Blood glucose levels going down!!

[cheziecat]

Hello,

Was so excited I had to tell someone, sad I know!

Have only been checking my sugar levels since yesterday, the lowest reading I got yesterday was before my tea and my Hba1c was 9.1, just tested before my tea tonight and am down to 7.8, I actually let out a little scream when I saw the result! I know it's still higher than it should be but after 2 days of low carbing am pretty impressed with the results!

Hopefully by the weekend I can be in the normal range (fingers crossed). Tomorrow night is going to throw it out a bit, having a take away and some wine, am seeing my boyfriend, we haven't been together long and since we've met his mum's been really ill, I've had the stomach bug from hell and then the diabetes diagnosis so we haven't got off to the easiest of starts! We'd planned a quiet night in with a takeaway when I got back from holiday but the stomach bug ruined that one, anyway am waffling now!

Hope you're all doing ok

Bye for now, will keep you updated on the sugar levels

Cheryl x

 

[gillyh]

Going in the right direction cheryl. Congratulations...keep it up. Everybody gets ups and downs in their bg levels. Some days mine are up quite a bit

 

[jacquirs]

wow great results after only a few days, well done

i had a week away with some but not all meals out (what a drag! trying to find things to eat that did not just include extra lettuce :evil: )

have been back for the week and trying so hard on the no carbs or low carbs but am still reading anything up to about 16, seem to have the problem with DP which does not help, but am seeing some reduction during the day

best reult i have had so far was after (an unintentional) 14 mile walk last week when it came down to 10

anyway still plugging away at it am determined not to be given any drugs late next month when back to see the doc

keep up the good work cheziecat!

 

[hanadr]

BRilliant!!, but are you confusing BG with HbA1c/ the one you get from a finger prick is BG the one your doctor gets every so often is Hb A1c. Both should be around the 4s, 5s and 6s.

 

[jacquirs]

my hba1c was 11.2 (first one) my BG when self testing is anything up to 16 at the moment but when you consider the docs first test showed 21.6 i have still reduced it by at least 25% but still a way to go (sometimes it feels hard but that's life! :shock: )

 

[popps]

Hi Cheziecat,

Don't know whether I'm wrong on this but I have a conversion chart which converts A1c to "mean plasma glucose". It's compiled by some-one called Ellis Trousier and can be found at http://www.rajeun.net/HbA1c_glucose.html According to this chart a reading of 7.8 would equate to an A1c of 6.1, so it looks like you're going in the right direction.

I had my first A1c test today and so I'm waiting in (dread) anticipation.

Cheers,

Ian

 

[steveamos1234]

The conversion is a bit OTT in my opinion. The chart shows a HBA1C of 6 as bad, which I would have to disagree with.

5 is my goal, but my most people are/should be/could be (too politically correct I know!) happy with anything less than ~7.

I've never seen a conclusive study that shows the long term affect of slightly higher than normal numbers. I agree that high/very high numbers will most likely cause significant long term issues but saying that just above normal is 'bad' I don't agree with.

 

[diabetic_bbe]

im so scared that when i first start getting the symptoms of a hypo that i wont notice and then will just collapse because i havent done anything about it what shall i do
any ideas?
:| :wink:

 

[IanD]

The conversion is a bit OTT in my opinion. The chart shows a HBA1C of 6 as bad, which I would have to disagree with.

5 is my goal, but my most people are/should be/could be (too politically correct I know!) happy with anything less than ~7.

I've never seen a conclusive study that shows the long term affect of slightly higher than normal numbers. I agree that high/very high numbers will most likely cause significant long term issues but saying that just above normal is 'bad' I don't agree with.

I've had HBA of above 6 for 10 years & have carefully followed the NHS diabetes diet. . January 2008 was 6.7. Dr was happy with my control. BUT retinopathy screening found the beginning of damage, & painful neuropathy of leg muscles occurred which affected my mobility. I started carb reduction in May & since then have had much lower BGs, & have reversed the leg neuropathy. My next HBA will be November.

 

[Jem]

the comparison of the hbA1c test to finger prick is possibly not the best idea, because you do your finger prick at specific times, such as waking fasted, 2 hours post food etc ... and your sugar levels will fluctuate considerably during other times of the day and night ... for instance during exercise and at night when you're doing nothing ... and also dependant on what you ate (as to how it breaks down and how long it takes for sugar levels to peak, how quickly it tails back off again etc) ...

you know what to aim for (and have done an excellnt job thus far - congratulations are definitely ir order!!) with your every day control - so keep it up and the longer term will fall too ...

Keep smiling and doing the right things

 

[Trinkwasser]

I've never seen a conclusive study that shows the long term affect of slightly higher than normal numbers. I agree that high/very high numbers will most likely cause significant long term issues but saying that just above normal is 'bad' I don't agree with.

http://www.dtu.ox.ac.uk/index.php

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/control/

 

[rottweilsteve]

im so scared that when i first start getting the symptoms of a hypo that i wont notice and then will just collapse because i havent done anything about it what shall i do
any ideas?
:| :wink:

I've happily pottered around the house with a BG of 3 or less and not noticed any difference. What I have noticed is the symptoms of my BG dropping: I'll get a dry mouth, be shakey (as in tremor, not singing about This Old House or a Green Door), vague about everything and feel very out of sorts. I rely more on the symptoms of a drop (confirmed by testing) than on the symptoms of a hypo. Most likely time for me to get a drop that causes these symptoms is on the way home from walking the dogs. B'Elana's misfortune (she has arthritis and can't walk far) is my good fortune (I'm never too far from home and the emergency juice).

Steve

 

[Trinkwasser]

im so scared that when i first start getting the symptoms of a hypo that i wont notice and then will just collapse because i havent done anything about it what shall i do
any ideas?
:| :wink:

I've happily pottered around the house with a BG of 3 or less and not noticed any difference. What I have noticed is the symptoms of my BG dropping: I'll get a dry mouth, be shakey (as in tremor, not singing about This Old House or a Green Door), vague about everything and feel very out of sorts. I rely more on the symptoms of a drop (confirmed by testing) than on the symptoms of a hypo. Most likely time for me to get a drop that causes these symptoms is on the way home from walking the dogs. B'Elana's misfortune (she has arthritis and can't walk far) is my good fortune (I'm never too far from home and the emergency juice).

Steve

Get one of those little barrels like the mountain rescue dogs use and she can carry the juice for you!

 

[rottweilsteve]

Get one of those little barrels like the mountain rescue dogs use and she can carry the juice for you!

What? B'Elana, the QFU, do something altruistic or something approaching work? :mrgreen:

Steve

 

[steveamos1234]

I've never seen a conclusive study that shows the long term affect of slightly higher than normal numbers. I agree that high/very high numbers will most likely cause significant long term issues but saying that just above normal is 'bad' I don't agree with.

http://www.dtu.ox.ac.uk/index.php

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/control/

Thanks for the links. I'm not disagreeing that high levels cause problems, it's more that ideal control is not always possible and it would be interesting to know at what point the risk increases. From what I can see the trials show that someone with poor control is more likely to have complications to someone with good control. It doesn't (or if it does I missed it) say that slightly above normal is 'bad' which was my original point.

 

[Trinkwasser]

I've never seen a conclusive study that shows the long term affect of slightly higher than normal numbers. I agree that high/very high numbers will most likely cause significant long term issues but saying that just above normal is 'bad' I don't agree with.

http://www.dtu.ox.ac.uk/index.php

http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/control/

Thanks for the links. I'm not disagreeing that high levels cause problems, it's more that ideal control is not always possible and it would be interesting to know at what point the risk increases. From what I can see the trials show that someone with poor control is more likely to have complications to someone with good control. It doesn't (or if it does I missed it) say that slightly above normal is 'bad' which was my original point.

Check out some of Jenny's research

http://www.bloodsugar101.com/

links to other papers

also an old favourite

http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/145

Basically people with the sort of control many now have are such a new phenomenon that there are very few studies. What I've seen suggests cardiovascular problems start to increase as A1c gets out of "normal" range. Where you choose to draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable levels of risk and levels of control is up to you. I choose to stay as close to normal as I can. I have damage from years of high but "not diabetic yet" BG to overcome.