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Possibly going full Type 2

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Ricky25

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Hi all,

A couple of years ago I was advised by my GP that I was showing indications of pre-diabetes due to a highish HbA1c. I was moving house at time which was stressful and then doing a self build took up much time and lots of challenges to overcome. I suppose I was also in a bit of self denial and couldn’t quite work out why I was pre-diabetic.

I ate pretty well, no salt if possible and lots of fresh fruit and veg. OK still ate red meat and some of the other processed stuff that I probably shouldn’t have been. I will admit to dinking too much at times of high stress during the progress of the project. It didn’t go smoothly and I don’t think I would do it again.

Fast forward and having moved into the house and changed GPs I thought I had better follow up on the reminders I was getting to have a follow up blood test. The result came through pretty quickly and was 49mmol/mol so I now have to have a follow up test in 2-4 weeks. It’s been a bit of a wake up call. I do have indications of peripheral neuropathy which I have to probably put down to hypertension, the onset of diabetes and also heavy drinking. I went teetotal a while back as I realised it was getting out of control.

Anyway I am where I am and look forward to getting advice and support. Big thing it would be interesting to know is if the HbA1c can be brought down before the next blood test. I’m watching what I eat and hope to see a lower result next time. Thanks for reading.
 
Hi @Ricky25 and welcome to the forum - an HbA1c of 49 is only just into diabetes territory so some minor tweaks to diet etc. can get it down - as a Type 1 myself I'm not really qualified to give any tailored advice but I'm sure someone will pop along soon to help - glad you have found us
 
Ricky25 said:
Hi all,

A couple of years ago I was advised by my GP that I was showing indications of pre-diabetes due to a highish HbA1c. I was moving house at time which was stressful and then doing a self build took up much time and lots of challenges to overcome. I suppose I was also in a bit of self denial and couldn’t quite work out why I was pre-diabetic.

I ate pretty well, no salt if possible and lots of fresh fruit and veg. OK still ate red meat and some of the other processed stuff that I probably shouldn’t have been. I will admit to dinking too much at times of high stress during the progress of the project. It didn’t go smoothly and I don’t think I would do it again.

Fast forward and having moved into the house and changed GPs I thought I had better follow up on the reminders I was getting to have a follow up blood test. The result came through pretty quickly and was 49mmol/mol so I now have to have a follow up test in 2-4 weeks. It’s been a bit of a wake up call. I do have indications of peripheral neuropathy which I have to probably put down to hypertension, the onset of diabetes and also heavy drinking. I went teetotal a while back as I realised it was getting out of control.

Anyway I am where I am and look forward to getting advice and support. Big thing it would be interesting to know is if the HbA1c can be brought down before the next blood test. I’m watching what I eat and hope to see a lower result next time. Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum, you will find lots of useful information about how you can reduce your blood glucose, but maybe a bit optimistic that you can make much difference in 2-4 weeks as the HbA1C test is looking at an average over the previous 3 months but it is weighted towards the last few weeks. However changes you make need to be sustainable so it needs an enjoyable regime. It is better to reduce blood glucose gradually to avoid issues with your eyes and nerves which you mention as being already a problem.
It is carbohydrates that you need to reduce as it is those which convert to glucose rather than protein or fats or salt so meals based on meat, fish, cheese, eggs, dairy, vegetables and fruits like berries still give you plenty of options, it is potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, breakfast cereals , tropical fruits that are the high carb foods and need to be had in reduced portions and cakes, biscuits, pastry, sugary drinks including fruit juice which are best avoided. Beer and cider are high carb but wine and spirits with diet mixers are not too bad.
Have a look at this link which is based on a suggested good starting point to reduce carbs as no more than 130g carb not just sugar per day.
lowcarbfreshwell.com

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com lowcarbfreshwell.com
People find it helpful to keep a food diary with an estimate of the carbs in everything you eat and drink as that helps to see where savings can be made.
 
Welcome to the forum @Ricky25

Hardly surprising that you delayed following up on the notification of being at risk during something do all-consuming as a self-build. Well done for seeing it through despite the hiccups and stresses.

Well done for ditching the drink - that will help you enormously healthwise.

Good luck with tweaking your diet and finding a way of eating that suits your BG levels and your individual metabolism.

Let us know how you get on 🙂
 
Thanks for the prompt replies and encouragement and the advice, it is very much appreciated. Thanks for the link Leadinglights. I also didn’t know tropical fruits were high carb items. As I have a bowl of fruit ready to eat I’m now looking at the melon and pineapple in a different light. It’s going to be a steep learning curve!

I am just about to book my next blood test so it will be interesting if there is an reduction in HbA1c, even if it is only potentially marginal as mentioned above.

Really pleased I found this forum and the support offered. All the best!
 
Ricky25 said:
Thanks for the prompt replies and encouragement and the advice, it is very much appreciated. Thanks for the link Leadinglights. I also didn’t know tropical fruits were high carb items. As I have a bowl of fruit ready to eat I’m now looking at the melon and pineapple in a different light. It’s going to be a steep learning curve!

I am just about to book my next blood test so it will be interesting if there is an reduction in HbA1c, even if it is only potentially marginal as mentioned above.

Really pleased I found this forum and the support offered. All the best!
Click to expand...
Many find the book or app Carbs and Cals useful as it gives carb values for various portion sizes of a whole variety of food so you can compare. For fruit berries are the lowest carbs with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries lowest and bananas and grapes highest. Portion control is important when it comes to fruit well most things to some extent. Don't dismiss things too hastily as they may be fine in small portions. That is the value of testing, finger prick test before and 2 hours post meal will tell you how well your body has tolerated a particular meal, you would be aiming at no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase or no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l 2 hours post meal and 4-7mmol/l before eating or fasting/morning reading.
 
Great shout there @Leadinglights I found the Carbs&Cals book a great help a few years ago myself, having been Full Type2 myself for many years, also as already recommended by @Leadinglights many find the freshwell advice is a great source of information

after all with a Hba1c of 49 @Ricky25 your most likely going to get this easily sorted with a few diet changes alongside maybe a bit more activity
 
Just had a look at the Freshwell link and I think it’s a brilliant resource. I’m actually pretty active so I think priority will be getting the diet sorted but good to know that I’m starting off on a low HbaC1 unlike some on here who have started at 110 when they first post….starting to sound like I know what I’m talking about. That certainly isn’t the case and I appreciate the recent pointers on the direction to go! Thanks.
 
You'd have to be really unlucky to end up with neuropathy with an HbA1c of just 49!

You'll be fine. Eat a bit better, lose a bit of weight.
 
Hi Eddy, it may be something to do with hypertension which I thought I had under control and to be honest I did have a bout of depression when I was drinking too much! All self inflicted I suspect to be honest.
 
Well done on being so proactive to your recent news, @Ricky25 , and on dealing with a situation you could see was becoming troublesome. Others have given you great steers already, so I won't labour anything on your T2, but please do tackle your hypertension with a similar enthusiasm, even if it means a bit of medication. It's really important for our overall health.

Just last week, I was a patient in a research study into folks with T2 living with chronic heart failure. I was part of the cohort of folks with an historic diagnosis of T", but no heart failure.

These studies give a great MOT, focused, in this case on the heart and included all the usual ECG, exercise tests, MRI and stress MRI. Afterwards I got to watch my heart beat - fascinating.

Anyway, anyway, during my feedback session the cardiologist was keen to tell me the muscle forming the wall between the chambers of my heart had got a bit thinner - and it being a good thing.

Taking part in another study, 4 years ago, this particular muscle was still within "normal" parameters, but towards the upper levels. In discussion, we concluded it had likely been caused by some (at that point) undiagnosed hypertension. Having been medication compliant the muscle had a chance to renormalise. I was astonished and felt almost celebratory after that!

Thankfully, my ticker was given a clean bill of health.
 
Ricky25 said:
Hi Eddy, it may be something to do with hypertension which I thought I had under control and to be honest I did have a bout of depression when I was drinking too much! All self inflicted I suspect to be honest.
Click to expand...
HT is likely to be a far bigger CVD risk than an HbA1c of 49, so if I were you BP would be my main focus. Getting rid of visceral fat dealt with both my T2D and my hypertension, with cutting sodium and BP meds for a while contributing. (Not a big drinker by this stage but that's obviously another thing to cut.)

Good luck!
 
@Eddy Edson I had the HT under control but for some reason when I stopped drinking it seems to have gone up which doesn’t make complete sense. I do regular checks on BP and I was on medication(Amlodipine) a while back which helped, maybe I need to revisit that option. I will certainly take your advice and tackle both diet and HT. Thanks!
 
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