I’m in big trouble

When I was diagnosed as T2, my A1c was a lot higher, I was a disaster! Lost weight and got control of my BG levels through diet and exercise. A1c is your average blood glucose level for about the last 90 days.

I don’t know about weight loss injections. I just followed the advice from the group here, basically going low carb, the weight melted off. So you’ve come to the right place.

Lisa5 said:

Hi everyone.
I had a call from the nurse today. My blood sugars are 69- no idea what this means as I’m used to the old BM scores.
My cholesterol is 7.8

A discussion ensued about weight loss injections. No education around this just come and and we will teach you how to use the injections. Statins mentioned ( not interested).

I’m 46 and my diabetes has affected my left eye which I am awaiting further tests.

can anyone tell me what 69 HBAIC is in old terms.
Has anyone been in a similar situation and through diet and exercise managed to improve things.
Could really do with some moral support here.

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https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-units-converter.html
69 mmol/mol is 8.5%

Lisa5 said:

Has anyone been in a similar situation and through diet and exercise managed to improve things.
Could really do with some moral support here.

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Yes loads of us have put T2 into remission by changing what we eat completely.
Exercise is a nice to have but not essential (I"m still as lazy as ever!).

Remove carbohydrates from your diet. Yep it really is that simple.

Have a read of this and start off on the path to improved help.. and hello and welcome by the way.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/

Grant_Vicat said:

Hi @Lisa5 Welcome to the best place for support and knowledge. You might try this link:
https://freestylediabetes.co.uk/htt...what-makes-glucose-levels-rise-and-fall/HbA1c
If it doesn't work, you are at 8.9 in old terms.
Eye changes always cause panic - but after 54 years of Type1 I still have very good vision in spite of retinopathy in my twenties.
8.9 isn't dreadful, but the nearer you can get to the norm 5.5 - 7, the more likely you will stay in good shape. Good luck!

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Unless the DCUK calculator is inaccurate, 8.9% is 73.8 mmol/mol.

I have done / am doing the diet and exercise. I did both wrong, but got results. On the diet for my body, I did too many plants, and on the exercise side chronic amounts of cardio based exercise. I believe there is a better way that would have "worked" for me, which could be used as a template.

I would base my diet on meat / fish at the base, back filled with low carb vegetables-greens / salads / berries and less than half a handful of nuts (excluding cashews). I would adjust my eating to 2 meals a day.

On the exercise side, I would walk at least 15 minutes after every meal without exception. I would start slow with body weight exercises, push-ups, squats and stretching. I would progress to power building, focusing on perfect form and gradual over a 18 month period small incremental progressions.

I would adjust my diet to be around 30 percent "real" protein, and implement my exercise routine on the resistance / weight sides to around 20 minutes per day (including the warm up) at around 70% of maximal effort, to ensure there was more than enough time for life and no burnout.

I would replace "weight loss" for "fat loss" - watch waist measurements, clothes fitting if you are doing power building, it is fat inches everyone wants to remove not muscle mass.

Food choices are the most important aspect. Exercise (unless you are a professional) is only worth around 10 - 15% of fat loss, but it helps turn cells over faster, burns glucose independently and is associated with longevity, whilst staving off sarcopenia, stabilising posture - too many things to list.

This might help with conversions - it's called the 50 shades chart.

top row, HbA1c in new numbers
2nd row, HbA1c in old numbers
3rd row - meter reading - mostly used in USA
4th row, meter reading - this is what my meter uses in UK

Oh yeah, buy a meter if you haven’t already, you’ll want to test your current meals and cut the ingredients that make you spike. Most likely carbs and sugars

Hi and Welcome @Lisa5

Those levels are not ideal but many of us here have had much higher and you can reduce them thru diet.

In the short term get yourself a meter and test your levels which gives you control. Reduce your carbs and take some time to look at some of the links and forums and ask as many questions as you like. Great site this and has helped me enormously.

Lisa5 said:

Has an interesting reduced their cholesterol?

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Whilst you are losing weight (and you almost certainly will) your cholesterol levels will be all over the place.

Once you have your T2 under control and are at a stable weight then we can take a look at cholesterol levels.
A total of "7.8" is pretty meaning less without the breakdown of Triglycerides, HDL and LDL .. if you have those figures and are happy to share then let us know.
However as you have just been diagnosed your cholesterol levels will be "dodgy" (technical term there).

Lisa5 said:

Essentially the fist thing is lose the weight get BM under control then fixes even more on cholesterol

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Exactly, although once we teach you all about cholesterol you might not want to "control" it..

The main thing is to get back to normal blood glucose levels - reduce carbs and use a meter to check your blood glucose levels.
Let your HCPs wait if all they can suggest is injections to lose weight - you really need to sort out the main problem, high glucose as it can be damaging.
You are wise, I think, to avoid statins - they did dreadful things to me, and no one seemed all that bothered about it.

Hi. The weekly injections from a drug in the 'glutide' group may have some side effects but usually works. The best thing is to reduce the carbs in your diet to get the weight and BS down naturally and possibly avoid the injections.

If you're really into it try this thread

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/cholesterol-and-statins.156985/