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Feeling sad and confused and anxious

H

HurricaneHippo

Well-Known Member
Messages
294
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi everyone new here

I was given by HbA1c results today and it was 8.7. But 8.7 what? What’s the metric please? I’m so confused
2 years ago I was diagnosed with diabetes (don’t remember the reading) and put on metformin. I was foolish and refused to take it and wanted to come back in 3 months and show the GP that I can bring it back to prediabetic readings on exercise and diet alone and I did. I kept this up for 2 years but the pandemic and poor food choices have got the better of me this time. I want to do it again this time but the doctor thinks 8.7 is too far gone and I won’t be able to reverse it this time! Is there a chart that shows how bad my readings are please? Is there no way of controlling it again? Is that true?
Thanks for reading
 
Hi @HurricaneHippo and welcome to the form!
Have a read of this article for a bit of background to HbA1c levels, so you understand a little more.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html
I will also tag in @Andydragon who has had type 2 for some years and has managed to get back to normal levels and come off all medication.
Edit to add the link
 
@HurricaneHippo - One thing I would say is that your options aren't necessarily either diet or meds. If you chose to accept the medication your GP is advising, then you also get those numbers well down, you could always come off the meds?

There's no shame in taking meds.
 
Thank you for the response, I didn’t know that was possible really. I just assumed the body becomes totally reliant on them.
 
HurricaneHippo said:
Hi everyone new here

I was given by HbA1c results today and it was 8.7. But 8.7 what? What’s the metric please? I’m so confused
Click to expand...

Many of the online charts are incorrect, I believe this one is more accurate



Btw 8.5% is not too far gone, we've had many members here with much higher who managed to get back to non-diabetic levels
 
I'm not sure that chart is correct (someone with an average bgl of 8.4 is a fair way above being pre-diabetic) ; this converter I believe is accurate though.

http://www.ngsp.org/convert1.asp

8.5 % NGSP = 69 mmol/mol IFCC = 197 mg/dL eAG = 11.0 mmol/l eAG

It's high but not the end of the world. I have managed to go from an A1c of 12.6% (114, which really *is* bad!) to an estimate of around 7.8 in a couple of months, with metformin and strict keto. And my body seems to be on a go-slow (although recent numbers are tending very much toward low 7s now). So you can do it for sure.

As a quick guide, 6.0% is the golden number which is non-diabetic (42 in the UK/EU system). The NHS in the UK treats anything up to 6.5% as pre-diabetic (48 here), and this is apparently the target for diabetics. I've read that the US has a higher target of 7.0% (56 here). 8.5% isn't really all that far of a stretch from 7.0%.
 
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Could they make this more confusing? why not just have one number instead of all this converting?
 
Fenn said:
Could they make this more confusing? why not just have one number instead of all this converting?
Click to expand...
You said just what I was thinking Fenn !!! I find that it all goes way over my head. So confusing
 
Thank you so that chart would put me in the “dangerous” category

that sounds scary but reassuring to know that I can work hard and bring down those numbers

And gosh yes I agree all these conversions etc so confusing
 
As I say please be careful when reading the chart that Ronancastled posted.

"Dangerous" is too strong a term for an average blood sugar level of 11mmol/l or 200mg/dl IMO. It certainly isn't ideal but you're not going to drop down dead any time soon.

Just to put things into perspective, I received an indicator card with one of my meters. It states the following (these are measurements you get througha glucose meter but you get the idea - as I say you are at 11.0 or 197 on this scale):

1.1 through 3.9mmol/l (20 through 70mg/dl) - Low. (You should never see this as a type 2 unless something goes badly wrong).

4.0 through 7.0mmol/l (72 through 126mg/dl) - Normal.

7.1 through 10.0mmol/l (128 through 180mg/dl) - Borderline.

10.1 through 13.8mmol/l (182 through 248mg/dl) - High.

13.9mmol/l (250mg/dl) and up - Dangerous.

I was well into dangerous in the above scale a couple of months ago. I am now hovering in the borderline range almost exclusively.
 
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Oh that’s reassuring thank you, did you manage to do that through diet alone?
 
Hba1c of 8.7 equates to an average blood glucose level of just under 13mmol/l
There is no reason to suppose that, whilst you are above ground and breathing, that reducing your blood glucose by eating correctly would not work - unless you are something more interesting than an ordinary type 2.
 


Thank you, that’s nice to hear after hearing “no return” from the GP
 
HurricaneHippo said:
Oh that’s reassuring thank you, did you manage to do that through diet alone?
Click to expand...

I am on Metformin but that is fairly easy to wean off from what I can gather. Metformin only reduces numbers by a couple of points - the rest through diet yes.
 
Hi @HurricaneHippo are you testing your bloods regularly? I think regular testing is very important. The HbA1Cis an average. It is important to find out what your levels are so you can make decisions about whether you are able to control it by diet or whether you need something more. I use metformin and while my levels are now well within the normal range I plan to continue taking it. I don't have any side effects so no reason not to. If I change my mind I will be very careful about testing regularly.

There is no shame at all in taking medication. The real shame- in my view is refusing to deal with it at all. There are some serious side effects that can result from not taking diabetes seriously.

We all need to make the best decisions that we can. We are all different in many ways but what we have in common is the desire to deal with our condition and to support those here who are also dealing with it. It doesn't matter how.

There is a lot of shame and judgement around from being a diabetic. In my view it is unhelpful. That includes judging yourself. Be kind to yourself as well as others.
 
Resurgam said:
Hba1c of 8.7 equates to an average blood glucose level of just under 13mmol/l.
Click to expand...

No that's 9.7% (confirmed through multiple sources including app, academic website cited above and a chart present on this website). 8.7% is 11.3mmol/l (apologies I thought you were 8.5 from a comment above OP).
 
I found this chart a while back, not sure how accurate it is but gave me a better idea of where i was at with a HbA1c of 87



My goal is to get my HbA1c into the low 30's
 
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