seeking objectivity from the real diabetic world

[mrs R]

I have a very stubborn HbA which refuses to fall below 66. My diabetic team still insist on trying to lower this without any practical tips on the means to do so. Just turned 40 years, and I am fighting the urge to quit. It may be easier to accept I am not having children and move on, make different plans. However my other thoughts are do I let nature decide and try and conceive with my less than perfect HbA. Time biologically is running out, and age is a different risk to be made aware of.

Two favours I ask of the diabetic community.
Any good tips on HbA reduction? What would you do in my situation? The diabetic team will never say its Ok , fearful of litigation?!

Getting far too emotional about this ..requiring some objectivity and direction.
Really hate my diabetes at the moment (type 1 pump user)

 

[Netty70]

Hello mrs r
Don't think you should ever give up on something you want
I'm T2 plus only diagnosed about three months so don't really know how hard it must be for a type 1 but I am sure you will get lots of response
Good luck hope you get what you want sorry I can't be more help


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[Dillinger]

Hi,

2 things that you can do starting today;

1. Go low-carb.
2. Do some anaerobic exercise every day. Doesn't need to be much, you just need to get out of breath; I do 30 good quality press ups as fast as I can every morning.

Don't do the above if there are any real health reasons why not to, but if you are well in yourself other than your diabetes those two things will drastically improve your control. You'll have to test regularly and adjust your insulin accordingly; what you want to happen is your insulin sensitivity to increase because of the exercise and your insulin requirements to come down because you are not eating many carbs. Read the Dr. Bernstein book.

Best

Dillinger

 

[Patch13]

As a type 1 I second what Dillinger said about low carb and reading the Bernstein Diabetes Solution book. This has really helped to get my hba1c down.

However if you decide to follow the plan in his book then be prepared for the doctors to disagree with you about low carbing as NHS guidelines are to eat a Lot of grains / carbs. Luckily my doctor has agreed I can do low carb due to a drop in my Hba1c and my sugar levels not being up and down anymore (however she doesn't know quite how low the carbs are yet - she just thinks I'm low carb not basically no carb).
Also there is debate around being no carb during pregnancy as eating no carbs brings you into ketosis which doctors seem to think is not beneficial for a baby. However the book may help you to reduce your carb and be more aware of what can affect your blood sugar levels.
All the best
Patch13


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[phoenix]

Get yourself a copy of John Walsh Pumping Insulin.
It's got a huge amount of info on how to deal with problems and control issues when using a pump.

It also had a very good chapter which includes info on the necessity of achieving good control before pregnancy and how to manage during pregnancy .

 

[LemonTree]

Hi Mrs R

Maybe a pump isn't for you. How were you on injections?
I've found reading on the internet is really helpful with how to adjust insulin but I'm on injections. From what I've read about pumps, they're not that straightforward until you get the hang of them.

 

[hanadr]

Diabetic women have been having healthy babies almost since Insulin was discovered. Read work by Dr. Lois jovanovic on the subject. She's decended from oe of the very first diabetics to be treated with insulin. Actually in the very early days, many pregnancies, which could have resulted in a healthy baby, were terminated. Remember the movie "Steel Magnolias"?

Do go low carb. It works for pretty much everyone and do exercise. I read Dillinger's post. Ithink he means aerobic exercise if it makes you puff. Anaerobic doesn't and includes things like weight lifting in small measures. ANY exercise is GOOD. Much of the medical profession actually gives advice to diabetics which doesn't work or even makes life more difficult. You've come to the right place for people who KNOW!
Hana

 

[Dillinger]

I read Dillinger's post. I think he means aerobic exercise if it makes you puff. Anaerobic doesn't and includes things like weight lifting in small measures.

Hi Hanna,

I did mean anaerobic; by which I meant sprint type training so you are out of breath compared to aerobic where you are not breathing heavily. I would ordinarily bow to your superior scientific knowledge but I think that's right isn't it? I thought aerobic means in the presence of oxygen? Anyway any exercise is good, but anaerobic is best for insulin sensitivity.

Best

Dillinger

 

[mrs R]

Thank you for the recommendations..it looks like I have some reading to do! I will also check out the discussions on the low carb. How low is lo carb in carbohydrate grammes?

 

[Patch13]

According to this website low carb is under 130g a day. Very low carb and what bernstein recommends is under 30g which brings you into ketosis.

Some people find just lowering carbs is helpful, but only you can decide what is right for you.

 

[Neil Walters]

Reducing carb intake to about 100g per day has taken by level from 66 to 48 in less than six months and to be honest it was not hard . Add some exercise as has been said will also help - a brisk walk on a regular basis will not hurt unless you have some other major health issues.


Diagnosed Type II 1998 1 x 80 mg Gliclazide, 4 x 500mg Metformin and 1 x 100mg Sitagliptin - HbA1c - 48 mmol/mol

 

[Abi W]

Hi there

I had also for years (on injections) not been able to get my HbA1c below 7.2-7.5, even though my day-to-day sugar readings appeared pretty good, which was very frustrating.

I was then assessed for a pump as part of ttc, but during that time I also tried lots of basal rate testing (where you eat a carb-free meal and your fast acting insulin, and test every hour until the next (normal) meal to work out what your background basal insulin is doing. Thanks to that we found out that my lantus wasn't behaving correctly overnight (sugars rising dramatically between bedtime and 2/3am before crashing around 5/6am) So we split the dose and changed dose times, which has made an enormous difference and brought my A1c into conception range without needing to go on a pump.

I'm not saying it'd work for everyone (and maybe you've already investigated your daily readings at this level of detail), but it helped me realise that I didn't need a pump or low-carb, I just needed to do some really careful analysis of my sugars, doses and their timings.

Good luck - it is possible!

 

[Abi W]

Ps I found the book "Using Insulin" by John Walsh (ie his book for non-pumpers) incredibly enlightening as part of my general project to lower my A1c. "Think like a pancreas" (I forget the author) is interesting and fun as background reading, but for sheer usefulness I'd definitely recommend the Walsh book.

 

[Robinredbreast]

I have a very stubborn HbA which refuses to fall below 66. My diabetic team still insist on trying to lower this without any practical tips on the means to do so. Just turned 40 years, and I am fighting the urge to quit. It may be easier to accept I am not having children and move on, make different plans. However my other thoughts are do I let nature decide and try and conceive with my less than perfect HbA. Time biologically is running out, and age is a different risk to be made aware of.

Two favours I ask of the diabetic community.
Any good tips on HbA reduction? What would you do in my situation? The diabetic team will never say its Ok , fearful of litigation?!

Getting far too emotional about this ..requiring some objectivity and direction.
Really hate my diabetes at the moment (type 1 pump user)

Hello mrs R

I was wondering if you carb count and if so, have you thought of reducing your carb intake , I don't mean drastically or extreme. I have reduced my carb intake by a small amount and I have noticed my BS is a bit better, on Sunday it was 4.9, 4.9, 6.3 and 6.7.

I had my daughter at nearly 43, I had a miscarriage at 40 years, at 8 weeks pregnant the poor little thing died and I had my miscarriage at home. It was very upsetting and sad, but miscarriages are very, very, common and not just in women who have diabetes. Often it's Mother Nature I'm afraid.

I still wouldn't change a thing because I wouldn't of gone on to have my darling daughter who is now 12 :shock:

Just keep trying, I have a saying of, Give up, Give in, or Give everything.

I wish you all the luck in the world, you never know what might happen............ take care

All the best RRB

 

[amberzak]

Hi. I'm having similar issues. I am such a hugely fussy eater that I don't do low carbs. The only thing I eat is potato. (I have aspergers as well which I am sure contributes to my fussy nature).

On the side of pregnancy, I think the chances of miscarriage is increased, but I know people who have had healthy babies even with slightly higher than hoped sugars


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[the_anticarb]

I conceived (accidentally) with a hba1c of nearly 10 and had a perfectly healthy child - not that I'd recommend it, and it caused proliferative retinopathy in me when my hba1c was drastically lowered in the pregnancy, but just wanted to share as I think there's this opinion that any hba1c over 7 means your child will be stillborn/deformed/not survive and yes the odds are increased the higher the hba1c but not to the extent that the doctors would sometimes have you believe.

 

[diabetty6911]

Hi
I am 37 year old pump user type 1. I too am trying to get stable sugars to conceive as I would like to have another baby before I'm 40. Nov 2012 I had a little baby boy who died at 3 days old with multiple defects. We were and still are devastated. It was an accidental conception and although my hba1c was 7.2 % at the time I can't help but blame my diabetes. To be honest I wouldn't even consider conception at 10%. I wouldn't wish anyone to experience what I've gone through. I too feel like giving up as it so difficult with type 1. I am really careful with what I eat but I think my pump settings are still not right. Try not to give up and ask your diabetes team for support especially with your pump settings. Take care xxx


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[the_anticarb]

Sorry to hear of your loss diabetty. I wouldn't consider conception at hba1c of 10 either - my conception was accidental, and as I said although the baby was fine it did bring on complications in my eyes. But if I had a choice of conceiving with a hba1c of, say below 8, or deferring indefinitely if I could not get it below 7, I personally would probably go for the former option. It's a very individual choice. OP if you were to do this just make sure you get your eyes checked/keep them checked throughout the pregnancy as getting PDR whilst pregnant is horrible.