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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
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- Thread starter Kitty53
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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Hi Kitty and welcome.
Is your reading a finger prick test at the doctors and was it a fasting test? Do you know what your most recent and previous HbA1c readings are? A single reading of 9 without some context means very little.
Do you have a Blood Glucose monitor to test your own blood at home and have you made any adjustments to your diet to reduce carbohydrates over the past 12 years? These two things can revolutionise your Diabetes control.
Quite a few members here strongly believe that a low carb diet is the best way to control or even reverse Type 2 diabetes and that doesn't just mean sweet stuff like cakes and biscuits but also starchy carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, breakfast cereals and fruit. Medication can be helpful to get the process started but it's effectiveness can diminish over time if you are still eating too many carbs. Of course, there is the option of injecting insulin to control it if other medications are failing but even then it sometimes leads to larger and larger doses being required because part of the problem is that the body has become insulin resistant.
It may seem like a diet without (or very limited bread etc) is impossible to imagine and pretty dreadful but it is actually quite pleasant once you get your head around it and into the swing of what to buy and how to cook it. The amazing thing is that once you get through the first few weeks, you just don't crave those high carb foods anymore. Weight loss is often a side effect of eating a low carb diet without having to think too much about calories, because the body finds it easiest to convert carbohydrates to fat. The surprising thing is that many of us increase our fat intake with butter, cream, avocados, nuts etc whilst decreasing our carbs and still lose weight or increase the fat once we want to stop losing weight. I know it seems contrary to everything you have ever been taught about food and it takes quite a leap of faith to commit to trying it, but it does work for many people.
Increasing your activity level will also help, even if it is just a brisk 10-15 min walk every day if you are able.
Is your reading a finger prick test at the doctors and was it a fasting test? Do you know what your most recent and previous HbA1c readings are? A single reading of 9 without some context means very little.
Do you have a Blood Glucose monitor to test your own blood at home and have you made any adjustments to your diet to reduce carbohydrates over the past 12 years? These two things can revolutionise your Diabetes control.
Quite a few members here strongly believe that a low carb diet is the best way to control or even reverse Type 2 diabetes and that doesn't just mean sweet stuff like cakes and biscuits but also starchy carbs like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, breakfast cereals and fruit. Medication can be helpful to get the process started but it's effectiveness can diminish over time if you are still eating too many carbs. Of course, there is the option of injecting insulin to control it if other medications are failing but even then it sometimes leads to larger and larger doses being required because part of the problem is that the body has become insulin resistant.
It may seem like a diet without (or very limited bread etc) is impossible to imagine and pretty dreadful but it is actually quite pleasant once you get your head around it and into the swing of what to buy and how to cook it. The amazing thing is that once you get through the first few weeks, you just don't crave those high carb foods anymore. Weight loss is often a side effect of eating a low carb diet without having to think too much about calories, because the body finds it easiest to convert carbohydrates to fat. The surprising thing is that many of us increase our fat intake with butter, cream, avocados, nuts etc whilst decreasing our carbs and still lose weight or increase the fat once we want to stop losing weight. I know it seems contrary to everything you have ever been taught about food and it takes quite a leap of faith to commit to trying it, but it does work for many people.
Increasing your activity level will also help, even if it is just a brisk 10-15 min walk every day if you are able.
Thank you for your input Barbara, I do need to reduce carbs, I also have Pernicious Anemia so have a very poor appetite. I make my own gluten free bread which is not as nice as normal bread and one slice only a day. I think I'll change to sweet potatoes, the family like them too.
I was told testing strips are not available on the nhs so I have bought some but it's expensive as I'm on a pension.
Once my torn Achilles tendon heals I can start exercising and walking again. I want to avoid insulin.
I stopped having a little chocolate four months ago and I'm really proud of myself so I'll have a go at decreasing carbs. Have my check up on the 18th, my blood test showed a high of 9 taken at my surgery. It has not been that high ever so I'm panicking.
Thank you for your support. I take 4 metformin daily and one linagliptin.
I was told testing strips are not available on the nhs so I have bought some but it's expensive as I'm on a pension.
Once my torn Achilles tendon heals I can start exercising and walking again. I want to avoid insulin.
I stopped having a little chocolate four months ago and I'm really proud of myself so I'll have a go at decreasing carbs. Have my check up on the 18th, my blood test showed a high of 9 taken at my surgery. It has not been that high ever so I'm panicking.
Thank you for your support. I take 4 metformin daily and one linagliptin.
rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- She/Her
Do you know your HbA1c. This is the reading from blood taken from a vein and sent off to the lab. It is the official test to diagnose and monitor diabetes and is a measure of the glucose attached to the Haemoglobin in your blood which is replaced every 2-3 months, so this reading gives you a kind of average of your Blood Glucose over the past 12 weeks rather than a spot test which only tells you what it is at a particular moment and since it can vary significantly depending on what you ate and when and any exercise you may have done or if you are stressed or have an infection or even if it is a hot day, and therefore doesn't tell you a great deal about what is happening in general and therefore not worth getting too concerned about.
I believe that anaemia can increase your HbA1c because there are less red blood cells for the glucose to adhere to, so individual cells may carry more glucose, so that might be relevant.
If you give us an idea of your average daily menu, we could perhaps suggest lower carb alternatives.
Well done for cutting out the chocolate. As a chocaholic pre diagnosis I know how difficult that is and I do still treat myself to the odd square of dark chocolate now, which I seem to manage quite well whereas, before I would demolish, not just the whole bar or box but 2 or 3 Mars Bars or Snickers or Cadbury's Cream Eggs on the trot.... I had no off switch when it came to chocolate but thankfully I now have control of it and one square of 70% every few days is a nice treat but I don't feel the urge to eat more.
I believe that anaemia can increase your HbA1c because there are less red blood cells for the glucose to adhere to, so individual cells may carry more glucose, so that might be relevant.
If you give us an idea of your average daily menu, we could perhaps suggest lower carb alternatives.
Well done for cutting out the chocolate. As a chocaholic pre diagnosis I know how difficult that is and I do still treat myself to the odd square of dark chocolate now, which I seem to manage quite well whereas, before I would demolish, not just the whole bar or box but 2 or 3 Mars Bars or Snickers or Cadbury's Cream Eggs on the trot.... I had no off switch when it came to chocolate but thankfully I now have control of it and one square of 70% every few days is a nice treat but I don't feel the urge to eat more.
- Relationship to Diabetes
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Hello @Kitty53
Sorry to hear you’ve seen some elevations to your BG levels.
if you have pernicious anaemia you may find that your HbA1c checks may not be accurate, because on the low red blood cells (HbA1c measures how glucose is affecting red blood cells). Sometimes fructosamine is used as a substitute.
Do you generally check your own levels to see how food is affecting them?
Sorry to hear you’ve seen some elevations to your BG levels.
if you have pernicious anaemia you may find that your HbA1c checks may not be accurate, because on the low red blood cells (HbA1c measures how glucose is affecting red blood cells). Sometimes fructosamine is used as a substitute.
Do you generally check your own levels to see how food is affecting them?
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
If you need to reduce carbs then the bread and sweet potato are easy targets - they are very high carb - the sweet potatoes are higher than the ordinary ones, and in a recent experiment I found that carbs from bread affect my blood glucose more than those from veges and salad. I already knew that carbs from legumes hit me hard, but I just thought that I would check the bread. Ho hum.
I was told by the dietician that because of the effects of the Pernicious Anemia on the HB1 test it would be better to have the fructosamine test, however this information was ignored by the nurse. Sadly we have a very aggressive nurse who we are a bit afraid of seeing, I know several people who feel the same. There is no discussion or support, but I know she is busy and probably has her own issues.
Thank you for your help.
Thank you for your help.
grovesy
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
The Fructosmaine test is regarded as more accurate for people with anaemia, I believe it also covers a shorter period of time too.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- He/Him
Im really sorry to hear that. Having approachable HCPs who understand you as an individual is so important. Is there anywhere else you could go? Alternatively it may be beneficial to you (and to others who are also feel the same) for you to write to the Practice Manager to explain how you feel and how difficult it makes things for you.
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