Diabetes (type 2) Query

[Verbena17]

So for the past 3 months I’ve been trying to lower my HCA1C test of 49. Had my retest, having been really good, cut out almost all processed sugar and lowered carbs, walked more when my feet aren’t painful etc.

Got my results back and it’s literally gone UP to 50 😩.
What does this mean?
In the past week, I’ve been feeling shaky when exerting myself/dog walking, feeling like I need to eat to stop that ‘low blood sugar’ feeling but actually I just took my blood sugar 3 hours after brekkie and whilst having symptoms before I ate lunch, and it was 6.4.

Does this likely mean I’m diabetic? In addition I I’ve requested another blood test to check if my iron is still low (was 10 a year ago) because low iron can obviously affect the A1C test- making readings higher. My shaky/weak/no energy/slight cough symptoms are also the symptoms of having low iron….as well as being the same for low blood sugar.
Im overweight and losing any weight is really hard even though my diet is really quite good.

Really this won’t be full blown diabetes but I had a 2 week course of dexamethasone in 2021 and you can get steroid induced diabetes, either temporarily or long term. There is new research from the Recovery Trial saying patients who had dexamethasone whilst in hospital were prone to acquiring diabetes. When I was on it, they had to give me insulin injections to regulate my blood sugar.

Steroids spike blood glucose like there is no tomorrow, my bg is very well controlled but can leap to 34 mmol in a matter of 2 hours with steroids.

Your feelings of weakness may be your body re-adjusting to lower bg levels than what you may have had before, it can take some time for this to happen, I know the feeling well as I'm T1.

The only way to tell is to give it about a week, it should settle down and if not then speak to the practice nurse at your GP surgery.

@PurpleBugz no! Not just veggies or you’ll be super deficient in vitamins and minerals. It’s so tricky isn’t it!
I will defo look into food pairings though.
@Irridescantshimmmer yes whilst on the dexamethasone in hospital, they were giving me insulin jabs daily before (after??) meals because the readings were sometimes 16-19mmol. I’ve not had steroids at all since then.

For tea tonight I had a 2 egg omlette with red pepper & cheese and with tender stem broccoli on the side. I’m still not feeling hungry /peckish like I usually would be now, so that’s good it filled me up enough.

I’m off shopping tomorrow to pick up some Greek yoghurt or plain Skyr and tons of cottage cheese. After that, I have no idea! 😂

@VeryLargeRadish interesting you say that my free T4 is borderline low at 11 but my TSH is normal at 1.98 and I've had pins and needles for months in my feet intermittently. Can happen with long covid too

Feeling slightly less depressed today - filled the fridge with low/no carb options.
This was lunch ….

@Verbena17 way to go!!

You can get low carb wraps too

Well done @Verbena17 thats the type of thing. You still have plenty of carbs in there for your body’s needs, but much less than some other foods.

It's so frustrating OP.

Can I ask you all, if I e slipped up by eating, say chocolate, I sometimes have a lop of cheese yo lower overall GI. That should be beneficial in diabetes terms shouldn't it?

Well after everyone telling me about having too many carbs yesterday I thought I’d go for no processed carbs and see how I get on.

Ive actually done the Cambridge diet 3 times before - lost a lot of weight but it was never sustainable - my hair started falling out etc & the food I did eat, I started spitting out….so it wasn’t a good thing with my young children seeing at the time. But I was used to having no carbs then - and I actually really energetic and healthy.

Thanks 😊
Theres a chicken roasting in the overnight for tea - I’ll not be having potatoes with DH….just the chicken and veggies.😉
Yesterday, e c’est for When i had mopped the kitchen floor and went all shaky, I felt really well yesterday.

Had my iron tested today as well as full bloods so it’ll be interesting to see how they’re looking.

Thanks 😊
Not sure how carby lentils and pulses but I’m sure I read they’re quite low and good for diabetics.
For me though, they do tend to instant bloat me. Baked beans not so much or frozen peas but lentil definitely.

I read today that sour dough is lower in carbs due to the sugar being taken up in fermentation process? Don’t usually like it much but could give it a go if I’m eating somewhere involving bread I guess. I’m actually going out for lunch Saturday but think a Caesar salad will have to do!

Lentils have similar carbs to potatoes, but apparently lower blood glucose levels
Which is interesting.

I didn't know that about sour dough! I miss bread so much.

Yes @MillicentTrilbyHiggins -i bought a warm baguette for DS yesterday and made the mistake of smelling it! 😩

So yesterday I was reading that our bodies need carbs to enable fat burning.
will the minimal amount of unrefined carbs I’m now eating be enough for that to happen?

That’s not a thing. Your body doesn’t need carbs at all. You can eat zero carbs and you won’t die. If you don’t eat protein and fat you’ll die.

Where did you read that?

This isn’t correct. Also I think you would be really surprised at the amount of carbs you are still eating, it will be much more than you think.

It was this I think….
https://www.bicycling.co.za/nutrition/5-reasons-eat-damn-carbs/#:~:text=Carbohydrates%20not%20only%20provide%20fuel,energy%20for%20burning%20requires%20glycogen.

That article is all kinds of wrong OP.

A ketogenic diet will put type 2 into remission and get your blood sugar balanced pretty swiftly.

@Verbena17 are you a competitive athlete?

I was really scared about being told I was diabetic. The following helped. get a freestyle libre. they do a free trial sensor (lasts 2 weeks) otherwise costs you £50 for 2 weeks. Dead easy to use (be firm when applying). You can then monitor your blood sugar continuously and keep a food diary alongside it. Youll soon see what the impact of exercise on your blood sugar is along with the impact of high sugar/carb foods. You’ll have lots of info to then discuss with your doctor.

https://www.freestyle.abbott/us-en/products/freestyle-libre-2.html

if you sign up for Zoe, then there’s a waiting list, it costs £300 for the tests which includes a glucose monitor, plus an ongoing fee if you want the coaching. I’ve heard people say it’s really good.

given the state of the nhs, if you want to have a private consultation with a diabetologist, try the London diabetes centre. I think it costs about £250, but if you can afford it, it’s worth it. Even better if you’ve got some data - you can share it with them on line. They’ll send you a letter and you can then talk to the GP. Gives you some ammunition to say “diabetes expert suggested this ….” which may or may not be the same as nhs guidelines. They do on line consultations too.

https://londondiabetes.com/

I’ve done both the sensor and the consultation which were excellent, if you can afford them.

the nhs is rolling out this soup and shake diet for newly diagnosed diabetics (should you be one) with very good results, tipping people into “remission”. Essentially it’s about weight loss, so if you are (like many of us!) have a few lbs on the belly….. I used the 5:2 diet and shifted loads and have kept it all off for 5 years. Didn’t cure the diabetes though, but I do have 2 parents with it.

don’t put it off. It is scary to think that you might be diabetic, and it is a serious condition. I found it much easier to manage once I got my head around it. Good luck!

😂 definitely not

I know - I think once I get my iron results back this week I’ll feel more positive.
The thing is, I really feel unwell a few hours after eating - I get clammy and start to sweat and get shaky - I had to get my dad to drive me and the dog home yesterday as I felt so weird - it only took me 10 mins to walk there but just felt like I couldn’t get back.

Then once I’ve eaten a meal, after approx 30 mins, I suddenly feel much better.
It’s just all so confusing - the 2 types, the low/no carbs, the awful feeling I get not eating carbs.

Thanks for putting all of this in one post.
You’re right. - it is scary and I feel like I don’t want to accept it yet.

What I did read in the research about the link with low iron, is that you shouldn’t treat the ‘potential’ diabetes until you’ve fixed the low iron issue.
Which obviously makes sense but also might be the reason why I feel so poorly. It’s so strange - I literally none of these shaky symptoms until a couple of weeks ago.

Also - can I double check - someone up thread said my reading of 6.4mmol before eating in the morning was normal. Can you have abnormal HBA1C test and have normal daily blood glucose? 🤔 I don’t get it. I need to maybe start checking it the 2 hours after eating that people suggested. To get a better idea.

When I tested it for a couple of months after I had the 2 weeks of dexamethasone, the doctors didn’t seem that bothered and said it was fine.
The readings ranged between 5.6 - 8.5 mmol in mornings before brekkie.
And….
Between 6.0 - 8.7 mmol around 11pm before bedtime.