hba1c

newbie1998 said:

What causes type 2 then?

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My personal take on the causes are

1. Genetics. It runs in families.

2. The most common. Insulin resistance compounded by the pancreas producing too much insulin . Too much insulin makes the insulin resistance worse. The worse the insulin resistance becomes, the more insulin gets produced. Vicious circle. This all happens before glucose levels are raised enough for long enough to trigger a T2 diagnosis.
Insulin resistance is a metabolic condition and I'm not certain anyone knows which comes first - IR or too much insulin. This vicious circle encourages weight gain. Hence it can cause obesity. Too much insulin production has a lot to answer to, in my opinion.

Ross.Walker said:

Hello

It's the start of your journey as a type 2. Yes that HBA1C result says you are diabetic. It's not the highest figure I have ever seen so that is a bit of good news, I have only been on this journey for 2 years myself but this is what I have learned.

Take a sensible pace, things don't change overnight, they take time and allowing them to do so will make for a long term health plan and it does work, it is also lovely.
Cut out processed foods, white flour, white rice etc. the things that are high in carbohydrates, these are not helpful to us now. You can have carbs but as part of veg etc.
Cut the booze out for a good while, it's not needed
Learn to love bubbly water
Salad, ooooh we all love salad now
keep a food diary that shows what your food is made of. When you test your levels you will be able to see what meals are good for you and which are not .

Testing.
Test before a meal, test 90 minutes after, write it down. see what patterns occur

Morning readings are not the most important reading. I can have the same meal for several days on the trot and have different readings, the reasons for the variance is hydration, how deep the sleep was, the deeper the sleep the more energy your liver releases to get you going, it's not a good or bad thing, it just happens every day.

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I'd agree with a great deal of that...but I would say that 90 mins after eating is, for most, a little too early to give a sound indication of how well the system is coping with certain foods. While the recommended gap between pre and post meal testing is around 2 hours (and more than 2mmols gap at that point would indicate too many carbs in the food), my own system takes a little longer for things to drop back down. I tend to test before and 2.5-3 hours later...a 90 minute reading might only show me any spike..and while that can certainly be useful to know (particularly if it is very high), I would say, personally, that more would be learned for a slightly later reading...but we all differ. Totally with you on the food diary.

newbie1998 said:

My doc said he thought type 2 was unlikely because, and i quote, "it's caused by poor lifestyle choices".

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Your doctors's comment is caused by poor thinking choices, a sloppy approach, a judgemental manner, a misplaced sense of superiority, smugness, a tactless mouth and alarming ignorance. While a large number of Type 2s may indeed have developed this condition due to their own diet and/or sedentary lifestyle, many, many have developed it for reasons that have absolutely no bearing on their "lifestyle choices" (and I am not even going to enter into poverty, greed on the part of manufacturers or just poor education regarding diet). For some it is largely down to genetic factors...for others it is not even that. Personally, I got mine from steroid treatment prescribed by doctors....admittedly, I knew there was a risk and so did actually choose to take them (rather than risk rejection of a transplanted kidney...also nothing to do with my lifestyle). There was no family history of diabetes and I have been underweight for my height all of my life. We really need good doctors...I have great admiration for them (and have had amazing surgeons and staff dealing with my own health over the years.) but they are NOT gods...and they can sometimes utter the most ridiculously general statements. Sometimes, they are just wrong and should defer to specialists if they are less than certain.

Ross.Walker said:

I was most of those things, apart from young. the other advice I still stand by

Also the doc does sound like a bit of a **** in my opinion

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May well have been christened Richard...mhm

paulus1 said:

your bloods are diabetic for the hba1c but your routine finger pricks are not massively high. you have diabetes but its not the worst my bg was in the 20s and my hba1c was a 104. at a guess yours looks more like type 2 but thats a serious guess. what has the doctor said about treatment. an how was it picked up. those levels would not normally cause symptoms. just noticed your young and fit this swings it more to type 1 or one of the rare versions. have you been ill.you say your very fit please excuse this but youve not used steroids ie body building.

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Sorry for just jumping in but you’re the only person I’ve come across with results similar to my husband. He was diagnosed as Type 2 with BG in the 20’s and HBA1C over 100. A year later they changed his diagnosis to LADA & he started injections. Initially he brought his BG down to around 11 (though HBA1C remained over 100) but now in year 5 and his results are unchanged. BG high-teens into 20’s and HBA1C 106. How did you get yours under control when they were so high? I assume fairly drastic lifestyle changes? I think my husband still in denial but I’m increasingly concerned about the long-term damage he’s facing whilst his results remain so high. He is very lapse with taking his medication and I’d say tests his BG 5 times a week at most - just ‘guesses’ his insulin dosage! Any advice you can give me to try to kick start his focus is most appreciated; and apologies again for butting I’m on this post!!!

i have always been on insulin. my consultant is quite sure im type 2 but another endocrinologist thinks its type 1. i was becoming pretty sick. i was heading into acidosis. from day one ive adopted the lchf more healthy than lots of fat. my max insulin was 68 units of lantus and nova. im now down to 26 units over 6-9 weeks. bg range is 4.9-6.6 most are in the 5s thats my target. i started off with about 60 carbs a day im now on about 40. iwas recently put on 2x 500 metformin. this counters any residence. and acts like a mild weight loss drug.

he cant be not take his medication its seriously abad idea. i made sure i knew what the risks of not following a controlled life style was. the worst was watching a gangrenous diabetic foot removal. also my wife is a district nurse and she makes sure i understood that being stupid would result in some unpleasant effects. this has been tough for me i loved junk food.

testing i do 4-5 a day. with bg in the 20s i hope his diabetic nurse has been doing some shouting.

can i ask why you feel he is not wanting to get better control. some folks feel the will survive if they dont do anything this is denile and some suffer with depression.

clearly your a caring wife and that will be needed. staying at those levels are life limiting he needs to really understand that if he does not control it it will take his life from him. sorry cant make it soft thats his future. has he had his annual checks i would make sure he has his blood tests to watch for kidney function. if they go everything else does. he must have his eyes checked and followed upon if they find anything and the one he will probably think is a waste of time his feet checks.

im afraid it looks like your going to need to get tough. tears and guilt trips are fine to use. if he wont do his meds properly take charge of them and nag until he does. blood tests before breakfast or you dont give him any. same for the other meals and pre going to bed. remind him that your scared for him.

as he wont do it for himself can you adapt his diet. no bread or very little no pasta or rice or very small amounts no root veg unless in small quantities. there is an excellent book called carb and calorie counting that shows portion sizes and values. really helpful. saves a lot of time.

he must be feeling very grotty all the old symptoms will be coming back. if you can get his bg below 10 it will be an excellent result. do you go with him to his appointments if not try to. im so sorry that your worried and your right to be. maybe get him on here. there are loads of experts that will help him. really good luck.