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HBa1c from 8.2 to 5.8 in 60 Days ... Is the test wrong?

L

Later123

Member
Messages
12
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello,

I have been voraciously reading this site for the last sixty days and learned so much, so thank you. I was stunned but realize I must have had this for roughly two years in retrospect, based on symptoms. I feel so stupid.

Sixty days ago I was advised I had diabetes with an HBa1c of 8.2. I am a type 2.

After the diagnosis, immediately I began walking every day and a rigid diet.

Today my home test returned at 5.8. Is this even possible? I expected, hoped for something in the low 7's. I think maybe I did something wrong. Should I test again?

Medication: Glimepiride 1 MG​

Carbs: My only pure carbs are from one full to one half cup of beans a day. I removed sweets, artificial and sugared all grains including oats, whole wheat, wheat and rice. Generally I mix in some greens like spinach or mustard greens with the beans to make a soup or hummus. It is dangerous for me to exercise without some pure carbs which I discovered the hard way.

Meat: Fish and turkey breast

Fruit: Strawberries and blue berries, lots of lemon and lime juice, every day

Green leafy vegs: 3.5 servings each day from spinach, turnip and mustard greens, cilantro, Brussel sprouts or cabbage.

Vegs: Cauliflower, brocolli, avocado, tomato, onion, peppers (all kinds), tomatillos, egg plant

Drinks: Black coffee and herbal tea with lemon / lime

Oils: Extra virgin olive oil and canola oil

Ginger, tumeric, garlic, paprika, cayenne, curry powder

Hard cheese a few servings a week, 90 percent cacao of a few blocks equal to about one square inch a week, six eggs a week. Fresh roasted pecans, peanuts and almonds with no salt but sometimes cayenne or other spices.

Occasionally, I will put a carrot into a spinach soup I make or a turnip into a soup I make with pinto beans and turnip greens. I read that if you eat the purer carbs such as a carrot and turnip are, mixing them with high fiber vegetables such as spinach and turnip / mustard greens, the combination will reduce their impact on your blood glucose.

Vitamins and Supplements:
I went from zero vitamins and supplements to this:
A - 2500
B6 - 4
B12 - 39
B5: Pantothethic Acid - 20
C - 45
D - 4800
E - 30
Fish Oil - 1200
Folic Acid - 800
Niacin - 170
Calcium - 100
Iodine 40
Zinc - 2.5
Magnesium 250
Biocin - 75​

This was the home test: A1CNOW-SELFCHECK-TEST-DIAGNOSTICS-DIABETES

I took this test with trepidation and told myself don't be disappointed with a 7.8 just keep trying. I really think there is a mistake and it is not with the original diagnosis. The symptoms I have read about all make sense now.

For about a month I have felt so much better, night and day in terms of energy. I do not feel like I felt ten years ago but I did not think it was possible to feel this good again.

Thank you for your input and for guidance that helped me when I was in shock and filled with grief and worry.
 
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I do not know how accurate the home A1c tests are so I cannot comment on that however your fall in numbers is do-able so at least I can tell you that you are definitely going in the right direction. Smashing work, there. Keep it up.
 
I don't know anything about home A1c tests, but I'd be reluctant to trust their accuracy.

Not sure if you are buying all those vitamin/mineral supplements, if so you could probably save a bit and get a B-complex vit.

Is there a reason why you are taking Biocin?
 
My HbA1c was 70 (8.5%) at diagnosis and after 2 months having dropped my carb intake I was at 45 (6.2%) so very similar timescale and drop in figures as you have found with your home testing kit. I went onto drop to 36 (5.4%) after two more months so if you carry on with what you’ve been doing you should reach a non-diabetic number soon too. All my results are bloods taken at the Drs.
How do you find the A1CNow kit? Is it easy to perform, I’m considering getting them if my GP reduces the frequency of my tests with them, but they are expensive.
 
The test was delivered by UPS from Amazon. Very easy. I tried to link but being new to the boards the link was blocked. I read the Amazon reviews before I selected a test. They are about $22 USD each. I return to the doctor in a month but I wanted to know how to tweak what I was doing for the last 30 days.

Did you find you felt much better after you changed your diet and your numbers started coming down?
 
That is a combination of a multi-vitamin and a B complex, plus E and Fish Oil separately. All combined, per month probably no more than $10 per month.
 
Would anyone be able to advise me in an approximate way, how much of this drop (if its real) is attributable to medication and how much to diet and exercise?

While on medication how low will my numbers have to reach to go off medication?
 
Later123 said:
Did you find you felt much better after you changed your diet and your numbers started coming down?
Click to expand...


Later123 said:
Would anyone be able to advise me in an approximate way, how much of this drop (if its real) is attributable to medication and how much to diet and exercise?

While on medication how low will my numbers have to reach to go off medication?
Click to expand...

My type 2 diagnosis last May, was made on a routine bloods for something else. I feel much better since starting low carbs, medication and losing weight. I didn’t realise how poorly I was feeling til I started to feel better!
I’m on Metformin and I think that does only a tiny bit to improve my sugars, most of it is due to diet. I don’t know about your medication though. I haven’t exercised much til the last couple of weeks due to arthritis and a foot op just before Xmas. However the weight loss and anti inflammatory effect of low carbing has improved my arthritis so I’m now taking daily walks.
 
Thank you. I take it this means low carbing for the rest of our lives. I can live with that, still a bit of grief pops up for not finding this sooner and worry about some damage that might not be reversible from the last two years.

But do hope the extremities stay in tack and the weight keeps coming down to maintain exercise. Growing older in a healthy way seems to demand diligence and insight. I was in the dark too long.
 

There are worse diets to have to follow, stick at it, I am x
 
@Later123 are you Type 1 or Type 2? Because if you are Type 1, as your profile states, unfortunately, no matter how low you get your Hba1c, short of a pancreas transplant or a miracle, you will never be able to come off medication.
 
EllsKBells said:
@Later123 are you Type 1 or Type 2? Because if you are Type 1, as your profile states, unfortunately, no matter how low you get your Hba1c, short of a pancreas transplant or a miracle, you will never be able to come off medication.
Click to expand...
Oh indeed! I was going by glimepiride, that’s a type 2 drug isn’t it?
 
That’s a great reduction, well done! I’d say a lot of your drop can be directly attributed to your diet - I know I’m a little different but as a type one, since I started eating low carb my HbA1c has dropped from 10.3% to 6.7% in two months - and my insulin dose has halved in that time, because I inject according to my carb intake.

So it’s got to be the food, right?
 
EllsKBells said:
@Later123 are you Type 1 or Type 2? Because if you are Type 1, as your profile states, unfortunately, no matter how low you get your Hba1c, short of a pancreas transplant or a miracle, you will never be able to come off medication.
Click to expand...
Oh, I am type 2 ... will change that now. That was a mistake. Sorry about that.
 
Yes, apologies. My profile was in error and I have changed it. I am type 2.
 
By, the way, that is quite an impressive weight loss. Can you elaborate on that? Particularly since most of that loss must have occurred without exercise. Has exercise accelerated the weight loss?

Were you impacted by the diabetes / hunger cycle in the build up? I have noticed a reduction in the hunger cycle with the low carb intake.

How long do you believe you were in the diabetes range before diagnosis? The prediabetes range?
 

Hi there! Thank you for the compliment about my weight loss. I lost the weight purely as a happy side effect of the low carb eating which I started to control my blood sugars. I started at under 100g of carbs per day then after six weeks I dropped to 50 - 70g per day. This avoided me getting carb or keto flu, not real flu but a similar feeling as your body objects to a sudden drop in carbs. These days I usually have under 60g per day. On diagnosis I wasn’t exercising due to my arthritis but the weight was coming off anyway. Just before Xmas I had an operation on my foot so was even less mobile for around ten weeks and my weight loss had stalled. However these last couple of weeks I’ve altered my diet in that I’ve reduced the fat content a little, been careful with the amount of cream, cheese and such like that I’m using and watched my portions sizes a bit more. Having lost weight and recovered from my foot op I’ve taken to going on a twenty minute walk every day and this has helped me start losing weight again, I still have over 2 stone to go to get into healthy BMI bracket.
I agree I’ve not suffered feeling ravenously hungry like I used to before I was diagnosed, since I’ve started low carb eating. I think increased snacking just crept up on me over the years, I didn’t realise what was going on as I know now. I had a borderline blood sugar test in 2013 which I didn’t know about until I saw the Dr about my HbA1c but hey ho that’s water under the bridge and I don’t dwell on it.
I actually feel that my diagnosis was the kick up the bum that I needed to get healthier, I didn’t realise how poorly I had been feeling til I started to feel better. I am very happy with my wellbeing now
 
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