I got my latest A1c this morning.5.1%. I’m determined to get down into the 4s eventually, but this will do for now. Also Cholesterol( what cholesterol?) and weight down 3kg on last diabetes check and waist measurement down 5cm.
It’s all down to fairly strict low carbing and an occasional Atkins Fat Fast for a couple of days. I do still use Metformin, but only 2 x 500mg per day. This is after 6 years of diagnosis. I was originally told T2 is progressive and I’d need to increase my medication steadily. I have come across people diagnosed much less time than me, who are on high doses of 4 different meds. I’m determined not to go there. I think a medicine regime like that is more dangerous than diabetes. I am not a sick person, but a healthy one with a completely manageable “Blip” in my metabolic path ways.
Totally Awesome!!! I know that following a strict low carb diet is hard, but it is hard to argue that it works.
5.1%, you probably have a better HbA1c than some non-diabetics!
congrats on great numbers!
Fantastic! Thrilled for your good news.
I follow Dr. B’s guidelines, too.
Wonderful. You are an inspiration. Thank you for letting us all know that it works.
Just be careful, Hana! I was living in the 4.6-to-5% range for a while but my diabetes nurse finally convinced me that I was trying too hard One ambulance visit per week for a while, and a large number of ER visits. Hypoglycemia is dangerous and can be fatal.
Since Hana is only on metformin and not insulin, I think she will be fine. You are of course correct, if you are on insulin, the only way to safely maintain a HbA1c of nearly 5% is by very tight control of your blood sugar variations. Usually, you have to follow a very low carb diet.
I like your attitude. Thrilled about the numbers, too.
Terry
Careful Hana I know it takes a lot of work to get it down there to the low 5’s . I was there and tried getting lower but the head aches and dizzy spells over all feeling was not worth it. My doctor told me about the newer studies and the benefits of keeping it a little higher . I have done that and it seems to work I do feel a lot better. I was only taking a couple of Metformin a week as well at the time.
Rebel
Hi Rebel,
The ACCORD study your doctor is referring to was a terribly flawed study. You can Google it to find out more.
I have read the ACCORD study and to me( a trained scientist) it merely proves that taking a lot of different medications in high doses is dangerous. They never looked at low carbers. the low sugars were achieved by using medication cocktails.
Hana
PS, the Jorgen Neilson 44 month study strongly supports GOOD control by low carb. It’s only a small study, but very well constructed.
I’m jealous. I’ve given myself 6 months to get below that 5. My last 6 month drop was 0.3% I know how diligent I shall have to be , but I did have a UTI in this last A1c time, which will have put the numbers up a bit. I certainly had more trouble keeping on target until it went…
Hana
From what I read (not a trained scientist), the subjects had existing heart conditions, were forced to eat extremely high carb & quite a risky combo of meds were used. It’s disheartening that most medical professionals seem to read the headlines & not delve deeper into the research methods.
A CDE warned me about low carb citing the ACCORD study. It was evident she hadn’t really read it.
The ADVANCE study is a better one. I’ll check out the Jorgen Neilson study–thanks.
Yes the Accord Study does specify multiple medications, in the section on how the study was planned.
Hana
Way to go Hana!
Keep in mind that every lab is different. So I would say there is not much difference between 5.1 and “under 5”.
My endo made the claim that the ACCORD implicated the use of insulin as causing hypos and resulting in excess deaths. I was dissappointed that he made this claim. This is the article I sent him.
Endochrine Today “ACCORD: Intensive glucose control not to blame for excess mortality”, June 10, 2009 on the ADA 69th Scientific session
“HbA1c was associated with hypoglycemia but not in the relationship we expected,” said Denise Bonds, MD, MPH, project officer for ACCORD at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health.
Severe hypoglycemia was associated with higher risk for death in both treatment groups but a lower risk in the intensive group vs. standard group (HR=1.28 vs. HR=2.87). Further, risk for hypoglycemia was lower in the intensive control group who achieved the target goal faster compared with the standard group (HR=0.86 vs. HR=0.72). Importantly, hypoglycemia did not account for overall mortality findings.
“Hypoglycemia was felt to play no role in most deaths,” Bonds said. Few deaths occurred within 90 days of a documented episode of severe hypoglycemia.
While the Jörgen Nielsen study certainly supported the effectiveness of low carb in control of blood sugar and weight control, as Hana notes it was a small study and you could not draw any conclusions about safety. Article is here http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/14. By the way, I paid to join and support the nutrition and metabolism society. It is one of the few forums that is willing to publish low carb work.
Kristin,
I am in England and under the National Health Service. My blood sample is always dealt with by my local district Hospital, The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust. I assume their results are consistent. They deal with results for about 14.000 diabetics in the area. However the diabetes care isn’t all that wonderful. At least half those people don’t hit 7.5%.( I got their figures) I argue with the health authority constantly, because they refuse to fund my test strips. I have to buy my own.
Congrats Hana…I’m with you…low carb works for me too on several levels…
Hana,
Sorry, I didn’t mean that the lab that you go to is unreliable, but rather than comparing across labs is not always reliable and that ANY lab has a margin of error. I think that we put so much weight into the A1c that a drop or increase of 0.2 seems like a lot, when in fact it can occur even with the same blood sugar levels. So I try to interpret my A1c as an approximate.
Here in Hungary there are similar problems with many, many diabetics having low A1c’s. When I hit 7.9 last year, my doctor told me that it is “not bad”. I got it down to 7 by the end of last year and if my meter averages are right, then next one should be under 6.5. I wish that the diabetes care and education was better here as well!
I also just got the results on my latest routine mammogram. I wasn’t expecting trouble, but was still delighted to be told "All Clear"
I think my diet helps in cancer prevention too.
Hana
Also Kristin
All I meant was that my blood tests are done by the same laboratory every time. I am aiming for the 4s next.The highest I have been in 6 years is 6.1%
The trouble with care here is the belief by the most senior doctors that a high carb diet with large doses of medication( preferablyinsulin) is the way to go.