HBa1c result came back - totally deflated

[Patrick66]

Does the size of the needle matter? If it's a really thin, and I mean really really thin and short needle? Most of the time I can't feel it going through my skin, and if I feel it before I push it through, I just move it ½ an inch.

Oh yes..

I bathe in emla cream before blood tests and scream the place down if I can feel it...or faint...

The hospital did it in the arm I asked them NOT to use, without any anaesthetic...then attempted to joke they would have to do it again because it hadn't worked!. I was (a) not amused and (b) used impolite language..

 

[briped]

Oh yes..

I bathe in emla cream before blood tests and scream the place down if I can feel it...or faint...

The hospital did it in the arm I asked them NOT to use, without any anaesthetic...then attempted to joke they would have to do it again because it hadn't worked!. I was (a) not amused and (b) used impolite language..

So you don't finger prick test yourself either?

 

[HSSS]

Diabetic clinic next week, then two weeks until I see the doctor.

I will drop out of time for my current pre-op to still be valid on 6th March so, in the unlikely event I ever hit 7.0 it will be a re-referral and start the process again.

They can just redo the pre op. It doesn’t need to be back to the gp and re refer from the beginning. I had this happen when I had to wait longer than they expected for an op.
It seems likely if you can drop 11mmol in 6 weeks it won’t be long til you get there. Is it your dr using the old scale rather than mmol?


Your metformin may well be the cause of the nausea. Go back to the gp and ask for the slow release version which many tolerate better. Explain how awful it’s making you feel and how close to giving up and the relevance in terms of the op.

 

[HSSS]

The trouble is that the diet is making me ill. I have already got a cold and an infection which I have not had in years and I feel dreadful.

I think I am very low carb..or as low as I am comfortable with. I'm just bored with the lack of variety and not eating anything that I enjoy.

Get on some websites and find new foods. Type in the meal you want and add keto or low carb to the search. You’ll find lots of sites with ideas. Two to get you going are ditchthecarbs.com and dietdoctor.com I hate repition of foods and get very bored and demotivated by it too.

 

[DCUKMod]

The trouble is that the diet is making me ill. I have already got a cold and an infection which I have not had in years and I feel dreadful.

I think I am very low carb..or as low as I am comfortable with. I'm just bored with the lack of variety and not eating anything that I enjoy.

In which case, maybe it could be wise to consider a bit of pharmaceutical help, in some format.

The matter of the A1c being 7 or lower, in this area, is usually only waived in a high risk situation, where the risks of deferring surgery (in something like the big C or, say, a broken leg) are greater than the increased risks of complications during or after surgery, on a patient whose sugars are running a bit rich.

 

[Member496333]

The trouble is that the diet is making me ill. I have already got a cold and an infection which I have not had in years and I feel dreadful.

I think I am very low carb..or as low as I am comfortable with. I'm just bored with the lack of variety and not eating anything that I enjoy.

I’m starting to wonder if you’re eating too little fat. Everything you are saying with regards to your enjoyment of food and how it makes you feel is a classic sign of dropping carbohydrate but not displacing it with enough dietary fat.

 

[Patrick66]

I’m starting to wonder if you’re eating too little fat. Everything you are saying with regards to your enjoyment of food and how it makes you feel is a classic sign of dropping carbohydrate but not displacing it with enough dietary fat.

That is something I don't know. The meat I eat is fatty.

 

[Patrick66]

In which case, maybe it could be wise to consider a bit of pharmaceutical help, in some format.

The matter of the A1c being 7 or lower, in this area, is usually only waived in a high risk situation, where the risks of deferring surgery (in something like the big C or, say, a broken leg) are greater than the increased risks of complications during or after surgery, on a patient whose sugars are running a bit rich.

I take the usual remedies..sugar free varieties..but I just feel very run down and very stressed and exhausted. Having to mask my autism to "fit in" is wearing me out. None of this helps.

 

[Patrick66]

Get on some websites and find new foods. Type in the meal you want and add keto or low carb to the search. You’ll find lots of sites with ideas. Two to get you going are ditchthecarbs.com and dietdoctor.com I hate repition of foods and get very bored and demotivated by it too.

I do. Unfortunately I cant follow recipes. I get very easily lost. I am trying to get my partner to help.

 

[Patrick66]

They can just redo the pre op. It doesn’t need to be back to the gp and re refer from the beginning. I had this happen when I had to wait longer than they expected for an op.
It seems likely if you can drop 11mmol in 6 weeks it won’t be long til you get there. Is it your dr using the old scale rather than mmol?


Your metformin may well be the cause of the nausea. Go back to the gp and ask for the slow release version which many tolerate better. Explain how awful it’s making you feel and how close to giving up and the relevance in terms of the op.

I don't know what scale my GP is using. I won't see them for three weeks and I had to look up how to read my test results online.

I am on the slow release Metformin already. Gave up the original version because of the chronic wind it caused.

 

[Patrick66]

So you don't finger prick test yourself either?

I do. But only 2/3 times a week. Cant face doing it more often although I should. Needles care me because of some horrendous experiences.

 

[Deborahdesylva]

That’s quite a short timeframe in which to expect a significant drop in HbA1c. Very much depends on the intensity of the intervention. How low is low-carb for you, and what has been the duration of your fasts?

I agree your full reduction might not show up as the test measures the blood from the past 14 or so weeks and is an average, so over 6 weeks it is unfair to rely on it. Why not query this point with your surgeon and ask for a different test? I do feel really sorry for you as I too struggle with all the things I have to forego xx

 

[xfieldok]

An infection will push up your numbers as will stress.

 

[Patrick66]

I agree your full reduction might not show up as the test measures the blood from the past 14 or so weeks and is an average, so over 6 weeks it is unfair to rely on it. Why not query this point with your surgeon and ask for a different test? I do feel really sorry for you as I too struggle with all the things I have to forego xx

My surgeon is not the sort of person you can talk to. In fact that hospital (I am an NHS patient under a private hospital) have treated me like dirt and I have had to put in a complaint about them..
Effectively they've said they really aren't interested until I drop below that magic 7.0 figure..

Happy days!

 

[HSSS]

My surgeon is not the sort of person you can talk to. In fact that hospital (I am an NHS patient under a private hospital) have treated me like dirt and I have had to put in a complaint about them..
Effectively they've said they really aren't interested until I drop below that magic 7.0 figure..

Happy days!

Is your Gp better? Could they help with the fructomiside test that’s been suggested? Or at the very least order another hb1ac as late as possible to the surgeons review giving you a bit more time to lose those old sugary blood cells from before the low carb eating.

 

[HSSS]

I do. Unfortunately I cant follow recipes. I get very easily lost. I am trying to get my partner to help.

YouTube type videos? It’s an organisational type skill that does get easier with familiarity with the format. Maybe your partner can work through some with you until it becomes less confusing. My asd’s had similar issues with traditionally written recipes.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Have fasted, eaten very low carb, exercised, lost 18lb in weight..
Result...7.4!
Absolutely devastated. Gutted, fed up, disillusioned....seems like I’ve worked so hard for nothing!

As many have already said, as the HbA1c measures a sort of 12 week average, a six week difference in test times will mean that you will have included 6 weeks worth of the previous HbA1c test, and who knows? A reduction to 7.4 is something to be pleased about, it's a move in the right direction. You've also lost 18 lbs, not to be sniffed at by any means so your hard work has definitely not been for nothing and has been rewarded, you just wanted a bigger reward.

I would just like to relate something that happened to me after 3 years of low carb. Those 3 years were brilliant, I'd thrown away the gliclazide, the januvia, even the atorvastatin (BTW, something your GP might consider in the short term to get to the 7.0 your surgeon is set on). However, my HbA1c tests started to come back over 50 mmol/ml (one was 59 mmol/ml). I struggled to work it out but realised that I was getting a lot of high readings in the morning, despite only having a low carb meal at 7pm the previous night.

In my case and it's not be for everyone, I cut back on the amount of meat I was eating and it did the trick, it's difficult to sustain for too long but for an important operation it's the difference between having the op and maybe not. I might seem a bit
Blasé but I've had to watch what I eat for decades and that's not an exaggeration. The discipline has done me some good.

You're doing all the right things, just needs continued perseverance and you will succeed. Negative thoughts become a self fulfilling prophesy, please try to stay positive.
As a reminder for myself as much as anybody:

Old unit = NGSP unit = %HbA1c
New unit = IFCC unit = mmol/mol
Old New
6.5 48
6.6 49
6.7 50
6.8 51
6.9 52
7.0 53
7.1 54
7.2 55
7.3 56
7.4 57
7.5 58

All the best

 

[Member496333]

Of major importance really is that Patrick is not happy with his diet. It’s making him miserable and deprived. This is no way to live, and will be unstainable. We have an incredibly complex relationship with our food, and it’s of paramount importance that we enjoy the fuel that we put into our bodies. I understand the short term need to get the HbA1c down for the purposes of meeting the operating criteria, but serious problems await if one cannot sustain a way of life in the longer term.

My best guess still is that more dietary fat is needed in order to bring about a sense of satiety and wellness. Fatty acids are absolutely crucial to human life. We will die without them. Embrace the fat! Of course this may not be the issue at all, but it certainly sounds like a factor to me, and there isn’t much I don’t have experience of when it comes to the successes and pitfalls of adapting to low-carbohydrate eating.

Eat animals. Lots of them.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

Fatty acids are absolutely crucial to human life. We will die without them. Embrace the fat!

While the first two statements are correct, would the third statement not depend on the outcome of embracing said fats?

. . . . . there isn’t much I don’t have experience of when it comes to the successes and pitfalls of adapting to low-carbohydrate eating.

We're all so very different, one size doesn't fit all, your experiences are different to mine and possibly one or two others.

 

[HSSS]

Of major importance really is that Patrick is not happy with his diet. It’s making him miserable and deprived. This is no way to live, and will be unstainable. We have an incredibly complex relationship with our food, and it’s of paramount importance that we enjoy the fuel that we into our bodies. I understand the short term need to get the HbA1c down for the purposes of meeting the operating criteria, but serious problems await if one cannot sustain a way of life in the longer term.

My best guess still is that more dietary fat is needed in order to bring about a sense of satiety and wellness. Fatty acids are absolutely crucial to human life. We will die without them. Embrace the fat! Of course this may not be the issue at all, but it certainly sounds like a factor to me, and there isn’t much I don’t have experience of when it comes to the successes and pitfalls of adapting to low-carbohydrate eating.

Eat animals. Lots of them.

I agree long term liking your diet is vitally important. However Patrick identifies he is bored with the food he’s able to prepare. Hunger or satiety isn’t the issue he identifies. Boredom is a major factor for me too so I understand this entirely. This is the biggest factor that causes me to wobble on low carb (or any woe) My husband can eat the same food daily for years and not have an issue. We are all different