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Improving HbA1c levels. Do i still need medication?

S

Sugarcube2021

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10
Hi,
As a relevatively recently diagnosed (suspected T2), i was wondering if i could perhaps delay starting medication and achieve remission from dietiary improvements alone?

My intial HbA1c results on December 3rd were 84. I have since followed the advise on this forum and changed my diet. Having retested, my HbA1c results improved to 69 last week.

Given the improvements after approx 9 weeks. Is there any sense in me starting metformin? I'm thinking that with the new diet, i might accomplish remission in 6 months
 

If it was me, I would speak to my GP or dsn and ask them for guidance on the meds.
But metformin will not affect your blood sugar levels.
It all depends on what caused the diabetes and if you really need meds.
Quite a lot of T2s have had success with diet only low carb diet.
And it will help you with your blood sugar levels.
Well done so far.

Have you got a glucometer?

Keep safe
 
From all that I have read and experienced, metformin can lower your levels, not as much perhaps as some other drugs but it does impact. why do you think that it doesn’t?

@Sugarcube2021 yes potentially you can get to non diabetic levels diet only. I personally would engage the doctors support in going this path, I am actually coming the other way, reducing my meds to hopefully need zero or at the least low metformin dosage
 

When my endocrinologist was made aware of my GP taking me off metformin, I mentioned that the GP had told me because I was getting hypos, the drug was stopped so it wouldn't send me hypo.
My endo in reply told me that metformin would only drop my blood levels down slightly, not enough to make a difference.
And the reason for metformin was to protect your organs.

If I'm wrong then I apologise.

Stay safe
 
I Was diagnosed 7 years ago , unexpectadly , i had no symptoms at all , i was 20 stone, i was attacked in work ( High Secure hospital ) and was checked for blood in my urine, the doctor asked me how long had i been diabetic , my chin hit the floor, i had a hba1c test which proved i was , 111 was my reading, while i was off work recovering from my assault i done a lot of research into diabetes and found a brilliant wed site called Diet Doctor , its free and i found really helped me with diet , i did not take medication , i just thought right no carbs, 6 months later my hba1c was down to 42 , amazing result my doctor could nt believe it, i lost 71/2 stone to , taking medication does not make you better it just keeps you at safe levels were as following the low carb high fat diet really works, i lost weight and also did nt need any medication, doctors are just out to make money from diabetes they re not interested in reversing diabetes, they sit there giving you more and more diabetic medication knowing it wont really help you and you could lose legs, feet etc , do not trust them money grabbing bxxxxxxds
 
I Was diagnosed 7 years ago , unexpectedly , I had no symptoms at all , i was 20 stone, I was attacked in work ( High Secure hospital ) and was checked for blood in my urine, the doctor asked me how long had i been diabetic , my chin hit the floor, i had a hba1c test which proved i was , 111 was my reading, while i was off work recovering from my assault i done a lot of research into diabetes and found a brilliant wed site called Diet Doctor , its free and i found really helped me with diet , i did not take medication , i just thought right no carbs, 6 months later my hba1c was down to 42 , amazing result my doctor could nt believe it, i lost 71/2 stone to , taking medication does not make you better it just keeps you at safe levels were as following the low carb high fat diet really works, i lost weight and also did nt need any medication, doctors are just out to make money from diabetes they re not interested in reversing diabetes, they sit there giving you more and more diabetic medication knowing it wont really help you and you could lose legs, feet etc , do not trust them money grabbing ********.

(Edited by mod in line with the forum policy on acceptable language)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You have come down by circa 20%. You will know if you have been light, medium or heavy with your sugar / carbs reduction.

If you go aggressive you have a good chance of achieving your goal in your timescale. If you want some suggestions / route 1 tips just ask.

In your shoes I would persist with the non-drug route, due to the decrease, a 10 minute walk after each meal has better results than metformin, as does exercise (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27747394/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6358532/).

When I removed metformin I was so pleased that I no longer had to get repeat prescriptions and could really test if my body was coping.
You're only 36 so can try many tools such as resistance training to progress even faster.
 
Thanks all, that makes sense. Got my doctors appointment on Wednesday, will see what he says about putting off the meds for now. I feel like im on the right path already having lost 8kg since December and improving blood sugar levels.
 
Sugarcube2021 said:
Having retested, my HbA1c results improved to 69 last week.
Click to expand...

That corresponds to an average blood sugar of 10.9, well into the level at which your organs are being damaged. Now the hba1c averages the last 3 months, not 2, so it's likely that with the new diet your current levels are lower than that, Plenty of folk take medication to lower their levels while they wait for their bgs to improve, and I personally wouldn't rule it out if your doctor suggests it.

Are you doing blood tests? Particularly if you're going the non medication route, I would strongly suggest that you get a meter so that you can see whether your diet is working. ( Your doctor may well tell you that you don't need to do blood tests, but that seems to be primarily a cost cutting measure by the NHS. Anyway, I'd suggest you try asking for testing strips if you say you want to try diet, because some GPs are more willing than others to prescribe them, and if you don't ask you don't get.)
 
Hi. To some extent your endo is right. Metformin only ever has a small effect on BS and only rarely takes your BS down to hypo levels. I've also heard that this drug does offer some other protection benefits but it's not easy finding any facts to actually support that.
 
Well, you are already making good headway with your results. If it was me, I'd not start it given the small amount of time you've already been working on lowering levels and you have already made a good impact on them. I don't see the point in starting medication if you are achieving your goals and getting real good results without it.

That being said, you can always start it if you find you need that assistance down the road.

Ultimately, the decision is yours and yours alone.

Hope you have a meter, you need one regardless of what you may be told by Gp's and DN's.

Here's some dietary info, it's worth reading if you are interested. Sounds like you are already doing very well, but it's there if you want to take a look below. Sorry if you have already had this offered to you.


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

And also

www.dietdoctor.com is a great source for info.
 

Please can you give me some tips for the weight loss part. Eating LCHF my bg is great. No spikes and nothing over 7.
But weight is staying the same.

Thanks x
 
Charl flo said:
Please can you give me some tips for the weight loss part. Eating LCHF my bg is great. No spikes and nothing over 7.
But weight is staying the same.

Thanks x
Click to expand...
How often are you eating? Maybe try to reduce your "eating window" and extend your fasted window a bit.
Eat 2 big meals a day rather than multiple small ones.
 
I am having 2 meals a day. Eating between 12 and 8. My fitness pal says I’m having around 2000 calories, so maybe my metabolism needs fixing. So if I stick to what I’m doing (I’m not gaining weight) then hopefully my metabolism will get better after years of very low calorie diets.
 
Yes it often takes a bit of time for a starved body to recover and re-balance.
If you're not gaining (or even if you do gain a bit) I'd heartily recommend sticking with it for a good 3-6 months.
Your blood sugars should come down anyway which will be a major benefit and weight loss will follow once your body decides.
 
Thanks for the response. I have to think that is the reason. I’ll stick to it as I don’t want to go too low calorie as I’m trying to have enough not to get hungry and want to snack, which hasn’t happened so far.
 
@Charl flo
We don't all lose weight on LCH, but we do get healthy.
So long as your Blood Glucose is in the normal range you are a winner regardless of your weight.
If you really want to lose some weight then I suggest a small 'tweak' to your LCHF - try eating a little more protein and a little less fat.
In my case that would translate to more eggs and less cheese which would have little effect on how satiated (full) I feel since I appear to have no limit to the amount of cheese I can pot away if I allow myself to do so!
 
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