Good results I think?

[kevkevkev]

I got my HbA1c result today and it's down to 43 which is good (I think), but my total cholesterol is 5.1 (Don't know breakdown) which is a slight worry. I am following low(ish) carb high fat diet. Really just wanting opinions on my Cholesterol and if anyone else has probs with LCHF and cholesterol.

P.S. All other results came back spot on

 

[NewTD2]

An HBA1C of 43 is pre-diabetic.

I was told by my endocrinologist yesterday to limit the consumption of red meat, cheese, creams, canned foods to minimum to improve cholesterol levels.

Stick with white meat like chicken, fish, plant based protein like Soya, for now.

 

[bulkbiker]

Hi Kev
Well 43 can be considered "good" if last time it was higher and "bad" if last time it was lower...
As for cholesterol there has been a huge amount written on the forum about it.
The main points are

• Without a lipid breakdown your 5.1 is meaningless
• You may or may not consider 5.1 to be "high" depending on your personal opinion
• Cholesterol is essential for life - mess with it at your peril
• The chosen number of "5" being ok for normal people and "4" for people with diabetes are simply random numbers especially if the total number is meaningless

I'm afraid you probably need to do a lot of reading about cholesterol before deciding if you should be worried or not.

 

[bulkbiker]

An HBA1C of 43 is pre-diabetic.

I was told by my endocrinologist yesterday to limit the consumption of red meat, cheese, creams, canned foods to minimum to improve cholesterol levels.

Stick with white meat like chicken, fish, plant based protein like Soya, for now.

Oh dear.

 

[Tophat1900]

Good stuff. Congrats on the results.

Being there is no breakdown on cholesterol, the number is useless and I wouldn't be worrying about it.

 

[Guzzler]

An HBA1C of 43 is pre-diabetic.

I was told by my endocrinologist yesterday to limit the consumption of red meat, cheese, creams, canned foods to minimum to improve cholesterol levels.

Stick with white meat like chicken, fish, plant based protein like Soya, for now.

Dietary cholesterol accounts for just 15% of total serum cholesterol. Even if you could eliminate every scrap of cholesterol from your diet (pretty much impossible especially as plants have sterols, too) the body would make up the shortfall because every cell in the body needs cholesterol, without it we would die. Cholesterol is so important that the human body is designed to make it not to leave it to chance as per diet.

 

[Guzzler]

Well done on your 43. I happen to think it is a wonderful number and nothing at all to do with the fact that mine is 43 too! Great work, keep it up.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Please have a good read round and do some research on cholesterol. The total is just a total of the good stuff and the not so good stuff. The higher the good stuff the higher the total will be. You need a print out of the test results and then decide whether to be worried or not. NICE recommends that doctors look at the breakdown and the ratios of good:bad. The total is now old science.

Well done on the HbA1c . Going in the right direction, so keep up the good work.

 

[Bluetit1802]

An HBA1C of 43 is pre-diabetic.

I was told by my endocrinologist yesterday to limit the consumption of red meat, cheese, creams, canned foods to minimum to improve cholesterol levels.

Stick with white meat like chicken, fish, plant based protein like Soya, for now.

He needs to do a bit of reading methinks.

 

[kevkevkev]

Please have a good read round and do some research on cholesterol. The total is just a total of the good stuff and the not so good stuff. The higher the good stuff the higher the total will be. You need a print out of the test results and then decide whether to be worried or not. NICE recommends that doctors look at the breakdown and the ratios of good:bad. The total is now old science.

Well done on the HbA1c . Going in the right direction, so keep up the good work.

The Cholesterol test wasn't a fasting one so the ldl wasn't measured, everything else was in range

 

[Guzzler]

He needs to do a bit of reading methinks.

What I would like to know is how/why some people with T2 get to see an endocrinologist and others do not.
I'm beginning to feel short changed as I have never been referred to one. Hmph!

 

[Bluetit1802]

The Cholesterol test wasn't a fasting one so the ldl wasn't measured, everything else was in range

The LDL doesn't require fasting on its own. It is only the triglycerides that are elevated if you have recently eaten. Being "in range" doesn't mean much - how near were they to not being in range? You need a print out so you can analyse them yourself. If you have all the others (Total, HDL and Trigs) you can easily calculate your LDL.

 

[Bluetit1802]

What I would like to know is how/why some people with T2 get to see an endocrinologist and others do not.
I'm beginning to feel short changed as I have never been referred to one. Hmph!

LOL. I've never even seen a GP and I am 4 years down the line.

EDIT I am rather glad I've never seen a GP. I had to see mine recently on another matter and mentioned that my tablets are described as unsuitable for diabetics. A few days later I looked at my on-line records and saw he has marked me as "diabetes resolved 14 June 2014". No discussion, nothing. That is the date I first dropped below 48 and haven't gone back above it. He has also moved the initial diagnosis of T2 out of the "current significant problems" to "past problems". It would have been nice to have had a discussion about this before re-coding me.

 

[Bluetit1802]

@Guzzler I edited my post after you read it!

 

[Guzzler]

@Guzzler I edited my post after you read it!

Wow! Great that he classes it as a 'past problem' but I agree with you, he should have discussed it with you. Perhaps this is one of the issues often raised about some GPs knowing next to nowt about Diabetes and the metabolism/diet in general.

 

[Tophat1900]

LOL. I've never even seen a GP and I am 4 years down the line.

EDIT I am rather glad I've never seen a GP. I had to see mine recently on another matter and mentioned that my tablets are described as unsuitable for diabetics. A few days later I looked at my on-line records and saw he has marked me as "diabetes resolved 14 June 2014". No discussion, nothing. That is the date I first dropped below 48 and haven't gone back above it. He has also moved the initial diagnosis of T2 out of the "current significant problems" to "past problems". It would have been nice to have had a discussion about this before re-coding me.

Sounds like an interesting discussion on your "resolved, past diabetes problems" It's a shame you were not invited

 

[Zilsniggy]

An HBA1C of 43 is pre-diabetic.

I was told by my endocrinologist yesterday to limit the consumption of red meat, cheese, creams, canned foods to minimum to improve cholesterol levels.

Stick with white meat like chicken, fish, plant based protein like Soya, for now.

Soya may not be good for some diabetics as it is quite inflammatory to the body. I'd stay away from it. This is not good advice to someone following a LCHF diet. It has been continually proven that dairy is not as bad as originally thought, in fact see today's news for information regarding the latest study, 55,000 women and 18,000 men studied, with a 30 year follow up, all eating full fat dairy yoghurt at least twice a week......may be protective against heart disease and stroke. This appears to support evidence that fat is protective to the cardiovascular system. Dietary cholesterol has only a small part to play in your cholesterol numbers, and as for saying your total cholesterol is 5.....you need to know what the breakdown of that number is, ie HDL and LDL numbers. Those, along with your triglyceride numbers can give a better idea of how your cholesterol is behaving. If you have lost weight and are still losing, then the cholesterol numbers can be deranged. You will get a more accurate result once these numbers have stabilised. Contrary to what we are all told, cholesterol is essential within the body, especially for the formation of vital hormones and in cell transport.