Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New profile posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Install the app
Install
Reply to Thread
Guest, we'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the
Diabetes Forum Survey 2024 »
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Type 2 Diabetes
How low is too low for an HbA1c?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Caleb Murdock" data-source="post: 223145" data-attributes="member: 37907"><p>Grant, you say so much that I can't really respond to it all. Let me say a few things, however.</p><p></p><p>As I said above (I think), Jenny Ruhl turned me on to R insulin. My experience with R insulin is that if I cover my meals adequately, my BS returns to normal as the insulin wears off. That's not to say that I don't have the dawn effect -- I do -- but it is fairly mild (I wake up with readings of 115 [6.4] to 135 [7.5]). Many type-2 diabetics secrete more insulin than non-diabetics do; the problem for them is that their bodies are so insulin-resistant that their pancreases can't secrete the large amounts of insulin needed to overcome it. Thus, a lot of type-2 diabetics are walking around with both excess sugar AND insulin in their blood.</p><p></p><p>By the way, it is not my experience that I have to get the dosing just right -- but a lot depends on what you consider to be acceptable BS readings after a meal. If I peak at 160 (8.9), I don't mind as long as my BS returns to near normal by the time the shot wears off. To you, 8.9 might be unacceptable. When I am keeping my carbs down to 180 grams or lower, I have a lot of days when I peak at 140 (7.8).</p><p></p><p>Yes, insulin doesn't cause you to gain weight; eating carbs does. What happened to me was this: As my diabetes worsened, I discovered that I could eat almost anything and wouldn't gain weight above a certain plateau. What was happening was that the BS that used to be stored as fat on my body was just circulating in my blood and causing havoc. Once I started on insulin, that BS started to get stored on my body again. During the first 4 months on insulin when I was managing to keep my carbs to less than 200, I didn't gain weight; but when I started to go higher than that, the weight came on (5 lbs. in 3 months). (By the way, the numbers I gave you for how carbs affect my body [150/180/200+] were overly optimistic. I think I'll have to go to 125 daily carbs to really lose weight.)</p><p></p><p>You may have noticed that the last A1c given in my signature has increased from 6.0% to 6.2%. Both I and my doctor were so surprised by the 6.0, that we took a large blood sample and had the lab do the test, and it came out at 6.2%. Nonetheless, that result came after 2-1/2 months of eating very poorly. If I can get an A1c of 6.2% on a high-carbohydrate diet, then the regular insulin must be working pretty well. If I can get my carbs down to 150, I am sure that I can get an A1c of 5.5%.</p><p></p><p>I have more respect for Bernstein than you seem to. He is a perfectionist, and he expects his patients and readers to be perfectionists too. But if a non-diabetic's BS goes to 125 (6.9) after a meal, then why should he insist that his patients keep all their readings to 90 (5.0) or below? He wants his patients to do better than non-diabetics do. In a way, that's laudable, but it's also impractical. You have to have a particular type of personality to give up 90% of the carbs in your diet and still be happy. You have to understand where Bernstein is coming from: He was a pioneer who was one of the first people on the planet to use a glucose meter to regulate his diabetes. He has spent his whole life perfecting his treatment of diabetes; the problem is, he's gone a bit too far. He expects everyone else to be as fanatically dedicated as he is.</p><p></p><p>Bernstein likes to get his patients to a BS reading of 83 (4.6) all the time. That's too close to hypo territory for me. I aim for 100 (5.5), and that gives me a safe margin. I have a type-1 friend who uses an insulin pump, and he aims for a range of 100 (5.5) to 150 (8.3). I frequently fall to about 4.8 while aiming for 5.5; If I were aiming for 4.8, I might end up at 4, which is too low. Also, aiming for 5.5 means I can inject less insulin. (What a shame that we use different measuring systems across the pond; it makes it so much harder to communicate. Would people understand me if I just used American numbers?)</p><p></p><p>Unbeliever, I just want to make the point that insulin is a natural substance, and as such it has few side-effects (unless you overdose on it). Having taken harmful medications in the past shouldn't stop you from trying insulin. (I'm sorry, by the way, that you had that experience. I took Avandia for ten days, and it gave me permanent tinnitus in both ears. Thanks to Glaxo-Smithkline, I now have noise in my head which I didn't have before.)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Caleb Murdock, post: 223145, member: 37907"] Grant, you say so much that I can't really respond to it all. Let me say a few things, however. As I said above (I think), Jenny Ruhl turned me on to R insulin. My experience with R insulin is that if I cover my meals adequately, my BS returns to normal as the insulin wears off. That's not to say that I don't have the dawn effect -- I do -- but it is fairly mild (I wake up with readings of 115 [6.4] to 135 [7.5]). Many type-2 diabetics secrete more insulin than non-diabetics do; the problem for them is that their bodies are so insulin-resistant that their pancreases can't secrete the large amounts of insulin needed to overcome it. Thus, a lot of type-2 diabetics are walking around with both excess sugar AND insulin in their blood. By the way, it is not my experience that I have to get the dosing just right -- but a lot depends on what you consider to be acceptable BS readings after a meal. If I peak at 160 (8.9), I don't mind as long as my BS returns to near normal by the time the shot wears off. To you, 8.9 might be unacceptable. When I am keeping my carbs down to 180 grams or lower, I have a lot of days when I peak at 140 (7.8). Yes, insulin doesn't cause you to gain weight; eating carbs does. What happened to me was this: As my diabetes worsened, I discovered that I could eat almost anything and wouldn't gain weight above a certain plateau. What was happening was that the BS that used to be stored as fat on my body was just circulating in my blood and causing havoc. Once I started on insulin, that BS started to get stored on my body again. During the first 4 months on insulin when I was managing to keep my carbs to less than 200, I didn't gain weight; but when I started to go higher than that, the weight came on (5 lbs. in 3 months). (By the way, the numbers I gave you for how carbs affect my body [150/180/200+] were overly optimistic. I think I'll have to go to 125 daily carbs to really lose weight.) You may have noticed that the last A1c given in my signature has increased from 6.0% to 6.2%. Both I and my doctor were so surprised by the 6.0, that we took a large blood sample and had the lab do the test, and it came out at 6.2%. Nonetheless, that result came after 2-1/2 months of eating very poorly. If I can get an A1c of 6.2% on a high-carbohydrate diet, then the regular insulin must be working pretty well. If I can get my carbs down to 150, I am sure that I can get an A1c of 5.5%. I have more respect for Bernstein than you seem to. He is a perfectionist, and he expects his patients and readers to be perfectionists too. But if a non-diabetic's BS goes to 125 (6.9) after a meal, then why should he insist that his patients keep all their readings to 90 (5.0) or below? He wants his patients to do better than non-diabetics do. In a way, that's laudable, but it's also impractical. You have to have a particular type of personality to give up 90% of the carbs in your diet and still be happy. You have to understand where Bernstein is coming from: He was a pioneer who was one of the first people on the planet to use a glucose meter to regulate his diabetes. He has spent his whole life perfecting his treatment of diabetes; the problem is, he's gone a bit too far. He expects everyone else to be as fanatically dedicated as he is. Bernstein likes to get his patients to a BS reading of 83 (4.6) all the time. That's too close to hypo territory for me. I aim for 100 (5.5), and that gives me a safe margin. I have a type-1 friend who uses an insulin pump, and he aims for a range of 100 (5.5) to 150 (8.3). I frequently fall to about 4.8 while aiming for 5.5; If I were aiming for 4.8, I might end up at 4, which is too low. Also, aiming for 5.5 means I can inject less insulin. (What a shame that we use different measuring systems across the pond; it makes it so much harder to communicate. Would people understand me if I just used American numbers?) Unbeliever, I just want to make the point that insulin is a natural substance, and as such it has few side-effects (unless you overdose on it). Having taken harmful medications in the past shouldn't stop you from trying insulin. (I'm sorry, by the way, that you had that experience. I took Avandia for ten days, and it gave me permanent tinnitus in both ears. Thanks to Glaxo-Smithkline, I now have noise in my head which I didn't have before.) [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post Reply
Home
Forums
Diabetes Discussion
Type 2 Diabetes
How low is too low for an HbA1c?
Top
Bottom
Find support, ask questions and share your experiences. Ad free.
Join the community »
This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn More.…