Newly diagnosed, 82 HbA1c 82 MMOL/MOL

Hi & welcome.

No one wants to join, but we're all glad we did

Now that's the formalities over ..

Let's just breathe....and relax .

Deffo a shock .
But it took, in your case 45 years to get here ...so you got time to settle into this & sort it as best you can .

Your best step so far was joining the forum.

Other will be along with food advice etc.

So do ask questions, we're quite a friendly bunch ..honest.


All the best.

My HbA1c on diagnosis was 74, so a little bit lower than yours. After three months it came down to 41. For many type 2s, fixing our diet goes a long to controlling our diabetes. I also lost 15kg in that first three month period Without increasing my exercise levels.
What I did was to cut out the big sources of carbs - bread, rice, pasta, all cereals, potatoes, carrots as well as the sweet stuff such as biscuits, cakes, jam, sugar, honey, treacle, bananas, apples, oranges, grapes etc.
I increased my intake of fat so I wasn’t hungry - cream, full fat Greek yoghurt, butter, mayo, olive oil, cheese, fatty cuts of meat etc.
Ate as much leafy vegetables as I wanted - lettuce, rocket, watercress, pak choi, cabbage, celery, Brussel sprouts, etc., small amounts of onions and tomatoes ( half an onion or half a tomato), and mushrooms.
Included a lot more eggs in my diet - omelette became a regular occurrence, increased the amount of fish and meat
Had small amounts of berries (3 was about my limit at a time), nuts, cheese, cold meats as snacks if I was hungry.

so breakfast would be something like: half a bowl of Greek yoghurt with 3 raspberries (from the freezer), cup of coffee with milk or cream and some sweetener
lunch: a couple of corn beef ”sandwiches” with lettuce taking the place of bread, with mustard and mayo, half a tomato, a hard boiled egg.
dinner: cubed pork belly cooked in stock with half an onion, the left over tomato, celery and savoy cabbage, with plenty of herbs, and a dollop of mayo when served.
snacks: nuts, cheese, olives

Hi 0110, welcome to the forum
Your fasting numbers(first test before food) will be the last to improve, and at this stage in your journey all you can learn from that morning result of 9 is that you are diabetic, and you already know that.
A more useful way to use your meter would be to have tested just before you ate the 2 slices of brown toast.
Then another test at 60 min or so after, and again at 2 hrs.
After eating the toast you would have seen your levels rise, you would have learned how suitable the toast was without having to ask.
It's how we learn what foods affect us and what we need to restrict or avoid.
For someone who does not have a problem using the glucose they get from carbs, their blood sugar will probably be back to pre toast level well within the 2 hrs.
For us though, we have trouble using that glucose so it hangs around in the blood.
To answer your question about the toast, our bodies can't see the colour of the bread only the carbs. Anyone who tells you that brown or wholemeal this or that is OK. Is probably not T2 and they have never tested their blood to see how it affected them. Why would they, they don't have T2.

0110 said:

Hi – newly diagnosed 45 year old. My height around 5ft 11 and I weighed around 104KG around 2 weeks ago, now weigh around 98KG. Always been going to the gym around 3-4 times a week. But was mainly focusing on weights and resistance training. These are my HbA1c 82 MMOL/MOL results, I am totally shocked and having panic attacks sometimes, I start thinking it’s the end of my life. In between the last 2 weeks I have had no crisps or chocolates and I could have 2-3 daily of each. My doctor is having a consolation with me tomorrow, what will they do put me on Metformin? I am fixing my diet and I sit on the office chair most days but doing more exercise lost around 6KG in two weeks. What shall I say to the doctor tomorrow? I rather I sort this out naturally. I use to drink 2 times a week, grabbing ready made sandwiches on the way home, with crips sand chocolate every day. Please give me some hope and tell me what I should be doing.

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Hello, I just wrote a reply to someone in the same boat. I was diagnosed less than 3 months ago, my A1c was 91. After 2 months my BG was totally normal. Read my answer to the other person in case something might help:

0110 said:

So many nice people on this forum, I appreciate everyone’s replies. Its been 10 days now I have had no chocs or crisps, eating only two meals a day and really increased my exercise. I still feel like a nervous wreck sometimes and I keep thinking about the whole situation.



But the replies I have seen tell me I can help myself reverse this, my weight is already falling off around 5KG in 10 days, no more sweet tooth, this forum has now taught me what everyone of you who have reversed this is saying to reduce carbs. That is what I need to focus on next.

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One word about exercise, if you test you BG during/after exercise its possibily going to be high, this is because the liver will release from its storage into the blood stream in order to meet your physical needs. This is something I learned from a continuos monitor, even morning stress rises it without eating anything...

So if you measure it dont get stressed with the result... its a good thing you are burning whats in storage...

0110 said:

OK I found that as well it's slightly higher after exercise. So this storage when does it deplete it's supply of sugar? Realistically if I continue to loose weight will it take another 2-3 months to see lower readings in the morning? Mine is 7.2 now probably be 9 in the morning without eating anything now.

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This is my experience below, all below are Laboratory results, I went there almost every Saturday (note Lab results were always lower than finger prick test by almost 1 mmol). Copy paste from excel, sorry if the format gets messed:

0110 said:

OK I found that as well it's slightly higher after exercise. So this storage when does it deplete it's supply of sugar? Realistically if I continue to loose weight will it take another 2-3 months to see lower readings in the morning? Mine is 7.2 now probably be 9 in the morning without eating anything now.

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So this storage when does it deplete it's supply of sugar?

Fast if your diet is strict and if you exercise, but also remember that the liver can convert protein and fat into G... its complex, even if in theory you eat zero carbs, your liver will continue to convert it from other sources and supply it...

Also, remember that your body is now used to high BG and high insulin at the same time... it thinks you have too little when you have too much! Will take some time to reduce metabolism after you change your life style.

As far as the drs appointment goes, some will prescribe Metformin at that level, others will encourage lifestyle changes and a few will go hard with stronger meds (too quickly imo). But you are allowed to make your own decisions and what they say is advice not compulsory. If you aren’t happy about medication says so and explain you are taking serious action already and ask for a retest in 3 months to assess how well it works and make decisions then if required (I bet it won’t be if you carry on as you’ve started). Most drs are happy with that, though the majority are shocked when they see the fantastic results that many committed forum members get by ignoring the standard eatwell 1/3 brown not white carbs advice and heading properly low carb instead. And no medication has to be forever if you do decide to take it. They can be started and stopped according to need and desire.

You might get the statin discussion too. I’d advise you to investigate this for yourself because it’s nowhere near as clear cut as it is often presented as. Again the 3 month lifestyle assessment requested should buy you time to do this study and form your own opinion. There’s lots available on this forum about that too when you’re ready for that stage.

Oh and I see you’ve cut the obvious crisps and chocolate stuff. But you do realise it’s all carbohydrates we need to reduce not just the sugar and junk food. How much depends on the individual, how insulin resistant they are and how many carbs they currently eat and in what form.

If you view the website on a browser rather than the ap you can see at the end on many posts a “signature” with links or info to help. This is mine

Low carb info
Intro to T2 and low carb. https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html
All the things I wish I’d been told earlier https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/th...ish-i’d-been-told-at-type-2-diagnosis.173817/

0110 said:

So many nice people on this forum, I appreciate everyone’s replies. Its been 10 days now I have had no chocs or crisps, eating only two meals a day and really increased my exercise. I still feel like a nervous wreck sometimes and I keep thinking about the whole situation.



But the replies I have seen tell me I can help myself reverse this, my weight is already falling off around 5KG in 10 days, no more sweet tooth, this forum has now taught me what everyone of you who have reversed this is saying to reduce carbs. That is what I need to focus on next.

Click to expand...

Nothing really - the reduction in carbs is usually the key to reversing quite a few things - though there are other possibilities than an ordinary type 2 diabetic which could reveal themselves once things settle down a bit.
I suspect that many people have a metabolism which is struggling to cope with the amount of carbs in their diet - we just aren't built for it.
We can cope with chocolate - it is the bucketloads of sugar added to make it cheaper which are the problem. I get the 95%cocoa chocolate bars from Lidl - but I don't eat a lot , I just don't need to, I can buy half a dozen bars before Christmas thinking of making all sorts of chocolate stuff - dipped hazel or brazil nuts, chocolate cakes and desserts, and then realise that it is April and there's still two bars left.

0110 said:

Morning, woken up fasting levels at 7.1. They are usually touching 9. What did I do yesterday ate a low carb lunch (chicken salad) and a smoothie for dinner. So lets see, that is the first low carb day I did hence the number I think. But its very hard in my head to never have any bread. Maybe one day in and one day out. I might see what two toast do to my levels today.

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I understand about the bread - it's such an easy and tasty food to have. The only strong craving I had was for some nice granary bread. I still wistfully long to have toast and marmite for breakfast.

You could research the various keto bread recipes that are on the internet - I decided it was too much faff for me. There are also some companies that produce lower-carb bread - but they are hideously expensive, IMHO. I did find that I could cope with a single Ryvita cracker, not every day, but once or twice a week as a treat. That helped me get past the bread "divorce"

If you miss bread and are prepared to try your own, this is the recipe i use. When you get used to it, it takes about 15 min's preparation.
Makes very nice toast, lots of butter, and loads of Marmite or Poached eggs. Approximately 2 grams carbs per slice.


Ingredients

150 grams Vital Wheat Gluten

80 grams Golden flax seed meal* (you can use non golden, but get a darker looking bread)

50 grams Oat fibre

1 tbsp Coconut flour (optional, but I find bread toasts better with it)

1tsp Xanthum gum, OR 1 tbsp Psyllium husk, (optional)

216 ml water (warm to activate yeast). if you find loaf too moist reduce slightly or vice versa.

1tsp honey ( to activate yeast)

4 tbsp Erythritol

2 eggs

1tsp salt

40 – 70 grams butter, (original recipe 70 grams, I use 40)

7 grams, (1 sachet) dried yeast.

Bread maker

Put warm water in a jug, etc with dried yeast and honey. Ready to use when foamy on the top.

Put salt in the bottom, all dried ingredients on top of salt.

Lightly beat the eggs, and add with yeast mix.

Settings Large loaf, I use medium crust,

Basic bread. Hit start and wait however long your bread maker takes.

Mixer and oven

Place ingredients in mixer bowl as above, mix until combined, and knead for 5 min’s.

Shape and put dough in bread tin, cover loosely with oiled cling film, to allow to rise.

Prove until doubled in size (1 – 2 hours)

Bake at 180° C for 40 min’s

Based on Diedre’s low carb bread, google it and you’ll find loads of sites with their version.

* I buy Golden Flax Seeds and pour into a running Liqiudiser to grind my own(cheaper)

Approx’ 2 grams of carbs per slice.