Hba1c of 103

[Mbaker]

Finally got my carbs to under 100 yesterday..95..have seen a dramatic drop in blood sugar averages since I started seriously carb counting on Friday, so it seems to be working ok for me.

Have read in several places that strawberries are ok for T2's so having had a few small portions and seeing an actual drop in 2 hour PP...I decided to have slightly more than usual last night...150g or 13 carbs max...my sugars spiked to 13.2....should a snack consisting of so few carbs have spiked me so dramatically or have I missed something?

Hi @hoolyuk, well done for making some adjustments. You might want to consider your options so that you can have the appropriate plan in place. I.e. are you looking for moderate, good or excellent control of diabetes. I can tell you once you get in the excellent range, it becomes clear how ill you may have been previously. If you go for excellent control take a look at https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb; the pictures are really useful. Just a word of caution if you go down this path, avoid the fruit choices apart from berries, and the potatoes and parsnips.

It is worth considering intermittent fasting along with low carb, high fat eating, perhaps a 16 / 6 or 16 / 8 regime - apologies if you already know this, but you would say have 2 meals within a 6 or 8 hour period. This could be a brunch at 11.00 am with a dinner at maybe 17.00 or 18.00 with no snacks in between (drinks are fine such as tea, coffee and water). This would mean you are only challenging your body twice to produce insulin, and having a long 16 hours where your body can begin to heal. By eating good fat such as avocado, full fat yogurt / double cream (to fullness) you should not find hunger problems. Brisk walks after you meal will also assist with your numbers.

 

[hoolyuk]

Tried 100g of strawberries today just to confirm, and only went from 6.2 to 6.9 so must have been a faulty reading last night perhaps there was a trace of strawberry on my thumb if I had forgotten to wash my hands. Will eat similar food tonight and test hourly just to make sure

 

[hoolyuk]

All this extra fat and salt i'm eating...will it have an effect on my blood pressure and/or cholesterol?

My wife was in Slimming World and ended up with a kidney stone because of all the extra eggs and meat she was eating at the time [at least thats what the Urologist blamed] will low carbing come with similar risks?

 

[Bluetit1802]

All this extra fat and salt i'm eating...will it have an effect on my blood pressure and/or cholesterol?

My wife was in Slimming World and ended up with a kidney stone because of all the extra eggs and meat she was eating at the time [at least thats what the Urologist blamed] will low carbing come with similar risks?

You will know when you have your next lot of blood tests.
Most people thrive on high fat and find their cholesterol improves. Mine did. Some people find their first cholesterol test after starting this diet can be a bit elevated, but after that it improves.

I test my own blood pressure quite frequently. It hasn't increased at all since I was diagnosed and started this way of eating. It is perfectly normal. Some people are salt sensitive, and they may find their BP does increase, but most aren't salt sensitive.

All you can do is suck it and see. If your next lot of tests aren't very good you can always cut down.

 

[Freema]

300 grams of carbs is around 3 times What those on the highest of lower carb High fat dieters eat in a day ,somedays I can eat around 150 grams of carbs when doing really a lot of exercise .. This disease can progress rather rapidly in some People especially when eating that High level of carbs I would guess ... try to get your carbs down under 100 grams especially on days where you do not exercise

 

[JenniB]

The rules for low carb are quite simple. Avoid breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit juice, fizzy drinks. Best to avoid most fruits, especially bananas as they are high in sugar. Porridge can spike some people's blood sugar.

You can eat more fat e.g. Cheese, full fat yoghurt, cream, butter, nuts, avocados. See dietdoctor.com for some recipe ideas.

If you measure before eating and two hours after you will see if the food you are eating is causing blood sugars to rise.

If you are on insulin it may impact your driving licence as there are risks of hypos.

 

[JenniB]

Hi all, I tried the butter, cream, bacon etc diet BUT got high cholesterol as a result. Cutting carbs is sensible and the 'e' word (exercise) - if we are determined enough we will loose that weight and avoid that bad food - my attitude is no-one is going to do it for me and there is no magic pill - I can do it or suffer the awful consequences of not doing it and loose feet, legs, eyesight etc etc etc - do it for yourself. You are worth it.

 

[JenniB]

Hi Just rtried the convert your HBA1... reading on this site and very concerned that it converts fine and shows me in the red but firstly I accidentally typed the wrong HBA1 reading in and the marker under the red line was in the same place - so deliberately typed in a number that is 100% higher than my true reading but red market line remained in the ok position - which obviously it is not and did not move regardless of what number I typed in - this could mislead people into thinking they are OK when they are not - think it needs some attention.

 

[TooManyCrisps]

I was dianosed 16 months ago with an HBA1C of 97, so almost as high as yours. . I didn't want to take meds and luckily my GP agreed. I read everything i could on here about LCHF and followed it carefully. After 4 months my HBA1C was 49 and i had lost 2 stone. My mostvrecent HBA1C was 37. Still no meds.

For me, low carb has definitely worked but I aim at keeping carbs to below 50 gm per day, and never eat anything that is more than 10% carbs. It is easier than i thought it would be. I work full time and live with a husband and two teenage boys, so there are always carbs in the workplace or house (my 18 year old mainlines toast!) But I just tell myself that I don't need them. So, I make a meal for all of us but i dont eat the bread/pasta/ potatoes or whatever. I also go to the gym every night and work out.

Have a look at some of the low carb recipes on here for ideas.

 

[stuartfearnley]

Hello all,

Shocking HBA1C at my last test has finally spurred me to count my carbs....it has been building since i stopped smoking in feb 2016 with reading of 54, 65, 75 and now this. GP has kept me on 2000mg of metformin and 100mg of januvia and made me an appointment to see the Endocrinologist, but with a reading like that am thinking i might need insulin, even as a temporary measure.

My query is that despite restricting my carb intake to under 300g in total per day [which is low compared to what i had been shovelling in] i am not seeing any great improvement on my monitor, 6.9 is the lowest reading i've had in a fortnight, with readings between 11 and 13...2 hours after eating. Should i not be seeing a drop on monitor readings by now or is that my meds have stopped working [on metformin 8 years now] and insulin is the only way i can get back to a normal reading?

 

[stuartfearnley]

Hello all,

Shocking HBA1C at my last test has finally spurred me to count my carbs....it has been building since i stopped smoking in feb 2016 with reading of 54, 65, 75 and now this. GP has kept me on 2000mg of metformin and 100mg of januvia and made me an appointment to see the Endocrinologist, but with a reading like that am thinking i might need insulin, even as a temporary measure.

My query is that despite restricting my carb intake to under 300g in total per day [which is low compared to what i had been shovelling in] i am not seeing any great improvement on my monitor, 6.9 is the lowest reading i've had in a fortnight, with readings between 11 and 13...2 hours after eating. Should i not be seeing a drop on monitor readings by now or is that my meds have stopped working [on metformin 8 years now] and insulin is the only way i can get back to a normal reading?

I was diagnosed 23/02 with Blood sugar reading 19 and HBA1C 113. Place on 2 x 500mg metformin After low carb diet(completely without potato bread pasta) mainly large plates fish, meat, vegetable, salad etc after 60 days HBA1C down to 66 and expected at 3 months to be below 40. Daily blood test vary from 3.7 to 7 absolute maximum, but average around 5.3 also lots of exercise. Only issue I have is painful feet and lost a small amount of feeling in the top corner of middle toe.(bit worrying but circulation good)

I keep a daily meal log breakfast lunch dinner, test for certain foods that spike(grapefruit and avocado) otherwise diet is really enjoyable. I am hoping to come off tablets and conitinue diet and exercise only in the next few months. definately improved my measures

 

[hoolyuk]

Am well pleased with my results so far on day 4 of keeping my carbs low....had 2 weetabix and 100ml of semi skimmed as an emergency breakfast this AM and 3 1/2 hours later was only 5.4, expected to be in the 8's, so keeping carbs low at most times seems for me to work .....have a BP monitor also and readings are gradually creeping down so am on the right track.

I know about the dawn phenomenon, but how significant could its impact be on an HBA1C? Was 8.0 monday, 7.0 yesterday then 8.7 this morning...so havent just got total control yet I fear...

 

[Bluetit1802]

Am well pleased with my results so far on day 4 of keeping my carbs low....had 2 weetabix and 100ml of semi skimmed as an emergency breakfast this AM and 3 1/2 hours later was only 5.4, expected to be in the 8's, so keeping carbs low at most times seems for me to work

Why did you test at 3 and a half hours? In order to test properly you need to test immediately before and 2 hours after first bite. You will almost certainly have spiked after that breakfast, so I wouldn't count it as a meal you can manage without trying it again.

 

[hoolyuk]

Why did you test at 3 and a half hours? In order to test properly you need to test immediately before and 2 hours after first bite. You will almost certainly have spiked after that breakfast, so I wouldn't count it as a meal you can manage without trying it again.

I was in a hospital appt but checked as I had read that Weetabix raises it slowly and wanted to rule that out....have checked that breakfast a couple of times previously and bloods have been lower than they started, but will keep checking to make sure.

 

[hoolyuk]

Just a bit of an update....not one slice of bread has passed my lips in 2 weeks, down from an average of at least 8 slices per day....30g of Smash instead of half a dozen spuds at main meals, water instead of milk and my readings have plummetted, rarely above 7.0 at my 2 hour post prandials though still get some waking readings of above 7 mostly in the high 6's though.

Have my carb intake down to an average of 134g per day and 4 kilos off

My BP and heartrate are steadily dropping and I dont think I could go back to my old diet if I tried

Thanks for all the advice will let you know how the next HB test goes but am hoping it will be back to normal.

 

[hoolyuk]

HBA1C down from 103 to 48 in 3 months of carb counting :-O....am down a waist size in my jeans too 38 to 36 though no significant weight loss but thats probably because of my new vice...salted peanuts...had been worried about my cholesterol with all the extra fat, but its only 4.17 so onwards and upwards, hope I dont get hit by a bus now

PS had an annoying pimple problem on my scalp for the guts of a year...totally disappeared since I quit drinking beer....think the carbs in the beer caused an insulin spike which flared the zits.