My first A1C

Type 1 and LADA
1

Here on Day 115 (I’m just shy of four months old), I got my very first A1C result: 7.2!

My initial reaction was disappointment. I was brash enough to think I’d start out with 6.5. Things had been going so well – had pretty much convinced myself I was in the 6’s for sure. So when my endo showed me the 7.2, I let out a disappointed sigh.

She almost started laughing when she said, “Hey, girl, that’s great! What were you expecting?? Geez, don’t be so hard on yourself.”

(I nodded okay, but was still secretly let down that I wasn’t closer to 6.5.)

So do you all remember your first A1C? What was it?

I’d love to hear your stories. :slight_smile:

Thanks!
Jan

2

Jan, my first A1c was 5.5, but I figured out that I was diabetic many months before my dx because I had some good friends on lists that told me to get a meter and test my blood. Still, after dx with the GAD antibodies, my Endo didn’t run an A1C on me for several more months. I went low carb after the first time I saw 186 the meter, but after dx, I went <30 g of carb a day. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to my other support groups. I would not beat yourself up. It takes awhile for things to straighten out. At the beginning, my bg used to spike with exercise. Now, my body craves exercise. You will do fine. Believe me, I could not believe how few carbs I could eat to maintain my bg. I look at bread like poison, now. I am on the Dr. Bernstein group in this Forum, and his protocol works for me - He’s a type 1 for many years. “Diabetes Solutions” by Richard Bernstein, M.D. I want to add that my physical activity and exercise is pretty good and is not optional for me, anymore. It’s a good thing that I like to exercise.

3

Hi, Sheila, thanks for the msg. It’s good to hear your perspective.



Both my endo and DE want me to have at least 130g of carbs per day, and say that about that, there’s no limit. (I was having trouble earlier of not including enough carbs in my daily diet.) I’ve heard that there are low-carb plans out there, but I really don’t know much about them.



Can you describe Dr. Bernstein’s diet in a nutshell? I was just now perusing his site, but it’s so filled to the brim with information, I couldn’t find a simple description.



Regarding exercise, I had never before been consistent about it. I went through periods of my life where I was active, and times when I was ultra-sedentary. But I realize now that it’s not optional, and I’m trying to do more.



(And it appears that I’m quite sensitive to it! My BGs do nose-dives after even a leisurely walk.)



Thanks for the post!

Jan :slight_smile:

4

You really have to read the book in order to understand why the ADA and Endos chose certain positions, and in any case, you should not go low carb suddenly if you are on medication or insulin. I’m not on insulin or medication, so I could go as low carb as I wanted right away. You should join the Bernstein group if you are interested because there are already people who have given advice on adjusting insulin, etc. I’ve read that you can read his book online, but don’t have a link to offer you. His book is usually on the shelf.

In a nut shell, I eat <30g of carb a day, ho fruit (take vitamins), and limit my vegetables to only low carb ones. For dinner, tonight, I had a turkey wing, a flaxmeal muffin, and a few nuts. I haven’t eaten a slice of bread, a potato, pizza, pasta or even ketchup in over two years, and it works. I do use dairy, but only heavy cream and full fat yogurt. I try to eat only protein for breakfast, exercise at night, and snack on sunflower seeds. However, those on insulin have to gradually decrease their insulin, I think.

I strongly suggest that you at least, read Berstein’s book, because it is so full of information that I keep it as a reference book. I’ve kept this up for over two years because I had some savvy people suggest that this was the way to go. After awhile, you lose your cravings for carbs. I cook full meals for a family of four, and don’t eat the parts that are bad for me. Anyway, he goes into great detail about things like don’t exercise within four hours of awakening, which makes perfect sense to me because that is when your cortisol is the highest. It just works for me.

I told my Endo what path I wanted to take, and he is ok with it as long as my numbers remain ok. My last fasting glucose was 87.

I have been so busy the past two years, that I haven’t explored all of the low carb cooking information that is out there and to date, have kind of been winging it by employing things that are discussed on the group forum like using leeks or chives to substitute for onions, red peppers to substitute for tomato, etc. I have quart sized mason jars full of nuts and seeds.

I have a dear friend who has been diabetic for 20 years and was not following a low carb plan. The damage of diabetes is showing up, and he has become interested in what I’m saying. In fact, his new doc is telling him the same things that I am. I just survived a serious illness, Cushing’s, and I’m intent on staying well. This is a really hard path to follow for some, especially, since there is no end in sight, but I only care that it works. That’s where I’m coming from. There was nothing I could do to make my Cushing’s better other than surgery.

Oh, and I didn’t scrimp on myself. I joined a full service health club down the street because the monthy dues are cheaper than a perscription. I’m 57yo and do Zumba, and Hip Hop (in the front row) at the health club and take a ballet class at a studio. I’ve dropped 20 pounds and all my labs like cholesterol, etc, are excellent. I need to go back to lifting weights, but I have a lot on my plate at home, now. I am recovering from myopathy and have arthritis that is pretty painful, but whatagointodo? The exercise is the only thing that will keep me ok.

I don’t think that you have to join the group in order to read the Bernstein posts.

Sheila

5

Jan:

My first A1C when DX’d as Type 2 was in the 9’s. 3 months after that, I was in the low 5’s, and remained there for years. Then the LADA hit and I was back in the 8’s. Now I’m on insulin, and I’m expecting to get low 8’s - mid 7’s my first A1C after being on insulin.

My point, don’t sweat the A1C…take it day by day, test your sugars, take your meds, listen to your doctor, do your research and most importantly, live your life.

Don’t let diabetes define you as a person.

6

Thank you, snickers, that’s great advice. :slight_smile:

7

Hey Jan,

I’ve had two A1C’s so far. I remember it came out as 6.8 and my nurse told me to get it up a bit. The next, this time with another nurse it was 5.9 (I had suspected far higher) and she was happy as she could be (and boy was I too).

Thanks for sharing your story :slight_smile:

8

I have no idea what my first a1c was decades ago. Had two brushes with the needle at ages 14 and 22. After a sore throat in my early 30s I ended up hospitalized due to my diabetes. After a 1/4 century, frustrated with my VA doctors I simply continued my insulin routine for a few years on my own. My MS got worse and fell, tearing up a rotor cuff and was FORCED to return to regular doctoring. ( I had continued with my worthless eye doc). My a1c (on NPH+R mix 2x/day) my a1c was 8.6. My new doc worked close with me to get my messed up BGs better. Had to go to 3 shots a day to get down to 7.5.

Next I was moved from my decades old routine of NPH + R insulins to MDI with Lantus and Humalog and my a1c's ever since run from mid 5s to mid 6s.

Gomer

9

Hello, I'm still figuring out if I'm LADA or good old fashioned type one. Nobody seems to be able to tell at this point. I've got you all beat though, hands down. My A1C was 11.1 at my time of initial diagnosis, which was only three weeks ago. I had complained to my mother, who is a doctor, of excessive thirst. She told me I needed to have my blood glucose checked just to rule out diabetes. I thought I'd humor her, so I asked the medical person on board the ship I was working on to check me first thing in the morning, to get an accurate fasting level. I was blown away to see the result: 387. That was April 2. Largely under control now, with MDI. Never saw this coming, that's for sure.

10

You know, my brother was dxed as a diabetic about five years before I was, only he a Type 2, and I know I am LADA. I had a normal fasting blood glucose at dx and still do, but I am early LADA and have been ultra low carb for over three years. My first sign that made me suspicious was the incredible thirst that could not be sated. It happened every time I ate. In fact, to this day, I know if I am eating something, even vegetables, that are too sweet for me because I get thirsty immediately. Now, my brother never mentioned this thirst. He thought I was being crazy thinking I was a diabetic, but the Endo tested my GAD65 antibodies, and I was way positive as well as having a Celiac gene, but no Celiac disease. I'm still not on insulin, but keeping ultra low carb has allowed me to keep some residual pancreatic function. Believe me, I exercise hard to keep my numbers good, and I recognized the thirst as bad early. How old are you? The way I understand it is that LADA is not as aggressive as Type 1 developed in childhood, but I don't know what age is designated as the cut off.

11

LADA diagnosis isn't based solely on age,and there is no cutoff, though people do get it later in life. It's distinguishing characteristic is rapidity of onset. Like you, Sheila going without insulin for three years, or me, mistakenly put on type 2 meds (at age 58) which worked for 15 months then stoped.

12

My first A1C was 10.7, original dx, my second was 8.5, then 6.0, this is the one that dissapointed me as I was "expecting" a sub 6.0. I did however soon have a 5.2 and have leveled off, for now, around 5.7-5.9. My honeymoon is begining to end and my fasting and post meals are less happy ones:(

Michael

13

First a1c, without treatment, while incorrectly dx'ed as T2 and not taking my oral meds was 12 then went down to 10 when I was on Lantus then 6.9 and 7.2 on the pump and now since starting on CGM and probably getting better with the pump, 6.7.

14

I am also just 4 months from dx, and was in DKA with an A1c of 13.9 yikes! Shunning all ADA eating recommendations I foraged out on my own, and was determined to gain control, and although we weren't really eating flour in my house anyway, I shunned all grains, and limited fruit. In June my A1c was 6.0, but remember it can be squewed by lows as well. I find that we have to gather information ourselves and cull away what we find value in and what works for our lives. I'm grateful that I have a life to be grateful for, and wish to work to extend it without complications for as long as I can! In concert with Sheila, I'm a recent adopter of Dr. Bernstein's philosophy, and hope to find a practitioner near me that can help me figure out an insulin matrix as well, my health plan follows the ADA party line.

Sabina