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A1C drop - normal level

R

Red_Fox22

Active Member
Messages
44
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Just had my latest A1C which has shown my score is 35 which I am assured is normal. My initial diagnosis was 109 back in January.

Dr wants me to stop taking metformin which I am happy to do.

I have found a diet that works for me which is high fat and low carb. I guess I will need to stay on this and see what effect ceasing the metformin will have.

My question is, how long can I expect this A1C to stay like that. The Dr was pretty clear that the condition is progressive as I am only 38 it would seem likely that in the time to come I will be unable to stay quite so controlled.

Still, very happy bunny.
 
Well done, a massive drop in so short a time.

How long can you keep at that? No-one knows, but if you continue with your current diet it could be a long time. Now is the time to maintain and not get complacent.

Most doctors think diabetes is progressive because it can be if you follow the general advice to eat carbs with every meal and come back in 6 months for another pill, test after test another pill, then another until all pills are exhausted, then insulin. They don't see as many success stories as we do on here. They mainly see the results of the NHS advice, and those who take no advice and rely on medication to eat what they like.
 
Well done on getting back to non diabetic numbers, it is inspirational. The LCHF diet is not a diet in and of itself, it is a lifestyle choice. We cannot go back to the high carb life again, ever. We are a bit like alcoholics in that we have to abstain from the food intakes that exacerbates our condition. In short, we will always be diabetics and will always have to be aware of what our choices are doing to us. Keep up the great work you've already done and I wish you all the best for the future.
 

Recent research has shown that reduction in hba1C can be closely correlated to weight loss on a more or less linear basis for many people . It also shows that the worse your starting hba1C the quicker the drop back into a normal range as you lose weight.

It would be interesting to know what your weight loss experience has been and the extent to which you have hit your "Ideal weight goals" It looks like for many people if they can get their weight into a good range with a low hba1C there should be no reason why the improvements don't maintain over the longer term as long as you don't put the weight back on. In practice if your doctor did not already know you were diabetic he wouldn't go about diagnosing you now - so overall you should be able to expect good control to be maintained for a long time - there are numerous examples of severely diabetic people remaining fit, healthy and drug free into old age as long as they also control bloodsugars.

https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/hba1c-weight-loss/

well done for making such a rapid and complete switch around in diet and results.
 
CherryAA - thank you for your note.

Oddly, I was never overweight, I just had a bit of a tummy. My weight is down about a stone but I lost that all in about 2 weeks through the shock.

I wonder whether I just had an acute intolerance to certain carbs/sugar.
 
There is a increasing body of evidance that Type2 can be reversed (not just control) if soemone reduces their wight to be 15% less then when they were told they had Type2 - and maintains the lower weight. So maybe this should be the aim after getting good control of BG.
 

If only ......
 
In studys at at Newcastle Universty, close to 100% of the people who had not had type 2 daibetes for more then 8 years did reverse they diabetes by losing 15% of their body weight compard to when they got type 2. However these were all people with "clasic" Type2 due to insulin resitance. Lot of people get told by GPs the have type2 when they have different type of diabetes.
 
All I know is I lost just over 33% of my body weight and have maintained that for almost 3 years. I am not reversed. I am controlled without meds. (never had any meds) As far as I know I have "normal" diabetes. It's not genetic or steroid induced, although it could possibly be a form of glucose intolerance as I have always had good base levels, right from almost the beginning.
 
I'm guessing for the rest of your life, if you maintain your diet.
 
I am wondering what the correlation between weight loss and falling A1c numbers means for me as a TOFI. I was within the 'normal' range for my height weight and waist measurement on dx and have since lost a little weight and although I thought I had reached a plateau, my son came home from a two week holiday and remarked that he was concerned that I was continueing to lose weight. The information on TOFIs is sparse except that it seems the risk of complications is higher(?).
 
Guzzler said:
The information on TOFIs is sparse except that it seems the risk of complications is higher(?).
Click to expand...

Is this because they aren't diagnosed as often as fatties? Therefore they can have higher blood sugars a lot longer before diagnosis.
TOFIs don't fit the criteria. The media and even the NHS encourage fatties to get tested. They don't say anything about thinnies. Just a thought.

I also wonder about folk like me. An ex-fatty who lost all the excess weight on low carb after diagnosis to become a TOFI and still nearly 3 years on from being a TOFI I have no idea how to combat insulin resistance. There is very little information.
 
Quite possibly. That, I think, is why my dx was like a bombshell. The DN said I must have had diabetes for a long time, though how she could possibly know that still eludes me.
 

Sorry but in the original study it was 7 out of 11 after three months. More like 63% and interestingly I can't find any more data on further follow up's. The ongoing study will hopefully show us more info but guess results will not be published for a couple more years at least.
 
That's an excellent reduction in just six months @Red_Fox22, congratulations!
If you stick with the HFLC diet it should continue to work for you.
 

I remember reading a follow-up study he did with 30 people and the success rate was broadly similar. It could be that there are many types of Type 2 and ND only works for some of them. Last I heard we should be hearing from the new study in 2018 so that'll be interesting!
 
I thought one of the conclusions was that the longer one of the people in the study had type 2, the less likely their type 2 would be reversed, although they all improved their HbA1c and most were able to reduce the amount of diabetes drugs they were taking.
 
Guzzler said:
Quite possibly. That, I think, is why my dx was like a bombshell. The DN said I must have had diabetes for a long time, though how she could possibly know that still eludes me.
Click to expand...

Liver test results etc and maybe looking at past blood tests.
 
I never had 15% to lose when I was type 1 or 2. Guess I'm out of luck!!
Didn't really plan on reversing it anyway but I did control it for many years with diet, not weight loss. I'm not saying people shouldn't lose weight but rather that's not the only thing they need to do. Diet is # 1
 
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