Hubby is type 2. His hba1c level is 68.3. Is this really high? He has also been told his cholesterol level is too high (6.9).
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- Thread starter MrsG1
- Start Date
Daibell
Master
Hi. Yes, it's pretty high but not unusual for someone recently diagnosed. Using old money units its 8.4% and he should be aiming to get below 7.0 at least. If he is new to diabetes then do follow all the dieting advice on the forum and he may need to start having some tablets. Daisy should post a useful list of links and information shortly. Don't worry too much about the cholesterol but the GP will probably offer statins anyway. A good low-carb diet should help reduce the cholesterol level anyway.
daisy1
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- Tablets (oral)
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- Cruelty towards animals.
Hi Mrs G1 - sorry about your husband's diagnosis but you have come to the right place for advice. Here is the information, mentioned by Daibell, which we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. I think I already posted it in answer to one of your previous posts. Ask all the questions you like and someone will help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.
A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you’ll find well over 30,000 people who are demonstrating this.
On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.
The role of carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.
If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.
The bad news
Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.
The good news
People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.
Controlling your carbs
The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.
There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
- Reduce your carbohydrate intake
- Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.
The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.
Choosing better carbohydrates
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html
The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.
Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes
Eating what works for you
Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.
To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.
The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:
Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
- structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
- self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education
Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.
You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic
Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Yorksman
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- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I was told to get tested when my fasting glucose was 9.8 mmol/L and started dieting immediately. When I was tested, my hba1c was in the 70s about 8.7% but my fasting glucose was down to 7.6 mmol/L. I started exercising and learning about what foods to eat and what foods to avoid and now I am mostly 6s with a few 7s and now a few 5s are creeping in, and lost 10Kg. This is all within one month.
Now, I think you once said that your hubby thinks veggies are the work of the devil but, if he puts in some effort now he will most likely see some improvements week on week, and that really does cheer one up.
Now, I think you once said that your hubby thinks veggies are the work of the devil but, if he puts in some effort now he will most likely see some improvements week on week, and that really does cheer one up.
Yorksman said:
Haha I forgot I said that (although it is true!). I think meeting with the doc today has made him take is a bit more seriously. He made a list of 6 veg that he would like to try, and some other foods that he thinks would be good. We ordered a bood sugar monitor tonight so I guess it will be trial and error to see what is good or bad. A very tiring day but onwards and upwards!
Have a look at the hairy dieters's latest book.
It's packed with some excellent low calorie and many low carb meal ideas.
Imagine, a full tin of tuna, a big handful of rocket in 1/2 a tortilla for about 250 kcal.
That us very healthy and extremely filling!
I've used up my original set of strips and need to get some but I,m nigh on a stone lighter, in about 3 weeks.
It's packed with some excellent low calorie and many low carb meal ideas.
Imagine, a full tin of tuna, a big handful of rocket in 1/2 a tortilla for about 250 kcal.
That us very healthy and extremely filling!
I've used up my original set of strips and need to get some but I,m nigh on a stone lighter, in about 3 weeks.
Yorksman
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- Type of diabetes
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DaveNN said:
I had one of those yesterday and it tasted so good, I had another for lunch today. I remembered it from the Hairy Dieters TV series and saw some weight watchers wraps in Morrisons. They are not too bad with carbs and have extra fibre added. I didn't have much in the way of expectations but used some of their NUME cheese with a small amount of tuna plus some other salad things and it was great. I've had similar in Denmark but with smoked salmon slices on a wrap with dill sauce or maybe even a little cream cheese and then rolled up like a swiss roll. You culd also try parma ham with thinly sliced red onion. The Hairy Dieters book is very good both for ideas and for getting you thinking about how you can vary things.
Well.... I fell off the wagon tonight, about 1/2lb of roast lamb (with rocket, of course), on Two tortillas with chilli chutney!
But... It would have been a packet of oat/ ginger biscuit, immersed in a litre of milk.... Blended into a shake... a few weeks back!
As I've been bad, I'm having a long walk tomorrow and limiting myself to 1000kcalories.
Not had salmon for ages,
Must get into that stuff again!
will send the GF into Aldi tomorrow , on skis!
I did enjoy their series too, can't stand poncey chefs, though they are really good cooks.
But... It would have been a packet of oat/ ginger biscuit, immersed in a litre of milk.... Blended into a shake... a few weeks back!
As I've been bad, I'm having a long walk tomorrow and limiting myself to 1000kcalories.
Not had salmon for ages,
Must get into that stuff again!
will send the GF into Aldi tomorrow , on skis!
I did enjoy their series too, can't stand poncey chefs, though they are really good cooks.
Yorksman
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 2,445
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Lidl has some Norwegian Smoked Salmon which is not as fatty as the scottish smoked salmon. Nice thing about smoked salmon is that if you have it with lemon juice, the citric acid also helps a little to reduce BG. Failing that, a spoonfull of cider vinegar works quickly.
