A bit mystified by readings

[Bluejohn]

Hello everyone, I was hoping that perhaps someone could enlighten me on a few things. I was diagnosed with Type 2 about 6 weeks ago and the doctor put me on 2x Metformin daily and 1x 10 mg empagliflozin. I have a BG (sejoy) finger prick monitoring device and my latest reading about an hour after a meal ( low carb stir fry ), was 8.6. In the 6 weeks since I was diagnosed I have lost 14 lbs in weight and changed my diet to low carb and no sugar. I suppose I was hoping that my readings would have come down a bit more towards the normal range by now. So am I expecting too much after only 6 weeks ?. I have a blood test scheduled for tomorrow so Im hoping for an improvement. Sorry if I'm a bit vague but I really know little about diabetes . Thanks for any replies in advance

 

[silver minion]

Hi @Bluejohn and welcome to the forum. Being newly diagnosed with type 2 does take some time to get your head around. There is quite a lot to take on board and unfortunately the doctors don't always have the time to explain everything to you. I have found this forum brilliant in addition to the Diabetes UK learning zone in providing a lot of information and experience of living with diabetes.

Well done with diet changes and weight loss. To help answer your question it would be useful to know your HbA1c at diagnosis and what dosage of metformin you are currently on, if you are okay sharing that information.

Good to hear you have a blood glucose meter. To benefit from it you need to take consistent readings and look at the trend over a few weeks. Most people do a test as soon as they wake. Then one just before a meal and two hours after eating. The 2 hour timescale allows for process of utilising the glucose from your meal.

I am sure there will be others posting a welcome to you. We are a friendly bunch so fell free to ask as many questions as you want.

 

[JimmyBlue]

Hi @Bluejohn welcome to the forum and what @silver minion said is good advice. This place has been brilliant for me (diagnosed end September) so I am sure you will find the answers to your questions and the support to help you on your journey.

 

[Leadinglights]

It is early days so don't be too impatient to see lower levels as it is better to bring your blood glucose down slowly as it is kinder on your eyes and nerves. But your HbA1C must have been quite high to be prescribed 2 medications at the start.
It is brilliant you have a monitor and a good testing regime is to test before you eat and after 2 hours as this can give an indication as to whether you have tolerated the amount of carbs in your meal by looking for an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l after 2 hours. So it sounds as if you are doing pretty well.
The blood test will indicate if you are heading in the right direction with your HbA1C but will not reflect the full effect which needs a gap of 3 months between tests to do that.
If you are going with a low carb approach then this link may give you some ideas as it is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs per day.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

 

[Bluejohn]

Hi @Bluejohn and welcome to the forum. Being newly diagnosed with type 2 does take some time to get your head around. There is quite a lot to take on board and unfortunately the doctors don't always have the time to explain everything to you. I have found this forum brilliant in addition to the Diabetes UK learning zone in providing a lot of information and experience of living with diabetes.

Well done with diet changes and weight loss. To help answer your question it would be useful to know your HbA1c at diagnosis and what dosage of metformin you are currently on, if you are okay sharing that information.

Good to hear you have a blood glucose meter. To benefit from it you need to take consistent readings and look at the trend over a few weeks. Most people do a test as soon as they wake. Then one just before a meal and two hours after eating. The 2 hour timescale allows for process of utilising the glucose from your meal.

I am sure there will be others posting a welcome to you. We are a friendly bunch so fell free to ask as many questions as you want.

Thanks for the reply SM. I have no idea what my HbA1c reading was when I was diagnosed (didn't even know what it referred to), but I will ask the doc what they were when I get the result of tomorrows test. I am on 2 x 500 mg Metformins a day. I have only just got the blood glucose monitor so I will start taking the readings at the times you suggest and build up a picture. Thanks again, I've learnt a few things already.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for the reply SM. I have no idea what my HbA1c reading was when I was diagnosed (didn't even know what it referred to), but I will ask the doc what they were when I get the result of tomorrows test. I am on 2 x 500 mg Metformins a day. I have only just got the blood glucose monitor so I will start taking the readings at the times you suggest and build up a picture. Thanks again, I've learnt a few things already.

Are you also on the empagliflozin which you mentioned in your first post ?
Yes do ask what your HbA1C was/ is as that will determine how much work you will need to do and be a guidance as to what sort of reading you might get from your monitor ie the higher your HbA1C then higher finger prick readings are likely to be.

 

[Bluejohn]

Hi @Bluejohn welcome to the forum and what @silver minion said is good advice. This place has been brilliant for me (diagnosed end September) so I am sure you will find the answers to your questions and the support to help you on your journey.

Thanks for the reply Jimmy I have already learnt a few things on my first day in the forum.

It is early days so don't be too impatient to see lower levels as it is better to bring your blood glucose down slowly as it is kinder on your eyes and nerves. But your HbA1C must have been quite high to be prescribed 2 medications at the start.
It is brilliant you have a monitor and a good testing regime is to test before you eat and after 2 hours as this can give an indication as to whether you have tolerated the amount of carbs in your meal by looking for an increase of no more than 2-3mmol/l or no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l after 2 hours. So it sounds as if you are doing pretty well.
The blood test will indicate if you are heading in the right direction with your HbA1C but will not reflect the full effect which needs a gap of 3 months between tests to do that.
If you are going with a low carb approach then this link may give you some ideas as it is based on the suggested no more than 130g carbs per day.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

Thanks for the advice, I'm learning all the time.

 

[goodybags]

Hi @Bluejohn welcome to the forum, congratulations on the initial weight
the testing kit you’ve got - is that something you have purchased yourself or were you lucky enough for your GP to see how testing can help us T2’s to understand how we react to certain foods ?

I see you are on Metformin & Empagliflozin is that a combination tablet or 2 separate tablets
regarding you testing
an hour after eating and getting a result of around 6 that’s pretty good, what was your start Hba1c result ?

[edit] I’ve just seen you are unsure what your Hba1c was on diagnosis

 

[Bluejohn]

Are you also on the empagliflozin which you mentioned in your first post ?
Yes do ask what your HbA1C was/ is as that will determine how much work you will need to do and be a guidance as to what sort of reading you might get from your monitor ie the higher your HbA1C then higher finger prick readings are likely to be.

Yes , I'm still on the 10 mg empagliflozin. the doc said at the time he prescribed it that he would see how things went and see if I needed a higher dose, hopefully not. I will do all the right things and hope for the best.

 

[Bluejohn]

Hi @Bluejohn welcome to the forum, congratulations on the initial weight
the testing kit you’ve got - is that something you have purchased yourself or were you lucky enough for your GP to see how testing can help us T2’s to understand how we react to certain foods ?

I see you are on Metformin & Empagliflozin is that a combination tablet or 2 separate tablets
regarding you testing
an hour after eating and getting a result of around 6 that’s pretty good, what was your start Hba1c result ?

[edit] I’ve just seen you are unsure what your Hba1c was on diagnosis

Hi Goodybags. The testing kit was one I bought myself and they are separate tablets. I don't suppose I will get to speak to the doc until tomorrows test results are back in about a weeks time, but hoping they will be better than they were. I will ask what my original test results were when I speak to him. Thanks again.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Bluejohn

Glad you have found us 🙂

 

[goodybags]

Hi Goodybags. The testing kit was one I bought myself and they are separate tablets. I don't suppose I will get to speak to the doc until tomorrows test results are back in about a weeks time, but hoping they will be better than they were. I will ask what my original test results were when I speak to him. Thanks again.

I'm sure you will find the forum useful, looks like a few people have already posted some help
if you bought the tester yourself keep an eye on the cost of the required strips, they can work out to be quite expensive if your not careful
I’m not the person to advise on the cost of the different testing meters and the needed strips as it’s been many years since I had to buy them (before I got them on prescription) but there’s a few different ones that work out the cheapest, based on the cost of the strips you will be buying

some GP’ s are not always a fan of encouraging self testing for most T2’s
but it’s really good to know what your levels were on waking and before / 2 hours after you ate that meal

It was once suggested to me (by I think it was a Diabetic Consultant)
that I test, on waking then before breakfast the next day before lunch, then next day before evening meal etc..
and also keep a food diary, which at the time I didn’t actually do
but that can be a good idea to start understanding.

 

[JOV]

Regarding Testing - I primarily finger prick (test) every morning to get a daily average so I can see if my efforts are working - I did some paired tests before and after different food to see if I dropped back down to 8-8.5 mmol/l at the 2 hr mark. and a BGM is great for that a lot on the market are +- 10 % better than the required +- 15%

What I was unsure of was how much I spiked with different foods so I started a 14 day free trial of a Libre last week. It is excellent not sure I will pay £100 a month to keep using it but to see how different foods cause glucose spikes is great. If I had difficultly controlling T2 or was a worrier I may pay regularly for one - very easy to use on a smart phone.

 

[Bluejohn]

Hi @Bluejohn welcome to the forum, congratulations on the initial weight
the testing kit you’ve got - is that something you have purchased yourself or were you lucky enough for your GP to see how testing can help us T2’s to understand how we react to certain foods ?

I see you are on Metformin & Empagliflozin is that a combination tablet or 2 separate tablets
regarding you testing
an hour after eating and getting a result of around 6 that’s pretty good, what was your start Hba1c result ?

[edit] I’ve just seen you are unsure what your Hba1c was on diagnosis

Further to my earlier post. I had another blood test this morning, results next week, I asked the nurse if she could look at my records to see what my HbA1c result was when I was diagnosed and it was 96, which apparently was very high. Hoping its come down at least a little since then

 

[silver minion]

Further to my earlier post. I had another blood test this morning, results next week, I asked the nurse if she could look at my records to see what my HbA1c result was when I was diagnosed and it was 96, which apparently was very high. Hoping its come down at least a little since then

Hi @Bluejohn , good to hear that you are now aware of your hbA1c results. While 96 is on the high side, some of us started in 3 figure numbers when we were diagnosed and have managed to reduce the levels through a combination of diet changes, regular exercise and medication. Some people were able to get their blood glucose within a normal range without medication, but as you will see from reading various posts on the forum, everyone's journey with diabetes is very individual. We have to find what works for us and is sustainable over the long term. Good luck with your recent test. I hope it reflects the changes you have made so far.

 

[Drummer]

Further to my earlier post. I had another blood test this morning, results next week, I asked the nurse if she could look at my records to see what my HbA1c result was when I was diagnosed and it was 96, which apparently was very high. Hoping its come down at least a little since then

I started off at 91 and was at 41 in 6 months, just on diet as I could not stand taking the tablets after a month or so.
At 8 years from diagnosis I've been classed as in remission for sometime.
I am, however a very boring ordinary type 2 eating a very low carb diet - but I'm fine with that.

 

[JimmyBlue]

@Bluejohn your HbA1c is not far off my original one at 92. I have managed to avoid the medication by doing what is sometimes frowned upon and making the big changes to my diet and going low carb from the day I got my diagnosis. The Freshwell app has really helped there as does simply searching for Keto diet recipes on the web. I am currently eating under 130g of carbs a day and while I miss my porridge, I'm enjoying Greek yoghurt and nuts for breakfast along with some low carb bread I make (also using greek yoghurt with almond flour).

Do you use the NHS App? I get my test results through quite quickly on that which removes some of the stress of waiting for them.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Further to my earlier post. I had another blood test this morning, results next week, I asked the nurse if she could look at my records to see what my HbA1c result was when I was diagnosed and it was 96, which apparently was very high. Hoping its come down at least a little since then

96mmol/mol is well into the diabetes zone, and probably explains why your Dr started you on 2 oral meds fairly promptly.

But as you can see, several members here started at similar levels and were able to effectively manage their glucose levels, and get them back into a healthier place with changes to their menu, balanced with the help of meds if required.

HbA1c samples changes in red blood cells which come about in the presence of blood glucose. The changes are non-reversible, and the more glucose in the blood, the more red blood cells are changed. This means that by measuring ‘glycosylated haemoglobin’ (HbA1c) you can get an idea of the general level of circulating glucose in the bloodstream over the life of red blood cells, which is approx 120 days.

This also means that as a 3 month rolling picture, the result tends to change relatively slowly, and getting checked more frequently than at 3-monthly intervals will have quite a bit of overlap between samples.

The recommended HbA1c for people with diabetes to aim for is 48mmol/mol or below.