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Panicking!

M

Mandarino

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi
I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic last February. My HbA1c level was 43. I was already slim and felt I had a good diet. However, I cut down dramatically on carbs and stopped drinking alcohol. This week I had another test but was so disappointed to find it had only gone down to 42. Whatever can I do? I’m 77, 5ft 8ins and now weigh 55 kilos, having lost 5 kilos.
 
Remember that the HbA1c is an average of roughly three months glycation. A one point difference means little as the results are rounded up or down (usually) to the nearest whole number. I would take this result as a 'No change there, then' which means it is not rising which means it is good. An HbA1c of 42 puts you only just into Pre Diabetes range (some would describe it as still borderline) so you can stop panicking and breathe. Keep working on lowering the amount of carbs in your diet very slowly and remember to replace those carbs with healthy fats.
 
Why not test before and two hours after food to see where your higher blood sugars come from? You can then make changes in your diet where things go wrong. Or you might get an earlier warning than a next hba1c that things aren't as they should be, so you can get back to your doctor.
Have you read @daisy1 's very informative post already? If not, she'll post it on this thread.
Good luck!
 
I have porridge with fresh fruit in. Usually a few grapes and blueberries. It’s made with semi skimmed milk and water and no sugar or salt added. Usually I have rolled oats. Tea without sugar.
Lunch is usually my main meal. I have very fresh, low carb meals from a low carb recipe book. Plenty of veg, salads and fruit. I’ve never been keen on sweet food so I don’t eat sugary desserts. I drink water (not enough) and try to find fresh fruit drinks with not too much sugar content. Cakes and biscuits are not on the menu. Later in the day I may have egg or seeded bread. I do have quite a lot of fruit as snacks and wonder if it’s too much.
 
Antje77 said:
Why not test before and two hours after food to see where your higher blood sugars come from? You can then make changes in your diet where things go wrong. Or you might get an earlier warning than a next hba1c that things aren't as they should be, so you can get back to your doctor.
Have you read @daisy1 's very informative post already? If not, she'll post it on this thread.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
I have just bought a test kit. Not done it before but will take your advice
 
Mandarino said:
I have porridge with fresh fruit in. Usually a few grapes and blueberries. It’s made with semi skimmed milk and water and no sugar or salt added. Usually I have rolled oats. Tea without sugar.
Lunch is usually my main meal. I have very fresh, low carb meals from a low carb recipe book. Plenty of veg, salads and fruit. I’ve never been keen on sweet food so I don’t eat sugary desserts. I drink water (not enough) and try to find fresh fruit drinks with not too much sugar content. Cakes and biscuits are not on the menu. Later in the day I may have egg or seeded bread. I do have quite a lot of fruit as snacks and wonder if it’s too much.
Click to expand...
Porridge, fresh fruit and seeded bread are all high carb, so plenty of room for you to cut some and change your readings. Take your time to learn!
 
50shades - Copy.png
Mandarino said:
Hi
I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic last February. My HbA1c level was 43. I was already slim and felt I had a good diet. However, I cut down dramatically on carbs and stopped drinking alcohol. This week I had another test but was so disappointed to find it had only gone down to 42. Whatever can I do? I’m 77, 5ft 8ins and now weigh 55 kilos, having lost 5 kilos.
Click to expand...
try to count the number of grams of carbs you eat in every meal and stay under 30 grams in each meal....
your HbA1c is your average over ca.3 month if your blood glucose spike very high after meals then it will off cause influence how high yours HbA1c will be next time they way to go is to stay low in carb levels... and also keep having an eye on mornign blood glucose and try to that down to a normal level of preferably under 5.8 mmol.... (I struggle with that myself , being full blown diabetic...type 2 ) but most can achieve that by staying under 150 grams of carbs in total daily or even lower

here is a scheme showing at what level are the truly non-diabetic levels which are only the green area
 
Mandarino said:
I have porridge with fresh fruit in. Usually a few grapes and blueberries. It’s made with semi skimmed milk and water and no sugar or salt added. Usually I have rolled oats. Tea without sugar.
Lunch is usually my main meal. I have very fresh, low carb meals from a low carb recipe book. Plenty of veg, salads and fruit. I’ve never been keen on sweet food so I don’t eat sugary desserts. I drink water (not enough) and try to find fresh fruit drinks with not too much sugar content. Cakes and biscuits are not on the menu. Later in the day I may have egg or seeded bread. I do have quite a lot of fruit as snacks and wonder if it’s too much.
Click to expand...
ah - well, I do not eat porridge, nor grapes nor blueberries as they all have too many carbs for me to cope with, I do not use semiskimmed milk, as it is just a sugary liquid, salads are a mainstay, but not with fruit, and I don't have bread. I do have a small amount of berries with cream a couple of times a week, but it is a very small bowl and the lowest carb content I can find for the berries.
I eat twice a day, morning and evening - and do not snack. I suspect that if you weigh and calculate the amount of carbs you are eating that you'd see why your Hba1c is not reducing.
 
@Mandarino

Hello Mandarino and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as 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
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 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. 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.
 
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