HbA1c

Sanjay23088 said:

Hi guys,

just had my HbA1C done and got a result of 78mmol/mol which apparently is 9.3 in the old readings.
I’m trying to work out if that’s really bad but all the info online is outdated.
I’m panicking as I am trying and this is simply depressing me. Any advice appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to the forum

So it's not a good result. It is well within the diabetic diagnostic levels (>48) https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html

It's not the best of news but knowing is powerful as you can take control

For type 2, others have had a lot higher and brought it down either via dietary changes and/or medications. Doing it with dietary changes (low carb is often a good way) can mitigate against the need for meds.

For context, February last year I had crept up to 78, now into the 38 to 40 levels and potentially could do better but I'm not the most rigid to lower carb follower

As I mentioned above that's a lot of T2 advice and it does depend what type you have. I note you tagged with type 2, is this a diagnosis you have received? What was the reason for the hba1c and Has your doctor given you any advice on next steps?

What is your general eating like? What would a normal set of meals look like?

Sanjay23088 said:

Hi guys,

just had my HbA1C done and got a result of 78mmol/mol which apparently is 9.3 in the old readings.
I’m trying to work out if that’s really bad but all the info online is outdated.
I’m panicking as I am trying and this is simply depressing me. Any advice appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hello @Sanjay23088 ,

@Andydragon is right, your numbers are indeed quite diabetic, but not beyond help. But we do need more information before issuing advice... What type are you? And if you are a T2, what do you eat and drink in an average day? Because if you're a T2, a LOT can be fixed just by changing your diet. (T2's can't process carbs well... Cut those our and your numbers improve, often without the need for medication!). If a T1, or one of the many other variants thereof, then that's an entirely different area of expertise I'll not get into myself, as I'm "just" a T2, but rest assured.... There's plenty of help here to be had, whatever type you are. You don't have to do any of this alone.
Jo

Sanjay23088 said:

Hi @Andydragon and @JoKalsbeek
I am Type 2.
Control has been all over the place and fluctuates between 45 and 80mmol/mol.
Last year my governance on tablets has not been great (I remember the morning doses but the evening doses are hit and miss).
I am on:
Metformin 1g twice a day
Sitagliptin once a day
and Invokana once a day

I know if I introduce a low carb diet and take my tabs I could control this better but concerned the docs/nurse may not agree with me.
Do not want to go down the needle route!

Click to expand...

Hi,

If your levels don't come under more control and drugs reduce in efficiency then the "progressive" nature may we be said by the doctors/nurses and a move to insulin will be pushed for. I hope not but it's a path many in the medical see as standard

But it's not always progressive, but it often needs a change to diet too. More drugs are coming and in my experience the push to insulin isnt seen as a good thing but when all other drugs fail, it does happen

If you have any weight you could do with losing, that will likely help and low carb has been found to help in that. I’m now for or against low carb, it’s one tool in the arsenal and I have seen what my bloods do when I have higher so do see it’s impact. Many others have found benefits too

As for agreement, well... Maybe not, mine were great at appreciating low carb and seeing it's effects. I was carrying a lot of weight so that reduction also has helped sway the Dr I think. But my results speak for themselves. Sometimes we have to do what we think is best. After all dropping carbs and eating healthy, it isn't a bad thing really.

I also had 3 sets of drugs at one point, higher doses in met than you are on, and now down to none. It's my example and not guaranteed for you but there may be an option

Sanjay23088 said:

Thanks @Andydragon. I need to book in for a diabetic review and medicines review with the nurse and pharmacist so will fight my corner.

Click to expand...

For me, where there was a push to move onto more, I brought them onside, I asked them to give me 3 months to try but I did drop my hba1c and that gave me the power to drop drugs and repeat tests. Keeping by them engaged and working together

but it does need effort, not going to say it’s always easy but it is worth it. I am sure you can take control, good luck!

Sanjay23088 said:

Hi @Andydragon and @JoKalsbeek
I am Type 2.
Control has been all over the place and fluctuates between 45 and 80mmol/mol.
Last year my governance on tablets has not been great (I remember the morning doses but the evening doses are hit and miss).
I am on:
Metformin 1g twice a day
Sitagliptin once a day
and Invokana once a day

I know if I introduce a low carb diet and take my tabs I could control this better but concerned the docs/nurse may not agree with me.
Do not want to go down the needle route!

Click to expand...

My endo, two dieticians and one of the two nurses I saw didn't agree with my diet route. My GP? She saw the results my diet was having and told me she'd test me to monitor whether I was doing okay (blood sugars, nutrient deficiencies etc). To date I'm the only one in her practice to have had normal blood sugars after a T2 diagnosis, as everyone else is still seeing the people who are convinced T2 is progressive and bottom line, hopeless. Use a meter, and see what it tells you. There will always be naysayers, but I haven't "needed" the services of mine because I've been doing rather well. My HbA1c is normal, I'm medication-free... And I eat a low carb, almost no-carb, diet. It works for me. The only diabetes complication I have is due to the years I walked around with high blood sugars before my diagnosis. Nothing new cropped up, and things that were wrong have been fixed, all but one. Keep in mind who you're doing this for eh... It's your body, you have to live in it, and if at all possible, a good quality life that lasts a good while longer. They don't have to wake up and go to bed in it, you do.

Mind you, you can go low carb, but do NOT do it without a meter and plenty of strips at hand. The Invokana you're on can cause hypo's and you don't want to deal with those. I was on gliclazide when I lowered my carbs and the endo swore it wasn't possible to hypo. The leaflet, and my meter, told a very different story. Hypo's are serious and not fun, so... Do be careful if you start lowering your carb intake, do ir gradually and not all at once, and adjust medication accordingly.