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New Member - High HbA1c Levels

D

Dzeis72

Member
Messages
13
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello All,

I'm a 45yr old male newly diagnosed T2 Diabetic. I'm 6ft tall and currently 17st 10lbs, although in past I've been 20st.

Three years ago I had a blood test at my GP where they found my HbA1c level was 51. They didn't follow that up with a re-test so I've been living with undiagnosed diabetes for 3 years. In April I visited the GP as I wasn't feeling well. The urine test indicated keytones in my urine. They booked me into an urgent appointment at my local diabetes clinic and after a blood test and interview I was diagnosed with T2. They took plenty of blood from me and my HbA1c result was 161.

I have the SEE2 blood monitor. I was told to take a blood reading fasting in the morning and 2hr post evening meal. Seven weeks ago my sugar levels were 18(am) and 12 (pm) I am on 2000mg (4 tablets) of metformin a day.

Today my blood sugar readings are around 10 (am) and 8 (pm) but they seem to have hit a wall. The blood tests show I have no kidney damage. I have a retinopathy scan next week along with a visit to the podiatrist and my DESMOND training will take place at the end of June.

It's been a shock to my family. I'm planning on joining a gym as after reading the forum posts it looks like carb cutting and exercise is the only way to see those sugar levels drop.

Thanks for reading
 
Hi there,

its a long slow process to get them down. if you follow the low carb guidelines you will find the lower numbers gradually appearing over the next six months!
goodluck with it
 
Dzeis72 said:
Hello All,

I'm a 45yr old male newly diagnosed T2 Diabetic. I'm 6ft tall and currently 17st 10lbs, although in past I've been 20st.

Three years ago I had a blood test at my GP where they found my HbA1c level was 51. They didn't follow that up with a re-test so I've been living with undiagnosed diabetes for 3 years. In April I visited the GP as I wasn't feeling well. The urine test indicated keytones in my urine. They booked me into an urgent appointment at my local diabetes clinic and after a blood test and interview I was diagnosed with T2. They took plenty of blood from me and my HbA1c result was 161.

I have the SEE2 blood monitor. I was told to take a blood reading fasting in the morning and 2hr post evening meal. Seven weeks ago my sugar levels were 18(am) and 12 (pm) I am on 2000mg (4 tablets) of metformin a day.

Today my blood sugar readings are around 10 (am) and 8 (pm) but they seem to have hit a wall. The blood tests show I have no kidney damage. I have a retinopathy scan next week along with a visit to the podiatrist and my DESMOND training will take place at the end of June.

It's been a shock to my family. I'm planning on joining a gym as after reading the forum posts it looks like carb cutting and exercise is the only way to see those sugar levels drop.

Thanks for reading
Click to expand...

Hi. On a positive note, your blood sugar levels have dropped down quite a bit with the metformin...without cutting carbs, so you will get those levels down pretty well once you start a serious low carb approach. Also...no kidney damage is obviously good to know. One point to pick up on - there is not really much point checking your post meal levels if you are not also testing directly before meals so you have something to compare. Loosely speaking, if your level is more than 2.5ish mmols higher than the pre-meal reading...it will probably be down to too many carbs. Testing before and 2-2.5 hours after a meal (and recording the details) will soon let you know what works and doesn't work for you as an individual. Armed with that information, you will sort out your own low carb high fat diet (make sure you eat enough fibre and maybe some oily fish now and then) and develop a successful approach. Good luck.

I have tagged the wonderful @daisy1, who will be along with some very useful information to to get your head around.
 
@Dzeis72

Hello and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask questions when you need to and someone will help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.
  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 
Thanks everyone for the positive welcome. I'll get ordering the supplements you've mentioned and I'll be checking my BS levels before dinner tonight. It makes sense to do so. I'm not sure on why the nurse instructed me to only do it in the morning fasted and 2hrs after dinner.

I'm getting the feeling that there are many hacks and tweaks to be found on this site that the healthcare professionals miss.

All the best
 
Hi @Dzeis72 and welcome,

What a big mistake your doctor made not following up on your first HbA1c 3 years ago. I personally would be fuming.

Testing - before eating and 2 hours after first bite is recommended. If you keep a food diary including portion sizes and record your levels alongside you will soon discover how your body reacts to certain foods - and these will be the carbs. Any rise from before to after should be under 2mmol/l. More than that and there are too many carbs. It is preferable to keep the rise under 1.5mmol/l if you can, but that may take a while until you know which foods and what portion sizes you can manage. The flatter your levels are the better it is for avoiding complications. Ignore your nurse, she is wrong.

As all carbs, no matter what type (and this includes wholemeal) turn to glucose once inside the system, so the fewer we eat the less glucose there will be in our blood stream. Too much protein - more than your body uses - may also convert to glucose but this takes a lot longer, sometimes up to a day longer. Fats do not raise glucose levels, in fact they help to keep post meal spikes a little flatter. The main carb culprits are bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, breakfast cereal including porridge, and anything containing flour. We also need to be very careful with fruit and milk.

Have a good read round and ask as many questions as you like. Good luck on your journey :)
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Hi @Dzeis72 and welcome,

What a big mistake your doctor made not following up on your first HbA1c 3 years ago. I personally would be fuming.

Testing - before eating and 2 hours after first bite is recommended. If you keep a food diary including portion sizes and record your levels alongside you will soon discover how your body reacts to certain foods - and these will be the carbs. Any rise from before to after should be under 2mmol/l. More than that and there are too many carbs. It is preferable to keep the rise under 1.5mmol/l if you can, but that may take a while until you know which foods and what portion sizes you can manage. The flatter your levels are the better it is for avoiding complications. Ignore your nurse, she is wrong.

As all carbs, no matter what type (and this includes wholemeal) turn to glucose once inside the system, so the fewer we eat the less glucose there will be in our blood stream. Too much protein - more than your body uses - may also convert to glucose but this takes a lot longer, sometimes up to a day longer. Fats do not raise glucose levels, in fact they help to keep post meal spikes a little flatter. The main carb culprits are bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, breakfast cereal including porridge, and anything containing flour. We also need to be very careful with fruit and milk.

Have a good read round and ask as many questions as you like. Good luck on your journey :)
Click to expand...
 
Ballerina said:
Why is milk a problem? Cream in drinks and on berries seems to be OK on lchf diet.
Click to expand...

Milk has a higher carb/sugar content, especially in skimmed. 100ml of semi skimmed 4.8gm of carb/sugar and single cream 100ml 2.2gm of carb/sugar.
 
Ballerina said:
Thanks for that. We have a lot to learn! I use full fat milk btw.
Click to expand...

Milk has lactose in it. Cream doesn't. Lactose can raise BS levels, although a small amount in a cup of tea isn't going to kill you. I use double cream as it has less carbs and more fat.
 
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