Puzzled at my results

[coby]

Hi everyone and hopeing one of you can solve this mystery perhaps?
I went for my diabetic review yesterday, expecting to be disappointed if truthful, as I have slipped somewhat since December.
I sadly have a terminally ill close family member ... became ill suddenly ... so a tremendous shock which threw me off keel.
With all the worry and stress, it affected my sleep, general health and diet immensley, and although I did stay on my normal
foods during meals I was snacking on rubbish in between because of this restlessness of not being able to do anything to help him.
I gained 8lbs in weight too so began to feel anxious about the review.
Well to my complete amazement my usual A1c of 38 had only risen a little, to 40 so still remision and my cholesterol which last time was over 7
was down to 6.8. I do normally take Sterols for cholesterol (which had reduced it from the high 7's the previous year, but had even stopped taking those too since October when I had the bad family news given to me.
Is it that my body is coping well, having been in remission for three years do you think?

 

[ajbod]

Over the last 12 months, we've had my mother in law die, dealing with the estate and a HUGE inheritance tax bill. The disposal of a stamp collection that had to be shipped to Switzerland to sell. Clearance of the house, selling our house, a flaky sister in law making life difficult over buying her out of the house. trying to arrange the move which should be soon. so over that time i've rather binged myself on all sorts of rubbish. Also like you i was amazed that my Hba1c only rose to 40, i suspect it is slightly improved Insulin resistance due to the holiday my system had from low carbing for quite some time. But i also suspect that if i continue, things will start to rapidly deteriorate.

 

[Lamont D]

Hi everyone and hopeing one of you can solve this mystery perhaps?
I went for my diabetic review yesterday, expecting to be disappointed if truthful, as I have slipped somewhat since December.
I sadly have a terminally ill close family member ... became ill suddenly ... so a tremendous shock which threw me off keel.
With all the worry and stress, it affected my sleep, general health and diet immensley, and although I did stay on my normal
foods during meals I was snacking on rubbish in between because of this restlessness of not being able to do anything to help him.
I gained 8lbs in weight too so began to feel anxious about the review.
Well to my complete amazement my usual A1c of 38 had only risen a little, to 40 so still remision and my cholesterol which last time was over 7
was down to 6.8. I do normally take Sterols for cholesterol (which had reduced it from the high 7's the previous year, but had even stopped taking those too since October when I had the bad family news given to me.
Is it that my body is coping well, having been in remission for three years do you think?

There are certain times when your diabetes is first because that is life. Then something else comes along and knocks you on your.......!
Priorities change, and sometimes cos of life, your control goes out of the window.
That is fine, really!
It is understandable why you have fallen off the wagon, as long as you can get back on.

Take heart that your recent results are really good. And we know that it is possible to continue being in remission, and it shows, how long the process is to change to come out of remission.

Be safe, you can get through this.

Best wishes.

 

[coby]

There are certain times when your diabetes is first because that is life. Then something else comes along and knocks you on your.......!
Priorities change, and sometimes cos of life, your control goes out of the window.
That is fine, really!
It is understandable why you have fallen off the wagon, as long as you can get back on.

Take heart that your recent results are really good. And we know that it is possible to continue being in remission, and it shows, how long the process is to change to come out of remission.

Be safe, you can get through this.

Best wishes.

Thank you. As I said I did stick to my usual meals but ate too many chocolate snacks that are my daughters.
Normally I can ignore them and have no desire to touch them and today I am back to leaving them alone thank goodness x

 

[KennyA]

I think it's entirely possible that a period spent without experiencing high levels of glucose might serve to reduce insulin resistance somewhat. If so, it could follow that even a month or two off the wagon for some people might not have the impact it would or might have done while insulin resistance was higher.

I've noted that meals that four years used to have me seeing +2 hour figures in the high sixes and sevens now rarely creep above mid fives. I don't really recall when my last >6 result was. Any amount of carb (in excess of my standard 20 a day) used to knock me out of ketosis: not any more.

I do not believe that this is anything more than a "breathing space" for my system. It couldn't cope with consistently high carb intake previously, and I don't expect it would cope any better with consistently high carb intake now, even if it handles the odd 50g day perfectly capably. I don't intend to try it and see, because the consequences for me simply aren't worth it - I'm happy with where I am right now.

 

[AndBreathe]

@coby - this time last year, and on was tricky for me,, due to a very close chum being diagnosed with cancer. A battle she lost.

whilst I remained low carb, I did gain a modest amount of weight. Eating wasn’t dire, but I was snacking. I mean, I do not snack. I was brought up to eat meals, period.

My HbA1c was slipped in with some other routine bloods, and I must admit I looked at the results, squinting from one eye, expecting a number I didn’t like. Nope. Still in my 31<>33 range.

The extra pounds have gone now, and eating is more like my old self.

 

[coby]

@coby - this time last year, and on was tricky for me,, due to a very close chum being diagnosed with cancer. A battle she lost.

whilst I remained low carb, I did gain a modest amount of weight. Eating wasn’t dire, but I was snacking. I mean, I do not snack. I was brought up to eat meals, period.

My HbA1c was slipped in with some other routine bloods, and I must admit I looked at the results, squinting from one eye, expecting a number I didn’t like. Nope. Still in my 31<>33 range.

The extra pounds have gone now, and eating is more like my old self.

@AndBreathe aww thank you so much for sharing your experience. I really was so relieved yesterday at my numbers as I truly expected it to be about 50 or something! x

 

[coby]

I think it's entirely possible that a period spent without experiencing high levels of glucose might serve to reduce insulin resistance somewhat. If so, it could follow that even a month or two off the wagon for some people might not have the impact it would or might have done while insulin resistance was higher.

I've noted that meals that four years used to have me seeing +2 hour figures in the high sixes and sevens now rarely creep above mid fives. I don't really recall when my last >6 result was. Any amount of carb (in excess of my standard 20 a day) used to knock me out of ketosis: not any more.

I do not believe that this is anything more than a "breathing space" for my system. It couldn't cope with consistently high carb intake previously, and I don't expect it would cope any better with consistently high carb intake now, even if it handles the odd 50g day perfectly capably. I don't intend to try it and see, because the consequences for me simply aren't worth it - I'm happy with where I am right now.

@KennyA You think like I do!
Having mastered my condition successfully three years ago, I have a strong urge not to backslide since I feel so much better.
However we don't prepare for devastation happening in our lives, do we, and thoughts of my own well being took a back seat.
Thank goodness my review happened when it did and brought me back from the brink. I feel guilty for being pleased though while my family member is nearing the end of life far too soon

 

[ravensmitten]

Firstly sorry to hear of your pain, I can believe that, although everyone is different, it's bizarre.

Back in 2016 I had my HbA1c as 50, and I went on an (in hindsight) unsustainable starvation thing which was probably low carb too when I think about it now. Lost a heap of weight and that seemed to keep my finger prick sugars low day to day and avoided the doctors so didn't ever have another Hba1c done for 6 years, I didn't really have a plan of sustainable eating coming off that diet and I when I did I put a heck of a lot of weight on than I'd lost and absolutely went nuts on carbs for those few years, When I eventually took my head out of the sand and went back to the doctors I was expecting carnage after a few years of abuse, my HbA1c was at 45 - It had gotten apparently lower!, so got cocky, thought I'd reset myself and that would stay like that, when in all reality, like @KennyA says it was probably more of a breathing space for my system too.

I did have a good few months of starting up a low carb way of eating the start of last year and my HbA1c went up from 45 a few points to 47 which was disheartening, but then there's probably a margin of error in all these tests, lots of other factors, and things take time as it may have been on the upward trajectory for some time prior. I did fall 'off the wagon' for various reasons last year (was difficult one) and I ended up with HbA1c of 66 in December when I was advised I should go onto tablets. That was enough to convince me that If I kept mucking about, despite me getting it under control before, if I carried on then it's Yazz & The Plastic Population all the way and I don't want to be on that train any more (IF I can help it.)

 

[coby]

Over the last 12 months, we've had my mother in law die, dealing with the estate and a HUGE inheritance tax bill. The disposal of a stamp collection that had to be shipped to Switzerland to sell. Clearance of the house, selling our house, a flaky sister in law making life difficult over buying her out of the house. trying to arrange the move which should be soon. so over that time i've rather binged myself on all sorts of rubbish. Also like you i was amazed that my Hba1c only rose to 40, i suspect it is slightly improved Insulin resistance due to the holiday my system had from low carbing for quite some time. But i also suspect that if i continue, things will start to rapidly deteriorate.

@ajbod I know just what you are saying even though different worries stresses and strains. They all amount to the same thing in that we are crushed for a while and forget to care for ourselves.
It's wonderful to see that you were only seeing a small rise in your A1c just like myself. Hope life has calmed somewhat for you now x

 

[ajbod]

Fingers crossed once we've moved and got ourselves and the kittens settled, i should be able to get properly back in swing of things. There will be several Diy projects over the coming year, and thats the sort of thing that helps me.

 

[Antje77]

I feel guilty for being pleased though while my family member is nearing the end of life far too soon

Please don't feel guilty about this.
They are completely different parts of your life, and being happy with the good things in life in no way diminishes your feelings for the hard parts.
Quite the opposite in my experience. Being happy with all kinds of things during difficult times gives me more strength to deal with the hard things.

I'm pretty sure that when my father was dying, it gave him quite some peace of mind to see that I was still enjoying things and having fun, despite caring for him until the end and having a very hard time losing him.
I'm very sure that me being miserable all the time wouldn't have helped him in any way, and would have made him miserable in return.

Please be happy with all the good things in life without guilt!

 

[ajbod]

You should never feel guilty, this is the reason why our older parents etc, hide their illness and problems from us, so that we WON'T worry and fret. It greatly helps them to know you are not suffering because of them.

 

[coby]

Please don't feel guilty about this.
They are completely different parts of your life, and being happy with the good things in life in no way diminishes your feelings for the hard parts.
Quite the opposite in my experience. Being happy with all kinds of things during difficult times gives me more strength to deal with the hard things.

I'm pretty sure that when my father was dying, it gave him quite some peace of mind to see that I was still enjoying things and having fun, despite caring for him until the end and having a very hard time losing him.
I'm very sure that me being miserable all the time wouldn't have helped him in any way, and would have made him miserable in return.

Please be happy with all the good things in life without guilt!

@Antje77 thank you. x

 

[shelley262]

Hi everyone and hopeing one of you can solve this mystery perhaps?
I went for my diabetic review yesterday, expecting to be disappointed if truthful, as I have slipped somewhat since December.
I sadly have a terminally ill close family member ... became ill suddenly ... so a tremendous shock which threw me off keel.
With all the worry and stress, it affected my sleep, general health and diet immensley, and although I did stay on my normal
foods during meals I was snacking on rubbish in between because of this restlessness of not being able to do anything to help him.
I gained 8lbs in weight too so began to feel anxious about the review.
Well to my complete amazement my usual A1c of 38 had only risen a little, to 40 so still remision and my cholesterol which last time was over 7
was down to 6.8. I do normally take Sterols for cholesterol (which had reduced it from the high 7's the previous year, but had even stopped taking those too since October when I had the bad family news given to me.
Is it that my body is coping well, having been in remission for three years do you think?

Thinking of you during a difficult stressful time - it's really tough dealing with a terminal diagnosis for a loved one and doing all the practical stuff whilst trying to be outwardly cheerful with both the patient and all your other family members to support them. You don't want to inflict your feelings of impending loss on the person who's dying, as you want to focus on them. The long standing habit of dealing with stress, fear and anxiety plus sheer sadness by eating treats used to be my go to do during the tough times it's the first thing that comes to mind. When losing my mum I made sure I had more low carb treats available so that I could grab them rather than the high carb stuff. I
I know that last year I expected my score to be higher due to so many losses and felt relieved it wasnt. Stress had seemed to reflect on higher fbgs for example.
Interesting 're your cholesterol going down with putting on some weight and snacking.
Hopefully seeing that things haven't gone downhill will help you to get back to managing your own health better again. Remember it's hard but you matter too and building in treats may help .

 

[coby]

Thinking of you during a difficult stressful time - it's really tough dealing with a terminal diagnosis for a loved one and doing all the practical stuff whilst trying to be outwardly cheerful with both the patient and all your other family members to support them. You don't want to inflict your feelings of impending loss on the person who's dying, as you want to focus on them. The long standing habit of dealing with stress, fear and anxiety plus sheer sadness by eating treats used to be my go to do during the tough times it's the first thing that comes to mind. When losing my mum I made sure I had more low carb treats available so that I could grab them rather than the high carb stuff. I
I know that last year I expected my score to be higher due to so many losses and felt relieved it wasnt. Stress had seemed to reflect on higher fbgs for example.
Interesting 're your cholesterol going down with putting on some weight and snacking.
Hopefully seeing that things haven't gone downhill will help you to get back to managing your own health better again. Remember it's hard but you matter too and building in treats may help .

Thank you @shelley262 for your very kind thoughts on this.
I do usually have nuts (walnuts, pecans and almonds) in my cupboard for snacks although I don't often have anything between meals. I also usually keep a bar of 85% dark chocolate in should I fancy a square. Typically I had neither in and the said cupboard is full of small chocolate bars for my daughter if/when she feels like something.
I can't even say I found them too sweet as I really didn't notice! Shows why I are them though I suppose.
I am back to my routine of not eating before midday and having a small meal at 5pm as my last one of the day so hopefully those extra pounds will quickly go!
Concerning the cholesterol though I'm now wondering if I had got it lower than that this year without knowing and that the nurses findings of 6.8 was actually a rise!

 

[MrsA2]

I've been putting off my next hba1c for similar reasons, too many bereavements and too much stress.
Hopefully, when I do face it, it won't have gone up to much as I've tried to be mainly low carb with just the odd excursion...

 

[Yongy]

Hi everyone and hopeing one of you can solve this mystery perhaps?
I went for my diabetic review yesterday, expecting to be disappointed if truthful, as I have slipped somewhat since December.
I sadly have a terminally ill close family member ... became ill suddenly ... so a tremendous shock which threw me off keel.
With all the worry and stress, it affected my sleep, general health and diet immensley, and although I did stay on my normal
foods during meals I was snacking on rubbish in between because of this restlessness of not being able to do anything to help him.
I gained 8lbs in weight too so began to feel anxious about the review.
Well to my complete amazement my usual A1c of 38 had only risen a little, to 40 so still remision and my cholesterol which last time was over 7
was down to 6.8. I do normally take Sterols for cholesterol (which had reduced it from the high 7's the previous year, but had even stopped taking those too since October when I had the bad family news given to me.
Is it that my body is coping well, having been in remission for three years do you think?

 

[AndBreathe]

I've been putting off my next hba1c for similar reasons, too many bereavements and too much stress.
Hopefully, when I do face it, it won't have gone up to much as I've tried to be mainly low carb with just the odd excursion...

@MrsA2 , just get the test done. I always say “it is what it is”, and let’s face it, if it is up a bit, at least you would know why.

Theres enough going on in your world, without playing and avoiding game, which, for me anyway, brings a guilt-fuelled stress of its own.

 

[aylalake]

I've been putting off my next hba1c for similar reasons, too many bereavements and too much stress.
Hopefully, when I do face it, it won't have gone up to much as I've tried to be mainly low carb with just the odd excursion...

I avoided mine for a couple of years due to extreme life issues, then lockdown happened, so a couple of more years, then I was too scared to go. Eventually I got an out-of-control UTI requiring 9 weeks of different antibiotics and being told my diabetes would have been a major contributing factor. I had the test.

The results were not ideal but it was the poke in the back (other terms are available) that I needed to get my life and my diabetes back in my control.

I agree with @AndBreathe - just do it!

Edited for formatting.