Hba1c 103 Reduced To 38 In Three Months

[happysnapper]

Hi to everyone, jumping in with my first post after a couple of months following the forum.
I was diagnosed with type 2 in May this year with HbA1c of 103, so well and truly in the zone. I’d seen some recent info about people getting diabetes into remission so asked my GP about this just after he gave me the 103 news. He seemed to say he’d seen it once and I got the impression he didn’t have much hope of that being possible for me. Then out came the prescription for Metformin and suggestion for statins. I took the Metformin offer up and declined the statins. He also said he would refer me to a dietitian but I’ve not had that appointment yet. Next came an encounter with the diabetic nurse and was told it would be good going if could reduce HbA1c by 20 or 30 and if it didn’t drop I’d need an additional medication. Came away not liking the sound of that. Started looking for info which is when I found this forum and a couple of tv programs that were saying more hopeful things and ways to try and look after my diabetes.
I stopped eating the obvious sugars, reduced starchy carbs and when I did eat them had mostly done the freeze it thing. Got myself a Dario and started self testing and making adjustments depending on the results. Over the year before I was diagnosed I had lost about a stone and a half due to the diabetes without realising it. Since May and changing what I eat I’ve now lost more weight, 4 stone in total. More to go but very pleased so far. I’ve walked a bit more than I used to but not really changed my exercise levels much yet, work in progress. My stomach did battle with the Metformin so stopped it and was swapped to the modified release version. This one hasn’t been as bad but stomach not great still so have only been on the full prescribed dose for about 2/3 weeks (1000mg morning and 1000mg evening).
Got my 3 month HbA1c result this week and it’s 38 which is beyond what I thought possible or even dared hope for. ALT has gone from 68 to 26 and cholesterol from 5.4 to 4.7.
Due to see the nurse for review in a couple of weeks and will be interesting to find out if can reduce the Metformin or if sugars would go crazy again. I’m going to ask about possibility of getting Dario test strips on prescription as I’ve learnt a lot about what food does what to me.
Long post but wanted to give the background to my experience so far and maybe share a bit of hope for other newly diagnosed type 2’s.
The next phase of my mission is to keep looking after the weird and wonderful chemical reactions that go on in my body!
Thank you for all the info and advice on this forum.

 

[NewTD2]

Congratulations you, very well done.
You’ve gone into remission!!!

 

[Goonergal]

Congratulations @happysnapper thats a really dramatic reduction in a short space of time. I’d wager that most of it is due to you and your dietary changes rather than the Metformin.

Do keep posting and letting us know how you’re getting on.

 

[zand]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum! Your hard work has certainly paid off.

 

[Prem51]

Welcome to the forum @happysnapper. Well done on getting down to the non-diabetic range so quickly.
And thanks for sharing your progress which will be inspirational for others starting out on the journey.

 

[Kittycat_7_]

Hi,
Really pleased for you,
Well done.

 

[Terrytiddy]

Congratulations @happysnapper fantastic results and welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 for her welcome pack. I did a similar thing and the shock from the Dr was amazing. You could contact @Debandez and add your story and 4 stone to her event. Keep up the great work and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Dr Snoddy]

Fantastic outcome! I had a similar HbA1c on diagnosis and got down to 35-38 within 6 months doing just what you have done. I have been the same for 4 years so a normal HbA1c can be maintained. Yours is an inspirational story!

 

[carol43]

Congratulations and keep up the good work.

 

[Rachox]

Very well done on your results! Keep up the good work!

 

[Guzzler]

What a U-Turn! Congratulations and well done You.

 

[BarbaraDavies]

Fantastic result, you must be super chuffed, that is an incredible change in such a short space of time! Well done you!

 

[Debandez]

Congratulations @happysnapper fantastic results and welcome to the forum. I will tag @daisy1 for her welcome pack. I did a similar thing and the shock from the Dr was amazing. You could contact @Debandez and add your story and 4 stone to her event. Keep up the great work and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks for the shout out @Terrytiddy. Much appreciated. I have had my head down for a couple of weeks and not had chance to read so much on the forum unfortunately. It's great to know there are so many members helping me. I love this forum so much. Wonderful people. I'm just working on the 'Inspirational Stories' booklet today as it happens and will be sending out the first draft to all those who have said that they would like to be included. @happysnapper I will contact you very shortly to see how you feel about being included. What an inspiration you are. That is a staggering reduction in HbA1c. And in such a short space of time. Well done. I'm with @Goonergal in that this fabulous result will in the main be all down to your hard work and determination and not the meds. Your words will be an inspiration to so many that are newly diagnosed. You could never write enough words for me to be honest.

 

[Merehoare1952]

Hi to everyone, jumping in with my first post after a couple of months following the forum.
I was diagnosed with type 2 in May this year with HbA1c of 103, so well and truly in the zone. I’d seen some recent info about people getting diabetes into remission so asked my GP about this just after he gave me the 103 news. He seemed to say he’d seen it once and I got the impression he didn’t have much hope of that being possible for me. Then out came the prescription for Metformin and suggestion for statins. I took the Metformin offer up and declined the statins. He also said he would refer me to a dietitian but I’ve not had that appointment yet. Next came an encounter with the diabetic nurse and was told it would be good going if could reduce HbA1c by 20 or 30 and if it didn’t drop I’d need an additional medication. Came away not liking the sound of that. Started looking for info which is when I found this forum and a couple of tv programs that were saying more hopeful things and ways to try and look after my diabetes.
I stopped eating the obvious sugars, reduced starchy carbs and when I did eat them had mostly done the freeze it thing. Got myself a Dario and started self testing and making adjustments depending on the results. Over the year before I was diagnosed I had lost about a stone and a half due to the diabetes without realising it. Since May and changing what I eat I’ve now lost more weight, 4 stone in total. More to go but very pleased so far. I’ve walked a bit more than I used to but not really changed my exercise levels much yet, work in progress. My stomach did battle with the Metformin so stopped it and was swapped to the modified release version. This one hasn’t been as bad but stomach not great still so have only been on the full prescribed dose for about 2/3 weeks (1000mg morning and 1000mg evening).
Got my 3 month HbA1c result this week and it’s 38 which is beyond what I thought possible or even dared hope for. ALT has gone from 68 to 26 and cholesterol from 5.4 to 4.7.
Due to see the nurse for review in a couple of weeks and will be interesting to find out if can reduce the Metformin or if sugars would go crazy again. I’m going to ask about possibility of getting Dario test strips on prescription as I’ve learnt a lot about what food does what to me.
Long post but wanted to give the background to my experience so far and maybe share a bit of hope for other newly diagnosed type 2’s.
The next phase of my mission is to keep looking after the weird and wonderful chemical reactions that go on in my body!
Thank you for all the info and advice on this forum.

 

[Merehoare1952]

Posted before I could type!!!! Congratulations and well done. I have been Type 2 for 14 years and despite losing well over 4 stone in that time I am still struggling. My Type 2 was not caused by obesity but by steroids taken for rheumatoid arthritis. I was taken off those when diagnosed but also told no matter how much weight I lose I will not be medicine free! Hey ho onward and upwards will keep throwing the tablets down my throat and keep fingers crossed for stable HbA1c results eventually. I am on a low carb diet but to no avail

 

[daisy1]

@happysnapper

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 235,000 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

Reduce your 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[liarsdance]

Many, many congratulations!! *throws glitter*

 

[Mbaker]

What an amazing result, congratulations. Are you going to be mischievous and still see a dietition? That would be an interesting conversation. You have got half a chance of getting test strips, but this would go down dramatically if you remove Metformin - don't let that stop you if this is the path you wish to tread.

 

[smw99]

Amazing result so well done/ I also suspect that most of the reduction will be down to your diet. Do tell your doctor and nurse how you have done it - we need to spread the word because this is possible for many people with diabetes type 2. Good luck with the testing strips - most doctors will not prescribe them because there is no need to test. (in their minds, not ours of course!)

 

[rhubarb73]

That’s amazing. That’s 25kg weight loss.
It’s a 9 year old child you’ve lost. If you put 25kg in a shopping basket could you lift it?
Really well done !!!