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Type 1 Hba1c

E

emily deacon

Well-Known Member
Messages
142
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,

Can anyone give me some advice on how to lower my Hba1c? Has anyone had high levels before and brought them down?
 
Lowering your blood sugar levels should bring down a1c - so trying to avoid spikes.
So - what is your current a1c? What insulins are you on? Pump or MDI? Do you get a lot of hypos? Do you carb count?
 
Hi Emily,
I'm not a Type 1, but have seen in the Low Carb success stories (in the Low Carb forum) that many Type1's and Type2's on Insulin have had great success with Low Carb. Personally as a Type 2 I used LCHF and reduced from Hba1c of 53 to 45 (which is considered pre-diabetic).

But in order to use Low Carb you have to be careful to match your insulin needs to your diet which makes it much more difficult for Type1's than Type2's.

Here are some links:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-and-type1-diabetes.html
https://www.endocrinology.org/endoc...w-carb-diet-shows-promise-in-type-1-diabetes/
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes/type-1

Good luck,
Ian
 
Lower carbs ca ply a relevant part in control but insulin management also plays a large part in T1 .
 
Hi @emily deacon :-)

Gcm /libre is a very effective tool in managing stable good bs level and seems very popular. There are many type 1s on this forum doing very well using Gcm/libre. It’s very encouraging to read about their stories. I myself manage on low carb diet as I find it easier and I have no luck with libre prescription from NHS... anyway I hope you can find a way somehow to manage stable levels to lower your hba1c
 
I personally have always found my hba1c improved when I did more testing - the sad fact is that T1 blood sugars seem to behave randomly sometimes, whatever you do, and testing allows you to make corrections early.

But, as @Diakat said, what is your current hba1c and your current regime?

If it's basal/bolus then getting the basal right is possibly the most important factor (or at least the first step before you tweak the bolus).
 
emily deacon said:
Has anyone had high levels before and brought them down?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. I got my first glucometer in the early 80s in my early twenties, and my hba1c was above 10 at the time - my doctors introduced me to MDI and told me that my average glucose was 13.... My levels in my teens are unknown, but though I did not skip injections I had periods of blood sugar induced extreme thirst, so I know they were high.

Since then, I've had periods when my hba1c was above 8 (complaints from doctor) and in the 7s (when they were happy but my eye doctor prefers the low 7s). During pregnancies I ran in low 6s (low 40s) but lost hypo awareness. I'm currently running in high 6s but have to be very very careful at this level because I risk losing hypo awareness (so it's 8 blood tests a day). It's good enough for me, and probably the best long term control I've ever had.

If you can get a cgm funded (libre?) then you should find control becomes easier....
 
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