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Guess my HbA1c level game
- Thread starter Jenny65
- Start date
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Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Me neither, I am going to call at 8 each day to see if he has any free appointments but not tomorrow as apparently he doesn't work Wednesdays. The thing is I did that last week, dead on 8am and was number 46 in the queue, got through and all appointments had gone! This was just for my liver results so when I said to the receptionist, should I wait for my HbA1c and cholesterol result to come back before making an appointment she said that was a good idea. I have since been checking the app without realising my doctor had the results with him and was waiting to see me...grrr on the off chance I called again today as yesterday they told me I may need to redo my test as there was an issue at the lab with a lot of the HbA1c results and suggested I call today and then told this! half of me thinks the receptionist got it wrong and the doctor only has the liver results and my other ones have been lost, but at some point you have to have faith in someone dont you
Think I would be having more than a rant, I would be camping on doorstep😉OMG, I need a rant! I rang the doctors about my results and they said, yes the results have been received and are with my doctor but there is a note not to add to my record or pass on until I have seen him, so I said Ok when can I see him, they said 8th November I can have a telephone appointment, so I said I have to wait nearly 4 weeks to know if something is up or I need medication. She said a reason that the doctor sometimes holds back the results is they think the patient then wont make an appointment. So I said "does this mean they are not bad then as otherwise I would google and realise I needed to see him" she said "oh that could be the case, I will email him and ask him if he can share the results so I can update the app!"...this is making me so stressed as I dont know if I need medication or if my diet is working at controlling my diabetes and cholesterolSad sorry just needed to let this out
Think I would email the gp/practice via the app and explain that you are extremely upset and frustrated at the lack of results and that you don't know whether or not you'll need medication (though I don't think you will) and that if you have to wait until the 8th of November that will be six weeks since the blood test and six weeks lost not knowing if all your efforts have worked or if you need to adjust diet 😉. That they are your results and you want to know.
good luck, fingers crossed for you.
Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Yes I may send an email but there is an auto reply saying for repeat prescriptions only and other emails will not be read, deleted etc so I may send an old fashioned letter instead 🙂
The one that actually concerns me is the cholesterol result, if I need statins then I shouldn't have to wait 6 weeks surely? Can you imagine if in that time I became seriously unwell because of the delay. Although I can only assume my results are positive otherwise it wouldn't be such a long wait to see the doctor. I am not so worried about the Hba1c result as have had a peak into this by seeing my own finger prick readings and monitoring on Mysugr, However if as they indeed suspect my cholesterol is hereditary I will need statins. My lipid clinic appointment is way off in the future too so no one else to check with and the only one that has the results is this GP. I am going to pay for a private test I think to put my mind at rest in the meantime.
AndBreathe
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I suggest that you write to your doctor. It is your information, which they are withholding, seemingly unnecessarily.
Personally, I would consider making a Data Subject Access Request, which is exercising your right to see your own records. They do have quite a generous (to them) timeframe to release the information (and it could be pretty much around the timing of your appointment, but it does show you are serious. If you decide to make a Data Subject Request, you must be clear what you want. That can be from "everything on record, since birth, including test results, images and secondary care reports, to simply your A1c result. (Those are just examples.)
How do they expect patients to become engaged in their healthcare if they treat material information like state secrets?
From on top, there is some pressure to exercise shared care. Hard when one party is holding all the cards.
Totally rubbish, I say.
Can you email the surgery direct? You shouldn't have to pay for a private test or wait six weeks for results.
Yep I used to think if there's anything wrong with (any) test results they'll contact me quickly, but some of the stories about are quite worrying and so don't make any assumptions now.
You have to do what's best for you 🙂
Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Guess what? The surgery have just called me!
My Cholesterol has gone from 9.4 to 7 (still high but I am still 3 stone overweight so may come down further next test)
Now my HbA1c level is 50, so down 30, I am happy with that and will work to get it even lower which again I imagine with another 3 stone loss my be achievable, I will still speak to the doctor in November as he may want me to add medication (statins likely) but I feel my actions over the last 3 months have helped considerably and am very happy with that.
Now then who guessed 50 🙂
My Cholesterol has gone from 9.4 to 7 (still high but I am still 3 stone overweight so may come down further next test)
Now my HbA1c level is 50, so down 30, I am happy with that and will work to get it even lower which again I imagine with another 3 stone loss my be achievable, I will still speak to the doctor in November as he may want me to add medication (statins likely) but I feel my actions over the last 3 months have helped considerably and am very happy with that.
Now then who guessed 50 🙂
Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
@Finn said 49 so is the closest, I noticed @Bloden also said 49 but later in the thread so the victory goes to @Finn, well done xx
Can I ask if its possible if I carry on with the same eating plan I can lower it further or will I need to reduce my carbs even lower, just thinking if its based on the cells lifetime of 3 months, and eat the same low carb, 1200 cal diet the results will still be 50 at the end of the next 3 months, or with additional weight loss will my insulin get its act together further...If I have to reduce further I will, but I am enjoying my food and losing weight so if it will still get lower doing more of the same I will carry on 🙂 Next test will be in the new year, (although officially due 30th December)
Also so I have reduced my cholesterol by 2.4 over 3 months, will this also continue to lower with my weight loss or is this again, what its likely to be if I eat as I am indefinitely (I will of course raise these questions with my doctor on 8th November, but would like to get a head start on the next set of results if possible 🙂 )
Thanks for the support and playing along everyone xx
Can I ask if its possible if I carry on with the same eating plan I can lower it further or will I need to reduce my carbs even lower, just thinking if its based on the cells lifetime of 3 months, and eat the same low carb, 1200 cal diet the results will still be 50 at the end of the next 3 months, or with additional weight loss will my insulin get its act together further...If I have to reduce further I will, but I am enjoying my food and losing weight so if it will still get lower doing more of the same I will carry on 🙂 Next test will be in the new year, (although officially due 30th December)
Also so I have reduced my cholesterol by 2.4 over 3 months, will this also continue to lower with my weight loss or is this again, what its likely to be if I eat as I am indefinitely (I will of course raise these questions with my doctor on 8th November, but would like to get a head start on the next set of results if possible 🙂 )
Thanks for the support and playing along everyone xx
Yeahhh Well done @Jenny65 thats a great result both on the Hba1c and the cholesterol, congratulations!!! All your hard work has paid off.
I'm sat reading this with a big grin on my face well done amazing result.
Finn
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Well done to you, Jenny!
50 is great proof of all the hard work you've put in the last few months. Nicely done.
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Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Thank you Finn, although I was a smidgen over 49 at 50 but no one guessed 50 🙂
I have decided I am going to increase my exercise but keep on with my porridge berries and benecol for breakfast as I think that together with giving up smoking has done the most for my cholesterol 🙂
I will add a walking challenge to my day, 5 miles a day until the next test with 3 days off (Christmas day and 2 dates where I am attending engagement parties, one of which is my oldest son who has decided he enjoyed his brothers wedding so much in July he is going to have one of his own 🙂 On those dates however, walking will be replaced with dancing! so still some exercise!
Can I ask what medicines if any can be taken to help induce sleep, as I am not sure if antihistamines or Nytol are safe, again would check with my doctor but that means 4 more weeks of sleepless nights 🙂
Have a lovely evening everyone and thanks for the support as always
Who is next for us to guess the results?
xx
Leadinglights
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Fantastic, well done. It just shows what can be done with determination. Keep on as you are. Cholesterol still high but going in the right direction. I found it was only the statin (low dose) had any impact, I have been on it for years to get my level down from 5.6 to the lowest at 3.2, it is a bit more now 3.6 but most likely the slightly higher fat to accompany the low carb
Jenny65
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Im really hoping I can get it down at least to 5 by diet, I am still a way to go to my target weight of 8.7 so I think its possible for me to reduce further. I am wary of statin while still overweight so would be happier taking them in case a gain in weight occurred after taking them if that makes sense, also it gives me a target to aim for.
Can I ask a question that may seem odd and may need its own thread or even different forum as its a medical one, not related to diabetes as such. I think I have the start of a bad cold/flu bug, my daughters boyfriend who lives with us has COVID so it could be that as I haven't been anywhere to pick up my sore throat or headache, although I did go to the doctors on 30th September for my blood test and then again on 1st Oct for my flu and COVID jabs, but not sure it takes 11 -12 days for a cold to appear. Anyway I have taken aspirin, it said on the box an adult can take 1-3 aspirin every 4 hours, I took 3 about an hour ago and now I have a high pitched ringing in my ears (not tinnitus sufferer) I looked this up and it could be the aspirin, do I need to worry and is aspirin safe with diabetes, cholesterol and fatty liver (should have asked before I took it I know 🙂 )
This is what google told me:
"Salicylate, the active component of the common drug aspirin, has mild analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory effects at moderate doses. At higher doses, however, salicylate temporarily induces moderate hearing loss and the perception of a high-pitch ringing in humans and animals."
Finn
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Ah, sorry - skimming threads after a busy day doesn't lead to correct details! 😉
Congrats again!
I've got an appointment on Thursday, so I'll start a thread tomorrow. 🙂
Here in Germany, they take the blood sample at the appointment and the lab sends you (and the doctor that arranged the test) the results by post, so I should get them next week or the week after.
D
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