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Well that was a disappointment

M

Max243

Member
Messages
23
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I've just had a telephone conversation with GP.
Since sept my cholesterol has come down 6.5 from 7
The biggest disappointment is blood sugar hba1c has gone from 47 to 45
I've dropped carbs and changed diet so much and remained active I was expecting it to be in 30s lol
Anyone else expecting bigger drops
GP said no further action ,read cholesterol info she's sending, blood test in another 6 months
Thank you for reading
 
Max243 said:
The biggest disappointment is blood sugar hba1c has gone from 47 to 45
I've dropped carbs and changed diet so much and remained active I was expecting it to be in 30s lol
Click to expand...
I'm sorry about the disappointment.
Do you use a glucose meter to test before and after meals to see how different meals affect you? It can be a very useful tool to see where improvement may be found.
 
For reference my potato, rice bread pasta intake is 0
My consumption of cheese, full fat cream,berry fruits and whole nuts has gone up
I do sometimes snack on Aldi rice cakes 5g carb per cake
No sugar
Antje77 said:
I'm sorry about the disappointment.
Do you use a glucose meter to test before and after meals to see how different meals affect you? It can be a very useful tool to see where improvement may be found.
Click to expand...
 
Yes @Max243 . Did the very low carb diet, 35 carbs max per day total. All that happened was I lost a lot of weight, ended up under weight. I was expecting my HbA1c to be in the low 5’s % , but no they hardly moved from being diabetic. Like you I felt deflated and out of options for reducing my blood sugars. I’m lean and very fit. So I get your disappointment.
 
@Max243 have you tried a keto diet, which was effectively what I did? If you haven’t please don’t be put off by my results.
 
 
Sorry you had this experience
I see you are on medication is this how you control your blood sugar? If you don't mind me asking
Is it a possibility gp will suggest I take medication?
 
Hi @Max243 , thanks for the tag @Antje77 , here’s some info with links for UK meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned.



HOME HEALTH have the Gluco Navii, which is a fairly new model and seems to be getting good reviews.

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-produ...ose-meter-test-strips-choose-mmol-l-or-mg-dl/



Links to the strips for future orders:

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/glucose-navii-blood-glucose-test-strips-50-strip-pack/



Then they sell the older SD Code Free, details to be found here!

https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/





SPIRIT HEALTHCARE have a meter called the Tee2 + which is quite popular:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...e2-blood-glucose-meter?variant=19264017268793



The strips are to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/co...py-of-tee2-test-strips?variant=19264017367097



If there is a choice of units of measurement then ‘mmol/L’ are the standard units in the UK, ‘mg/dl’ in the US, other countries may vary.



Don’t forget to check the box if you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)



If you’d like to try a free 15 day trial of the Freestyle LIBRE 2 plus follow this link:

Sampling | Diabetes Care | Abbott



Dexcom also offer a free trial of their Dexcom one + here

The Dexcom ONE+ CGM (Continuous Glucose Montoring) system | Dexcom
 
I like, you have lost nearly two ,stone and edging towards under weight
 
Thank you so much Rachox
 
Max243 said:
Sorry you had this experience
I see you are on medication is this how you control your blood sugar? If you don't mind me asking
Is it a possibility gp will suggest I take medication?
Click to expand...
Thanks @Max243. I’m on an off label drug, Buproprion. It increases insulin secretion, as I’m relatively insulin sensitive, rather than Metformin, which I was offered. I also do around 11 miles a day fast paced walking. I would love to run it, but my knees are rubbish.
 
Max243 said:
Is it a possibility gp will suggest I take medication?
Click to expand...
Unlikely with an hba1c of 45.
However, it's not only about what your GP will suggest but also what your own preferences are. Some people are most happy to try everything and see if they can avoid medication, others prefer the little extra room diet wise that medication can help with. You are perfectly free to voice your own preferences with your GP and see what they think.
 
Any ideas why the drop is so low.
I'm genuinely not smoke screening and gone low carb (weight loss too)
 
Max243 said:
Any ideas why the drop is so low.
I'm genuinely not smoke screening and gone low carb (weight loss too)
Click to expand...
Could be various things.
- Some of our members stay in he prediabetic range, no matter how low carb they go, maybe you're one of them.
- Are you on any medication for things not related to diabetes? Some medications can increase blood glucose.
- How about stress? it can increase BG.
- Illness? Some inflammation going on?
- While T2 is the most common type of diabetes, there are other types as well.

I'd go use the meter and a lot of teststrips to see what patterns you can find. But don't forget, with your current hba1c of 45 you're only just in the prediabetic range. So if it were me, I would be curious but not alarmed.
 
It’s not always possible to get into lower none diabetic numbers, I think that the theory that we can reduce our carbs to nothing and we will be in remission is bandied about far too much and it’s not that simple.

I’ve been Keto for a few years and never managed a Hba1c below 47 What we have to remember that are broken in a way and operate differently from someone without diabetes. We can only be the best we can be and should try not to compare ourselves to others
 
It's obvious from the various accounts on here that we are not built the same way. Some of us on low carb or keto lose body fat and reduce BG: others do one but not the other. It is not as simple as it is sometimes suggested. For me, my BG was back in normal range in four months at 20g/day, and over the next three years I lost around 90lbs. BG first, substantial weight loss some long way behind. So the "lose 10% of body weight first" requirement doesn't work with me.

It's possible perhaps that we may have slightly different conditions, so we respond differently to low carb/keto depending on what part of the very complex body system is broken or impaired. We may all have the same raised blood glucose symptom, but it's possible that it doesn't always have the same exact cause - if your car's mileage suddenly goes down it might not have the same cause as my poor mileage: you've got ten bags of cement in the boot: I'm driving everywhere in second gear: Bob down the road hasn't had his car serviced for five years.
 
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