HBA1C down from 91 to 35 in a year (Type 2)

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Wyllow2006

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Type 2
Hello

I am new to this forum under my new user name (I had an account before but realised too late that I could not change my user name so I have asked for that account to be deleted)

In November last year I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes at the age of 60 (my mum,maternal aunties and uncles all have 'late onset' T2 diabetes as did my paternal grandmother). My HBA1C was 91.

I decided at that point that I was going to change my lifestyle and went low carb, following the Michael Moseley 'diet' (I can't fast for too long as I have Gilbert's Syndrome). I increased my exercise - I swim and started Couch 2 5K. I bought a Dario blood glucose monitor and I try not to get too obsessive but it has been helpful in indicating what works and what doesn't work for me.

Since then I have lost 2 and a half stone and yesterday I heard that my recent HBA1C was 35 - the nurse was delighted for me and said that if I have 2 more readings like that then they will say I am in remission. I do realise that this is what I need to do for the rest of my life.

There have been times that I simply could not understand why my daily glucose levels were high and having continued the same food/ exercise regime I have realised that stress in particular and reduced sleep affect me quite badly. I am working on both, but they are of course connected. At one point I spoke to the Diabetes Helpline and the person I spoke to was VERY helpful.

I hope this encourages other people, and I will still loiter on the forums, to keep me motivated

Good luck to everyone
 
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Many congratulations on your fantastic result and weight loss. I know that a great deal of effort will have gone into that, so you should be very proud of yourself and I hope you feel physically a lot better for it as well as mentally perhaps too although perhaps difficult to judge in the current climate.
Stress and sleep both have a huge impact on my levels. I have a Libre sensor on my arm which samples every few minutes and plots a graph and day and night and the longer I sleep the lower my readings go. I rarely get an horizontal line at night, even without insulin, it always slopes downwards, so definitely a very important factor. Probably third to low carb diet and exercise for overall beneficial effect on levels.
Good luck with keeping levels down and earning your remission status!
 
rebrascora said:
Many congratulations on your fantastic result and weight loss. I know that a great deal of effort will have gone into that, so you should be very proud of yourself and I hope you feel physically a lot better for it as well as mentally perhaps too although perhaps difficult to judge in the current climate.
Stress and sleep both have a huge impact on my levels. I have a Libre sensor on my arm which samples every few minutes and plots a graph and day and night and the longer I sleep the lower my readings go. I rarely get an horizontal line at night, even without insulin, it always slopes downwards, so definitely a very important factor. Probably third to low carb diet and exercise for overall beneficial effect on levels.
Good luck with keeping levels down and earning your remission status!
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Thank you - that is really helpful to know about sleep. I have 2 weeks holiday from next week and I am hoping that will help (not least I can sleep in a little longer in the mornings)
 
I am thrilled for you. I hope you get two more good readings.
Yes just about anything can affect our glucose levels, including the changing of the seasons .
 
Ljc said:
I am thrilled for you. I hope you get two more good readings.
Yes just about anything can affect our glucose levels, including the changing of the seasons .
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I am intrigued about the seasons - do you have any more information please?
 
Many of us using insulin notice that we need less in the summer and more in the winter to keep our levels in the same range which suggests our BG levels increase in the colder darker months. This may have to do with there being less daylight or that we are perhaps less active or the ambient temperature being cooler. I saw a change about 6 weeks ago as I started to need more basal insulin but in the last couple of weeks I have made a conscious effort to get more exercise and my insulin usage has actually dropped slightly below summertime requirements. Unfortunately, once the weather turns cold and wet I will struggle to sustain this level of activity, but doing my best to keep at it for now.
 
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rebrascora said:
Many of us using insulin notice that we need less in the summer and more in the winter to keep our levels in the same range which suggests our BG levels increase in the colder darker months. This may have to do with there being less daylight or that we are perhaps less active or the ambient temperature being cooler. I saw a change about 6 weeks ago as I started to need more basal insulin but in the last couple of weeks I have made a conscious effort to get more exercise and my insulin usage has actually dropped slightly below summertime requirements. Unfortunately, once the weather turns cold and wet I will struggle to sustain this level of activity, but doing my best to keep at it for now.
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Gosh, what a lot of variables. Many thanks for sharing that.
 
Anitram said:
That's a really good result. Really pleased for you. I know that not everyone manages to put their T2 into remission even when they do all the right things but that's no reason not to try, so keep doing what you're doing. I've found that it's now become a way of life for me.

Martin
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Thank you - I recognise that this will be an ongoing issue and like you it will have to become a way of life. Best wishes
 
There are about 42 factors which affect BG levels. There is a table which lists them somewhere.

When you have to be your own pancreas and try to balance many of these things, it gives you an immense appreciation for how fantastically clever the fully functioning little organ is/was..... sadly never will be again!... even doing my best at trying to fulfil it's role manually, I get it wrong all too frequently.
 
rebrascora said:
There are about 42 factors which affect BG levels. There is a table which lists them somewhere.

When you have to be your own pancreas and try to balance many of these things, it gives you an immense appreciation for how fantastically clever the fully functioning little organ is/was..... sadly never will be again!... even doing my best at trying to fulfil it's role manually, I get it wrong all too frequently.
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I had never seen that before - but have now had a look - thank you so much for sharing your experience
 
Hello @Wyllow2006
Thank you so much for sharing your success with us.
I am sure that it will provide great inspiration to many other members who are currently experiencing the ups and downs of their journeys.
Very well done, and I am sure you will be enjoying the many benefits of your 'new normal'
 
A really positive read, thanks for sharing and I never knew stress and lack of sleep etc can have an impact?! May explain partly why I reached this point in the first place!
 
@Whyllow2006 Thank you for your openness and details, you have done extremely well, I’ll certainly look up the diet you mentioned. I have had a very stressful year including significant pain and the necessary medication, the results on my blood glucose has been dramatic. One thing this forum has helped me with is to relax, accept each situation and keep working towards the ideal. As each day finishes fresh opportunities always present. Stay online it will be good to keep up with your progress
 
Well done on your great start @Wyllow2006 and welcome (back!) to the forum 🙂
 
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