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[CalamityJane70]

Hi all,
I'm new to this group and after some advice please.
I have had two HBA1c tests in the past two weeks with the results both reading 55mmol. I have an appointment with the nurse tomorrow but not holding out much hope as I've had to push for the tests to be done. There is a family history of type 2 diabetes and I was diagnosed as pre- diabetic in February I also had gestational diabetes with my last pregnancy (21 yrs ago) . I'd be interested to know your thoughts
Thanks in advance

 

[Leadinglights]

Welcome to the forum
An HbA1C of 55mmol/mol definitely gives you a diabetes diagnosis but it is not so high that dietary changes would not be sufficient to bring it down. Some GP will push medication but even so it will be paying attention to your intake of carbohydrates that will be the most important factor. Many will be given the opportunity for 3 months to make like style changes before medication but if making changes following your warning with the prediabetes diagnosis has not worked then they may not be as confident that you will be able to reduce your blood glucose without the medication. You will have to see what they say. But it is very possible but does require some commitment on your part as meds are not magic bullets.
Have a look at this link for a good explanation and some ideas for adopting a low carb approach. It is based on real foods which should make it easier with family meals.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Well two readings of 55 get you a diagnosis of diabetes I am afraid, as the redline for diagnopsis is 48.
Have you made any lifestyle changes since you were told that you were at risk of diabetes in February and if so, what are they.... just so that we know you have been on the right track or perhaps need some input on that front?
Was there a particular reason why you were pushing to be tested for diabetes other than your family/medical history? Have you perhaps been suffering symptoms?
Thankfully, 55 is not far over the diabetes threshold so hopefully a few simple lifestyle changes should help to push you back again.
Do you have a BG meter to test your levels at home? It can be an invaluable tool in figuring out which foods cause you the most problems and which you can get away with and in what portion size. Unfortunately most GPs and nurses have little understanding of how useful and empowering a BG meter can be and they are not routinely supplied unless you are on specific medication for your diabetes, which at 55 is unlikely, but they are probably one of the best investments you can make in your future health. The meters themselves are relatively cheap to buy, but the ongoing cost of consumables for them and particularly test strips is what you need to consider and for that reason we recommend the Spirit Tee2 or the Gluco Navii for reliability and economy of use for people self funding. Both are available to buy online if you are interested.

 

[CalamityJane70]

Welcome to the forum
An HbA1C of 55mmol/mol definitely gives you a diabetes diagnosis but it is not so high that dietary changes would not be sufficient to bring it down. Some GP will push medication but even so it will be paying attention to your intake of carbohydrates that will be the most important factor. Many will be given the opportunity for 3 months to make like style changes before medication but if making changes following your warning with the prediabetes diagnosis has not worked then they may not be as confident that you will be able to reduce your blood glucose without the medication. You will have to see what they say. But it is very possible but does require some commitment on your part as meds are not magic bullets.
Have a look at this link for a good explanation and some ideas for adopting a low carb approach. It is based on real foods which should make it easier with family meals.

 

[CalamityJane70]

Thank you for your reply and your advice.

 

[CalamityJane70]

Hi and welcome.

Well two readings of 55 get you a diagnosis of diabetes I am afraid, as the redline for diagnopsis is 48.
Have you made any lifestyle changes since you were told that you were at risk of diabetes in February and if so, what are they.... just so that we know you have been on the right track or perhaps need some input on that front?
Was there a particular reason why you were pushing to be tested for diabetes other than your family/medical history? Have you perhaps been suffering symptoms?
Thankfully, 55 is not far over the diabetes threshold so hopefully a few simple lifestyle changes should help to push you back again.
Do you have a BG meter to test your levels at home? It can be an invaluable tool in figuring out which foods cause you the most problems and which you can get away with and in what portion size. Unfortunately most GPs and nurses have little understanding of how useful and empowering a BG meter can be and they are not routinely supplied unless you are on specific medication for your diabetes, which at 55 is unlikely, but they are probably one of the best investments you can make in your future health. The meters themselves are relatively cheap to buy, but the ongoing cost of consumables for them and particularly test strips is what you need to consider and for that reason we recommend the Spirit Tee2 or the Gluco Navii for reliability and economy of use for people self funding. Both are available to buy online if you are interested.

Hi Barbara, thank you for your reply and advice. I have a BG meter and have done for a few years as I have been actively trying not to get to this point. I've not felt right for the past year and have shown symptoms hence the request for the bloods back in February and again recently. My dad was diagnosed 34 yrs ago so I've had it drummed into me what foods I should be reducing etc. I've not been as active as I've previously been as now I'm office based and not in my active role which has added to unwanted weight gain. I will see what tomorrow brings as in diet controlled or meds and go from there.
Thank you.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Barbara, thank you for your reply and advice. I have a BG meter and have done for a few years as I have been actively trying not to get to this point. I've not felt right for the past year and have shown symptoms hence the request for the bloods back in February and again recently. My dad was diagnosed 34 yrs ago so I've had it drummed into me what foods I should be reducing etc. I've not been as active as I've previously been as now I'm office based and not in my active role which has added to unwanted weight gain. I will see what tomorrow brings as in diet controlled or meds and go from there.
Thank you.

You must have some experience of diabetes with your father being diabetic but ideas have changed in recent years about the best way of managing to reduce blood glucose and keep it where it needs to be so it may be an eye opener to look at more up to date information.

 

[rebrascora]

I was just about to write the same as @Leadinglights above. Dietary advice has changed significantly in the last few years let alone the last 34yrs, so perhaps the reason you have not been successful in preventing progression is because you are following out of date guidance.
If you have weight to lose then the Newcastle diet/ Fast 800 very low CALORIE diet may be the way to push your diabetes into remission. Professor Roy Taylor has written some books detailing his work in this field. Basically this is a short term 800calorie per day diet, usually involving meal replacement shakes to lose weight rapidly which burns off the visceral fat around the liver and pancreas which can cause Type 2 diabetes.

The other alternative is to adopt a low CARBOHYDRATE approach by reducing high carb foods in the menu and replacing them with lower carb alternatives. So cutting right back on bread, pasta rice, potatoes and breakfast cereals including porridge for some people (it is like rocket fuel for me and not at all the low GI it is supposed to be) and exotic fruits and dried fruits and fruit juice and basing meals on leafy green veg with meat/eggs/fish/cheese and Mediterranean veg and having boiled and mashed cauliflower instead of potato and celeriac chips and roasted swede and apparently butternut squash makes a great tattie substitute in corned beef hash.... I haven't tried that one yet. Full fat natural Greek yoghurt with mixed seeds and nuts for breakfast with a handful of berries which are the lowest carb fruits, is a popular breakfast here. There are lots of tasty options/al;ternatives so it doesn't have to be boring or tasteless and in fact in some respects it is the opposite because bread and pasta and rice are actually pretty bland really.

Anyway, just wanted to bring your attention to the options of the dietary regimes that many people have success with here on the forum in case your dietary advice is a bit outdated.

 

[Jax60]

Welcome to the forum
An HbA1C of 55mmol/mol definitely gives you a diabetes diagnosis but it is not so high that dietary changes would not be sufficient to bring it down. Some GP will push medication but even so it will be paying attention to your intake of carbohydrates that will be the most important factor. Many will be given the opportunity for 3 months to make like style changes before medication but if making changes following your warning with the prediabetes diagnosis has not worked then they may not be as confident that you will be able to reduce your blood glucose without the medication. You will have to see what they say. But it is very possible but does require some commitment on your part as meds are not magic bullets.
Have a look at this link for a good explanation and some ideas for adopting a low carb approach. It is based on real foods which should make it easier with family meals.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

Thanks for this information, it is just what I’m looking for. I too have not had any information on diet etc. I asked for blood test in August 2022. Told all is ok. Talked to Doctor last week, my HbA1C has gone up from 48 to 55. No advice about Diabetes, just medication. My appointment to see the nurse is January 2023. Any advice on diet and exercise and of course life style changes before January.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks for this information, it is just what I’m looking for. I too have not had any information on diet etc. I asked for blood test in August 2022. Told all is ok. Talked to Doctor last week, my HbA1C has gone up from 48 to 55. No advice about Diabetes, just medication. My appointment to see the nurse is January 2023. Any advice on diet and exercise and of course life style changes before January.

I found following the principals in the link I posted was very effective at reducing my HbA1C down from 50 to 42 in 3 months and to 36 in another 6 months.
I limit my carb intake to approx 70g per day and find it a regime which is very sustainable, I don't have potatoes, rice, normal pasta but have alternatives. I seem to be OK with bread but only 1 slice but mainly have meals with meat, fish, eggs, cheese with loads of veg, full fat yoghurt and berries with a low sugar granola but only 15g for breakfast. Homemade soups are good for lunch. Puddings are sugarfree jelly with berries and cream, fruit crumble with the topping made with butter, ground almonds and granola with nuts and seeds added or high protein yoghurt or Kvarg deserts.

 

[Spathiphyllum]

Jane and Jax: Barbara's right. Basically, for Type 2 diabetes, you have three choices:

1) Just take medication to manage your diabetes.

2) Try to manage your diabetes without medication, by going on a low-carbohydrate diet.

3) Try to put your T2D 'into remission'-- basically cure it. First, you go on a very low calorie diet (VLCD) for 8 to 12 weeks. The VLCD is likely to make you lose the excess visceral fat-- fat around your liver and pancreas-- which is what triggers T2D. Then, after the VLCD, you go on a normal generally healthy diet; if you stick to this and also get a reasonable amount of exercise, you are likely to remain free from T2D. (Which means, among other things, that you won't have to stick to a low-carbohydrate diet, because your body will have recovered its ability to deal with carbs in the normal way.)

This doesn't work for everybody-- some people try it and still don't achieve remission/cure; but a lot of people do. That's why this programme is now offered on the NHS, but they're still 'rolling it out', so it's only available on the NHS to some people in some areas: see the list of areas, and the criteria, at https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/treatment-care/low-calorie-diets/ . I don't know whether this list is fully up to date, so it's worth asking your GP or nurse.

On the NHS programme, you not only get the soups and shakes, for the VLCD phase, for free; you also get personalised advice and support for a whole year, to help you stick to a healthy lifestyle long-term, so you don't regain the excess visceral fat and develop T2D again.

If your GP or nurse says the NHS programme is not available in your area, or you don't meet the criteria, you can do it yourself-- a lot of people on this forum seem to have done this. It's usually called 'the Newcastle diet', because it was developed by researchers at the University of Newcastle. There's a lot of information on the internet, including from Newcastle-- see for example https://www.ncl.ac.uk/media/wwwncla.../files/201809 Sample Recipes & meal plans.pdf -- and a lot of people on this forum can help.

And, if you wanted to go for it, your GP or nurse should want to help too. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of GPs and nurses either don't know the most up-to-date information-- that T2D *can* in effect be cured-- or they don't want to know-- because it's so much easier just to write a prescription ... Fingers crossed your GPs/nurses are good ones, and give you the advice and support you deserve! All the best.

 

[Leadinglights]

Even with oral medication you still need to be careful of your diet. That is often why many people fail to make improvement by thinking that just taking the pills is sufficient.

 

[Jax60]

Thank you for the brilliant information. I am cutting out carbs and even went to the gym today.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @CalamityJane70

Good luck with your diabetes management whichever route you choose.

And keep asking questions on the forum too. We have literally centuroes of lived diabetes experience on the forum, and no question will be considered too obvious or ‘silly’ 🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you for the brilliant information. I am cutting out carbs and even went to the gym today.

Good for taking on board the information but remember low carb does not mean NO carbs just reducing them to an amount YOUR body can tolerate, that will be different for different people but a good starting point is no more than 130g total carbs per day, some may need to go less and that can depend on meds, exercise and your own metabolism.