HbA1c result

[Martin9]

Hi Martin that's really good,was that just from Metformin and a low carb diet,did you have to exercise?

I upped exercise a bit but not a lot , just a bit more gentle walking..

 

[Eddy Edson]

I upped exercise a bit but not a lot , just a bit more gentle walking..

You could see a bigger BG drop from walking with lower/no Met, but maybe higher/longer post-eating peaks. Anyway, that seems to be what happens with me. Eg yesterday:



Blue line is 15 min readings from Libre; orange is finger pricks.

The after-lunch rise from 2pm was a bit higher and longer than I would have expected when I was still on Met. But then after about 20 min walking at around 5pm I'd dropped 3.5 mmol/L, which never happened on Met. (Followed by an after-dinner rise.)

There's some research on why this kind of difference might happen, but it's variable: not everybody and not always.

 

[Northerner]

Only thing to point out about stopping metformin - if that is the only diabetes-related medication you take and you don't otherwise qualify for free prescriptions you'll need to pay for any future prescriptions (in England)

 

[Browser]

Speaking from little knowledge here, but, if the ideal is to have BG levels at the healthiest level, why risk slightly higher levels just to avoid having to take Metformin or other medication?

 

[Eddy Edson]

Speaking from little knowledge here, but, if the ideal is to have BG levels at the healthiest level, why risk slightly higher levels just to avoid having to take Metformin or other medication?

I'm not sure if anybody knows exactly what the "healthiest" levels are, but at HbA1c = 32, Martin's are well below the median for a non-diabetic male his age, which is around 35. So he's probably got plenty of leeway, if he wants to see how things go without Metformin, particularly if he's like the other Martin & me, for whom dropping it seems to have no bad BG effects overall.

My personal reason for dropping it is the likelihood, for me, that doing so reduces fatigue. That may not be the case for others, and the potential anti-inflammatory etc benefits might be a reason to keep taking it even if it's no longer needed for BG control.

 

[SB2015]

Well done Martin, and all those who are working hard to improve their levels.

 

[Maz2]

Maybe she is erring on the side of caution. I know a lady who is diabetic and her hba1c came down to 35. She was taken off Metformin but, at the next hba1c, she was up to 80 so maybe a slow reduction is the way forward. Not really sure.

 

[Maz2]

I had an hba1c of 43 and was diagnosed pre-diabetic. It reduced to 42 then 40. I wish the GP would give me some meds to get it down lower although I am trying hard with keeping the carbs lower. I did not ask but I don't think they would give it me as I have not been diabetic yet.

 

[Martin9]

Only thing to point out about stopping metformin - if that is the only diabetes-related medication you take and you don't otherwise qualify for free prescriptions you'll need to pay for any future prescriptions (in England)

I’m in Scotland so no worries ..

 

[Martin9]

What I would like to say is that my success is due entirely to following the advice I was offered on this forum, I would not be in this position without the people here taking the time to advise me.
I was offered little or no advice from GP or nurses, and wasn’t offered a Desmond course until 7.5 months after diagnosis ( which I refused) as already knew what path to follow.
So a big thanks to this forum and all you people out there ...you make a big difference...

 

[Northerner]

Speaking from little knowledge here, but, if the ideal is to have BG levels at the healthiest level, why risk slightly higher levels just to avoid having to take Metformin or other medication?

I agree with @Eddy Edson. It's all to do with the risk of complications, and at 32 mmol/mol you're probably healthier than many non-diabetics who are (unwittingly, perhaps) careless with their diets 🙂 Risks of complications really only start to increase above 48 mmol/mol (6.5%). 32 mmol/mol is equivalent to 5.1%.

 

[Martin9]

I agree with @Eddy Edson. It's all to do with the risk of complications, and at 32 mmol/mol you're probably healthier than many non-diabetics who are (unwittingly, perhaps) careless with their diets 🙂 Risks of complications really only start to increase above 48 mmol/mol (6.5%). 32 mmol/mol is equivalent to 5.1%.

View attachment 12179

Interesting chart @Northerner

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

What I would like to say is that my success is due entirely to following the advice I was offered on this forum, I would not be in this position without the people here taking the time to advise me.
I was offered little or no advice from GP or nurses, and wasn’t offered a Desmond course until 7.5 months after diagnosis ( which I refused) as already knew what path to follow.
So a big thanks to this forum and all you people out there ...you make a big difference...

So lovely to hear this Martin! Really pleased the forum has been such a support to you.

 

[Maz2]

I agree with @Eddy Edson. It's all to do with the risk of complications, and at 32 mmol/mol you're probably healthier than many non-diabetics who are (unwittingly, perhaps) careless with their diets 🙂 Risks of complications really only start to increase above 48 mmol/mol (6.5%). 32 mmol/mol is equivalent to 5.1%.

View attachment 12179

Would that be if it was happening over a long period of time rather than just an occasional high reading? My hubby is not diabetic or pre-diabetic (hba1c was 34 on his lifestyle check. Every few months they have health checks at work and they took a reading from him at 8.5 but it was one hour after he had his lunch which was quite carby - sandwiches, apple, piece of chocolate. He was told it was OK one hour after food but, if it had been starved, they would have been sending him to his GP. I did say I wasn't sure readings like that one hour after were a good idea regularly but correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Maz2]

What I would like to say is that my success is due entirely to following the advice I was offered on this forum, I would not be in this position without the people here taking the time to advise me.
I was offered little or no advice from GP or nurses, and wasn’t offered a Desmond course until 7.5 months after diagnosis ( which I refused) as already knew what path to follow.
So a big thanks to this forum and all you people out there ...you make a big difference...

Totally agree with your sentiments about this Forum. I was sent on a prevention course - pre diabetic 43. If I had taken notice of everything they said I think I would have been in more trouble as they used the "eat well" plate which is too high carb in my view. It did go down to 42, then the 30s, although that was with one of their machines and I have since been told by someone on here that some of them in some areas were found to be faulty. It went down to 40 on the last one although I am working to get it lower if I can.

 

[Northerner]

Would that be if it was happening over a long period of time rather than just an occasional high reading? My hubby is not diabetic or pre-diabetic (hba1c was 34 on his lifestyle check. Every few months they have health checks at work and they took a reading from him at 8.5 but it was one hour after he had his lunch which was quite carby - sandwiches, apple, piece of chocolate. He was told it was OK one hour after food but, if it had been starved, they would have been sending him to his GP. I did say I wasn't sure readings like that one hour after were a good idea regularly but correct me if I am wrong.

An 8.5 one hour after eating would be fine. It's sustained high levels, or levels that swing from low to high that can cause the damage. If my after-meal levels go no higher than 9 then I am very happy! 🙂

 

[Maz2]

An 8.5 one hour after eating would be fine. It's sustained high levels, or levels that swing from low to high that can cause the damage. If my after-meal levels go no higher than 9 then I am very happy! 🙂

Thank you Northener.

 

[Docb]

I agree with @Eddy Edson. It's all to do with the risk of complications, and at 32 mmol/mol you're probably healthier than many non-diabetics who are (unwittingly, perhaps) careless with their diets 🙂 Risks of complications really only start to increase above 48 mmol/mol (6.5%). 32 mmol/mol is equivalent to 5.1%.

View attachment 12179

Been trying to find the source for this graph - can you help Northerner?

 

[Martin9]

Would that be if it was happening over a long period of time rather than just an occasional high reading? My hubby is not diabetic or pre-diabetic (hba1c was 34 on his lifestyle check. Every few months they have health checks at work and they took a reading from him at 8.5 but it was one hour after he had his lunch which was quite carby - sandwiches, apple, piece of chocolate. He was told it was OK one hour after food but, if it had been starved, they would have been sending him to his GP. I did say I wasn't sure readings like that one hour after were a good idea regularly but correct me if I am wrong.

No you’re right .. his HbA1c was 34 totally normal, 8.5 isn’t too high after a carb high lunch, but if it had been taken hour or 2 after the first blood sample, his bloods would have shown an insulin response and probably much lower

 

[Martin9]

So lovely to hear this Martin! Really pleased the forum has been such a support to you.

Ohh it so definitely has @everydayupsanddowns , and without this forum, I would have still been struggling with high BG levels and might have been on the way to some of the diabetic complications ...
Ok Metformin might have helped a bit but without me doing my bit after advice from forum, I doubt I would have been where I am now...