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Hba1c results
- Thread starter Jackie006
- Start Date
Daks
Well-Known Member
Hey Jackie, Don't panic almost everyones first Hba1c is high, I was diagnosed in Jan and mine was 101 <---
Tell us a little about yourself and lets see if we can spend the next 3 months getting that Hba1c down.
Tell us a little about yourself and lets see if we can spend the next 3 months getting that Hba1c down.
FantomPoet
Well-Known Member
Hi Jackie, on diagnosis I was also 81 (9.6% in old money) and like yourself panicked a bit but it can be brought down for your next one in three months. The first thing is to read and learn on this forum what you can and can't eat. I am sure @daisy1 will be along soon with an intro piece of info. A key point to consider is buy yourself a blood sugar meter and start to test to see what foods are raising your blood sugar too much. We are always here to chat and support as well.
Thankyou I was diagnosed 9 months ago I am on aprida and lantus my levels quite good in mornings usually between 4 and 9 although have a 16 and 13 lately I tend to take it a bit high at night my dn said 11 at night is fine but then I hypo in the early hours
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Jackie006
Hello Jackie and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and that by following the diet recommendations, i.e. reduce the carbs in your diet, your HbA1c should come down nicely. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 over 140,000 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 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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 bloodglucose 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.
Hello Jackie and welcome to the forum
Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and that by following the diet recommendations, i.e. reduce the carbs in your diet, your HbA1c should come down nicely. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 over 140,000 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 bloodglucose 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.
Daibell
Master
Hi. Yes, the HBa1c is too high. It sounds like your insulin may need some balancing. First, are you overweight? If so this can make insulin management difficult so ensure your diet is low-carb if you do excess weight. Do you carb-count for the mealtime Bolus? If not then discuss this with DN and come back with questions if needed. With a nightime meter reading of 11 you shouldn't be hypoing udring the night? When do you take the Lantus? I wonder whether your Lantus is too high and your Bolus a bit too low? When the Basal is about right you should be able to go to bed with something like 8 mmol on the meter and start the day around the same or a bit lower as the Basal is there merely to match the background output from the liver. Let us have a bit more info and if you do decide to make any changes to the Basal only make them 1 unit at a time and only over several days to avoid hypos. If in doubt discuss with the DN but you should aim to get the HBa1C below 7% over the next few months. Be aware that the NHS sets the HBa1C level quite high to avoid patients having hypos. If you can get better control then you can set a better target. My last HBa1C was 6% (best ever) but I don't have hypos. I still occasionally spike into the teens with big meal, but I do carb-count.
Heathenlass
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,631
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
First of all, don't panic.
You have only been diagnosed a short time in the great scheme of things, and it takes a wee while to get to grips with things.
Going to bed with a BG at 11 is a bit high , and is almost certainly contributing to your high HbA1c. If you are hypo in the early hours, then your basal is set too high. Have you had basal testing explained to you, and how to set your bolus ratios ?
Another thing to consider is that you may be one of those people whom Lantus doesn't work so well for. Night hypos can be an indicator of this , IF your basal testing indicates you are on the correct dose but still hypo.
I suspect there will be a follow up appointment with your diabetic nurse following you results, so then is a good time to ask for advice on your doses and insulin.
But please don't worry too much, this is a marathon not a sprint, and you will get there in the end.
Signy
You have only been diagnosed a short time in the great scheme of things, and it takes a wee while to get to grips with things.
Going to bed with a BG at 11 is a bit high , and is almost certainly contributing to your high HbA1c. If you are hypo in the early hours, then your basal is set too high. Have you had basal testing explained to you, and how to set your bolus ratios ?
Another thing to consider is that you may be one of those people whom Lantus doesn't work so well for. Night hypos can be an indicator of this , IF your basal testing indicates you are on the correct dose but still hypo.
I suspect there will be a follow up appointment with your diabetic nurse following you results, so then is a good time to ask for advice on your doses and insulin.
But please don't worry too much, this is a marathon not a sprint, and you will get there in the end.
Signy
