• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Not sure what I should be doing.

W

Willow_W

Member
Messages
6
I have recently had my hba1c tested as part of a load of blood tests whilst my doctor was treating me for something.
My HBA1c came back at 57. I spoke to my surgery's diabetic nurse who said that diabetes isn't usually diagnosed until 2 high HBA1cs are recorded. She advised on diet and suggested a get a blood glucose machine to keep and eye on my blood sugar, suggesting to do this twice a day- first thing in the morning and before my evening meal. She said I"d be retested in 3 months time where hopefully my diet had brought the HBA1c level down and if that can be maintained then I would not be diagnosed.

However I note that my GP has actually coded on my records that I am a type 2 diabetic and I have now been sent an invite for diabetic eye screening- so it appears they are not waiting for a second HBA1c. I have been given little info though, and not been referred to an education program.

Ive been doing the blood glucose for about 6 weeks now. They are usually around 7 mmol/L in the morning - though I have had 2 that were just over 10, but that was when I had a lot of carbs the night before which I am cutting down on.
They are anywhere between 4.4 & 6 before my evening meal. I have no idea if thats any good or not - the only thing the nurse said was 10 would be quite high? Can anyone advise?

I now see advice on here that blood glucose monitoring should be done before and after meals. Im just a bit confused at what I should be doing & feel I have been given little info. Im also suprised at being told that you are not normally diagnosed until two high results, then have it on my records that I am diabetic.

Feeling a bit lost and confused and welcome any advice!
 
Willow_W said:
I have recently had my hba1c tested as part of a load of blood tests whilst my doctor was treating me for something.
My HBA1c came back at 57. I spoke to my surgery's diabetic nurse who said that diabetes isn't usually diagnosed until 2 high HBA1cs are recorded. She advised on diet and suggested a get a blood glucose machine to keep and eye on my blood sugar, suggesting to do this twice a day- first thing in the morning and before my evening meal. She said I"d be retested in 3 months time where hopefully my diet had brought the HBA1c level down and if that can be maintained then I would not be diagnosed.

However I note that my GP has actually coded on my records that I am a type 2 diabetic and I have now been sent an invite for diabetic eye screening- so it appears they are not waiting for a second HBA1c. I have been given little info though, and not been referred to an education program.

Ive been doing the blood glucose for about 6 weeks now. They are usually around 7 mmol/L in the morning - though I have had 2 that were just over 10, but that was when I had a lot of carbs the night before which I am cutting down on.
They are anywhere between 4.4 & 6 before my evening meal. I have no idea if thats any good or not - the only thing the nurse said was 10 would be quite high? Can anyone advise?

I now see advice on here that blood glucose monitoring should be done before and after meals. Im just a bit confused at what I should be doing & feel I have been given little info. Im also suprised at being told that you are not normally diagnosed until two high results, then have it on my records that I am diabetic.

Feeling a bit lost and confused and welcome any advice!
Click to expand...
Hello Willow,

Sorry to hear you're having a difficult time.

Im a type 1 so probably not much help.

From what you're saying your readings are within the right range so you must be doing something right 10 is higher than you would like however short term it will not cause any issues. The lower the better and every diabetic will have their own personal goals however anything between around 4-7/8 is good.

As for being invited for an eye screening test it may be just to check no damage has been done to your eyes whilst you unknowingly had higher blood sugar levels?

Unfortunately different practices operate differently. Keep eating a balanced diet and exercise moderately and im sure your hba1c will come right down
 
I would say your blood sugars are quite good , 10 is a little high but I bet a lot of non diabetics hit that figure sometimes and if you have a few lifestyle changes I bet it would be in the norm most of the time .
 
Hello @Willow_W,

Welcome to the forum.

It looks as if you are doing quite well already if you are generally between 4 mmol and 7 mmol. Carbs as a rule tend to be the worst culprits for us Type 2s, when it comes to elevated blood sugars -- as you have noticed yourself. So, to find out how our metabolism, many of us tend to test right before a meal and two hours after the first bite. The rise should generally be 2 mmol or less.

Personally, I have started with very much higher blood glucose levels than you, and have been able to drop back into normal levels at the next three months' test ... and it sounds as if you are also very much on the way to getting there too.

As to your fasting numbers, which still seem to be a bit higher than for the rest of the day, this is usually due to the dawn phenomenon. When we wake up and get ready to start the day, our body releases a number of hormones to increase energy levels, however due to insulin resistance (which is associated with T2), the insulin, which is released simultaneously to limit the blood sugar rise, isn't as effective as in non-diabetics. Thus, our blood sugars tend to rise a little higher than normal. However, this also tends to normalize after a while.

Wishing you much success on your journey. Stick around, let us know how it goes, and ask away if you have any questions. There are lots of very knowledgeable and friendly people around on this forum, who are eager to help.
 
I know that it shakes your confidence when one person at a GP surgery tells you one thing, but another person acts differently, in this case recording you as having diabetes. I'm afraid this sort of thing is common, but though annoying, it doesn't change where you stand. You need to keep eating sensibly and keep your consumption of carbs well down. You do not show anything like dangerously high levels at the moment, so with a bit of determination you can sort this out.
Some people are in a very much worse position when it is spotted that they have a problem. There is loads of info about things to eat or avoid on the forum. Good luck.
 
Sounds much like my diagnosis with a single hba1c test as an addition to routine bloods at a hospital appointment for something else. Practice nurse called & diagnosed T2 right away without hesitation for a result of 56. I started cutting down on carbs 2 weeks ago and got a glucometer last week. Been checking fasting, before & after breakfast/brunch. Again before & after evening meal and again before bed. The highest levels recorded was 6.1 and that was after a night on the booze. I hadn’t shown and still don’t have any symptoms whatsoever so will bring I up at my next appointment with the practice nurse. Good luck!

OTR
 
Hi. Many GPs will diagnose diabetes after just one high HBA1C; that's not a problem. They guess T2 even if you are slim and possibly T1. What diet advice did the nurse give you? Some nurses like mine are up to date and ignore the bad NHS advice. You need to keep the carbs down and have enough fats and protein to keep you feeling full. Views on when to test vary but in general two hours after a typical meal. Useful if you can check just before the meal as well. Early morning checks can be a bit unreliable due to the effect of the overnight liver dump of glucose.
 
Willow_W said:
I have recently had my hba1c tested as part of a load of blood tests whilst my doctor was treating me for something.
My HBA1c came back at 57. I spoke to my surgery's diabetic nurse who said that diabetes isn't usually diagnosed until 2 high HBA1cs are recorded. She advised on diet and suggested a get a blood glucose machine to keep and eye on my blood sugar, suggesting to do this twice a day- first thing in the morning and before my evening meal. She said I"d be retested in 3 months time where hopefully my diet had brought the HBA1c level down and if that can be maintained then I would not be diagnosed.

However I note that my GP has actually coded on my records that I am a type 2 diabetic and I have now been sent an invite for diabetic eye screening- so it appears they are not waiting for a second HBA1c. I have been given little info though, and not been referred to an education program.

Ive been doing the blood glucose for about 6 weeks now. They are usually around 7 mmol/L in the morning - though I have had 2 that were just over 10, but that was when I had a lot of carbs the night before which I am cutting down on.
They are anywhere between 4.4 & 6 before my evening meal. I have no idea if thats any good or not - the only thing the nurse said was 10 would be quite high? Can anyone advise?

I now see advice on here that blood glucose monitoring should be done before and after meals. Im just a bit confused at what I should be doing & feel I have been given little info. Im also suprised at being told that you are not normally diagnosed until two high results, then have it on my records that I am diabetic.

Feeling a bit lost and confused and welcome any advice!
Click to expand...
Your bloods at the levels 4.4 and 6 are really good idomy partners and to be honest when ur not diabetic u get readings in them same levels which are perfect u really need to get Intouch with your gp and ask for sure what is happening
 
Thank you all for your replies.

I will start to monitor before & two hours after food now and see how that goes.

@Daibell The advice the diabetic nurse gave was to swap out sugary snacks for things like fruit but to watch fruit like apples & bananas as they contain a lot of sugar/carbs. So eat fruit like blueberries and kiwis. She advised to watch the carb intake but then told me to eat things like porrage for breakfast which was confusing as thought that was carby.

One thing I am bad at is drinking fluid. I dont really get thirsty and when Im at work I get so busy, I forget to get a drink sometimes so can drink very little throughout the day - will this be a factor in keeping my blood sugar high?
 
Well, if you're T2 then check out this link.... it's really good advice, written by one of the members here and is frequently shared for those newly diagnosed or just looking for good advice.

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

Tropical fruits are not your friend and neither is porridge I'm afraid. I'd avoid those if in your shoes.

And welcome!
 
Willow_W said:
Thank you all for your replies.

I will start to monitor before & two hours after food now and see how that goes.

@Daibell The advice the diabetic nurse gave was to swap out sugary snacks for things like fruit but to watch fruit like apples & bananas as they contain a lot of sugar/carbs. So eat fruit like blueberries and kiwis. She advised to watch the carb intake but then told me to eat things like porrage for breakfast which was confusing as thought that was carby.

One thing I am bad at is drinking fluid. I dont really get thirsty and when Im at work I get so busy, I forget to get a drink sometimes so can drink very little throughout the day - will this be a factor in keeping my blood sugar high?
Click to expand...
Hi again. The advice from the nurse sounds good overall but a lot of people treat porridge as a 'wonder' food which it is in some ways but they forget it is almost 100% carb so portion sizes need to be kept down. I also suspect having it with cold milk rather than stewing it with hot milk/water might minimise glucose spikes from it?
 
Willow_W said:
I have recently had my hba1c tested as part of a load of blood tests whilst my doctor was treating me for something.
My HBA1c came back at 57. I spoke to my surgery's diabetic nurse who said that diabetes isn't usually diagnosed until 2 high HBA1cs are recorded. She advised on diet and suggested a get a blood glucose machine to keep and eye on my blood sugar, suggesting to do this twice a day- first thing in the morning and before my evening meal. She said I"d be retested in 3 months time where hopefully my diet had brought the HBA1c level down and if that can be maintained then I would not be diagnosed.

However I note that my GP has actually coded on my records that I am a type 2 diabetic and I have now been sent an invite for diabetic eye screening- so it appears they are not waiting for a second HBA1c. I have been given little info though, and not been referred to an education program.

Ive been doing the blood glucose for about 6 weeks now. They are usually around 7 mmol/L in the morning - though I have had 2 that were just over 10, but that was when I had a lot of carbs the night before which I am cutting down on.
They are anywhere between 4.4 & 6 before my evening meal. I have no idea if thats any good or not - the only thing the nurse said was 10 would be quite high? Can anyone advise?

I now see advice on here that blood glucose monitoring should be done before and after meals. Im just a bit confused at what I should be doing & feel I have been given little info. Im also suprised at being told that you are not normally diagnosed until two high results, then have it on my records that I am diabetic.

Feeling a bit lost and confused and welcome any advice!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum. Those evening numbers look pretty good to me - well done. In many peoples' experience, the morning/fasting numbers are the last to come down. Mine are beginning to fall now, but it's taken over a year for this to start. So I might have readings of 4.5 before meals, 5.0 afterwards, and 5.6 in the morning after fasting for 15 hours. It doesn't seem to make sense, I know. Your liver, in an effort to be helpful, dumps glucose into your bloodstream every now and then whether you want it or not, and it needs to be trained not to do that.

Porridge - I wish. used to eat it all the time, love the stuff. Absolutely no good for me now unless I want a huge BG spike. My advice would be to take a BG reading, eat a measured portion so you know pretty much exactly how much carb is in it, and test 30 mins, 1 hour, 90 mins and 2hrs after eating. If the reading is still climbing after 2 hours, keep testing. You'll see both how quickly you absorb the carbs and what the max spike is. Example - I spike really quickly after eating potato, so that the 2 hour reading is much lower than at one hour. If I'd only taken a 2 hr reading, it would look like I tolerate potato much better than i actually do.

best of luck, you're going in the right direction.
 
Back
Top