I’ve been a type 2 diabetic for the last 25 years. There is a lot of discussion about sugars. It’s carbs that matter - specifically refined carbs that quickly get converted to sugar. You can check on the internet for those foods that have a high glycemic index and control your diet that way. Also it is not just about 1 reading or an A1c result. You need to be concerned about your glucose level variation during the day and night. The A1c is typically a 3 month average of those readings. The glucose variations are more important for the damaging effects of diabetes.
By losing quite a bit of weight, a rigorous exercise routine and watching what I eat, I’ve lowered my A1c to 5.7. I’ve also been able to reduce my medications which included glipizide and actos to 2.5 mg of glipizide. I’m expected to get off this medication by the end of the month since I’m having episodes of low glucose levels. Today before lunch, it was 59.
Yes, sometimes we are genetic anomalies. I have done most things “right” but still have idiopathic COPD that puzzles all my healthcare providers and scares all of us. None of us can figure out the cause or really project the future. Sounds like diabetes can be another landmine that folks can get even though doing things “right.”
We do all have to be health advocates to stay as healthy as we can. Diabetes can be very nasty–causing blindness and many other nasty complications.
Yes, it should be 25 grams added sugar. Sorry for the confusion. Still, natural sugars should still be limited. My A1C is 6.1. You don’t have to fast for that, it gives you a reading of the last 3 months…I wonder how it does that?
I’m sorry to hear that @ascout . But people should not use your story as an excuse to not try, especially since your seems to be genetic related. I imagine most of us are just not eating properly.
My doctor DID run a standard blood glucose screen at my physical about ten or twelve months before I had the A1C of 12. At that time, my blood glucose was normal – not even prediabetic. Weird.
Kjcphmom - I think you’re right and I was always a Type I. It would explain so much, including my unusual presentation and the speed at which my disease progressed. I really should have gone on insulin much earlier.
The test doesn’t actually measure glucose in the blood. It measures the glucose attached to the hemoglobin in red blood cells, which last about 3 months. That means the A1c level reflects approximate average of blood glucose over the past 3 months.
I am pre-diabetic. I am 5"10 and 160 lbs and walk 2-3 miles per day or do the elliptical x 40 minutes. I don’t eat any carbs for breakfast, usually don’t for lunch and allow myself one serving at dinner with some occasional cheats. If I gain more than 5-10 lbs my A1C is so close to 6.5%! I had gestational diabetes so it isn’t a big surprise but still I will admit to being mildly jealous at people who are blatantly obese and yet still have amazing A1Cs.
@scout59 …wow that is crazy! How old were you when diagnosed? Did you have any of the other risk factors (weight, etc?). I’ve caught quite a few cases of LADA in patients over the years. Have you heard of LADA? Your unusual presentation and the rate it progressed are just a few characteristics of patients with LADA (Latent autoimmune diabetes of adulthood).
When my 23 y/o daughter showed up at the PCP with a BS =400, they insisted it was type II and all she needed was metformin. I insisted they run auto antibodies and they were all positive so she had type I. She started a pump right away.
With a new diabetes diagnosis, I would get antibodies checked regardless of age, weight etc. others will disagree about this
^^ I agree, @busyparent - I wish I had had those antibodies tested ten years ago. It would have saved me some grief.
@carachel2 – the only risk factor I have/had was genetics (my mother has diabetes that presented the same way.) I was 45 years old when diagnosed. It could be LADA; actually, I do have another autoimmune disease (hashimoto’s), so who knows? Sounds like I have a terrible immune system!
I just hope there are new treatments for this disease before my DD hits 45 years old…
thanks for the explanation of A1C. Normal glucose is 70-100. You are just on the edge. I would donwhatbyour doc says. Now that you are aware of all the added sugar in foods, take an account of what you typically eat during the say. From what I’ve read, the average American eats about 85 added sugar grams a day. That doesn’t even cover the carbs. I bet I was easily putting away 300 to 400 carbs a day.
I really didn’t have any idea, nor paid attention since I’ve been the proper weight.
6 years ago following a routine blood tests I discovered my a1c was 6.6 and fasting glucose 110. I was overweight and have a family history of diabetes. I discovered diabetesdaily.com, an active and incredibly informative forum and following a very low carb way of eating and exercise, reduced my A1c to 5.4 in 4 months. Today it is 5.5. I have been lucky in not needing medication or insulin so far but I have to really restrict carbs (no bread, rice, pasta, cookies, sugar etc.) because for all intents and purposes I am a diabetic. I know this because 1 hour after eating half a bagel my blood sugar is at 200. A non-diabetic would be at 100-110. It is a fallacy that only overweight people get diabetes.
Speaking of metformin, I had tried it for a while and it caused indigestion problems. I’m thinking of trying it again. Some studies have shown that people with diabetes who use it live longer than people without diabetes. It is being seriously investigated in extending life studies.
My sister was diagnosed with Type I diabetes (LADA) at age 45. She has always been thin and athletic. Her fasting blood sugar was a bit high one year, so she really cleaned up her (already good) diet, exercised even more, and the next year - even higher fasting blood sugar. She got a home testing kit and started monitoring her blood sugar and learning what she could and couldn’t eat, while waiting for her appointment with a specialist. The specialist looked at her, said that she didn’t have diabetes, wouldn’t look at the data my sister had collected, told her that she was crazy and to stop testing herself. She agreed to run the A1c test only because my sister was persistent. The results came back, it was definitely diabetes.
There are quite a few autoimmune diseases in my family, including about 5 cases of Hashimoto’s in my immediate family.
My D was diagnosed with diabetes about 8 weeks ago. Her FP made the diagnosis and we are waiting for an endocrinology appointment. Her fasting blood sugar was above 300 and her hemoglobin A1c was 15. This A1C means she was averaging in the high 300s for the last 90 days. She was started on an insulin pen and metformin (there is a theory of a honeymoon phase in which the pancreas still is producing some insulin so adding metformin is a safety measure even if type I is presumed). She had all the other classic symptoms of type I diabetes, including ketones in the urine, weight loss, increased thirst and nighttime urination. Although I am a psychiatrist, I am familiar with diabetes and we went to Dr. Bernstein’s books and websites for information and diet plans. His books and plans are excellent and she started low carb on day one. However, there is a lot of controversy about his ideas but the FP told my daughter she has never seen someone’s BG correct so quickly.
He recommends a carbohydrate limit of 36 grams a day and very tight BG control. This is a bit difficult to do and may not be for everyone. But it can be done. My daughter’s blood sugars now range from about 60-140 (Max). Usually, she is in the 90s. She is still working out what she can eat and not eat by testing her BG one hour and two hours after eating. She was surprised to learn that a nice half a piece of cheese cake didn’t impact her much at all while fruit/nuts are the most difficult (because it is hard to eat just a few). He promotes a very analytical approach by encouraging you to find out how the food effects you by testing, testing, testing.
We have a lot of autoimmune conditions in the family and she was in good health/weight/etc otherwise.
I do recommend reading Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetic Solution.
We are glad this was caught before leaving for Smith this fall!
@justforthis …thanks for that link. I will visit that diet.
My heart goes out to everyone and their families who suffer from this. It’s hard to diet when you have a choice. To have to limit the types of food you eat on a permanent basis takes a lot of will…and it is a loss. Just giving up what I eat now makes me a little sad.
I’ve been diabetic for the past 7 years. I’m a skinny person who didn’t do enough exercises and indulged myself with food too much over the years. I’ve been on Metformin since the diagnosis, but my BS swings due to stress and not getting enough sleep when I work. It was hard changing my diet at first, but you get used to it eventually. Where initially I resented not being able to eat as I used to, nowadays I think of everything in terms of carb content and try to plan accordingly. I most miss the snacking and the portions of rice I used to eat, but found that fruits can be a wonderful substitute for sweets.