Very high H1ac levels practical help

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Berksps

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Type 2
Hello all,

I have had type 2 for quite some time and i will be honest have tried to ignore it. I have made little or no change to diet and about the only thing i have done is loose weight probably about 3 stome. My level has always been high around 100 and shows no sign of change. I have recently been referred to a diabetic clinic and await my first appointment. I am interested in practical tips to help from anyone. One thing that has happened is i have been having treatment for macular degeneration i wondered if anyone had similiar.

Male
55
Diagnosed 2012

Thanks
 
Berksps said:
Hello all,

I have had type 2 for quite some time and i will be honest have tried to ignore it. I have made little or no change to diet and about the only thing i have done is loose weight probably about 3 stome. My level has always been high around 100 and shows no sign of change. I have recently been referred to a diabetic clinic and await my first appointment. I am interested in practical tips to help from anyone. One thing that has happened is i have been having treatment for macular degeneration i wondered if anyone had similiar.

Male
55
Diagnosed 2012

Thanks
Click to expand...

I changed my diet the day I was diagnosed and got hba1c down to the thirties along with weight loss, which you seem to have done. I didn't ignore it and acted straight away as I wanted to get rid of some of the horrible side effects I was experiencing from having high blood sugar.

Are you on any medication? Being at 100 for a long period of time is not good for you.
 
Yes should have put that.

I am on Metformin,Ramipirl, new one Linagliptin and Forxiga which makes me feel off.
 
Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear that you have struggled to accept your diagnosis over the past 2 years but good that you are now ready to tackle it and make some changed.

Firstly, you mention that you have lost 3 stone and yet you say that you have not changed your diet. Does that mean that you have upped your activity levels quite significantly or is the weight loss unexplained? The reason I ask is that unexplained significant weight loss is a red flag symptom of Type 1 diabetes rather than Type 2 although it can also be caused by other things. Generally Type 2 diabetics who don't make adjustment to their lifestyle, do not lose weight, so that just raises a question particularly with your HbA1c being so high.

Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be diagnosed? Were you suymptomatic or did it just get picked up via a routine blood test. If symptomatic, did they come on suddenly and what were they?
 
Been diagnosed since 2012. I was very lethargic and tired a lot. Yes it was picked it during a routine blood test. The weight loss is unexplained i did eat better and excercise but not enough.
I am not type 1 but i think my chloseterol also is high.

I would like to know more about what foods to eat and what to avoid. I do like sugary drinks which i know is a major no. So i have to stick to water. I dont want to live a totally bland lifestyle but a balanced one.
 
Berksps said:
Been diagnosed since 2012. I was very lethargic and tired a lot. Yes it was picked it during a routine blood test. The weight loss is unexplained i did eat better and excercise but not enough.
I am not type 1 but i think my chloseterol also is high.

I would like to know more about what foods to eat and what to avoid. I do like sugary drinks which i know is a major no. So i have to stick to water. I dont want to live a totally bland lifestyle but a balanced one.
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I also think it is very possible you could be Type 1 or LADA and unless you have had the specific blood tests to rule out Type 1, those being C-peptide and GAD antibodies you would not know.
As far as drinks are concerned than diet drinks are OK for most people, flavoured still or sparkling water, tea, coffee are options just without sugar. Fruit juices are best avoided.
IF you are actually Type 2 then dietary changes are very important and many find a low carb approach successful and it certainly doesn't need to be bland and boring. Check this link out for a low carb regime. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
There are also other options of low calorie or shakes-based regimes and options for meal plans are on the DUK main site.
It is a condition to be taken seriously.
Hopefully your macular degeneration is of the type that can be treated with some success but the Macular Society does offer some good support. https://www.macularsociety.org//
 
Very simply, all carbohydrates need to be treated with extreme caution. That includes bread, rice, cereals, pasta, fruit and fruit juice, potatoes as well as all the obviously sugary foods. What you can eat lots of are unprocessed meat, fish, cheese, eggs, green veg. So try to fill up on these and minimise the carbs. Berries are the lowest carb fruits, so for breakfast you could try some berries in natural yogurt (flavoured yogurts usually contain sugar), or omelette, or bacon and eggs. For lunch steak and salad, or salmon with green veg, or home made stews. Trying to cut carbs out completely is virtually impossible and will probably make you miserable, you have to find a level that you can sustain. So look at what you usually eat and have a think about could you maybe halve the quantity of potatoes/rice etc or substitute them for something else, e.g. extra meat or veg. If that goes well then maybe cut it down a bit more later.
Also, when you are shopping if you are looking at packets you need to look at the Total Carohydrates, not the Just Sugar, all carbohydrates will raise your blood sugar levels.
 
Berksps said:
Been diagnosed since 2012. I was very lethargic and tired a lot. Yes it was picked it during a routine blood test. The weight loss is unexplained i did eat better and excercise but not enough.
I am not type 1 but i think my chloseterol also is high.

I would like to know more about what foods to eat and what to avoid. I do like sugary drinks which i know is a major no. So i have to stick to water. I dont want to live a totally bland lifestyle but a balanced one.
Click to expand...

There is no need to have a bland lifestyle.
Most refined carbs are just used as bulk, with the real taste being in sauces and meat or fish, i.e, the protein.
Try the Caldesi cookbooks, the recipes are delicious (Salmon with orange and fennel with rosemary is one of my favourites). You can replace the bulk carbs with other vegetables - cauliflower makes great 'rice' and there are noodles that made from Konjac that are carb-free and good for soups and stir fries.

Mushrooms, eggs, onions, peppers, are all fine.

I drink coffee and tea - I've not had sugar in it for decades, long before I was T2.

I've never had a sweet tooth and always preferred savoury foods.
 
super thanks all for help/advice. i was thinking of llooking for a local self help group. the macular degeneration i have been having eyelea injections for a year now it has helped definitely. would be interested if anyone else has been through similiar. one more question how do you all check your H1ac?
 
We can't check our own HbA1c - unless we can take a phial of veinous blood from our own arm and work in a pathology lab ! Most of us are neither trained phlebotomists nor employed as lab workers. (Not sure it's even physically possible to take your sample?)

What we can do however is check our blood glucose as many times a day as we want and/or need to, using a fingerprick blood sample applied to a test strip inserted in a handy home-use monitor. These little machines are supplied either on prescription or can be easily bought reasonably cheaply - though the ongoing expense is for the test strips and lancets to bodge the necessary weeny holes in our fingers to supply those teeny little drop of blood to do the tests. Some meters' strips cost over £20 for a pot of 50 - but a couple of ones which seem pretty reliable with cheaper strips and lancets are either the Gluco Navii or the Spirit Healthcare TEE 2. Both of these are available to buy online - not usually over the counter at pharmacies.

So the trends we discover by doing these tests day to day shows us whether we're on the right lines, or not. When it's a 'not' - the important thing of course is to be able to see 'WHY it's not!' and therefore change that bit, so it stops being 'not'. If you are not going to attempt to change the 'nots' then frankly I'd say you may as well save your money because if you can be happy doing the same thing with your own life and health as you would be driving your car from Lands End to John o' Groats and never looking at the speedo on the way, then frankly, you'd be nuts! 😱
 
Berksps said:
super thanks all for help/advice. i was thinking of llooking for a local self help group. the macular degeneration i have been having eyelea injections for a year now it has helped definitely. would be interested if anyone else has been through similiar. one more question how do you all check your H1ac?
Click to expand...
If you plan on reducing carbs the best method is to count up what you eat each day for a week on your normal way of eating - you might need to get a set of kitchen scales to do that. It is not a good idea, particularly as you have changes in your eyes, to reduce carb intake too quickly, so once you have got a starting point begin to make changes, either altering what you eat or reducing the amount and replacing it with lower carb options.
You need to count the starch as well as the sugar, and eat more protein and fat to compensate.
Gradually reduce your intake of carbs. An ordinary type 2 should see reductions in after meal blood glucose levels, it is almost a secondary diagnostic feature. If you don't then it could be an indication of something more interesting going on, though if your glucose storage is packed out it might take some little while to reduce the outpouring of everything associated with glucose management.
I think my pancreas was a bit hysterical when I began low carbing, as I went a bit wobbly a few times as my glucose levels took a nosedive. A drink and a few grapes - that is 3 or 4, eaten slowly, quickly restored something close to normality but it did give me a few unpleasant feelings whilst they were going on.
 
Berksps said:
Hello all,

I have had type 2 for quite some time and i will be honest have tried to ignore it. I have made little or no change to diet and about the only thing i have done is loose weight probably about 3 stome. My level has always been high around 100 and shows no sign of change. I have recently been referred to a diabetic clinic and await my first appointment. I am interested in practical tips to help from anyone. One thing that has happened is i have been having treatment for macular degeneration i wondered if anyone had similiar.

Male
55
Diagnosed 2012

Thanks
Click to expand...
Hello @Berksps
I had an HBA1c over 100 at diagnosis and for all I know could have been diabetic for a number of years prior as I had not been to the doctor for many years. I'm a couple of years younger than you. I wrote up what I did, why I did it and what the results were. Feel free to take a look by clicking on the link in my signature....there might be some practical things in there relevant to you.
 
Well done on beginning to turn your diabetes around @Berksps - taking the decision to commit to doing it is a big step.

Take things gradually, and a step at a time. You’ll know whether it’s better for you to go all-in on a food, or cut things out in stages (eg stopping sugar-sweetened beverages all at once, switching to diet versions, or phasing them out over a few weeks).

Hopefully as you make some changes and your BG levels begin to come down, you will find you have more energy, and a clearer head. High BG can give you a bit of brain fog and a general feeling of fatigue that may have crept up on you.

Keep asking questions, and feel free to rant and moan if you get frustrated. We are rooting for you, and know how hard some of these changes can be to make, and more importantly to stick to.

Let us know how you get on 🙂
 
The diabetic clinic have reviewed my case and i have been prescribed gliclazide for 3 months. Wondered if anyone has come across this. All these things are designed my blood sugar the thing that is really hurting me.

So keep advising on low carb diet thats great.

The main thing at moment is my macular degeneration basically affecting my vision and needing injections.

Been told i need to increase excercise a lot.
 
I have been on gliclazide for a couple of years at this point plus other medications, only side affect has been thrush so drink lots of water to help keep kidneys flushed through. I use low GI rather than carb as was told we still need some carbs and can focus on carbs that digest more slowly into the body, I know others here use low carb and keto with success so can probably advise on their approach.
 
gliclazide makes your body produce more (home grown) insulin for its effective period.
While reducing carbs is beneficial, it should be done with caution with this medication as there is a risk of hypoglycaemia due to how the drug works.
Did you get given a meter and test strips and have hypos explained to you?
 
So i thought i was being referred to a diabetic clinic but they reviewed my results and advised i go onto gliclazide for 3 months in an effort to lower my HB1ac. I know its key to me feeling well,having energy and improving my vision which is suffering. My wife made the point you never see anyone its all kind of remote. I will say my GP surgery since covid seem to have a policy of dealing with their patients at arms length. Anyone else have that? Pushed back this time but maybe i need the help of a local support group.Being on here helps too.
 
I have had bloods, foot check, inperson throughout, but review with Diabetic Nurse is via phone.
 
There will only be a problem with hypos when on Gliclazide if the dose is too high, so you should be started on a low dose which the GP should increase as needed. I was on it for many years and finally max dose 320gm with no side effects at all.
 
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