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HbA1c

C

crownlyn

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi, I have hovered in this group for a couple of years but have not been online for months.
I was diagnosed as Type 2 ages ago and have refused meds on the hope I can control this by diet (which I am failing at).
I've had a tough year and just recently lost my mum who had been type 2 for about 30 years. My diet/lifestyle has been awful throughout her illness (dementia) but I had been reassured by my HbA1c results over this last year - well the healthcare's comments which I took on board even though I am pretty sure they are incorrect. What do you think?
My last 6 results are listed below.
22/11/22 47
23/8/23 51
8/11/23 45
29/5/24 45 healthcare note - acceptable
17/1/25 57 healthcare note - good diabetic control
28/4/25 50 healthcare note - good diabetic control
I even received a message from my GP surgery in my nhs app saying 'well done on your good diabetic control, please continue your medication' (I don't take meds for diabetes).
Anyway at the moment I am convinced my sugar level is through the roof as I'm thirsty all the time, can't stop peeing, have no energy and constantly tired, oh and I can't sleep. I have just asked for my bloods to be checked again. I really need to get a grip of this and sort myself out.
Am I right in thinking a HbA1C result of 57 is not good?
 
Hi @corwnlyn . 57 mmol/ls is in the diabetic range, but really it’s not too bad. A few food adjustments and it’s possible you could bring your blood sugars down into the pre-diabetic range or even lower . The higher your blood sugars, the greater the risk of diabetic symptoms, but everyone is different. Some people can start feeling symptoms at these lower levels, some people, however, can have high blood sugars, but don’t feel any symptoms.
If you don’t mind me asking what kind of foods do you eat?
 
Hi Melgar, thank you for replying.
I start my day off well with greek yogurt, berries and almonds but then it all goes downhill. I'm office based so sit at my desk with a sandwich, crisps and chocolate. I try and have the Hovis no added sugar bread (I think about 6g of carb per slice). In the evenings I really try and eat chicken with mediterranean roasted veg or along those lines but just recently I have not been able to keep to a good diet. I have recently started (this year) on BP medication and also diagnosed with fatty liver.
I know I am grieving but I seem to be on a self destruct cycle that I really need to get off.
It is lunchtime at work that is my biggest hurdle, I can probably get back into good food in the evening - low carb, veg and meat etc.
 
I don't know your fitness or what exercise you get but sitting at the desk may contribute as well as diet. Can you walk of an evening even just a mile helps once you are onto this you will want t go further or try other things like swimming, running, longer hikes of a weekend etc. It really can make a big difference, other simple things you can try take stairs instead of lifts and escalators, get off bur a stop earlier etc small changes really do work
 
crownlyn said:
crisps and chocolate. I try and have the Hovis no added sugar bread (I think about 6g of carb per slice)
It is lunchtime at work that is my biggest hurdle
Click to expand...
hovis wholemeal ~11g per slice half size (29gram weight) (400g loaf weight)
hovis wholemeal ~15.1g g per slice (40gram weight) medium (800g loaf weight)
warbatons wholemeal (no added sugar) do a 400g loaf which is 9.0g could try switch to that i find both are pretty simular in taste.

what type of chocolate are you snacking on? i've moved to 90+ coco just 1 small square broken up in a few pieces leave it on tongue to melt.

crisps if enjoy some can have vastly different carb ratio. if you like cheese have you tried make your own keto styled ones? Wotsits multipack ~8g approx per pack compared to likes of walkers crisps ~13g. There are other alternatives as well which could be lower in carbs and help made from likes of cauliflower/carrots and other relatively low carb veggies.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/260607/basic-keto-cheese-crisps/ i add a little sprinkle of black pepper, chives & paprika to them. could add some of ur own herbs and spices.

I personally moved mostly to snacking on nuts.. (prob too many tbh...)

Does your workplace have a microwave? could bring some of your own favourite meals with you if does and heat up there. There are some usb powered heated lunch boxes which would suffice for warming up likes of soup/med roasted veggies etc could perhaps be a great xmas pressie someone could get you from around 15 quid amazon.

edit: added below (corrected wotsits spelling)
A short walk will help after meals too. could eat sandwhich on the go weather permitting :)
 
Last edited:
Well I had to have medication, Empagliflozin and recently had to add Sitaglitpin
I eat Low Carb, high protein.
I bake my own bread and have done for years and limit myself to one slice that’s mainly wholemeal or rye with good scoop of mixed seeds. If buying bread I get sourdough.

My HbA1C has risen this year, I’d had blood tests and we’d been away a few times and couldn’t get the diet I needed
Hoping the next test will be lower, but GP suggested Sitagliptin low dose so hoping.

As the others said, 57 can be reduced with return to your diet
 
Thank you for your replies, I feel better just having a few supportive comments. I've collected my blood test form so we shall see.
The thing is I know what to do but I just can't do it even though I know it is so detrimental to my health and I don't know if I could keep it up long term.
I'm really angry for letting myself get like this and I need to sort myself out.
I don't exercise and I do actually love going for a walk so I certainly need to start up again.
Hopefully my test results will give me the push I need whether it is too high or not.
 
crownlyn said:
Thank you for your replies, I feel better just having a few supportive comments. I've collected my blood test form so we shall see.
The thing is I know what to do but I just can't do it even though I know it is so detrimental to my health and I don't know if I could keep it up long term.
I'm really angry for letting myself get like this and I need to sort myself out.
I don't exercise and I do actually love going for a walk so I certainly need to start up again.
Hopefully my test results will give me the push I need whether it is too high or not.
Click to expand...
with the walking start short routes as interesting as possible
 
Angela64 said:
If buying bread I get sourdough.
Click to expand...
Is sourdough available in low-carb form? Jason's Sourdough is 44.1 gms of carbohydrate and bog standard Hovis white is only fractionally more at 44.6.
 
Grant_Vicat said:
Is sourdough available in low-carb form? Jason's Sourdough is 44.1 gms of carbohydrate and bog standard Hovis white is only fractionally more at 44.6.
Click to expand...
robert andrews sourdough is pretty low just under 6g net a slice. Good for cheese on toast

Testing out
end of the week going to make smaller rolls with that recipe looked decent to go with some soup for Xmas dinner can let know how I find it if want
 
Grant_Vicat said:
Is sourdough available in low-carb form? Jason's Sourdough is 44.1 gms of carbohydrate and bog standard Hovis white is only fractionally more at 44.6.
Click to expand...
Every time I buy manufactured wholemeal bread it tastes full of sugar to me. It maybe a Hovis as I won’t buy a supermarket brand.
If we have to buy supermarket bread I try and get a sourdough loaf. These aren’t the long fermentation loaves as it’d take th too long but a shorter fermentation or just used a sourdough starter I think.
It’s the lengthy fermentation process that’s better than normal bread.
 
I found the most helpful thing for me was to get a Dexcom One Plus sensor to continuously measure my BG.

I was absolutely horrified by the numbers I was getting but the sensor, a low carb/very low carb switch of lifestyle, exercise and semaglutide (Rybelsus) have got my numbers from a weekly average of over 19mmol/L in August to currently a weekly average of 6.6mmol/L and falling.

My HbA1c results are in my signature, with the next one due in February, which I hope will be a lot lower than the last one in September, when my weekly average had dropped to the mid 7s to 8s. From August to September (7 1/2 weeks) the HbA1c dropped from 121 to 81.

I only started using the sensor at the beginning of August, but had already started small changes to my diet, so I dread to think how high it was before - many of the first readings were off the scale so over 22mmol/L.

My weight has dropped by over 2 stone (13.34kg) and BMI dropped by 4.2 points to 30, so I am now in the overweight category rather than obese.

I also have much better liver results (I also have fatty liver) and the cholesterol has gone down too. I feel like none of this would have been possible without the information I have been getting from the sensor. I self fund this but I feel less money on junk may well make up some of the expense as I am eating clean, and only when I am hungry.

I now have much better energy levels, and a lot of inflammation has improved, so a lot less pain, particularly in the knees and hands. Before my lifestyle changes I was totally exhausted, and sleeping very poorly, partly to do with having to get up to pee at night frequently.

I plan on keeping going with the sensors for another few months at least, to make sure I am making good progress on my BG control. Knowing that I will see a huge jump upwards in BG on my graphs if I eat high carb foods certainly helps me make good choices, expecially when eating out.
 
grantg said:
robert andrews sourdough is pretty low just under 6g net a slice. Good for cheese on toast

Testing out
end of the week going to make smaller rolls with that recipe looked decent to go with some soup for Xmas dinner can let know how I find it if want
Click to expand...
Thank you @grantg - I was intrigued whether such a thing existed!
 
crownlyn said:
Thank you for your replies, I feel better just having a few supportive comments. I've collected my blood test form so we shall see.
The thing is I know what to do but I just can't do it even though I know it is so detrimental to my health and I don't know if I could keep it up long term.
I'm really angry for letting myself get like this and I need to sort myself out.
I don't exercise and I do actually love going for a walk so I certainly need to start up again.
Hopefully my test results will give me the push I need whether it is too high or not.
Click to expand...
You could always try Hey lo carb bread. I have it sometimes with soup and its yummy ;)
 
crownlyn said:
Hi, I have hovered in this group for a couple of years but have not been online for months.
I was diagnosed as Type 2 ages ago and have refused meds on the hope I can control this by diet (which I am failing at).
I've had a tough year and just recently lost my mum who had been type 2 for about 30 years. My diet/lifestyle has been awful throughout her illness (dementia) but I had been reassured by my HbA1c results over this last year - well the healthcare's comments which I took on board even though I am pretty sure they are incorrect. What do you think?
My last 6 results are listed below.
22/11/22 47
23/8/23 51
8/11/23 45
29/5/24 45 healthcare note - acceptable
17/1/25 57 healthcare note - good diabetic control
28/4/25 50 healthcare note - good diabetic control
I even received a message from my GP surgery in my nhs app saying 'well done on your good diabetic control, please continue your medication' (I don't take meds for diabetes).
Anyway at the moment I am convinced my sugar level is through the roof as I'm thirsty all the time, can't stop peeing, have no energy and constantly tired, oh and I can't sleep. I have just asked for my bloods to be checked again. I really need to get a grip of this and sort myself out.
Am I right in thinking a HbA1C result of 57 is not good?
Click to expand...
Hi - just to give you a sense of where your HbA1c is, it's worth knowing that normal range for people without diabetes is generally around 36-42, with most people clustered around 38. The graph shows this very clearly.

The problem with what is "good" is that the NICE guidelines that inform and control how the health service treats people with diabetes assume a few things. These include that T2 diabetes will only get worse; that medication will be needed increasingly; and that there is nothing to be gained in aiming for people to return to normal BG levels. To be clear, I don't agree, to put it mildly, with these assumptions. This link takes you to the guidelines and the one on blood glucose management is at 1.6:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng28/chapter/recommendations#blood-glucose-management

One of the reasons for maintaining a well out of range glucose level as a desirable "target" is that the health service is very risk-averse when it comes to hypoglycaemia. However measuring HbA1c every six months is not really all that good at preventing hypos, if they occur, apart from making prescribing decisions. That's what the guidelines are really set up to do - inform prescribing decisions.
 

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