Diagnosed yesterday

[Skin]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed yesterday (type 2) my hbA1c was 80 I’m 40 years old.

Is this really high or quite normal ? Doctor didn’t day much and my appointment to get my meds etc isn’t for another 11 days.

Thank you

 

[Lucyr]

It’s fairly high but not scarily so or imminently dangerous. Anything over 48 is diabetes, some people are into the hundreds when they’re diagnosed, say 110-120 have heard of fairly regularly.

So you do need to get it down, but starting with lifestyle changes now, then adding medication in a couple of weeks sounds like a good plan.

If you start to feel worse you can always seek help sooner.

 

[Skin]

It’s fairly high but not scarily so or imminently dangerous. Anything over 48 is diabetes, some people are into the hundreds when they’re diagnosed, say 110-120 have heard of fairly regularly.

So you do need to get it down, but starting with lifestyle changes now, then adding medication in a couple of weeks sounds like a good plan.

If you start to feel worse you can always seek help sooner.

Thank you

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, getting a diagnosis is always a shock but can explain symptoms you may have been having and so put you in a good position to take some action now. Arming yourself with the basics of what diabetes means is important as you can then understand what need to be done.
I found the principals in the link very logical and the explanation a good start to guiding you on the changes you will need to make, looking at your diet to reduce carbohydrates and increasing exercise if you can. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
The first line medication is usually metformin and you should be advised to start on a low dose and increase if necessary, over a few weeks to avoid the stomach issues some people get.

 

[Skin]

Welcome to the forum, getting a diagnosis is always a shock but can explain symptoms you may have been having and so put you in a good position to take some action now. Arming yourself with the basics of what diabetes means is important as you can then understand what need to be done.
I found the principals in the link very logical and the explanation a good start to guiding you on the changes you will need to make, looking at your diet to reduce carbohydrates and increasing exercise if you can. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
The first line medication is usually metformin and you should be advised to start on a low dose and increase if necessary, over a few weeks to avoid the stomach issues some people get.

Hi, thanks for the link. I’m well up for this challenge and will smash it. It’s my fault I’ve got it so need to sort it out so I’m not a burden on the nhs

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Skin, welcome to the forum.

Your numbers are definitely workable as we've had people with higher numbers get out of the diabetic range. So glad to hear that you're taking a positive attitude towards managing diabetes as it's doable with the right plan in place.

We've got a few pages below that might be helpful to start with and a wealth of info on the forum so have a look around and let us know if we can help in any way.

https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes.10406/​

How to check your blood sugar levels

Knowing your blood sugar levels helps you manage your diabetes and reduces your risk of having serious complications – now and in the future. On this page:

www.diabetes.org.uk

Type 2 diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is high blood sugar levels due to your body not making enough of a hormone called insulin, or the insulin it makes not working properly, known as insulin resistance. High blood sugar levels over time can cause other health problems like heart attacks and strokes, as well as...

www.diabetes.org.uk

 

[DDM]

I'm in almost exactly the same position as you in terms of age and hba1c and got my call at almost the same time, so let's see what happens. I chucked everything unhealthy immediately and feel like I have a real goal to aim for. Did you have a second fasting blood test or is that what you've been diagnosed from?

 

[harbottle]

It can be done. Mine was 83 at diagnosis, and by going low carb I got it down to 36 in the months. (I also tend to keep saturated fats low as well.) I also do a lot of walking and a bit of running.

 

[DDM]

It can be done. Mine was 83 at diagnosis, and by going low carb I got it down to 36 in the months. (I also tend to keep saturated fats low as well.) I also do a lot of walking and a bit of running.

That's fast, nice work! How much weight did you lose? I've essentially gone Mediterranean/low carb.

 

[Gwynn]

@Skin I like your attitude and determination. Go for it. Drive to your personal success, a healthier happier you, an example (and hope) to all.

 

[Leadinglights]

I'm in almost exactly the same position as you in terms of age and hba1c and got my call at almost the same time, so let's see what happens. I chucked everything unhealthy immediately and feel like I have a real goal to aim for. Did you have a second fasting blood test or is that what you've been diagnosed from?

Normally diagnosis is from an HbA1C test which does not need to be fasting as it is an average over the previous 3 months. I think if some people are borderline than a second HbA1C may be done to confirm but if well over the 47mmol/mol threshold then not usually, but people should request another test after 3 months so they know if the measures they are taking are working.

 

[DDM]

Normally diagnosis is from an HbA1C test which does not need to be fasting as it is an average over the previous 3 months. I think if some people are borderline than a second HbA1C may be done to confirm but if well over the 47mmol/mol threshold then not usually, but people should request another test after 3 months so they know if the measures they are taking are working.

Hmm. The blood test revealed some other stuff as well, and was also to check my suitability for SSRIs, so maybe a second fasting one was felt prudent. It does seem redundant if the first blood test returned me as 80mmol/mol, but the Dr mentioned my iron levels on the phone along with the diabetes and fasting tests are also used for that. I will see.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

I'm in almost exactly the same position as you in terms of age and hba1c and got my call at almost the same time, so let's see what happens. I chucked everything unhealthy immediately and feel like I have a real goal to aim for. Did you have a second fasting blood test or is that what you've been diagnosed from?

Sounds like you are making some really positive changes @DDM 🙂

Let us know how you get on.

HbA1c isn’t a measure that would be affected by fasting or non-fasting on the day of the check itself. It is an assessment of how much glucose has stuck to red blood cells over the past 120 days (3-4 months), so a wonky reading on the last morning wouldn’t really affect the overall reading all that much 🙂

Iron levels are more likely to be the question mark. as anaemia can skew the results, since HbA1c revolves around checking red blood cells. Fructosamine can be used as another measure of general blood glucose concentrations over time in cases where HbA1c may not be reliable.

 

[harbottle]

That's fast, nice work! How much weight did you lose? I've essentially gone Mediterranean/low carb.

I lost around 3 stone. Yes, pretty much the same diet as me - vegetables, fish, nuts, fruit, olives, eggs and chicken.

I eat potato occasionally as it doesn't seem to raise my BG (Or it does, but it comes back down by the time I do a test.)

 

[harbottle]

Sounds like you are making some really positive changes @DDM 🙂

Let us know how you get on.

HbA1c isn’t a measure that would be affected by fasting or non-fasting on the day of the check itself. It is an assessment of how much glucose has stuck to red blood cells over the past 120 days (3-4 months), so a wonky reading on the last morning wouldn’t really affect the overall reading all that much 🙂

Iron levels are more likely to be the question mark. as anaemia can skew the results, since HbA1c revolves around checking red blood cells. Fructosamine can be used as another measure of general blood glucose concentrations over time in cases where HbA1c may not be reliable.

I saw something somewhere recently that did show how some people have red blood cells that last longer than 3 months and this means hba1c may not be accurate for them. (There was something in the blood that determined whether the cells were living longer - a high level of something.)

I have no idea where I saw it! It may have been a dream.

 

[harbottle]

Normally diagnosis is from an HbA1C test which does not need to be fasting as it is an average over the previous 3 months. I think if some people are borderline than a second HbA1C may be done to confirm but if well over the 47mmol/mol threshold then not usually, but people should request another test after 3 months so they know if the measures they are taking are working.

I wonder if there's some margin of error in these tests - one day it might be 47, next day it could be 46 or 48.

 

[DDM]

I wonder if there's some margin of error in these tests - one day it might be 47, next day it could be 46 or 48.

3 stone - nice work. I'm interested to see if there's any positive difference, even minor, between my two tests after a week or so of good eating. That might be too optimistic though.