• 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.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Newly diagnosed with a hb1c BG score of 60

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
M

Mickeylizzie

New Member
I’ve just been diagnosed with diabetes don’t know which type yet my hb1c score was 60 and I’m told it should be under 40. I’m confused as I don’t really know how elevated this is. The surgery has just done another blood test to confirm diagnosis but the nurse who rang me initially says that the 2nd test is purely academic and that I am diabetic unfortunately because of COVID most appointments are done over the phone and any face2face ones are limited. So I don’t know what happens next. What other tests are done treatment etc. Any advice greatly appreciated
 
Hi Welcome to the forum. You have experience very much what many other people have, with a diagnosis over the phone with very little extra support of information. The level at which you get a diagnosis of diabetes is 48mmol/mol so you are at the bottom end of the zone some people being in three figures when diagnosed.
At that level your surgery hopefully will be willing to give you the opportunity to bring it down by making some dietary changes and increasing exercise though at 60mmol/mol, you might have to convince them you will have the motivation to do it without meds. The first go to med would be metformin which gives the body a helping hand to use the insulin you produce more effectively but still requires some dietary changes on your part.
You should be offered a check of your feet and eyes and referral to a diabetic nurse specialist usually at your surgery.
The main thing is that you will need to reduce your intake of all carbohydrates by cutting out things like cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks and reducing portion size of things like potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals and some fruits like bananas and tropical fruits.
Basing your meals on meat, fish, eggs, cheese, diary, vegetables and salads and fruits like berries you can still have tasty filling low carbohydrate meals.
I hope somebody will put some links for you but you could look at the Learning Zone (orange tab at the top) to get you started and work through at your own pace.
I'm sure you will probably have lots of questions so please feel free to ask anything.
 
I thought I ate quite healthy as my husband had a cabg x 3. 2 years ago since then we don’t eat much fat especially sats and I made sure we had lots of fruit in our diet. The only thing different to my husband is I had sugar in tea and coffee but not excessively. I never eat puddings or cakes prefer a piece of half fat cheese after my main meal. So it came as a shock not sure if it’s hereditary on my part as my father had loads of health problems and was on steroids so we put his problems down to that not sure if he ever had a diabetes check. He died 21 years ago. Mother had very high blood pressure as I have which is how I found out I was diabetic. Again not sure if she’s been checked for it. She’s 92 now so I’m not sure there’s much point in her being checked as she has advanced dementia and end stage kidney failure. I had gestational diabetes when my son was born but I’m now told I should have been checked every 12 months and that was 30 years ago. I feel it’s so unfair that nobody thought to inform me of this risk. Im told my diabetes is incurable but through careful management I can lessen it’s effects. I think the government and the NHS should have a campaign to make people more aware of the symptoms and urge people to get tested
 
Mickeylizzie said:
I thought I ate quite healthy as my husband had a cabg x 3. 2 years ago since then we don’t eat much fat especially sats and I made sure we had lots of fruit in our diet. The only thing different to my husband is I had sugar in tea and coffee but not excessively. I never eat puddings or cakes prefer a piece of half fat cheese after my main meal. So it came as a shock not sure if it’s hereditary on my part as my father had loads of health problems and was on steroids so we put his problems down to that not sure if he ever had a diabetes check. He died 21 years ago. Mother had very high blood pressure as I have which is how I found out I was diabetic. Again not sure if she’s been checked for it. She’s 92 now so I’m not sure there’s much point in her being checked as she has advanced dementia and end stage kidney failure. I had gestational diabetes when my son was born but I’m now told I should have been checked every 12 months and that was 30 years ago. I feel it’s so unfair that nobody thought to inform me of this risk. Im told my diabetes is incurable but through careful management I can lessen it’s effects. I think the government and the NHS should have a campaign to make people more aware of the symptoms and urge people to get tested
Click to expand...
This is something people often say, that they thought they ate a healthy diet. Unfortunately what might be healthy for a non diabetic can cause problems for somebody whose body is not able to cope with carbohydrates. So the fruit you mention can be high carb, the standard 'Eat Well plate' the NHS recommends is now recognised as not so good for blood glucose management as it has too many carbohydrates, even wholemeal/whole grain still convert to glucose but just that bit slower than the 'white' version and fats and protein are not a problem for diabetics.
If you post some of the typical meals you have then people can suggest some alternatives if anything seems as if it would be a problem.
 
If you'd been advised that diabetes was more likely after gestational diabetes and followed a diet lower in carbs since then, you might never have got to diagnosis - but the NHS is fixated with fat and cholesterol, even though, when checked, reduction seems to have no positive effects.
The Hba1c of 60 is not as high as some ( mine was 91) so it should be easy enough to correct, particularly if you get a meter so you can follow the reductions and spikes after various foods.
I was diagnosed in late 2016 and was back to normal in 2017, with no medication required in the intervening years.
 
Welcome to the forum @Mickeylizzie

Sorry to hear about your diagnosis, and that you weren’t given too much in the way of information to get you started.

Good to hear that you aren’t too fond of cakes and puddings. In terms of your blood glucose levels it isn’t fats that will have the biggest effect, it is total carbohydrates (not just sweet and sugary things), so that includes rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, pastry, grains, cereals and many fruits.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t ever have any of those things, but that you have to balance what your body can cope with in terms of portion size and different types.

Many new members find it can be really helpful to keep a food diary for a week or two. Be brutally honest! Note down everything you eat and drink. It can be especially helpful to estimate the amount of carbohydrate in the meals and snacks to give you an idea of which foods are the main sources of carbs in your menu. This might suggest some meals which could be tweaked for some easy BG wins.

If you'd like some background information in the meantime, before your next appointment, there are lots of modules in the Learning Zone (highlighted item in main menu) that you can work through at your own pace.
 
I was diagnosed 2 weeks ago and my HBA1C was 77 at the first test and 74 at the second one. I have switched to Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) since coming on here - have eaten none of the things mentioned above (rice, pasta, bread, cereals, cakes, crisps, biscuits etc) - I am being really strict as I want to minimise medication. I have been prescribed Metformin and currently building up tablets from 1 to 4 a day (on 2 a day now). I've lost 7lbs in weight which will hopefully help things (but I have a looooong way to go).

You will get tons of great help in here. I am just waiting on a blood sugar meter to arrive so I can start checking what my sugar levels are at and how different food is affecting me. Try not to panic - I did but am now determined to do what I have to to get back to a normal HBA1C if I can.

Good luck
 
Hello there , welcome aboard .
Im in the exact position that your currently in, as I’m not completely diagnosed as of yet but I’d been put on metrofirm 1 a day the slow release one and I did try and convince my doctors / nurse to do it with just diet and exercise an unfortnately I didn’t win that battle but hey I’m going strong and taking it every night to put the monster back in it’s cage. My HBA1c was 66 so 8.2 and when I was first been told I’m a diabetic I started on the low carb diet which has helped me tremendously , I started as 80.2kg and I’m now 79.1 kg and I have lost around my waist I was 105 and now down to 101 which is good for my sake . I exercise and strength train nearly everyday to help myself out and to see improvements. I feel like Ive been reborn again with the amount of energy I have . Im going to get myself a testing machine even though my doctor and nurse did say not to but for my own sake I would like to know what foods spikes my levels and what doesn’t, it never hurts to know so I can write down everything that Im doing right to not make my levels spike and I can find food that I can eat 🙂.

hoping this helps in someway or form and please don’t hesitate to keep asking questions on here these guys are a life savers and very helpful 🙂 .
 
Welcome to the forum @Mickeylizzie
Sorry to read of your diagnosis but pleased that you have found the forum.
Plenty of experience to tap into on here, and do ask any questions that you have. Nothing is considered silly on here. Just ask.
 
Welcome , Hi , they have to put up with all my silly questions and cope . I hope you find your way around. . It’s a shock when you are first diagnosed but the fact you are here means you are taking this seriously and are very wise . I ignored my peer diabetes and it got out of control at 76 I felt I’d not be want. As mother headache or to see my loo to per again . I think if there was a prize for the person with the most pee in the country I’d have been up there. Anyways this is a long journey. I have good days and very bad but getting better bad days now. As I say I’ve been made to feel human here and the others are great especially the mods who care . All the best
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top