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Disappointed with results

N

nikipre

Member
Messages
11
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
5 months ago I was prediabetic with HbA1c 42 and changed my diet dramatically, to very low carb. I’ve lost nearly 2 stone. I cut out all of the food I love, like dal & rice as my body just can’t cope with them (I test before and 2 hours after food, only for new things now).
What I’ve done is at the extreme end, I was hoping to see how low I could get my result with the hope that occasionally I could be a bit more relaxed - but I just heard from my GP and result is 41. I’m aware it’s normal, but I feel disheartened. I’d had an HbA1c at the gym 2 months in and it was 36 but a friend in NHS said not to trust it and that seems to have proved true.
I’d love some words of encouragement please, I’m only in my 40s and was hoping I wouldn’t have to stick to such extreme low carb diet forever, but looks like it’s the best way to manage it. I’ve had a few days of ‘normal’ eating over Christmas but now need to stop. Could a fast be a good way to get back to my low carb eating? Worried I’ve rather fallen off the wagon & that the result makes me feel like it’s all a bit pointless….

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom :) Niki
 
nikipre said:
5 months ago I was prediabetic with HbA1c 42 and changed my diet dramatically, to very low carb. I’ve lost nearly 2 stone. I cut out all of the food I love, like dal & rice as my body just can’t cope with them (I test before and 2 hours after food, only for new things now).
What I’ve done is at the extreme end, I was hoping to see how low I could get my result with the hope that occasionally I could be a bit more relaxed - but I just heard from my GP and result is 41. I’m aware it’s normal, but I feel disheartened. I’d had an HbA1c at the gym 2 months in and it was 36 but a friend in NHS said not to trust it and that seems to have proved true.
I’d love some words of encouragement please, I’m only in my 40s and was hoping I wouldn’t have to stick to such extreme low carb diet forever, but looks like it’s the best way to manage it. I’ve had a few days of ‘normal’ eating over Christmas but now need to stop. Could a fast be a good way to get back to my low carb eating? Worried I’ve rather fallen off the wagon & that the result makes me feel like it’s all a bit pointless….

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom :) Niki
Click to expand...
I'll be honest. Everyone deals with this differently, and I am currently in the process of yo-yoing between diets, which isn't healthy.

I started on a low-carb diet.. I'm now in remission when I was diagnosed. I was at 53mmol I brought it down to 36mmol.

Seem to be dealing with some complications due to it being undiagnosed for years but that is me...there's people on here that do low carb, high carb ect.

The main thing to be aware of is your post cranial blood sugar and pre meal blood sugar. Beat to try wearing a cgm to see how foods effect you ideally. Once you have foods that you know to avoid you should be fine.

Keep positive and keep fighting!
 
Jakeinhd1995 said:
................................

The main thing to be aware of is your post cranial blood sugar and pre meal blood sugar. Beat to try wearing a cgm to see how foods effect you ideally. Once you have foods that you know to avoid you should be fine.

Keep positive and keep fighting!
Click to expand...
I think you mean post-prandial and pre-prandial blood glucose.
 
nikipre said:
5 months ago I was prediabetic with HbA1c 42 and changed my diet dramatically, to very low carb. I’ve lost nearly 2 stone. I cut out all of the food I love, like dal & rice as my body just can’t cope with them (I test before and 2 hours after food, only for new things now).
What I’ve done is at the extreme end, I was hoping to see how low I could get my result with the hope that occasionally I could be a bit more relaxed - but I just heard from my GP and result is 41. I’m aware it’s normal, but I feel disheartened. I’d had an HbA1c at the gym 2 months in and it was 36 but a friend in NHS said not to trust it and that seems to have proved true.
I’d love some words of encouragement please, I’m only in my 40s and was hoping I wouldn’t have to stick to such extreme low carb diet forever, but looks like it’s the best way to manage it. I’ve had a few days of ‘normal’ eating over Christmas but now need to stop. Could a fast be a good way to get back to my low carb eating? Worried I’ve rather fallen off the wagon & that the result makes me feel like it’s all a bit pointless….

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom :) Niki
Click to expand...
Couple of things to be aware of: there is an allowable/acceptable error in laboratory HbA1c testing of 5%. That's 5% of the result, not five percentage points - so a single reading of 40 might indicate a true value of anywhere between 38 and 42.

The sort of test you had done at the gym usually has a error of around 12-15%. Given that your readings are so close together, it's almost impossible to know from the results alone what's going on.

And yet you lost 2 stone on low carb - so it had a effect. Do you have any other earlier HbA1c readings? It's just possible that your "natural" level is around 40 or 41 and what you've seen is purely a testing artifact. I'm attaching a graph that shows how A1c results are distributed in a non-diabetic population.

My advice? You're doing fine, your BG is normal and under control, and you've lost some weight. That looks like a result to me. You're only six months in.

[edited for spelling]
 

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Niki - I hear you, I am 49 exceptionally active I compete in triathlon, train 8 to 16 hours a week and have just been diagnosed diabetic after 10 years of prediabetic - I am not overweight at all, exceptionally fit for my age but at the same time can't deal with carbs. I don't have a sweet tooth and was relatively low carb anyway, am now going lower carb. Just remember its not your fault its just that your body can not deal with carbs like it used to or like other people can. as a prediabetic or diabetic we have to change the way we eat to deal with the issue, you are doing great and have a reduction in HBA1c, it might be as good as you want but its progress, just keep doing what you are doing.
 
nikipre said:
5 months ago I was prediabetic with HbA1c 42 and changed my diet dramatically, to very low carb. I’ve lost nearly 2 stone. I cut out all of the food I love, like dal & rice as my body just can’t cope with them (I test before and 2 hours after food, only for new things now).
What I’ve done is at the extreme end, I was hoping to see how low I could get my result with the hope that occasionally I could be a bit more relaxed - but I just heard from my GP and result is 41. I’m aware it’s normal, but I feel disheartened. I’d had an HbA1c at the gym 2 months in and it was 36 but a friend in NHS said not to trust it and that seems to have proved true.
I’d love some words of encouragement please, I’m only in my 40s and was hoping I wouldn’t have to stick to such extreme low carb diet forever, but looks like it’s the best way to manage it. I’ve had a few days of ‘normal’ eating over Christmas but now need to stop. Could a fast be a good way to get back to my low carb eating? Worried I’ve rather fallen off the wagon & that the result makes me feel like it’s all a bit pointless….

Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom :) Niki
Click to expand...

Just cut out the carbs.
 
The only thing here that matters is 41 is NON DIABETIC. If someone could guarantee my Hba1c would stay at 41 for the rest of my life, i'd take it like a shot. You may be able to get it lower, or it may just be your bodies regular level, in which case nothing you do will get it lower. Bask in the glory of NON DIABETIC numbers.
 
So many people I know have been told they are pre diabetic most of them in their 60s with Hba1c s well above 40 so I would say you have not to much to worry about !
 
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