In July 2016 my HbA1c was 44, I was not told I was pre diabetic. In October my HbA1c was 59 and I was given Metformin 500mg per day and told to cut my carbs to between 30/40 carbs per meal. I am 70 years old and do a minimum of 150 minutes walking a week including at least 10 minutes per day brisk walking both activities using apps on my iPhone. I am 168cms tall and weighed 10st 7lbs in October, I now weigh 9st. 6lbs. My last HbA1c was 49. Has this reduced the pressure on my pancreas? Can my pancreas be checked to see how it is functioning?
Newly diagnosed
- Thread starter Anne_the_seamstress_
- Start Date
- Messages
- 5,187
- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
- Treatment type
- Insulin
- Dislikes
- Not being able to eat as many chocolate digestives as I used to.
Hi @Anne_the_seamstress_ ,
Welcome to the forums.
It's great that you're making positive changes so good luck getting back to the non-diabetic range.
You can get your pancreatic function checked, have a read of this information page.....
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html
Please ask as many questions as you need to, we're a friendly bunch, usually.
Welcome to the forums.
It's great that you're making positive changes so good luck getting back to the non-diabetic range.
You can get your pancreatic function checked, have a read of this information page.....
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood-sugar-level-ranges.html
Please ask as many questions as you need to, we're a friendly bunch, usually.
Alison Campbell
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,443
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi welcome to the forum, i'll tag @daisy1 for a new member post for you.
Your HBA1C does measure the glucose in the blood over the last 3 months so this by proxy tells you how well your pancreas is doing. So your reduction in HBA1C is helpful.
There are tests to check how much insulin you can produce but this is not easily available on the NHS especially as you are improving.
No doubt if you keep going as you are, you should see further improvements in your HBA1C. If not, you can consider changes to diet, exercise or medication.
Your HBA1C does measure the glucose in the blood over the last 3 months so this by proxy tells you how well your pancreas is doing. So your reduction in HBA1C is helpful.
There are tests to check how much insulin you can produce but this is not easily available on the NHS especially as you are improving.
No doubt if you keep going as you are, you should see further improvements in your HBA1C. If not, you can consider changes to diet, exercise or medication.
Resurgam
Expert
- Messages
- 9,868
- Type of diabetes
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Your pancreas has to deal with the production of insulin so if you have reduced the amount of carbohydrate you eat then that is going to be less for it to deal with.
At the moment I am eating about 40 gm of carb per day, to try to lose weight, but I got a blood glucose meter and found that I could get normal readings on about 50 gm a day.
At the moment I am eating about 40 gm of carb per day, to try to lose weight, but I got a blood glucose meter and found that I could get normal readings on about 50 gm a day.
daisy1
Legend
- Messages
- 26,457
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Anne_the_seamstress_
Hello Anne 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 want and someone will help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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:
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 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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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. Most of these are free.
Hello Anne 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 want and someone will help.BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS
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
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 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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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. Most of these are 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.
