Newbie

SVB

Member
Messages
13
Hello everyone. Help! I guess I was very informally told over the phone that I was type 2 by my practice nurse. She told me at the end of January this year that my HbA1c was 75. I retested a week later (after not eating any carbs or sugar) and it was 68. (No medication was offered, but I wouldn’t have taken it even if it had been). At this point I was ignorant of everything concerning diabetes. I told her that I would spend the next 8 weeks following Michael Mosely’s diet and that I would reverse my diabetes in that time and retest at the end of March. She agreed. (Please note this is my ‘before enlightenment’ phase). About 4 weeks later, I received a letter inviting me to a diabetic eye test so I phoned the nurse and said that I had wanted to reverse my diabetes so why had I received this letter? She told me I would NEVER reverse my diabetes and I would NEVER get my HbA1c back to the 30s. Which was very depressing to say the least. I phoned a Diabetes helpline who told me her comments weren’t unusual and that they were very unhelpful. I then found this forum and have taken on board everything you have all recommended from reading Dr Jason Fung and buying a meter. Incidentally, I cancelled my blood test because I realised that 8 weeks wasn’t enough time and I still haven’t been tested. Thought I’d wait till after lockdown. I’ve followed a very low carb diet (now that I understand that carbs are not just bread, pasta and potatoes) and when my meter and strips arrived I did a few readings before and after meals. They’ve been 4.9 followed by 5.9 and sometimes 6.1 followed by 6.9. So, my list of questions.... I think these readings are good(?) but not wholly sure how they would affect my HbA1c, which as I understand it, is the blood glucose level averaging out over 3 months rather than my immediate blood glucose level from the strips. Is it? Can I get an idea of what my HbA1c level may be from doing my own tests? I have lost 1 ½ stones (21lbs/9.5kgs) since the end of January and increased my exercise but my tummy is still about the 4 month pregnant size. Any tips on reducing that anyone? It measures 30 ½” and I’m 5’7” and my BMI is apparently 24/25 depending on which site I calculate it on. If I can get my HbA1c levels back down to the 30s, will I ever be able to eat carbs again, even small amounts? (I miss sour dough bread with avocado and a poached egg most of all!). I look forward to your comments and thank you very much in advance.
 

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Wow! Looks like you are taking this like a duck to water.

Download the mysugr app and record your food and numbers.

After a few days it will give you an estimated hba1c. At first it will only be an indicator it will be more accurate the longer you use it.
 

Goonergal

Master
Retired Moderator
Messages
13,466
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @SVB and welcome

Sounds like you’re doing a fab job.

You might find this calculator helpful: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html
Weight around the midriff is often difficult to shift for those with type 2. Don’t think there’s anything specific that you can do other than hope it gradually comes off as you trim down.

On the eating carbs again front, only your meter will tell you that, and in time you may not miss them so much.

Oh, and don’t spurn the eyechecks/footchecks etc that come with diagnosis - all useful.


Edited for punctuation
 
Last edited:

Sarah82

Member
Messages
22
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Your numbers are good! I love the your determination to beat this! Keep doing what you're doing and you should keep seeing improvements.

As xfieldok said, if you keep checking your numbers and putting them into an app it will give you an idea of your hba1c
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi and welcome. You can find various blood reading converters in the Home page of this website e.g.:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-to-blood-sugar-level-converter.html
Keep following the low-carb diet. You can occasional days when you have more carbs than normal; just make it occasional. Your readings are good so you should be able to get back down to good HBA1C levels. The eye test request is because everyone listed as Diabetic on the NHS system is offered an annual Retinopathy test. Worth having and quick and simple but takes up to 5 hours for your blurred vision to return to normal after the eye drops so can't drive.
 

Mike d

Expert
Messages
7,997
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
idiots who will not learn
You've got a batter handle on this than many. :))
 

SVB

Member
Messages
13
Wow, thank you everyone for your positive comments. I shall continue to do as advised by you all. I explained to my husband that I was asking you for your advice as there was no point asking the practice nurse anything as I think you all know an awful lot more than she does. (She is the diabetic nurse rather than the practice nurse, sorry).
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,939
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
@SVB ,

You're doing really well, and I wish I could be there when your nurse looks up your new HbA1c and falls off her chair. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting your HbA1c back into the 30's with numbers like that, and the MySugr app will help with the estimated HbA1c before that time.

Keto mug bread might help with the bread you're missing... Not even close to sourdough, alas, but it's similar to bread, somewhat.... Put in a mug: 15 g of melted butter, 22 g of almond flour and ½ a teaspoonful of baking powder. Mix. Then add an egg and mix. Microwave at highest W for 90 seconds. Done. Have to say though, I'd gone without bread for 3 years when I started making this, (a friend a few countries away talked me through it via e-mail hat first time, haha), and when you've forgotten what proper bread is like, this is a slice of heaven. ;)
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
You can have all the eggs - cooked any way - and avocado you want, and there are some low carb breads if you need them.
My single 'messed about with' dish is a souffle omelette, which I have to say is pretty spectacular. Try one with the avocado as filling perhaps.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Well done so far, you are doing a great job. :)

The eye screening is important and is given to everyone that has had a diabetes diagnosis, no matter whether they are in remission and how long for. The damage can already be done when blood sugars were high. We go once a year and it is important. It is a simple test that involves having drops in the eyes followed by photos of the retina. It was mentioned above that the drops make the eyes blurry and this lasts several hours. They have never affected mine at all but I do wear sunglasses afterwards (even if the test is in winter!). Please attend the appointment, for your eyes sake.
 

SVB

Member
Messages
13
Thank you @JoKalsbeek for your recipe. I will definitely try the Keto mug bread just as soon as I can lay my hands on some almond flour! And thank you also @Bluetit1802 and @Daibell for telling me that I must go to the eye test. I had agreed to go, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the CV-19 pandemic. I expect I shall get another appointment as some point. But I will go, I promise! What about the foot checks? What are they for? Thank you all for your very kind comments and advice.
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Thank you @JoKalsbeek for your recipe. I will definitely try the Keto mug bread just as soon as I can lay my hands on some almond flour! And thank you also @Bluetit1802 and @Daibell for telling me that I must go to the eye test. I had agreed to go, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to the CV-19 pandemic. I expect I shall get another appointment as some point. But I will go, I promise! What about the foot checks? What are they for? Thank you all for your very kind comments and advice.

The foot checks are normally done by the nurse once a year when we have a nurse review. It involves being tickled under your feet and toes with a prong thing to test for any loss of feeling, and also a foot pulse check. This is because neuropathy (loss of feeling) in the feet is dangerous for poorly controlled diabetics due to becoming injured if, for example, you tread on something but can't feel it. Sores take forever to heal when blood sugars are high, and some never do. They just ulcerate, leading to possible amputation. Diabetics need to take care of their feet. It is just another routine check.
 

SVB

Member
Messages
13
Thanks @Bluetit1802 - I am more determined than ever to not let this get beyond my control. I’ve already lost control hence I’m here, so I need to spend the rest of my life making sure I don’t get too far and find myself with ulcerated feet....
 
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Jen6

Active Member
Messages
44
Hello everyone. Help! I guess I was very informally told over the phone that I was type 2 by my practice nurse. She told me at the end of January this year that my HbA1c was 75. I retested a week later (after not eating any carbs or sugar) and it was 68. (No medication was offered, but I wouldn’t have taken it even if it had been). At this point I was ignorant of everything concerning diabetes. I told her that I would spend the next 8 weeks following Michael Mosely’s diet and that I would reverse my diabetes in that time and retest at the end of March. She agreed. (Please note this is my ‘before enlightenment’ phase). About 4 weeks later, I received a letter inviting me to a diabetic eye test so I phoned the nurse and said that I had wanted to reverse my diabetes so why had I received this letter? She told me I would NEVER reverse my diabetes and I would NEVER get my HbA1c back to the 30s. Which was very depressing to say the least. I phoned a Diabetes helpline who told me her comments weren’t unusual and that they were very unhelpful. I then found this forum and have taken on board everything you have all recommended from reading Dr Jason Fung and buying a meter. Incidentally, I cancelled my blood test because I realised that 8 weeks wasn’t enough time and I still haven’t been tested. Thought I’d wait till after lockdown. I’ve followed a very low carb diet (now that I understand that carbs are not just bread, pasta and potatoes) and when my meter and strips arrived I did a few readings before and after meals. They’ve been 4.9 followed by 5.9 and sometimes 6.1 followed by 6.9. So, my list of questions.... I think these readings are good(?) but not wholly sure how they would affect my HbA1c, which as I understand it, is the blood glucose level averaging out over 3 months rather than my immediate blood glucose level from the strips. Is it? Can I get an idea of what my HbA1c level may be from doing my own tests? I have lost 1 ½ stones (21lbs/9.5kgs) since the end of January and increased my exercise but my tummy is still about the 4 month pregnant size. Any tips on reducing that anyone? It measures 30 ½” and I’m 5’7” and my BMI is apparently 24/25 depending on which site I calculate it on. If I can get my HbA1c levels back down to the 30s, will I ever be able to eat carbs again, even small amounts? (I miss sour dough bread with avocado and a poached egg most of all!). I look forward to your comments and thank you very much in advance.
Hi
I was told Oct 2019 that i had type2 having a hba1c of 101 and would be on tablets the rest of my life. Started off with 2 80gr of Gliclazade by Jan my number dropped to 44. This week it has dropped to 39 now in the none diabectic range. On just one tablet for 10days if sugar levels stay down i can come off completely. Like you I have proved the nurse wrong.
Good luck and well done.
 

VashtiB

Moderator
Staff Member
Messages
2,283
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @SVB

Hello and welcome to the site. Your attitude is amazing-it took me months before I climbed out of the well-off self-pity I dug myself.

The medical profession do not know it all.Many don't know as much as they think they do.The more acute are aware they do not have all the answers.

I like the others before me would love to be a fly on the wall when you get retested only to have your HbA1c having gone down significantly. Your readings are great!

Whether or not you can have carbs again? well everyone tolerates different levels of. arbs and different types of carbs. I like you went very low carbs basically straight away. I still have the hope that I will one day be able to tolerate more carbs but am not even going to test it while I have a lot of weight to lose. I am pretty sure that I will never be able to tolerate the amount of carbs that were in my daily diet prior to my diagnosis. Some days that thought still overwhelms me but most days I am ok. I have found sufficient substitutes for some of the stuff I miss. I am not good at moderation so I suspect the actual answer for me is very low carbs for ever. It is very individual though and you will find your own answer.

Welcome to this site- it is an amazing place with a lot of information and support.
 
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SVB

Member
Messages
13
Ah @VashtiB - I was so shocked and ashamed of myself when I was told. I still can’t tell anyone. Only my husband knows. I don’t know whether I shall get away with nobody knowing. Does anyone else keep this a secret?
 

Jen6

Active Member
Messages
44
Hi SVB. Came off sugar in tea coffee etc . Dont eat desserts sometimes have 3 teaspoons of good quality icecream. Breakfast granola low sugar along with small amount of special K add fresh fruit. I eat eggs bacon mushrooms meat fish lots of veg ,little potato the new ones boiled.
Eat cheese mainly Brie whole wheat crackers small amount of brown seeded bread. You can eat most things just make sure you check its low carb low sugar.
Occasional small glass of red wine.
 

xfieldok

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,182
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Until you get your numbers under control I would stay well away from ALL carbs as far as possible.

No potatoes, bread, crackers, berries only. No cereals including special k. Loads of recipes online for homemade keto granola. Shop bought ones can contain nasties.

Once your numbers come down, you can try to slowly reintroduce food that is carby. Your meter is your guide as to what you can tolerate.

At the beginning I could not touch bread. Now I can tolerate a slice of hovis lower carb seeded.

I went from 122 to 35 in 4 months. I was a bit obsessive about it though.
 

Mike d

Expert
Messages
7,997
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
idiots who will not learn
Ah @VashtiB - I was so shocked and ashamed of myself when I was told. I still can’t tell anyone. Only my husband knows. I don’t know whether I shall get away with nobody knowing. Does anyone else keep this a secret?

No idea why you'd feel ashamed, as long as you put that emotion to good use.