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Type 2 out of control, .......or not.....

mymate

Member
Messages
8
Hi

I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for some six or seven years now. I currently take 2 x 30mg gliclazide, 2 x 850mg metformin, 1 x 75mg soluble aspirin, 1 x 5mg ramipril, 1 x 4mg candesartan and 1 x 40mg simvastatin daily in order to keep it under control. I work for myself and have a fairly sedentary job. The problem that I currently have is that my initial bg reading on waking is in the region of 10.5 having risen from what used to be about 5.5 at the same time in the morning. Slightly worried about this I visited my local GP to explain my concerns and they duly took blood only for my HBA1C to come back as 6.4 which the doc says is well within limits. I have some doubts over this however as my readings, according to me, during the day are never lower than 9.4 and have not been for some four months now. I eat very little, half portions at the best of time and try to reduce carbs wherever possible. A typical menu would be two griddled eggs on bread in the morning. Half a ham sandwich at lunch, fish cooked in the oven, peas and one ice cream scoop of mashed potato in the evening. I don't regard this as excessive but would be grateful for thoughts. For exercise I try to walk my kids to school both morning and afternoon pushing all the way once the kids aren't with me, i.e. one way. I have never once received any advice from any form of medical practioner since my diagnosis and it has always been left to me to trawl the web to find out what is needed at any time.

I have two questions: How can my HBA1C be so low given my own personal readings (thought is may be a faulty meter but it isn't because I now have two and they have similar readings at the same time)? How do I convince my GP that there is something not quite right when she gets results like that? I have only one kidney and I would prefer to keep that healthy and I have this feeling that if all is left unchecked I may suffer complications of one sort or another.
 
The simple fact is that your HbA1c is an average......over a period of around 3 months. It is and should only be used as a trend indicator.

The most effective way to know what is actually happening from day to day is to test frequently at various times of the day, particularly 2 hrs after meals. This is the only way to know how good your Bg levels are.

Anybody who only relies on HbA1c readings could be in for a shock when they start to test. It will be hiding high and low levels.

Bread, Mash, Ice Cream.......not good for Bg levels.

Have a look at the basic advice my pal Sue and I hand out.......

 
As I read you post I wondered for a second if I had actually written it and forgotten ( except for the medicines)

My morning readings are depressingly high 10's and 11's my last HBA1C came back as 6.4 ( up a little after changing as an experiment to NHS recommended diet ) which again I was told were ok and nothing to worry about. I honestly thought my samples must have been mixed up with someone elses. So it does seem to be quite possible after reading your post that the average is a lot lower than the morning readings. Ive give up taking blood readings myself as its just too confusing and causes nothing but worries if your levels seem high, then you discover your HBa1c is "ok"

What really confuses me is although my hba1c are within accepted limits I am feeling more and more changes in my toes and occasionally fingers. Im on slow release metformin 2x 500 and withdrew from simvastatin after walking problems Next HB later this month. Im interested to see what the results are after going on the recommended nhs diet. I have a feeling Ill be back to low carb after the blood tests get back.
 
Your HbA1c is really a midway indicator ...an average display gauge .. an overall summary.

Look upon it as the mid point on a graph of all your highs and lows over that past 12 weeks, and you should be finger testing on a regular basis to understand how different foods will give sharp spikes ..some sooner and some later after eating.
 
Hi

Thanks for the replies, explanations and advice.. I do understand that the HBA1C is an average reading but I am a fairly regular tester of my BG throughout the course of the day. Luckily I have a GP who is happy to let me have the strips when I ask for them. My reading throughout the course of a day are much higher than the HBA1C and, this being the case, I am somewhat confused over the results that they have supplied. As stated I do eat fairly meagerly although there are some carbs in my diet. I have recently tried swapping my slice of bread with 2 x wholegrain Ryvitas as they have less carbs but it appears that there is little or no effect on my BG. I have started to keeps notes of meals vs readings so that my GP has some knowledge of what is going on. I still dispute the HBA1C reading and cannot understand why it is so low. My next test will not now be until April this year. An instance this morning. My waking up measurement was 8.4. I ate one x ryvita with butter and marmite on it, took my meds, and two hours later my BG was 12.4. Complete confusion reigns.
 
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