VelvetRose said:
i Spoke with Diabetic Nurse Thurs & my HBa1 was 55 ..( don't understand it ) Advised me of taking care of skin ..& feet .. I'm going to be on a diet management to start with to see if I can progress on that .. I already on healthy diet ..will check low Carbs on packages ..eat fresh meat & Veg salads .. never buy frozen or packaged meals ..
Til our new Dr arrives in Nov .. I have to sort out my strips for testing .. no issue .. Been put forward for a Diabetic Eating Day ..training to able identify whats good & bad .. No Meds @mo .. Eye scan..
Will aim to improve my levels in the future .. Still have blurred vision & ilght headed/dizzy ..& sleep for Scotland ..
Time will help me adapt to my new life
Hi VelvetRose,
First of all, (((((((((( Hugs )))))))))
An HBA1c of 55 at diagnosis is not too bad in the scheme of things. I was diagnosed T2 a year ago with an HBA1c of 83, so you're doing better than that. As a T2 you should be aiming for an HBA1c under 48. So you have a little work to do, but it's not an impossible task, by any means. Your HBA1c reading is an indicator of what your blood sugar has been over the past 3 months approximately. As you're newly diagnosed, your HBA1c may be taken every 3 months, and certainly will be taken at your annual review from now on. If you've been advised to lose weight, you will likely see both your HBA1c and your fasting, before & after meal meter readings, improve pretty quickly when your weight starts to go down.
As other people has said, you will need to be careful of carbs from now on. You will also need to practice portion control, and avoid taking large amounts of carbs at a time, to keep your blood sugar stable. You say you already have a healthy diet, so you're halfway there. You may only need to make small adjustments to your total carbs at any meal to reap the benefits as far as your blood sugar goes.
Apologies, if this has already been said...I find that the best way to reassure yourself that things are going in the right direction is to test: after fasting (1st thing in the morning), before a meal, and 2 hours after. Use this information to find out what foods suit you, and adjust portions accordingly to bring the blood sugar into the good range. You'll find that some foods are better than others. Obviously, cut out any sugary snacks, and reign back on refined carbs e.g. white bread, pastries, cakes etc.,
You'll also find that some carbs can be as bad as sugar for pushing up your blood sugar e.g. mashed potatoes are converted to glucose very quickly. We're all individuals, with different tolerances. Some people can eat a lot of carbs and some prefer to eat only small amounts to control their blood sugar. Testing will give you the information you need to find out the right level for YOU.
My advice would be to eat lean meat, fish, eggs and veg which is grown above ground ( e.g. cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower etc .. i.e. the green stuff!) ... actually cauliflower is a wonder food - you can make pizzas, mash, rice, tabouleh and many many more things with it!!
Add wholegrains: wholewheat pasta, brown basmati rice, (would recommend Sainsbury's So Organic Fairtrade brown basmati rice)
Be careful of bread - a lot of people recommend Burgen, as it doesn't spike them. I eat rye bread.
Explore the recipes section - there's lots of great tried and tested ideas.... and test, test, test!
It's a lot to take in at once, eyes, feet, cholesterol, ... etc., and if you're anything like me, you just want to get on with it, and get things under control. A good idea is to prepare for your appointment with your Diabetic Nurse by writing down a list of things that you're concerned about, and discussing them with her. It will make you feel more in control, as well as getting answers to any questions you have.
Good Luck!