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Hba1c

S

sjcdell

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi
Has anyone got any advice on what to do to lower Hba1c as fast as possible please?
Mine was 77 four weeks ago and last week it was down to 72 so my knee replacement operation
was postponed. I now have 3-4 weeks left before they test my blood again and if they see a good
downward trend they will proceed on 3rd March.
I was on two metformin 500 daily and my doctor upped it to three a day.
My blood glucose was 13.5 in the morning and I've gotten it down to 6.8 so I was disappointed
when the hba1c came out as 72. I know morning glucose and hba1c are different things and it
usually takes 2-3 months to get the hba1c down but I was wondering is there anything I can do
to help the hba1c down! Thanks!
 
I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 70. After 8 weeks of low carbing, initially eating around 100g of carbs per day and taking 3 x Metformin 500mg per day, I was down to a reading of 45. I’m sure if you put your mind to it you can see a good drop in 4 weeks.

Edit to add. Sorry, where are my manners. Welcome to the forum @sjcdell !
 
sjcdell said:
Hi
Has anyone got any advice on what to do to lower Hba1c as fast as possible please?
Mine was 77 four weeks ago and last week it was down to 72 so my knee replacement operation
was postponed. I now have 3-4 weeks left before they test my blood again and if they see a good
downward trend they will proceed on 3rd March.
I was on two metformin 500 daily and my doctor upped it to three a day.
My blood glucose was 13.5 in the morning and I've gotten it down to 6.8 so I was disappointed
when the hba1c came out as 72. I know morning glucose and hba1c are different things and it
usually takes 2-3 months to get the hba1c down but I was wondering is there anything I can do
to help the hba1c down! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hello, @sjcdell .
Well done at making a start on reducing your blood glucose levels already. It must be quite stressful having your surgery postponed, and having to meet the target set for it to go ahead in a few weeks time. You haven’t mentioned what target HbA1c you have been set by the hospital, but having read around it seems to be generally, accepted that HbA1c below 69 would allow the operation to go ahead. Though your surgical team may have a different approach, depending on any other health conditions you may have. Info taken from link below:

www.mkuh.nhs.uk

Information for adult patients with diabetes undergoing surgery - Milton Keynes University Hospital

This leaflet has been designed to give you information about: The importance of diabetes management when you are having surgery. How to prepare for surgery, including changes to your medication.
www.mkuh.nhs.uk www.mkuh.nhs.uk

With your previous HbA1c of 72, with a few changes to diet it is possible to achieve that target of 69.

If your only diabetes medication is Metformin, a low carb diet should be fine for you.

The information sheet below explains the low carb diet better than I can

There are lots of testimonies to the success of this method, and I hope you will be able to add to those testimonies.
Wish you well for the surgery, and your recovery. Please do come back with any questions, and keep us informed of your progress.
 
Rachox said:
I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 70. After 8 weeks of low carbing, initially eating around 100g of carbs per day and taking 3 x Metformin 500mg per day, I was down to a reading of 45. I’m sure if you put your mind to it you can see a good drop in 4 weeks.

Edit to add. Sorry, where are my manners. Welcome to the forum @sjcdell !
Click to expand...
Thank you, that is really encouraging! And thank you for the welcome! That was a big drop - well done. I'm in the frame of mind to get back in control and I've lost 8 lbs over the last 3 weeks so I was disappointed that I only went from 77 to 72. Maybe I just need to concentrate on the low carb diet better. I was eating less, but perhaps not thinking of the carbs.....
 
sjcdell said:
Thank you, that is really encouraging! And thank you for the welcome! That was a big drop - well done. I'm in the frame of mind to get back in control and I've lost 8 lbs over the last 3 weeks so I was disappointed that I only went from 77 to 72. Maybe I just need to concentrate on the low carb diet better. I was eating less, but perhaps not thinking of the carbs.....
Click to expand...
Congratulations on the weight loss.
I think you may be right about the carbs, and if you weren't really focusing on them there's likely a lot of room for improvement, and short term too!
While reducing weight can help in lowering blood glucose by reducing insulin resistance, lowering carbs means not adding to the blood glucose in the first place. It's a blood glucose lowering way of eating in the first place, although weightloss can be a welcome side effect.

You may like this thread on how carbs and T2 works: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/jos-nutritional-thingy.210026/

We have lots of long time low carbers on here (including myself) who'd be happy to share experiences or think with you about what to eat, if that's the route you want to take.

I have my fingers crossed you'll be cleared for your knee replacement soon!
 
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