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New And Lucking From Down Under.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Moggely
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Moggely

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Hi everyone I'm new and have been lucking for about 4 months now as i couldn't find away to join. I hope I am posting in the right place please bare with me. I was diagnosed in late February with type 2 with a ac1 of 11.4 so i went home and threw everything out of the pantry and fridge and started immediately on low carb diet. Leaning towards the Atkins but really it's more keto only i didn't really know that. Two and a half months later my ac1 was 5.8. My Question is about the testing strips and are they accurate as i get different reading straight after another quite often. I know this is long so my apologizes as i have found you all so very very secure and strong in this illness and i feel quite helpless at times. I'm 64 and was told not to test and was given Metformin sr 1000 once a night. After 5 weeks i threw it in the bin as i could barely walk and my hair was falling out and i was so very very tired all the time. My husband has been wonderful as he does the cooking and simply eats low carb along with me. Have lost 3 stone since February also hubby has to. Would appreciate any advise from anyone as i'm desperate to have normal blood sugars and reverse this illness or whatever it's called. I know i will always be a diabetic. Also weight has ceased to drop but really don't need to loose anymore as I'm 5/2 height and 58 kilo's now. Thank you in advance.
 

Hello sweetie, Welcome to the forum.
well it looks like you are doing everything right for a start. Well done in your progress. I was also diagnosed at end of Feb so I am no expert, but in answer to your question: I don’t know what machine/strips you are using but are you washing your hands before you test? I cannot believe they tell us not to test - it’s ludicrous- how else will we know????
Sometimes when I test and it seems too high, I will test again and most of the time I can get 3 or 4 different readings. It’s funny because if it’s nice and low, I don’t bother doing it again haha
anyway just wash your hands ( I only do about 50% if the time) and just test once, if it seems reasonable.
I felt very helpless and confused in the beginning but this forum ( and the kind and knowledgeable people on it) have been a lifesaver. I am in a group called “ what was your fasting blood glucose, with some chat” and another called “what did you eat today”
And another about exercise- the people in these groups have answered a lot of my questions and supported me. Have a look at the groups and join some you fancy, it will be a great help. The more questions you ask the more relaxed you will start to feel. Good luck sweetie and I hope to see you in some groups.xx
 
Welcome to the forum @Moggely. Well done on reducing your HbA1c in just 5 months. Don't worry about meter reading discrepancies. The blood glucose meters aren't 100% accurate. I think they have a + or - tolerance of 1.5, so even the same drop of blood could give different readings. We use them just to get a general trend.
 
 
Thank you I'm not sure who I'm replying to lol. Hard to work all this stuff out and not very computer savvy . Yes to Flexsi i will join some of them and thank you for the welcome.
 
Moggely said:
Thank you I'm not sure who I'm replying to lol. Hard to work all this stuff out and not very computer savvy . Yes to Flexsi i will join some of them and thank you for the welcome.
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Thank you Prem51 thats good to know about the meters i have accue check promo . That was actually in two and a half months i have the next test in July is it a good number?.
 
There are different sets of figures in measuring blood glucose. I'm guessing the figures you give are in % which is in the DCCT/IFCC range.
Your original reading of 11.4% would be 101.1 in the HbA1c IFCC range which is quite high.
A HbA1c IFCC of below 42 is non-diabetic, 42-47 is pre-diabetic, and 48 and above is diabetic.
Your reading of 5.8% would be 39.9 on the HbA1c IFCC range, so non-diabetic. Well done!

Keep on doing what you are doing and your next test result should be good too.
You can convert your figures using the converter here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/hba1c-units-converter.html
 
 
Oh I see thank you for that Prem I'm in Australia so still confused. So that's good news then i am so in the dark about it all and have had little to no support except from following this forum for months and so very thankful to have found it. Thanks for explaining. I was also wondering about fbl in morning is quite good about 7am under 6 and i don't eat untill 10 am as i eat only twice aday. My sugar before the 10 is always higher then early morning after 6 is that normal and should i try to eat less. Still very confused.
 
You're doing really well. And if your bloodsugar does up in the morning while fasting, it's most likely dawn phenomenon; your liver dumps some sugar into your bloodstream to give you energy to start the day. So you don't have to eat less.
 
Thanks jokalsbeek that makes me feel so much better. I should have explained in the beginning that i went extremely low carb as i was too afraid to even eat anything and was so sick i didn't even want to after awhile and lost about 2 stone in the 2 weeks mostly water i'm sure. Still doing low carb and trying to add fasting into that i eat 18/6. I think that is how it's explained. Meal at 10 am nothing until 6 that night. Tried a fast day and did quite well on it but am always learning from all you guys in here.
 
At the beginning, it feels like nothing's right and all food is poison. (I made a curve for my doc the day after I found out I was diabetic... I was weeping halfway through the day because I was terrified to eat anything after hitting 18 at what I thought was a healthy lunch!). It's a bit of a search to find the right balance for yourself. Food, for a while there, was the enemy. Now I can just walk to the fridge and have a bit of extra dark chocolate without having to think twice about it. Honestly, you're doing really well, and you're learning/implementing a lot quicker -and less clumsily- than I did at the start. Good on you!
 
Thanks so much, i don't think you realize just what you have done for me joKal because i really was a mess but didn't have anyone to tell that to.Yes food was my enemy and i am still sort of afraid after four months' as sometimes my husband says "you can have a little of that surely" as wonderful as he is and even doing the same diet he doesn't understand that if i do eat that whatever it was, it will set me back. Maybe he's right because one still has to live. Yes i will get there. Maybe even have a treat without being so afraid. My doctor didn't help by telling me i will lose my feet/'legs/go blind extra. Darn terrifying to say the least then throwing pills at me and nothing since, not even saying how well i have done so needless to say i didn't know i was doing well. Thank you and all these wonderful people here on the forum. I feel like i know many of you just by lurking lol. Brave people all of you.
 
Your fbgs are good. Type 2 diabetics should aim for fbgs between 4-7 mmol/L.
It is not unusual for your fbg to continue to rise after you first test, until you eat something. It is your liver dumping stored glucose into your bloodstream to boost your energy. Some people find that a small protein snack or a coffee with double cream stops the rise, if you do not feel like eating until 10 am.

You sound like I was when I was first diagnosed and told by my doctor that Type 2 was progressive and I would only get worse. I was terrified too, not only about the possible complications, but also because I have an injection phobia and couldn't face the possibility of having to self inject insulin.
I lived on one wholemeal bread and tinned salmon/mayo sandwich a day for the first 20 days, and only ate one small meal, around 7 pm for the first 4 months. It did lower my HbA1c at my 3 month retest and I lost around 30 lbs. My weight has crept up a bit since then, but my fbgs are fairly stable around 6.3.
My next HbA1c is due in October, and I think I should be below the diabetic range.
 
Yes it feels so good to know I'm not the only one that was terrified Prem51 all your numbers look good to me. shame doctors are not supportive . I can so relate to what you were eating and terrible to think of food as scary. I will try the coffee and cream. Good luck in October I'm sure it will be good.
 
Download the mySugr app. Enter your readings along with your food. You can add other things such as tablets, blood pressure, weight etc. The best thing about it is after a few days of data it will give you an estimated HbA1c.

It is highly motivating.
 
@Moggely
Hi, I'm from Aussie as well so welcome. As far as meter accuracy goes, the NDSS have performance guidelines you may like to read.
https://www.diabetesqld.org.au/media-centre/2017/may/how-accurate-is-your-blood-glucose-meter.aspx
The basic requirement for readings above 4.2 is that they must be within +/- 15% 99% of the time. It sounds very wide but in reality quite normal from a statistical angle. You've done well to get your A1c down to 5.8 in such a short time. It took me over a year to get from 9.5 down to 5.7 so good on you.

The T2 medical guidelines recommend no testing. It's another story in itself and the Aussies aren't alone in this. Many GPs won't even sign the form for discounted strips. Thankfully, my GP lends tacit support of my methods of low carbing and willingly signs the form even though he pushes the official line.
Have fun,
Glenn
 
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Thanks efieldok and Crocodile both very interesting information i will look into it. My sugr app not sure what that is but will look around for it. Also interesting about the meters so much to learn here.
 
Moggely said:
Thanks efieldok and Crocodile both very interesting information i will look into it. My sugr app not sure what that is but will look around for it. Also interesting about the meters so much to learn here.
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