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Type 2 High HB1AC and time to get BS back down

Caeseji

Caeseji

Well-Known Member
Messages
658
Location
Hull
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Self-fellating idiots that don't at all look at other people's views
Hi all!

New poster here but wanting to pick a few brains! My recent HB1AC level was around 114 which of course caused a LOT of concern, I was diagnosed a year ago and I will admit this past year I've let myself go quite a bit with letting myself eat some of the worst stuff imaginable. Long story short a lot of depression and anxiety along with life changes kicked me to the curb. My blood prick test on the day of testing was at a 19.1 when fasting and now I am down to the 10's and 9's after 2 weeks. I'm 29 and overweight so I am getting into walking at least 30 minutes a day five days a week to keep myself active, especially seeing as I have some high blood pressure half the time that caused a lot of concern.

On 500mg of Metformin and on Sitagliptin for reducing blood sugar levels along with ramipril for blood pressure. Changed over my diet too for a less severe amount of carbs and going towards the moderate diet right now, with my current numbers of going from 19 to a 10 am I on target to get back to normal levels? How long on average would it take to get it back under control?

Thanks all!
 
Hi @Caeseji and welcome.

Tagging @daisy1 for a useful welcome pack. Have a good read and ask as many questions as you like.

Bit hesitant to offer advice since you’re taking medication that I have no experience of. Sure others who do will be along soon. Certainly sounds like you’re moving in the right direction though.
 
Hello, @Caeseji , and welcome to the forum! Well done for taking things in hand again after the problems you've had over the past year. Looks like your bg has already improved a lot! Do you use your meter to test before and 2 hours after food as well to see if your diabetes can handle that particular food? It's very helpful.

I'll tag @daisy1 for her excellent info sheet about diabetes, that should give you a good place to start.

Also, just because of your age, have they tested for type1? T2 is not impossible at 28, but it doesn't seem to happen very often.
Good luck!
 
@Caeseji
Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful and interesting.

BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 well over 235,000 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

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.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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 blood glucose 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.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Hi! I am also new to this diabetes and currently having tests for potential type 1. Your initial level of 114 is not far off mine (103) but you seem to be getting better fasting results than myself! Keep going! I noticed my levels dropped after being on the metformin for 3 days - but they are still not low enough hence the testing for type 1.

Good luck!
 
Thank you all for the replies! @daisy1 @Goonergal @Antje77 and @SB.25

I really appreciate the info here, going to have to give this a really thorough read! I don't think that they tested me for Type 1 at all, I may have to take that up my my provider. I may end up being tested with me going to the central diabetic clinic we have here in Hull. I'm glad to know that I seem to be moving in the right direction. At the moment I was told to test before mealtimes daily but I'll start testing 2 hours afterwards from now on too to see what my rise might be.

Not feeling the same sort of wretchedness I was a month ago, used to having a lot of headaches, thirst and a plethora of gastro problems and urinating too frequently. Now I'm feeling hydrated and my stomach may be a little bloated but I am digesting stuff well and cleared a lot of niggles I have been experiencing with my doctor.
 
Reduce your carbohydrate intake, eat 3 small meals a day and dont have snacks between meals. try to keep it about 1000 calories and 75g of carbs per day. Give it 4 months.
You will be amazed.
 
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Hi @Caeseji
In contrast to what @Seemtobeeasy says
I'd try for 2 meals a day ideally in a limited eating window of say 8 hours so maybe skip breakfast.
And eat regular amounts but try to keep carbohydrate intake as low as humanly possible.. maybe try for fewer than 20g per day.
No snacking I'll agree with. No bread rice, past, starchy foods whatsoever and preferably don't try to substitute either just avoid completely. You soon not miss them one bit.
 
bulkbiker said:
Hi @Caeseji
In contrast to what @Seemtobeeasy says
I'd try for 2 meals a day ideally in a limited eating window of say 8 hours so maybe skip breakfast.
And eat regular amounts but try to keep carbohydrate intake as low as humanly possible.. maybe try for fewer than 20g per day.
No snacking I'll agree with. No bread rice, past, starchy foods whatsoever and preferably don't try to substitute either just avoid completely. You soon not miss them one bit.
Click to expand...

How has that worked for you?
 
@Seemtobeeasy and @bulkbiker thank you both for your suggestions there, gonna have to see what works for me but what would you both suggest for a typical day's eating? I'll admit I am in an absolute whirlwind of trying to get myself on track and convince my family it's a good idea too.
 
I also have normal blood glucose levels now, dropped below diabetic levels in 80 days.
In the mornings I eat things such as mushroom omelette, or sausages and eggs - sometimes things left over from dinner the previous evening - in the hot weather I ate salads with fish or other sea food, or chopped meat.
In the evening I have meat and a stirfry of low carb veges, and a couple of times a week I have frozen berries with cream. Other desserts are sugar free jelly with various additives - once in a while I make real custard, with eggs and cream, or real ice cream with eggs and cream.
From time to time I make bread, with low carb ingredients added into my usual recipe, then cooked in muffin tins to ration it out better than trying to make a loaf last a week.
 
Caeseji said:
@Seemtobeeasy and @bulkbiker thank you both for your suggestions there, gonna have to see what works for me but what would you both suggest for a typical day's eating? I'll admit I am in an absolute whirlwind of trying to get myself on track and convince my family it's a good idea too.
Click to expand...

Take a look at the diet doctor website - loads of recipe ideas and full meal plans. Or just keep it simple - eat real food (meat, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, above ground veg and see how you go. I follow a similar eating pattern to that suggested by @bulkbiker with good results.

There’s also a thread on here where members post their daily food intake - that might be helpful.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/what-have-you-eaten-today.75781/page-1074
 
Caeseji said:
@Seemtobeeasy and @bulkbiker thank you both for your suggestions there, gonna have to see what works for me but what would you both suggest for a typical day's eating? I'll admit I am in an absolute whirlwind of trying to get myself on track and convince my family it's a good idea too.
Click to expand...

@Caeseji - As you will be learning fast, even from this thread, when it comes to T2 diabetes, there are as many ways to manage this condition as there are to skin a cat.

You are already making good progress, although ideally you have a bit to go yet. On that basis, I would urge you take it steady and do lots of reading. Some things you'll like the sound of, and others you'll likely think, like so many of us, "that'll never be happening in my lifetime!".

When you've had a decent read and think you can formulate your own plan for the next few weeks. I'd urge shorter term aims, because so, so many of us have found our ways of dealing with thing have developed over time, and sometimes in quite surprising directions.

Please test plenty. Just before you eat, then two hours after you start your meal will give you a consistent approach and start to give you reliable data you can review and make adjustments from.

In order to review, it makes sense to record what you're eating and drinking, and the bloods alongside them, then even months later you can compare how you "performed" on that meal last time.

Well done on picking up the challenge to make 2019 a good year for you health-wise. I'm sure you won't regret it.
 
Caeseji said:
@Seemtobeeasy and @bulkbiker thank you both for your suggestions there, gonna have to see what works for me but what would you both suggest for a typical day's eating? I'll admit I am in an absolute whirlwind of trying to get myself on track and convince my family it's a good idea too.
Click to expand...

I eat once or twice a day (always dinner sometimes lunch) mainly meat these days although I used to have green veggies. Start the day with coffee and double cream or tea with lactofree milk. Lunch is usually bacon and eggs, pork scratchings or cold meats leftover from the day before.. cheese, Oppo low carb ice cream as dessert or maybe frozen raspberries with more double cream (yes we get through quite a lot of that). Nothing starchy and nothing sugary or even sweet (don't use sweeteners apart from the Oppo).
A vastly simplified diet with virtually no food waste everything cooked from raw (apart from the few pre-made bits obvs).
 
@Resurgam @bulkbiker @Goonergal @DCUKMod

Many thanks to you all for the incredible resources and information, it's really put my mind at ease. I do delight in my protein so upping my intake there isn't going to take much convincing of my own body. It's nice to have some meal ideas to work with and I'll check out DietDoctor too and the thread as well. I think I am making some strides due to my blood sugar being down to 9.3 and even after two hours of eating it was still at that level (after a few boiled eggs and cottage cheese along with some Rivita Rye) so hopefully I am chugging along the right track.
 
Dinner tonight was the last bits of turkey with a bag of casserole veges, marked down to 22p, boiled up in my perpetual pan - it lives in the bottom of the fridge and is used to boil up all sorts of things - it sets solid when cool. It is fed with any leftover veges, mushrooms - even salad stuff which is reaching its use by date, and is used to cook up mince or chopped meat, warming up leftovers which are then taken out with a perforated spoon. It does sometimes get tipped out into the stew pan, but I try to refill it once that is eaten. It is not left more than 48 hours without being boiled up, but it is a useful 'stock pot'.
I also made a sugar free jelly with frozen fruit (which makes it set very quickly) for dessert, eaten with double cream.
 
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