Rise in Hba1c results

[Laetitia]

Hello, Happy New Year to you all. I have recently been diagnosed as pre diabetic (type 2) and have been attending a support group since October 2019. My Hba1c result in August 2019 was 45 and since then I have been eating more healthily, lost weight and been doing regular, daily exercise. I went for a follow up blood test late December 2019 and my Hba1c has gone up to 47. The doctors receptionist said it was abnormally high but they were not overly concerned. I was gutted as I have been trying so hard and felt it would make a real difference. Any ideas why this could be? My mum is Type 2. Thanks in advance.

 

[Drummer]

Hba1c of 47 is not abnormally high - 147 would be, but you are just at the top of prediabetic.
What have you been doing to control your blood glucose levels?

 

[Laetitia]

Hba1c of 47 is not abnormally high - 147 would be, but you are just at the top of prediabetic.
What have you been doing to control your blood glucose levels?

Thank you for your reply. I have joined the Healthier You support group, reduced carbs and sugars in my diet, lost 11lb in weight although was told I didn’t need to as BMI was spot on, exercising every day (cardio). Only thing I haven’t reduced is fruit each day but will try this from now on to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Drummer]

Ah - whilst all the activity is a good idea for increasing fitness, eating foods high in carbs is going to push up the blood glucose levels, and that probably is where the increase in Hba1c comes from - plus the sugar in fruit, fructose, is stored at once, close to the liver, which is not a good thing.
I'd suggest taking a look at the amount of carb you are eating and cutting back a little on the higher carb foods, concentrate on salads and low carb veges, with small servings of frozen berries with cream a couple of times a week at the most until your Hba1c reduces.
Low carb doesn't automatically mean weightloss, though it can reduce appetite. Try eating more allowable foods, have cream in your coffee with a few nuts and cheese as a dessert course.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Thank you for your reply. I have joined the Healthier You support group, reduced carbs and sugars in my diet, lost 11lb in weight although was told I didn’t need to as BMI was spot on, exercising every day (cardio). Only thing I haven’t reduced is fruit each day but will try this from now on to see if it makes a difference.

There's not really much difference between 45 and 47 - could just be random fluctuation - but understandable that you're disappointed not to see a reduction after putting in the work. Anyway, a "pre-diabetic" level probably isn't much of a worry in itself, if it doesn't start to go up a lot.

I'd say it would be worth self-testing when you wake up and before and after eating, to get some more insight - is anything you eat causing big rises, is yr BG high on waking (which might suggest seeing if losing more weight helps, regardless of yr BMI).

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Laetitia welcome to the forum. It’s only natural that you would be gutted after your Hb1ac has risen slightly, however I agree fully with @Eddy Edson.
Though 47 is at the top end of pre diabetes it is not abnormally high , I was up in the 100s at dx (diagnosis)
@Drummer is right re the carbohydrates. How many carbs do you normally have at each meal .
Unfortunately on some of theses diabetes prevention / healthy eating courses courses the emphasis is on the healthy eating plate or whatever it is called now and for many of us the carbs are just to high.
Drummer is very sensitive to carbohydrates others in here do not have to go so low as he does.
Also we all react differently to the various carbohydrates, ie some find a very healthy bowl of porridge shoots up Their BG (blood glucose levels) so the need to avoid it ,where other can tuck in and get good results. This is where self testing comes into its own , as we find out quickly what the various carbs do to us .
Many of us on here follow the LCHF (low carb high fat regime) I personally never eat anything that has been made to be low fat as they can be higher in carbs than the normal version due to added sugar to mak them more palatable. I eat cheeses, butter etc and have cream in my first mug of coffee.

I know you are in the pre diabetes range but I think you will get some good info from these links, which for future reference can be found on a thread called, Useful links for people new to diabetes, which is at the top of the newbies forum.
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2

test-test-test by Alan S

This is one of the cheapest glucose meters to self fund the ongoing cost of the testing strips £8 fora pot I’d 50 rather than £15 or more from chemists
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-G...&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003&th=1
If you decide to test, you’ll need to buy more pots of test strips and a box of lancets.

 

[Laetitia]

Thank you everyone for your really useful advice.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @Laetitia - can’t really add to the info you’ve been given already, but just wanted to say, Hi

 

[Ralph-YK]

reduced carbs and sugars in my diet,

That's what I'd suggest doing. You could try self testing to see if there are issues with any particular foods. The Code free meter is a reasonable price, and has the cheapest strips.

 

[Felinia]

Thank you for your reply. I have joined the Healthier You support group, reduced carbs and sugars in my diet, lost 11lb in weight although was told I didn’t need to as BMI was spot on, exercising every day (cardio). Only thing I haven’t reduced is fruit each day but will try this from now on to see if it makes a difference.

It's surprising how quickly the carbs can mount up even in things you think are healthy. And portion sizes are also important. My plain salad of lettuce, tomato, peppers, carrots, cucumber, sweetcorn, raw beetroot comes in around 13gm, then add something like cottage cheese and a medium apple and you've added another 15gm. Even my breakfast of poached egg, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms is around 8gm. The veggies in my evening meal will be around 10-15gm. Then you've got the carbs in milk, snack fruit, and the fractions in most other foods. I usually come in around 75gm a day +- 15gm. I suggest you monitor your portion sizes as you might inadvertently be eating more carbs than you think. I do use one of the online websites which has all the carbs and cals for thousands of foods and keeps a running total by meal, day and week. It comes with a downloadable app for your smartphone too. I plan in advance and find that stops me being tempted.
BUT - I would also ask to be re-tested in 3 months time. It has 2 advantages: a) you'll see if the HbA1c is reducing and know your measures are working and b) if it is not reducing you might be one of the unlucky people for whom diet and exercise is not the answer (as you are a normal weight), so the sooner you can get medical help, the better. Best wishes.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Even my breakfast of poached egg, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms is around 8gm.

Is it the mushrooms? A lot better than ceriel.

 

[rebrascora]

Thank you for your reply. I have joined the Healthier You support group, reduced carbs and sugars in my diet, lost 11lb in weight although was told I didn’t need to as BMI was spot on, exercising every day (cardio). Only thing I haven’t reduced is fruit each day but will try this from now on to see if it makes a difference.

It is a possibility that you have slow onset Type 1 diabetes (LADA or Type 1.5) rather than Type 2, if you have reduced carbs, increased exercise and lost weight but your HbA1c has gone up instead of down.

 

[SB2015]

I was also wondering about a slow development of T1.
If things continue to rise, it is worth asking for further tests.
With the slow onset, which is often associated with those
that develop it later, this is often misdiagnosed as T2.

 

[Felinia]

Is it the mushrooms? A lot better than ceriel.

No, - it's the tomatoes (tomato is actually a fruit) - one medium tomato is 2.5gm carbs. I normally have 3 grilled - the egg is carb free and the 100gm raw mushrooms is 0.5gm.