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HbA1c results not good

Spencer67

Well-Known Member
Messages
882
Location
North West
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Carbs and Blue Meanies
I had my HbA1c results back and they are not good, up there in the 9s, i’ve had a fair bit of stress over the past couple of years, relationship split, job loss, pets dying and other stuff but i don’t want to concern you with too much detail, just so you get the bigger picture, i’ve been stressed and found it hard to get a routine and my life normalised and on a level and so my bloods have suffered.

I have eye complications and have had some lazer and avastin injections that didn’t work too well i'm up for more soon at the manchester royal eye hospital.

I have made steps to eliminate the high stress factors from my life and eat better with more raw food, so now i’m here trying to take control and reclaim back my life that i feel is being attacked by diabetes.

I have linked my HbA1c doc as pdf for any one who can do the number crunching,

hbA1c PDF Download or here >>>> http://www.pdf-archive.com/2015/01/15/hab1c-140115-001/

it all looks like numbers with little meaning at the moment, but my goal is to understand the diabetes condition better than i do now. Know your enemy, they say!!!!

i’m bad with diet although i know the right foods to eat i have big hypo fluctuations and i end up eating biscuits and cakes, lucozade, orange juice etc to get out of them, which pushes my sugar back up. I’m terrible at the control game and i want to be better.

I don’t feel i get the best advice from my doctors but can’t blame them too much as i’ve skipped a lot of diabetes checks because of other commitments, but have found now this should be my biggest commitment.

I want to understand the numbers and how i can utilise food correctly, so i’m on a big learning curve as i’ve neglected taking it serious for quite some time.

I find diabetes is hard to manage i want to make it easier by understanding it more. Any input appreciated.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Couldn't possibly understand all those numbers but I expect others will and offer their advice. Yes, the 9s aren't great at all but I've seen some remarkable turnarounds with dedication and perseverance. You're a T1 so I can't offer anything much with regard to diet as I would with a T2 but info re your weight and your exercise regime would assist.

Sorry with all those other issues but at least you are determined to do something about it. Mike
 
After looking at my numbers i noticed i have a few blood readings in the list that seem pretty low and i wonder if these have any effect on me. I have lost a lot of hair lately which i'm concerned about possibly due to the stress i was going through.
 
Spencer67 said:
After looking at my numbers i noticed i have a few blood readings in the list that seem pretty low and i wonder if these have any effect on me. I have lost a lot of hair lately which i'm concerned about possibly due to the stress i was going through.
Click to expand...

I can see your general, lipids and kidney results, but your HbA1c document doesn't load for me. On a general note, you have a couple f things a tiny bit outside range, but I'm not sure they'll be of much concern. Not being a medic, of course, I could be completely wrong there!!

Could you check the link for your HbA1c file?
 
What I'd say is that for your Hba1C to be in the 9s, whilst you are still having significant hypos is that you are seeing a wide variation in your blood sugars, and given the data you've presented, these are very wide. Your average blood sugar will have been between 11.7 and 13.3 mmol/l, a long way outside the sensible range. To get to an Hba1C of 9, this will mean that you've had some extreme highs and some extreme lows.

Wide variations are probably the reason why you have had issues with your eyes, and while bringing your Hba1C down will reduce the risks of other complications, doing it in controlled way without significant swings in glucose levels, then maintaining them as reasonably stable (within 2mmol/l maybe) will reduce retinopathy issues.
 
Hi, I understand exactly where you're coming from, I have large swings in blood sugars mainly because I have no hypo awareness so when conscious I will binge to come out of it and then swing high. I agree with the' know your enemy' part, my line was always 'knowledge is power'. Last year I achieved my best HBA1c results in years by giving up certain foods (crisps, sweets and biscuits - nothing I should have been eating anyway) I now only treat my hypos with sugary drinks, because if I start eating I wont stop. I don't like sugary drinks and they work really quickly so I don't overindulge. I hate to be boring but food is the answer to a lot of our problems and I know a lot of people here low carb. I don't because I can't face a life without bread, pasta and potatoes , but I have cut my carbs back a lot especially the things I find really affect my sugars - I now only have a loaf of bread a month, no pastry and less pasta.
 
Yes, sadly food is the answer! My partner and I removed bread, pasta and potatoes from our diets in August last year, and have seen both noticeable weight loss and body recomposition, plus speaking for myself, a much better balance. The other side of this is a much smoother and more stable blood sugar. Don't get me wrong, we aren't saints and do indulge ourselves occasionally (I'm a terrible diabetic in that I love to make and eat cakes), as life isn't worth not doing so, however, it has made a difference!
 
You actually don't have to leave all the food, it's just important to know how to count carbs you eat. Of course, having regular exercises also help a lot. I am very active, but I still eat between 150 and 250 g of carbs everyday and my sugars are in range (last HbA1c was 5,5). I can't have any meal without bread, but the most important thing is to count carbs you eat and than take appropriate dose of insulin
 
Seems like you have reduced quite a bit of gluten from your diet by eliminating the bread and pasta i think reducing gluten food is a good way forward.
 
I'm also slightly allergic to gluten, so it doesn't hurt not to eat too much.
 
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