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HbA1c result today - gobsmacked!

AllieRainbow

AllieRainbow

Well-Known Member
Messages
243
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
i got a call from the clinical practitioner this morning - she rang to tell me my results from the HbA1c test earlier this week.

I started making lifestyle changes in August 2025, after being diagnosed Type 2 back in 2018, having great results from low carb, and then going severely off the rails due to life being... life.

In August last year the HbA1c was 121 - very concerning, so I made a lot of changes - intermittent fasting and low carb, trying not to go over 50g carbs per day, and using a CGM to see how food and exercise was affecting me.

Around 6 weeks in another HbA1c came down to 81, and in November I got prescribed Rybelsus, the tablet form of semaglutide, to bring down the BG with medication as well, after getting onto the Ascend Plus trial and finding out I was on the placebo.

My HbA1c result today was 40!! I was cautiously hoping for something in the 60s.

I have lost around 40 pounds (19 kilos) since I started making the lifestyle changes, have got rid of the knee, heel and finger pain I had for years, and now my liver results have also come back as normal after being diagnosed with fatty liver disease earlier last year.

It is shocking to me what a difference lifestyle changes and medication can do over a relatively short period of time.

I eliminated processed carbs, and ultra processed foods, and aim for good nutrition, improving the insulin resistance and lowering the BG, and it has honestly not been hard at all - I aim for sustainable changes that I can carry on with for the rest of my life. The food has been delicious and so much better than I was eating before. I feel energised and mentally better than I have felt in years.

This forum has been absolutely crucial to making changes and learning what I needed to do to improve my health.

Thank you all for your amazing support, help, information, and lack of judgement.
 
Congratulations what a wonderful result - well done.
Brilliant that you find that the food, that is helping you recover your health, is also delicious. For me that's the key to keeping your results in the healthy range. I've now eaten in a way that keeps me healthy for more than 8 years and find because I enjoy my food choices it's a way of life.
 
I think the problem that I had earlier on with the diagnosis was thinking about fixing things in the short term, whereas this needs to be about permanent and sustainable changes. It can also take a very long time to accept the diagnosis.

I went through a long period of denial, compounded with difficult life events and focusing on everything else except my own health, but you can't care for others if you don't make caring for yourself a big priority. i found myself running on empty so much of the time and that is not sustainable at all.

Even now, my focus is more on improving my husband's diet and lifestyle to help him deal with his health issues, and sorting myself out so he will find it easier to make healthy choices if I am making them for myself.

I have a fair way to go yet in terms of prioritising myself. I am his carer so I think about how I will manage to keep doing that as we get older.
 
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