• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

How long did it take you to get blood sugars down to normal?

M

Mollyc1995

Well-Known Member
Messages
133
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
i know some people havnt or can’t get there blood sugars down to normal levels....but those who did, how long did it take you? And what number did you come down from?
 
Are you asking this as someone with type 1, type 2 or any type of diabetes?
 
Depends on what you say is normal. Do you mean a hba1c in pre diabetic numbers, below pre diabetic numbers, after mealtime numbers or something else?
To answer your question, my hba1c was on the low end of pre diabetic 6 months from diagnosis and below that since. Which was after starting MDI (intensive insulin regime) 2 months after diagnosis. So I guess you could say 6 months from diagnosis or 4 months after starting the right treatment with insulin.

Came from 78mmol/mol
 
I'll answer as a diet only Type 2 who has never taken meds. edited: I see you don't have a diagnosis yet of which type of diabetes you may have. There are differences in the various forms of diabetes so my answer applies mostly to Type 2. (I do read about Type 1 to inform myself better but I don't live with Type 1.)

I was diagnosed in mid June 2018 with hba1c of 7% (53). I started eating low carb immediately. My doctor felt I should try diet before considering meds since my hba1c although diabetic, wasn't that high.
By October (3 months), it was 5.6% (38)
In January (6 months) it was 5.2% (33).
As well, as a very insulin resistant obese Type 2 who's always struggled with weight, low carb eating has been very helpful for weight loss for me. (I'm down 88 lbs/6 stone 4 lbs since diagnosis).

I had the advantage that although my hba1c was in the diabetic range, it was not very high and I had not been diabetic very long. My doctor and I feel that I was lucky to have my diabetes caught at an early stage of the disease. (I had no symptoms, it was discovered in a routine blood panel.)

Where you start from makes a big difference. My best friend (also Type 2) was diagnosed with a very high hba1c of 27% (I think that's about 270 in the new UK system) - her previous doctor was negligent (never checked her blood glucose) and she'd probably been diabetic for at least 3 years before diagnosis. As a result, it took her longer (over a year) to get her hba1c down. Initially she was put on 3 meds & tried the "Eat Well" plate for a year but could not get it below 11% (96). She switched to low carb eating, her numbers came down fairly quickly (normalized in about 6 months) and her doctor reduced & discontinued all her meds (except for 12 units of insulin at bedtime for dawn phenomena. Her hba1c is very similar to mine. (Her experience is the reason why I went low carb right after diagnosis.)
 
Last edited:
helensaramay said:
Are you asking this as someone with type 1, type 2 or any type of diabetes?
Click to expand...
I'd guess it's fully unclear, as it seems to be only 2 days ago Molly's had a phonecall from her doctor that she may have diabetes and is waiting to take a second test. The numbers she gets when self testing suggest diabetes, which doesn't say anything about type of diabetes, should she be diagnosed with diabetes.

I'm not sure if @daisy1 has been tagged on any of your threads yet, @Mollyc1995 , but if not, she'll post a blurb of useful information here, regardless of type.
 
Mollyc1995 said:
i know some people havnt or can’t get there blood sugars down to normal levels....but those who did, how long did it take you? And what number did you come down from?
Click to expand...
I don't know quite where I came from, because I didn't get an HbA1c done until after I'd implemented some dietary changes, and I misplaced my folder with testresults (aaargh!) but I think it was about 75 when first tested. About two months into the whole T2 thing I hit 42 (prediabetic, just), and I've been in the 30's since that, and have been for 2 years now. But I didn't know what I was doing at first: if I'd found this place sooner, the changes would've been more drastic and I wouldn't've had to search for my path as much as I did. Three months in I was off all diabetes meds (and the statins). Some can do that, some can't, some choose to go one way, some the other. Depends on how your body's responding, not about willpower, or failing, or succeeding, or anything.

It'll come as it comes. You'l be okay, whatever your results are.
 
Mollyc1995 said:
i know some people havnt or can’t get there blood sugars down to normal levels....but those who did, how long did it take you? And what number did you come down from?
Click to expand...
I do not fit into a type 1 or type 2 diabetic - I'm having further tests done. therefore my response is more generic than to your specific circumstances.

I think I recall one of my first posts was asking how long it took to get levels down to normal as I was desperate to find out how quickly I could become 'normal' again. I since learnt that everyone is different. I also have learnt that diabetes is a marathon and not a sprint and its a lot better to gradually reduce levels over time rather than have a dramatic drop.

On diagnosis (November 2018) my average glucose was 17/18 and no I would 10/11 (with a view of reducing further).
 
I'm type 1, diagnosed 6 months ago. I started with an Hba1c of 17% and blood sugar of 35 ! In three months, my Hba1c was down to 4.5% and blood sugar was usually in the normal range (more often too low than too high). Gradually since then I have reduced my carbs, although my endo recommended a high carb diet. Now my Hba1c is 4.2% and my blood sugar fluctuates less, averaging around 6.
 
JAT1 said:
Now my Hba1c is 4.2% and my blood sugar fluctuates less, averaging around 6
Click to expand...
I suppose you mean your hba1c is 42mmol/mol, not 4.2%? 42 corresponds to an average bg of 7 mmol/l, exactly the threshold between 'normal' and 'prediabetic'. Well done!
1474679480344
 
I was diagnosed with Hba1c of 112 (115? Can’t remember) but doc so shocked they checked with a second test but I went LCHF immediately even before I found this site. I was pretty clued up on LC anyway. I did get put on meds for less than two weeks but levels dropped pretty quickly through diet With 20g carbs per day, my Hba1c was 36 in 3 months. Stayed that way 7 months on.
 
Mollyc1995 said:
I mean ever type, just curious of how quick people’s blood sugar comes down as I may have diabetes (got to have another blood test).
Click to expand...
Do remember that T1, T2 and T3c are all entirely different conditions, and also everyone is different so you may see a wide variety of results (some of us may never get to normal levels - I can't see myself getting there without an artificial pancreas for instance :))
 
Rokaab said:
Do remember that T1, T2 and T3c are all entirely different conditions, and also everyone is different so you may see a wide variety of results (some of us may never get to normal levels - I can't see myself getting there without an artificial pancreas for instance :))
Click to expand...

Of course I realise they’re all different, I was just curious if people’s journey regardless of what type and how long it took those who got it down to normal or there abouts
 
Mollyc1995 said:
i know some people havnt or can’t get there blood sugars down to normal levels....but those who did, how long did it take you? And what number did you come down from?
Click to expand...
Mollyv1995 I'm only on Metformin 3 weeks. My BS was anything from 18 down to 11. So I've been really very strict with myself. And last week I got my BS below 10, Just. But today I had a reading of 5.8 & 6.2. I'm absolutely ecstatic.
Now I'm not foolish enough to think I'm sorted. But I at least know I'm on the right road.
Hope all is going ok for you
 
Rosie B said:
Mollyv1995 I'm only on Metformin 3 weeks. My BS was anything from 18 down to 11. So I've been really very strict with myself. And last week I got my BS below 10, Just. But today I had a reading of 5.8 & 6.2. I'm absolutely ecstatic.
Now I'm not foolish enough to think I'm sorted. But I at least know I'm on the right road.
Hope all is going ok for you
Click to expand...
Wow well done! I hope it stays low for you...although I’m not fully diagnosed yet I’ve been really focusing on my diet and know how tough it can be
 
@Mollyc1995 I was initally diagnosed with pre-diabetes in 2002, then crossed over into type 2 diabetes in 2005. I ate as healthy as I could, but my A1c continued to climb, though slowly. By 2011, it had worsened. By 2015, it had worsened more and I was re-diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with an A1c of almost 10 (USA) or 86 (UK). Just prior to the A1c, I had an afternoon glucose level of just under 283 mg/dL (USA) or 15.7 mmol/L (UK). These levels at the time were described to me as "out-of-control" diabetes.

Within 3 days, I started the low carbohydrate diet (in the range of 30-42 carbs/day) described in the book, Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution, 4th Edition. I bought a glucose meter kit and test strips, and began testing and logging my daily glucose levels on graph paper: fasting, pre-meal, two hours post meal, pre-bed.

In 4 weeks time, I was able to significantly lower my glucose levels. When I had a second A1c at 6 weeks, I had an A1c of 5.6 (USA) or 38 (UK). A few months later, I had a third A1c, this time it was 5.4 (USA) or 36 (UK), so my diagnosis was changed to non-diabetic.

Over the year that followed, my glucose levels gradually improved further. I never took medication. I continue to manage my diabetes with diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements. The book that helped me the most initially as I was trying to make sense of the different types of diabetes was this one my Jenny Ruhl... https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Suga...TF8&qid=1550296200&sr=1-1&keywords=jenny+ruhl but you'll have to use the graph post above to change the numbers to what's used in the UK. (Jenny Ruhl is an american living in the USA).

There are many types of diabetes: type 1, type 1.5 also referred to as LADA, type 2, and MODY. Each requires a different treatment strategy, but all benefit from diet and exercise.

Diabetes is a lifelong condition for most. Type 2 diabetes can be put into remission though. So the goal is to do everything you can to learn what type of diabetes you have, again because the treatment differs for each (and you want the right treatment).

As you receive more information, you'll receive excellent guidance and support here. I joined this forum 5 days after my re-diagnosis. The forum members here answered all my questions and referred me to online videos where I could learn more.

Welcome. :)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top