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Devastated with today’s Blood results

C

Craig78

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Was diagnosed type 2 last summer. Got this down from 54 to just pre diabetic, 42 last November. Got bloods back today and I’m now back upto 43. Absolutely devastated. In that time I’ve lost over 2 stone, down to 12st 7lbs. I’ve gave up 80% of what I ate. White bread, pasta, pizzas, gnocchi, sausages, jam, cereal.Don’t touch them now. Limiting myself to 50g carb per meal. I’ve still had something sweet every 2-3 days. Thinking now I need to look at pretty extreme measures. Cutting out all sugar, most vegetables and concentrating on protein only meals mostly, like dry chicken breasts. Will aim to get weight below 11 stone. Has anyone tried the 18/36 hr fasting.
 
Craig78 said:
Was diagnosed type 2 last summer. Got this down from 54 to just pre diabetic, 42 last November. Got bloods back today and I’m now back upto 43. Absolutely devastated. In that time I’ve lost over 2 stone, down to 12st 7lbs. I’ve gave up 80% of what I ate. White bread, pasta, pizzas, gnocchi, sausages, jam, cereal.Don’t touch them now. Limiting myself to 50g carb per meal. I’ve still had something sweet every 2-3 days. Thinking now I need to look at pretty extreme measures. Cutting out all sugar, most vegetables and concentrating on protein only meals mostly, like dry chicken breasts. Will aim to get weight below 11 stone. Has anyone tried the 18/36 hr fasting.
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Welcome to the forum, there is not much difference between 42 and 43, just normal variation however I can see why you must be disappointed that you hadn't dropped down a bit more. I would think you do not need to do anything drastic but dropping your carb intake so your total including drinks and snacks is no more than 130g per day should be sufficient.
There are quite a few 'sweet' things you can have which are low carb, the website has recipes for low carb cakes, biscuits, as well as savoury meals.
Using rubs for flavour rather than sauces and you could try high meat content sausages as they are usually only 2g carbs per sausage. Edamame or black bean pasta is low carb and with a strong flavour sauce is a good alternative.
Have a look at this link as there are plenty of ideas for filling tasty meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is important to find a regime that you enjoy otherwise it is not going to be sustainable.
 
Hi @Craig78 and welcome to the forum. I see no reason to be devastated. HbA1c's of 42 and 43 are to all intents and purposes the same and are well below the diagnosis level. You should be giving you a pat on the back for getting down below the diagnosis level and then keeping it there. Keep doing what you are have been doing to make sure it does not go back up again is my viewpoint!
 
I agree with @Docb that you have done well and one mmol/mol difference in your hbA1c is negligible. Dropping your carbs to around 40g per meal should nudge it down a bit more. Keep eating plenty of veg just watch the portion size of higher carb veg. I often put seasoned rubs on chicken or pork to add flavour without sugars and starches. Small tweaks make a surprising difference and you can factor in occasional sweet treats.
Be kind to yourself and recognise how much you have achieved since your diagnosis last year.
 
I forgot to mention in my earlier post that you may benefit from having a home testing blood glucose monitor and do some strategic testing of your meals to check how well you tolerate 50g carbs by testing before you eat and after 2 hours, an increase of less than 3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l would suggest your meal is OK otherwise reducing the portion of any high carb food or cutting out. Also don't forget drinks and snacks can all add up in addition to the 50g carbs per meal.
 
As has been said, your two results are to all intents and purposes the same, although I can understand your disappointment. I worked hard to get mine down but seem to be settled now at just under 'at risk' - or Non-Diabetic Hyperglycaemia (NDH) as the NHS sometimes calls it - with my last five HbA1c results being 40 or 41, so still well below diabetes level. I've accepted that that's my level now, am comfortable with it and no longer trying to push it lower.
 
Hi, as above don't be so hard on yourself, you have done really well, and 42/43 is still at the very low end of pre diabetes.
Sounds like whatever you have done up to now has worked ok.
Bear in mind there will always be a little bit of variation in our readings/levels.
Plus your body may well still be adjusting.
Stay positive if you can, I know its easier to say.... 😎
 
pjgtech said:
Bear in mind there will always be a little bit of variation in our readings/levels.
Plus your body may well still be adjusting.
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I was thinking that too @pjgtech

I can understand why you might be disappointed @Craig78 - especially as the changes you made initially led to such a significant drop. The additional lost weight and further changes might have been expected to produce a similarly dramatic change - but instead you’ve “only” held level.

To my mind, holding your HbA1c in the low 40s like that is a fantastic achievement. The long-term trial data for nasties like eye damage show big reductions in risk down to about where you are - but then things kind of level off a bit. So maintaining your levels is actually a big plus. There’s not that much extra risk reduction to gain.

You are well below the level that classes as being “in remission from T2D” for people who aren’t taking any medication to help with their diabetes management.

Well done!
 
Craig78 said:
Was diagnosed type 2 last summer. Got this down from 54 to just pre diabetic, 42 last November. Got bloods back today and I’m now back upto 43. Absolutely devastated. In that time I’ve lost over 2 stone, down to 12st 7lbs. I’ve gave up 80% of what I ate. White bread, pasta, pizzas, gnocchi, sausages, jam, cereal.Don’t touch them now. Limiting myself to 50g carb per meal. I’ve still had something sweet every 2-3 days. Thinking now I need to look at pretty extreme measures. Cutting out all sugar, most vegetables and concentrating on protein only meals mostly, like dry chicken breasts. Will aim to get weight below 11 stone. Has anyone tried the 18/36 hr fasting.
Click to expand...
Fasting wasn't of any benefit for me, so I aim to eat every 12 hours. Weightloss happened after getting down to numbers below the diabetic range, but I seem to be 'stuck' in the low 40s - but I had high blood glucose levels for 10 years before diagnosis - I just wasn't told.
Why would you eat dry chicken breast and be concentrating on weightloss? I eat the fats which come naturally in the foods I chose, adding a little butter and use olive oil for salad dressing
I eat steak and mushrooms, stirfy with chops, casseroles or stews - I have full fat Greek style yoghurt, cream in my coffee, and with strawberries - but I set a limit of 40 gm of carbs a day in order to see normal blood glucose levels. I don't really need to worry about anything else. I avoid sugars and simple carbs as I can digest them too quickly and easily - My HbA1c went up using the low calorie shakes as the carbs in them, plus the milk increased my HbA1c to 48 last year, and upset my routine. There are lots of low carb veges, salad stuff, and things which are botanically fruits which are fairly low carb - it is just a matter of getting a list of low carb options and working up a few basic recipes.
If you want something sweet you always eat it instead of something starchy - I can't see much difference in having carbs from strawberries rather than the same amount from swede. The trick is not to eat both the strawberries and the swede.
 
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