My sugar isn't so sweet :(

[kataybug41]

I'm a type 2 diabetic, but am not, and never have been, overweight. It runs in my family, on both sides. My last A1C was 11. I take Invokana and Januvia. Since last month, I've changed my diet the best way I know how. I only have 1 starch a day, and that's a whole wheat starch, 1 serving of fruit, and the rest is veggies, nuts, and seeds. BUT, my readings are still high at times. What else can I do? I go back in another week for another A1C and I really want it to be better.

[diabetes86]

An A1c is a measure of your blood over 3 months so changing  something only one month ago (Diet) wont make much change in the A1c.

(with an A1c of 11.1 you ARE diabetic)

Januvia works by forcing the pancreas to make more insulin, however if the pancreas cant make any more your BG is going to remain high.

A1c that high is going to lead to comlications for your eyes and feet  and kidneys and hart and...

It might be time to think about insulin.  

[diabetes86]

Sorry I miss read your post I thought you were claiming to NOT be diabetic.  What you did claim was your not fat.

Sorry.  

Fat is NOT a requirement for diabetes even though the TV says it is.

[MHEditor]

We have a lot of information on diabetes and diabetes management here at MedHelp.org. Take a look! http://www.medhelp.org/diabetes?section=articles
And please come back and ask more questions and let us know how you're doing!

[MHEditor]

Oh, and though it may be hard because you're in a rural area, see if you can find an endocrinologist http://www.medhelp.org/diabetes/articles/Whats-an-Endocrinologist/1729
or a diabetes care team to help you with your management http://www.medhelp.org/diabetes/articles/Why-Do-I-Need-a-Care-Team/2022
Also, we have an app called Sugar Sense that allows you to track your blood sugar and see how you're doing, if you have a smartphone you can download it in either the App Store or Google Play Store.

[olbucky]

Those drugs are simply treating your blood sugar and not your insulin resistance. There are no drugs that treat that. You can reverse the diabetes and get off meds with a low carb high fat diet and intermittent fasting. Again read my post and get the obesity code by Jason Fung. High blood sugars will come down. Incidentally not being overweight and having diabetes carries more risk ironically than an overweight person that develops diabetes.

[kataybug41]

I am currently on Invokana and Januvia. I've never been overweight. I have a meter and check my sugar 3 times a day. The highest it's been in the last month is 246. I live in a VERY rural area of Georgia and we don't have many health options at all. I'm lucky to be doing as well as I am.

[olbucky]

Get the book the obesity code by dr Jason Fung. A year ago my blood sugar was 450 when I was first diagnosed. Last night before bed my sugar was 86 and my fasting sugar this morning was 104 and I haven't been on any medications for 4 months. I've listened to hundreds of podcasts concerning low carb high fat ketogenic diets and completely changed my life and diet accordingly. I've essentially gone to med school and now know more about diabetes than the doctor that diagnosed me. You don't need 30-60 minutes a day of exercise but rather intense exercise of muscles to failure such as push-ups or one leg squats. Interval training is good. It increases sensitivity of muscles to insulin. Search the internet fir dr Ted Naiman in Seattle. Your goal should be to be off your meds and reverse your diabetes like most in the low carb high fat community have done. Intermittent fasting is key as well. It will take education far beyond what your doctor is telling you but YOU have to take control of your health. Otherwise the outcome of insulin resistance is always bad. What you hear about staying healthy simply by managing blood sugar is not true. Unfortunately living with diabetes has a horrible outcome which is why I was determined not to. Incidentally when I went to my doctor and was first diagnosed I was told I was most certainly going to have to go on insulin. These drugs only make your insulin resistance worse. Diet is key.

[Super_sally888]

Hi, if your doctor is not providing you with proper information on how to manage diabetes then you really need a new doctor.   Diabetes needs to be managed aggressively using all of the tools available (medication and lifestyle) to avoid complications.  It is a long term condition, so you have to take responsibility, become an expert, and advocate for what you need for your health.

You can learn a lot about management diabetes online.  Here are some starting points:-

1. Get a Blood sugar meter.  Without a meter you are driving blind!  The blood sugar meter will be used to test your fasting blood sugar and your post eating blood sugar (about 2 hours after eating).  Using the information  you get from this meter you can work out what foods do and don't raise your blood sugar.

2. Diabetes is a problem with carbohydrate metabolism.  ie. your body can't handle sugar normally any more.  The best and most logical approach therefore is to limit your carbs.  Fats tend to have no impact on blood sugar, and protein must less than carbs.  Your carbs will mostly come from non-starchy vegetables.  Grains and starchy vegetables will tend to raise your sugars very quickly. Same goes for sweet fruits.

3. If your Dr is not helping you and your medications are not working, then you need a second option.  First line medication for type 2 is Metformin / Glucophage.  I hope you are on this already.  Next best choice is probably insulin.  Insulin always works.

4. Have you had proper testing for type of diabetes?  If your blood sugars are not controlled with metformin / diet then maybe need to test in case you have type 1.

5. Exercise daily.  At least 30 - 60 minutes a day.

6. Lose weight if you are overweight.  It may be hard, but worth it to help management.

Hope this helps.

[kataybug41]

Thank you all so much. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. When I was first diagnosed, I was in such bad shape, I was asleep at the doctors office and they woke me up told me I was diabetic and should check my sugar and that was it! My current doctor has me on medication and checks me every three months, but no one has ever told me what to do, eat, or anything, so I'm winging this the best I know how

[brice1967]

I agree with a previous poster.  Your A1c is a reading of your blood glucose levels for the past 3 months or so.  Trying to change something now in hopes of changing your A1c won't do much.

As for your diet, I think you need to watch your carb intake a little better.  If you're going to eat fruit, eat it with protein so it doesn't spike your blood glucose levels.  

My A1c is best when I eat as few carbs as possible and exercise often.  I drink more water than anything else and snack on things that are high in fiber.

Maybe those things will help out.  Hope so.  Good luck.

[Super_sally888]

Hi,
a1c of 11 is really high, and gives you an average blood sugar of over 300.  This is dangerously high.  Consider that normal is typically < 5.0, and even with diabetes people are recommended to be < 7.0.

You may need to talk to your doctor about changing medications or even taking insulin.

Reducing carbs is great and should help a lot, however, given how high your sugar levels are you probably would need insulin.  Do you have a home meter?  Are you able to check your blood sugar levels at home regularly?  Do you check after eating and see how your sugar levels respond to your reduced carb meals.

Actually, I would recommend you ask your Dr to check if you could possibly be type 1 diabetes. This can happen even in adults.

Bottom line though, you need to get aggressive treatment (this is both low carb diet and appropriate meds) to get your sugars to a level closer to normal.