Type 2 Hb1ac result

[Suzette76]

Hi, I had my results for hb1ac last week and the level had gone up to 76 from 55 at the end of August..is this a common thing with such a rise in a short amount of time? I take my blood readings at home but the readings are 6.4 - 7.8 randomly and usually 7.4 after 2 hours eating.. the dr wants me to go on metformin which I’m concerned about as I have started to lose weight. Has anyone any advice, could it be a dodgy hb1ac result?

thank you.

 

[pixie1]

Welcome to the forum,
Mainly people's A1c go down, rather than up. Maybe it what you are eating. Have you been following the advice on what to eat. Such as: must eat carbs, low glycimic index foods, change to wholemeal and grains.
Maybe give some example types of food you have?
I suggest not to test randomly, however: test first thing in the morning which is fasting then 2 hrs, later after first bite, test before and after eating.
Keep a diary and results, this should heights which foods spike. Helps control levels

 

[Suzette76]

Hi thank you for your reply. I was told in August I needed to lose weight to bring A1c level down so started slimming world - went for repeat bloods a week ago and the levels had gone up to 76. But my blood tests at home aren’t ever above 8 when I’ve eaten and in the range of 6’s before I do. I was just wondering if the A1c result may have been a dodgy result, I’m going back to my dr to discuss tomorrow and ask for another A1c blood test.

 

[Energize]

Perhaps Slimming World plans aren't for you. It's pretty widely known their suggestions are not generally suitable for anyone with diabetes

Have you considered Low Carb Higher/Healthy Fats (LCHF)? You could adopt the lower carb approach, avoiding the carb side of their suggestions, and still attend Slimming World for the group support

I've lost just over 4 stone on LCHF AND got my glucose levels / HbA1c down

By the way, Metformin will often help lose weight. It's not known for weight gain (afaik)

Good luck

 

[xfieldok]

Metformin (ask for slow release if you want to take) does stuff in the background and will help your liver amongst other things, it won't bring your numbers down.

As a T2 you have an intolerance to carbohydrates. Generally the medical advice about what we should eat is incorrect. We are all different and have different tolerances.

Have a look at low carb high fat diets and ketogenic. Personally, I favoured keto. Got my numbers down from 122 to 35 in 4 months.

If you don't want to go onto metformin, ask your GP for 3 months to change your diet and see where you go.

You want to be testing before and 2 hours after every meal. This will show you your reaction to the food you ate. Log these numbers in the mysugr app along with the food and portion size. I found it highly motivational. You can always log your fasting (foot on the floor, ie when you first get out of bed) but due to something called the dawn phenomenon, you may get high readings and they are the last to come down.

SW has advice which is totally inappropriate for T2 IMHO.

Ask questions, you will get answers here.

 

[Alexandra100]

the dr wants me to go on metformin

Metformin has lots of benefits. Even some non-diabetic doctors take it as it is believed to prolong life! If you Google, you can find lots of articles about it. The big downside is that it can upset some people's stomachs badly. The extended release form is gentler, and it is possible that the brand Glucophage works better than the generic. You should also start very gently with the lowest possible dose, taken with food, and increase gradually. I fought my doctor to get it prescribed as it should help lower bg (though not by nearly as much as reducing carbs in the diet). I wanted all the help I could get. I have never had digestive problems with it and by now I don't even bother to take it with a meal - I just take it.

Here is what the NHS says about Metformin. You will see that it does NOT cause weight gain:

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/metformin/

 

[poemagraphic]

Hi all
I am watching this post with interest.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Yes, avoid branded diet clubs as many don't understand nutrition - strange but true. Go for LCHF approach which is the best thing for diabetes T2 as carbs are the main cause of weight and BS gain (BTW just ignore calories and set yourself a Max daily carb intake)

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi, I had my results for hb1ac last week and the level had gone up to 76 from 55 at the end of August..is this a common thing with such a rise in a short amount of time? I take my blood readings at home but the readings are 6.4 - 7.8 randomly and usually 7.4 after 2 hours eating.. the dr wants me to go on metformin which I’m concerned about as I have started to lose weight. Has anyone any advice, could it be a dodgy hb1ac result?

thank you.

Try https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ on for size, if it resonates with you, go read Dr. Jason Fung's the Diabetes Code, dietdoctor.com and his forum's website, diabetes.co.uk. Loads of free advice and more suitable for diabetics than Slimming World (And cheaper, because no club to join). Because you might have your HbA1c explained right there. Too many carbs in the SW diet, and thus, in yours.

Good luck!
Jo