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Frustrated HBA1C Not Going Down Fast Enough

L

Lizzeeee

Active Member
Messages
40
Location
Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I am really struggling with my T2 diabetes at the moment. My HBA1C was 127 4 months ago. Got results today and it has gone down to 89. I found this really disappointing as I have massively improved my diet. Can this be considered a good drop in 4 months or am I right to be really disappointed?
 

Lizzeeee - - some people find their condition improved more quickly/slowly than others, and there is a school of thought that says a slower, steady approach to reducing things is kind, particularly to your eyes. That said, in your shoes, I'd really want my HbA1c to be lower than 89.

You say you have improved your diet massively, but it could be useful to just outline some of the changes you have made and what your meals are looking like these days, as well as mentioning any medication you might be taking.

Hopefully, someone will have some pointers for you

Are you due to be in touch with your medical bods any time soon?
 

Thanks for the quick reply. I am really unhappy at 89 as well but Doctor says just keep trying.

Breakfast: Keto Porridge (hemp hearts, chia seeds, flax seed, dessicated coconut, almond milk)
Lunch: Subway salad with no sauces
Dinner: Airfried chicken, peppers, onions, mushrooms, hallumi cheese, courgettes)
Snack: Either a carbkilla bar, kvarg yogurt or poached eggs and low carb bread (less than 1g of carbs)

I have some berries in breakfast occasionally.

On Metformin, Glimepiride and Sitaglipton. Maximum of all doses.

Cheers
 
My advice is keep ploughing on, that diet looks perfect.

Remember that 89 A1c is polluted with 3 months of higher readings taper down from your initial 127.

If you trust in the Prof Taylor approach your BG readings won't regualrise until you pass your personal fat threshold. That could be 10kg or 15kg, it's unique to you.

Keep going
 
Hi @Lizzeeee don't panic please. Look at the bright side,
you've reduced your HbA1c by almost 40 in 4 months, you must be doing something right.
your diet looks ok to me.
I suggest you keep doing what you are doing and see if it goes down further.

I've also looked at your other thread https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/really-struggling-to-get-bs-down.189010/
and was wondering if you have considered losing weight.
I've had success with intermittent fasting where on 2 days I eat 600 calories,
only breakfast and dinner, no lunch with very low carbs,
so no bread, mainly vegetables (curries), eggs, salads, soups
and small portion of fruit (apples or berries), chicken or fish.
On the other days I ate normally. As you can eat a lot of vegetables and salads or soup
within 600 calories, I did not go hungry on my fast days.
This allowed me to lose 10 kg and reduce my HbA1c from 65 to 42.

Intermittent fasting works, because humans have had to do it during evolution
If there was no mammoth and winter, our ancestors did not have sufficient food
and started burning fat, i.e. losing weight.
Intermittent fasting is sustainable whereas if you are on a constant diet,
your metabolic base rate will lower with time,
i.e. instead of 2000 calories you will only need 1500 per day,
So you will stop losing weight and still feel hungry. this is not sustainable.
 
Four months really isn’t long, and you’re moving in the right direction. As has been previously said, people who reduce very quickly sometimes deal with eye issues, and your body needs time to adjust. It took me about a year to bring my HbA1C from 81 to 37 with Linagliptin and diet but I wasn’t (then) eating as low carb as you. Keep going!
 
That's a drop of 38 in four months. In percentage terms you've achieved an HbA1c reduction of 30%. In four months. Substantial success. You're doing something right.

Edit: I short-changed you. While the figure above is correct, there's another way of looking at it. If you're heading for normal range that's achieved at a level of 42. So your percentage reduction to 89 on the way from 127 to 42 is actually just a whisker under 45%. Really good!
 
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To quote Ron Weasley - that was bloody brilliant.
It was a bit high - of course - if going up, but coming down - in that time - its really good.
People do seem to think that there is a direct link between blood glucose levels and Hba1c - but I ate 10 gm less carbs every day for a year to reduce down (as I thought) from 42 after several identical results - and at the test the following year my Hba1c was - still 42.
I suspect that Hba1c has more to do with metabolism than we might think - many people have reported that their diabetes seems less well controlled - but we have had Covid, and vaccination and stress and distress and all sorts of alteration to cope with, so it is no wonder that we have reacted to it.
You really are doing well - I can only advise that you keep in doing the same. It might help to test your blood glucose to see just how well you are doing - I saw my levels drifting down and down although I was eating the same meals, as I recovered.
 

There certainly don't seem overly many carbs there, and you are already taking a few diabetes meds. I'm going to ask some personal questions that aren't being posed because I'm nosey, but to try to understand your bigger picture. As I say, you take some meds for your diabetes. As those would normally be added incrementally, it seems likely you have been diagnosed longer than the 4 months being discussed here? If so, when were you diagnosed and how long has it taken to add the meds in to where you are now?

Do you carry any excess weight and have you lost any since lowering your carb intake? Do you have any other medical conditions you take meds for? If so, what sorts of meds are those? Some can impact blood glucose levels in an unwanted way.

And finally, for now anyway, has anyone ever talked about the potential your diabetes is not actually Type 2?

It could be as straightforward as your body needing more time to get into a better alignment, but it's sensible to have an open mind.
 
It may be that you have gone as far as you can with diet and the drugs you are on.. It could be that you need insulin now. Has your doctor suggested this at all? You have done well to manage without it for so long.
 

Hi, I am on the upper end of normal weight but could certainly afford to lose more. Lost about half a stone since going lower carb. I am less bloated so physically look like I have lost more. I have peripheral neuropathy so take pregabalin and duloxetine for pain. I have been type 2 for 22 years. Only got a gad test last year. I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday. I am 52 so think hormones could possibly be causing an issue. I was at a wedding on Saturday and was very ill. Was dizzy and was sick several times. BS were above 25 most of day. Didn't eat a lot and no alcohol. Looking back I think possibly should have sought medical advice. Second time this has happened in 3 weeks.
 
In that case, although you have done well on the diet - maybe ask for tests for ketones and further bloods as BG that high without much food, plus the other symptoms, is definitely something your doctor should know about.
 

With high numbers, feeling ill and being sick, for me that would be a medical advice time. I'd want to be super sure I wasn't experiencing any form of DKA.

If yu had a GAD test recently, what was the result?
 
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