What do you think?

My mother,who is 74,has been having odd issues for some months and wasn’t keen on going to doctors,so I ordered one of those self testing kits from Everywell to check her A1c.Results came in yesterday and as we both suspected it was high,it said 12.1%.
I truly believe circumstances and poor choices have led up to this,my father had genetic disease where he was prone to aneurysms,so we spent probably an accumulative 3-4 months in a hospital and hotel type setting each year for last three years. We lost my father in October and she lost her mother in June and I think the combo of the long settings of quick available food to keep awake and the stress of everything,this has become a problem.
She is determined to get back to how she used to eat and be prior to the craziness of past 6 months and more. Do you think if she cuts out the excess that she never used to regularly have and really watches it we can lower her sugar without meds?We believe in the diet change first and can completely see how this situation developed slowly,getting the results were just a wake up call for her to stop being passive about it all and think more about what’s feeding the body.

I appreciate your helpful words and am so grateful I found this forum in my researching last night.I’ve learned so much already and truly believe my Mom can get it lower again.

Thanks for reading

EllieM said:

Welcome to the forums @chicklet.

That's a high value, 109mmol/mol and an average blood glucose of 16.7mmol/L.

There are folk on this forum who have used diet to achieve remission from this level but it's quite a big ask. Some thoughts
1) Do you have any readings to know if she had issues a year ago?
2) Is she overweight? (Makes T2 more likely and also means low carbing will probably reduce her weight).
3) Has she had covid? (Some reports say it can induce diabetes).
4) How many carbs in a typical day? (This will tell you how much scope you have for reduction.)

Look, low carbing should help and if you buy a glucometer you will get some sort of idea as to whether it's reducing her levels. Don't leave it long before seeing a doctor though, because those levels are dangerous. (Tell them she is going low carb so they don't go overboard on the meds). We are not replacements for doctors on these boards and we can't officially diagnose. (Though if that hba1c is accurate she needs to see a doctor).

My questions may seem a little strange but it's not unknown for someone her age to get slow onset T1 (unlikely if she's overweight) so you should be aware that this is a possibility and if it is so she'll need insulin eventually.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Your questions are not strange,ask away...

1 No readings from before except routine blood work from few years that didn’t show anything.

2 Yes she is overweight.She has lost weight over past couple years but still has more to go.She had back surgery four years ago and that really slowed her down.

3 no she has not had COVID that we know of.She has been pretty much housebound for months.

4 carbs in a day typically in last few months have been high.Bread with breakfast,a baked good with coffee in afternoon. Carb with dinner and than snacking on chips and such.Grabbing mini candy after dinner. So as you can see,the food is a problem and has been this way since august when father went into hospital last time.

She was always more of a low carb person,no candy or heavy baked goods but got into a routine per say.

I do understand not doctors but your knowledge base is high and in your opinion can she try this on her own with big changes or bc numbers so high she needs more immediate help? She doesn’t want to automatically be put on meds but were no experts so don’t know.I’m sure it’s been like this for quite some time in retrospect