Hello from Spain!

[zoseraval]

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with T2 in June 2021, weighing 108kg, along with high blood pressure, high triglycerides and cholesterol and high uric acid. I was eating junk, drinking too much alcohol and doing little to no exercise. It was quite the wake up call!

I'd had gestational diabetes while pregnant with my daughter at a similar weight.

I have so far lost 15kg and have recently started a low carb diet. I'm on a cocktail of medications, including Xigduo twice a day.

I am 100% dedicated to getting all this under control now. I just had my 6 month checkup and my BG was 126mg (I don't know what that is in mmol!) Which is still high but I'm seeing my numbers come down with the low carb diet. Cholesterol was normal and uric acid was actually low. I do however have insanely high Gamma GT which i have an appointment with the endocrinologist to discuss this week. I want to lose another 20-25kg to he a healthy weight, which will hopefully help.

Looking forward to participating in the discussions!

 

[zoseraval]

Oh and I have joined the UK forum because being British I find it easier to talk about this in English. All of my treatment is in Spanish so it's going to be good to get some feedback in English 🙂

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @zoseraval and welcome to the forum.
Congratulations on your progress so far. Many people are surprised when they discover that a Low Carb way of eating usually improves triglycerides and HDL.

I'm not too sure exactly what measurement was taken at your 6 month review. It rather sounds like a finger-prick Blood Glucose test rather than drawing blood for an HbA1C test (as sort of average blood glucose derived from the glycation of red blood cells) which is sent off to a lab for analysis.
If it was a fasting Blood Glucose finger-prick test, then the equivalent in UK units is 7.0 mmol, which isn't too bad , especially if you suffer from 'Dawn Phenomenon' as I do.

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum, there are a few members from other countries where the units for HbA1C and spot test results are different so it sometimes takes a bit of arithmetic to convert. I think dividing the mg/dl by 18 converts to mmol/l.
It sounds as if you are doing well with your weight loss and that will all help to reduce blood glucose levels as will reducing the high carb foods in your diet.
How is your treatment handled in Spain? and what support do you get?

 

[zoseraval]

Hi @zoseraval and welcome to the forum.
Congratulations on your progress so far. Many people are surprised when they discover that a Low Carb way of eating usually improves triglycerides and HDL.

I'm not too sure exactly what measurement was taken at your 6 month review. It rather sounds like a finger-prick Blood Glucose test rather than drawing blood for an HbA1C test (as sort of average blood glucose derived from the glycation of red blood cells) which is sent off to a lab for analysis.
If it was a fasting Blood Glucose finger-prick test, then the equivalent in UK units is 7.0 mmol, which isn't too bad , especially if you suffer from 'Dawn Phenomenon' as I do.

I do suffer from "Dawn Phenomenon"! My morning reading is generally my highest of the day, which is kind of annoying.

I had blood drawn but the levels are reported as mg here. I'm going to request a HbA1C later this week as its been a while since I had one. Saying that, there is an "A1C" on my results which is 6.2%, not sure if that is similar?

I'm definitely finding the diet change is doing me some good, even if I do miss potatoes :-D

Here's to more progress!

 

[zoseraval]

Welcome to the forum, there are a few members from other countries where the units for HbA1C and spot test results are different so it sometimes takes a bit of arithmetic to convert. I think dividing the mg/dl by 18 converts to mmol/l.
It sounds as if you are doing well with your weight loss and that will all help to reduce blood glucose levels as will reducing the high carb foods in your diet.
How is your treatment handled in Spain? and what support do you get?

I was originally diagnosed at the local public health centre (like the Spanish NHS) and it was the doctor there that put me on medication. However, it is proving impossible to get an appointment there so I am now using my private medical insurance. I saw the GP last week, who ordered the blood test and referred me to the endocrinologist (who I am seeing on Thursday). I'm hoping now I've gone private my treatment can be monitored a bit more closely! I fell off the wagon towards the end of last year so it's good to be back on track!

 

[ianf0ster]

I do suffer from "Dawn Phenomenon"! My morning reading is generally my highest of the day, which is kind of annoying.

I had blood drawn but the levels are reported as mg here. I'm going to request a HbA1C later this week as its been a while since I had one. Saying that, there is an "A1C" on my results which is 6.2%, not sure if that is similar?

I'm definitely finding the diet change is doing me some good, even if I do miss potatoes :-D

Here's to more progress!

Yes, that A1C is HbA1C and a 6.2% reading is pretty good since it is below the diagnosis level for Diabetes here in the UK (but not in the USA. So in the UK at least you would be considered now to be in the pre-diabetic range with much lower additional risk of those nasty Diabetes complications.
So get back 'on that wagon' !

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @zoseraval

Glad to hear you have made such a great start to your diabetes management, and that you are already feeling better and seeing the benefits in improved numbers.

We have a few members on the forum who live full time or part time in Spain (and other parts of Europe), so you are in good company 🙂