulin resistance and/or a slightly compromised pancreas, i.e. diabetic, then that's not going to be easy. Has your doctor done a c-pep and an insulin resistance blood test. I'm unsure of how the Australian medical system works but here in the cash strapped UK, the NHS would probably not fund those tests. I've paid for my own.

I think it's great that your doctor is advising 3 monthly tests but did he say anything about what affects the HbA1c results? I know that when my father had shingles (he's type II) his BG was a nightmare.

This is from Diabetes Australia, found at https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/blood-glucose-monitoring

You're results are still pretty good.

 

[Mike d]

Thanks @Tipetoo @Mike D @Jo_the_boat and @zand for all the encouraging words. Can i ask either one of you one more thing.." do you think a person can get obsessed with finger pricking"? I'm just T2 and find myself doing it sometimes 8 times and then use another meter, yes i know that is sad and is obsessive.Thanks in advance.

That's both a "yes" and a "no" Initially you must, simply to witness the effects of diet, any exercise, general health. After a few months and good figures, you need not be as passionate about it ... especially if your HbA1c levels are in the good range

 

[Alexandra100]

do you think a person can get obsessed with finger pricking"? I'm just T2 and find myself doing it sometimes 8 times and then use another meter, yes i know that is sad and is obsessive

Just like me, then! (And I'm not a bit ashamed. I'll probably only stop testing so often when I am using a LIbre, but I'll still test some even then, to make sure it's doing its job.)

 

[Alexandra100]

@DavidGrahamJones . I asked the doctor yesterday about having the a1c every 6 months and he said when it's down to 5.5 for a year then yes. In Australia the normal blood sugar is between 4 and 5.5 any aussies out there can correct me if i'm wrong but that's what i thought, so for all this time i was aiming for normal sugars like a person without diabetes. Thank you for responding .

IMO you and the Australian health system have got this right. A higher bg is not going to do you terrible harm overnight, you have time to work on it, but that's no reason not to aim for a bg low enough to cancel the risk of heart problems and other complications. Not panicking is good but not trying is not. Aiming for normal bgs is exactly what Dr Bernstein encourages us to do, but it may take meds (insulin) as well as diet to get there.

 

[Alexandra100]

I don't know what i have done wrong. I did everything right. LC diet, exercise and when i say LC it was pretty much under the 20 grams a day, not per meal and my A1c went up

Have you been recording your fasting and after-meal bg readings? Here is a quote from Jenny Ruhl:

"Normal Fasting Blood Sugar
Fasting blood sugar is usually measured first thing in the morning before you have eaten any food. A truly normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see if they have not eaten for a few hours) is:

Between 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) and 92 mg/dl (5.0 mmol/L) .

This is the finding of a considerable body of research. People whose blood sugar tests at this level do not develop diabetes over the next decade or longer. Those with supposedly normal blood sugars above 92 mg/dl often do. Nevertheless, most doctors consider any fasting blood sugar below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) as completely normal

Post-Meal Blood Sugar (Postprandial)
Independent of what they eat, the blood sugars of truly normal people are:

Under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L) one or two hours after a meal.

Most normal people are under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) two hours after eating."

BTW my last A1c came out much higher than I expected from my home readings.

 

[shelley262]

Hi @Moggely i feel for you as know you’ve been trying so hard - I read all your daily recordings on what have you eaten today and agree you should have continued to come down BUT you’ve clearly had some health challenges and stress and im convinced that diabetes is a complex beast not just down to diet - personally these days stress is my main putter up of Bgs. I had shingles several years ago after a very stressful time in my life and boy was it painful you’ve done exceptionally well that your hbaca1 has only gone up a few points that’s negligible and probably because you kept going withlow carb despite all the health issues stuff. Don’t let it de rail you I’m positive if you get back on track and keep going you’ll just look back on this time as just a blip and one of those things take care

 

[DCUKMod]

@Moggely - When having my HbA1c done, I have a range in mind I'd be satisfied with, because we're not automatons, and so many other things impact on the HbA1c, including quality of sleep, stress, just highlighting two. Some things we can control, but some aren't in our gift.

The other thing I'd ask you to consider is your 58 could easily have been 58.4, rounded down, and your 60 could have been 59.6, so it could have varied by just over 1.

On the long haul, such as we're on, we have to expect there will be variations.

 

[Moggely]

Not sure why you should feel a failure, you've achieved a lot since February = well done!

Also, if Diabetes UK is anything to go by "If you have diabetes, an ideal HbA1c level is 48mmol/mol (6.5%)." You're well within that, out of interest, why the aim to get to at least 5.5?

This is what Diabetes UK say about what affects HbA1c -

• if you’re unwell
• if you’re taking other medicines, like steroids
• changes in lifestyle
• if you’re feeling very stressed or you’re depressed.

That's just a short list, if you Google what affects HbA1c results you will find a lot of scientific papers written regarding HbA1c results. This one is one of the easier to understand:- https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/factors-affecting-hba1c-how-to-optimize-hba1c-levels/

You've had shingles which is stress related for one month out of the last 8 - 12 weeks (June - August). So, if that was late June, then 8 weeks. My humble opinion and I'm no doctor, you've got your reasons right there.

I've mentioned Diabetes UK twice, diabetes.co.uk (the global diabetes community) will say exactly the same.



Well yes, because it is only a small rise and considering the shingles, not too much of a surprise. My personal experience has been that after 4 years of successful low carb (HbA1c always around 44) my HbA1c jumped to 64. I now find that eating protein will affect my BG and in fact to avoid the dawn phenomena I have to go vegetarian.

In conclusion, you should not be worried about your recent HbA1c, it's good. Keep doing what you've been doing.

Thank you for that link @DavidGrahamJones I have read it thoroughly . Also you mentioned about changing your diet to vegetarian . Well i have noticed at times, that after a meal which was the usual meat of some kind the levels went up after the 2 hour but not really too high, But when ever i had something, say, like quiche and salad it hardly if ever moved at all. Also i can't get my levels low in mornings due to the dawn phenomena and nothing i do stops it from going up until after midday. I also was considering to go vegetarian but not real strictly because i notice my levels lower with not having a lot of meat. I really was never much of a meat eater before diagnose. I'm going to give it a go as nothing to lose. Thanks a lot.

 

[Moggely]

@Moggely - When having my HbA1c done, I have a range in mind I'd be satisfied with, because we're not automatons, and so many other things impact on the HbA1c, including quality of sleep, stress, just highlighting two. Some things we can control, but some aren't in our gift.

The other thing I'd ask you to consider is your 58 could easily have been 58.4, rounded down, and your 60 could have been 59.6, so it could have varied by just over 1.

On the long haul, such as we're on, we have to expect there will be variations.

Thanks @DCUKMod . Yes you are right and plus i really think i expected to much, This is the day after now and i do feel better about it all and it's back to the job at hand. I do have quite a bit of stress on my life at the moment as well. So it was expected.

 

[Moggely]

Have you been recording your fasting and after-meal bg readings? Here is a quote from Jenny Ruhl:

"Normal Fasting Blood Sugar
Fasting blood sugar is usually measured first thing in the morning before you have eaten any food. A truly normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see if they have not eaten for a few hours) is:

Between 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) and 92 mg/dl (5.0 mmol/L) .

This is the finding of a considerable body of research. People whose blood sugar tests at this level do not develop diabetes over the next decade or longer. Those with supposedly normal blood sugars above 92 mg/dl often do. Nevertheless, most doctors consider any fasting blood sugar below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) as completely normal

Post-Meal Blood Sugar (Postprandial)
Independent of what they eat, the blood sugars of truly normal people are:

Under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L) one or two hours after a meal.

Most normal people are under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) two hours after eating."

BTW my last A1c came out much higher than I expected from my home readings.[/QUOT

Hi @Moggely i feel for you as know you’ve been trying so hard - I read all your daily recordings on what have you eaten today and agree you should have continued to come down BUT you’ve clearly had some health challenges and stress and im convinced that diabetes is a complex beast not just down to diet - personally these days stress is my main putter up of Bgs. I had shingles several years ago after a very stressful time in my life and boy was it painful you’ve done exceptionally well that your hbaca1 has only gone up a few points that’s negligible and probably because you kept going withlow carb despite all the health issues stuff. Don’t let it de rail you I’m positive if you get back on track and keep going you’ll just look back on this time as just a blip and one of those things take care

Hi @shelley262 . Thanks for that i'm going to look at it that way and just continue, as many are saying the shingles wouldn't have helped and that's the only thing that was different and was not just pain but quite stressful. Thanks for the input.

 

[Moggely]

Have you been recording your fasting and after-meal bg readings? Here is a quote from Jenny Ruhl:

"Normal Fasting Blood Sugar
Fasting blood sugar is usually measured first thing in the morning before you have eaten any food. A truly normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see if they have not eaten for a few hours) is:

Between 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) and 92 mg/dl (5.0 mmol/L) .

This is the finding of a considerable body of research. People whose blood sugar tests at this level do not develop diabetes over the next decade or longer. Those with supposedly normal blood sugars above 92 mg/dl often do. Nevertheless, most doctors consider any fasting blood sugar below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) as completely normal

Post-Meal Blood Sugar (Postprandial)
Independent of what they eat, the blood sugars of truly normal people are:

Under 120 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/L) one or two hours after a meal.

Most normal people are under 100 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/L) two hours after eating."

BTW my last A1c came out much higher than I expected from my home readings.

Hi @Alexandra100 . Yes i have recorded everything. Fasting i could rarely get below the 6's mark and it kept going up until after lunch. I understand this to be dawn thingy going on and nothing i do stops it from going up. It goes to the low 6.s by evening and i was trying hard to get it below the 6. I just have to keep going. Do you go by your own A1c as well as the lab. I asked the chemist yesterday if they had these testing kits and she said no, but that she can do it at the chemist for say $25 but advised me, as i was upset to leave it for a month so will do that.