Hi, last week I went to the vampires [ as they are known locally here] for my 3 monthly HBA1C test which incidently was my first week too on the BSD , this am I rang up to see if the results were back ….yes they were …I have gone up to 9.6 , the last results were 9.1 said the nurse , well not surprized have been suffering [ and I know that’s the wrong word really] from Diabetes burnout , I couldn’t have given a stuff but now I’m back into it I lost 2 kg last week and 4 cm off my waist , am building up my water intake started doing some exercise too, so was wondering what differences have people seen in their HBA1C tests after being on this diet ? I haven’t yet also noted any drop in my blood sugar when have people found that kicks in ? Oh just had phone call from med centre now have apt with the Doc on Friday to discuss this… Half of me wants to tell him about the diet , the other half doesn’t I want to walk in , in 3 months time & go ‘TRA-LA!!!’………………….Thank you…. : )

Hi Llandudno, I’m also really interested in peoples HBA1C. This is why I have started on the BSD mine had gone up to over 9 and Doctor wanted to review my medication, I decided to do this instead and asked for 3 months grace, I know I had got way too relaxed eating pretty much what I felt like. Started diet Friday 21st October, am 1.5kg down already want to drop another 6-8 if possible in total.
I told the diabetic nurse I wasnt starting the new meds and explained why, so I would say tell your doctor and show him your determination, you will need him on side if your sugars do drop and you may need to manage any medication differently etc.
Good luck!

Hi Llandudno, when I started on BSD my HBA1c was 8.2, needed retested 6 weeks into the diet and was 6.7. I will be going for another test in 4 weeks and hoping it has gone down further as my morning tests are showing between 4.2 and 5.7.

As for the discussion with the doctor, as Cleverblonde says, tell him you are going to be cutting out a lot of rubbish and mention the Mediterranean way of eating, lots of fresh veg and good fats. Unless you can trust your doctor not to fall from his chair or give you a lecture, there is no need to mention the 800 calorie aspect, just tell him it is a diet for 8 weeks specifically to lower your blood sugars. If you have the book, show him it. Ask for a reprieve if he wants to increase or change meds and convince him that you can do this for yourself. Most of all don’t be bullied into more meds. Ask him to give you a chance.

Good luck, and I hope you have a nice chat with a nice doctor.

Hi

I’m away from home do not hot the exact figures with me. But my HbA1c on starting the BSD on 19th December was 9.6. A sneaky, unexpected one in January was already between 8 and 9.

Then in April 5.5, July approx 5.2.

Hope this helps.

My Hb A1c was 49 when I started on 3rd October. Checked last week, and had reduced to 44, so really pleased after 3 weeks. Have also halfed my medication for hypertension ( after discusdion with GP) Hope to reduce statins shortly, so this diet really is doing what it says.
Had a glass of wine at the theatre tonight as a reward.

Mine was recently 5.9 (41) after 8 months. Down from 7. something and “come in to talk about taking drugs” a year ago. The spur to try a different diet to the NHS “Healthy Eating” . A success I think, and personally very pleased.
I tried to tell the nurse about it. Thought it might help others, save a few feet, eyes, NHS drugs bill.
No sign of interested in an unofficial diet and gave me a strong telling off for testing my own blood.
So I’ve learnt – do my own thing – keep it to myself – turn up and shut up. Sad, really.

Thank you everyone will let you know how I go on tomorrow …..

Hi Steve and Ei,

Your post rang a bell with me. Before I start, I would like to make it very clear that I am a great believer in and defender of the NHS, but have to say I have been very disappointed with the attitude of a number of individuals, most notably GP’s, whom I have encountered over the last few months following my diabetes diagnosis in July.

They seem to be driven by a desire to follow blind protocol and push the usual drugs. When I said I was aiming to control my diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol with lifestyle changes I was TOLD by the GP that I would be having statins. When I said I wouldn’t, he tried to get a bit shirty and finally backed down but insisted on putting in my notes that I had “declined treatment”. He was also the guy who wanted to “increase my Metformin” – I don’t take Metformin.

My diabetic nurse on the other hand is absolutely brilliant. She is totally focussed on outcomes and willing to listen to what I plan to do and has put in place a series of goals and blood tests to measure progress.

So, in summary, I now go to the NHS saying what I am going to do and expect a degree of challenge from their professional experience, but ultimately these have to be my decisions.

[/Rant over/]

Hi , sorry for the delay, been to the Drs …. Had to see another Dr from the one I was booked into , he’s a new one at the practice and wow….very happy to know I’m doing this diet , told him I m back into testing though I haven’t seen much change in them , you will he said top and bottom of it is I go back in 2 weeks to see him , with my testing diary in tow so he can look at the figures. He rejiggled my insulin and gave me strict instructions if am having problems to ring up and come in straight away etc , so I came out feeling totally enthusiastic about the diet, where am going with it , & the best thing was I hadn’t had to defend myself as to why my HBA1C had gone to up 9.7 , so quite a positive visit ……

Llandudno, that’s a great result. Some GPs and nurses evidently get it.

Looking forward to hearing how it goes in two weeks’ time.

Hi Llandudno. Great result with your doctor – really good when you feel you can work with your medical professionals. I’ve been with my endocrinologist for over 10 years now, she’s a lovely woman but very strong on the medication front. To be fair I haven’t taken very good care of myself either. My HBA1C at beg of Oct was 8.4 (start of my BSD adventure) – a jump from the low 7s where I languished a long time. I told her I’d started the BSD and she was very supportive…and then asked me if I wanted to try another new drug that was getting positive results! OMG. I politely declined, asked if I could get another blood test in mid Dec and silently vowed to show her I could do this. Well, I’m now at the end of week 3 and the most amazing thing from this way of eating is that I’ve reduced my daily insulin requirement by over 80% – and it started happening almost straight away! My morning tests are in the mid 5s and I’m not getting the extreme spikes during the day, so fingers crossed next HBA1C will be a vast improvement! The key for me has been aiming to keep the carb count well below 50g.

Pre BSD, back in January, my HbA1c was 112 – and the real wake up call was being told it was too high to join a medical trial for diabetes.
I did a sugar free diet for a few weeks, abandoned it, then started taking metformin
I started BSD mid May, I had another HbA1c test in June, after 3 weeks of BSD – down to 62
I stopped taking Metformin, convinced by the logic of BSD
Further HbA1c test in August – 8 weeks after stopping metformin and 13 weeks of BSD – 38, well within the normal range pf 20-42, DIABETES REVERSED!!!!

All of the other tests – liver and kidney etc, are all perfectly normal now.
I did get a bit worried about the results on protein in my urine, as I couldn’t calculate the ratio from the data given – when I asked the Nurse, the response was that the result was zero, so the ratio couldn’t be calculated (her actual words were “it’s too normal to give a result”)

That aside, I would recommend to everyone here that is based in the UK – request online access to your patient record.
The right to this was introduced earlier this year. It’s brilliant, and completely free.
You get access to your results before you discuss them with your nurse or GP, so you can see them, make a note of anything that you are concerned about and ask at the consultation. This is a million times better than being quoted a meaningless stream of numbers over the phone or in a 1 to 1 meeting – and of course you can look back and see the history at your leisure.
I got access to mine at some point in the summer, and have a history of results going back 5 years or so.

Hi all, Lara I am in a similar position to you. As soon as I started the diet I started to see vast improvement and have reduced my insulin by around 50% and dropped one Glycazide. However, my worry now is that my last HBA1c was 6.7, will my next one still be around that number because I am not on as much medication. I want it to be down to 5.5 (I originally set a goal of 6.0 so I am really pushing it) so the more I reduce meds surely it will remain higher than on the meds and give a sort of false reading. For that reason I am not going to reduce insulin any lower. Bit of a balancing act. Anyway, that is my plan for the next 4 weeks. We all get nervous when we go for the test, never quite believing it won’t have gone terribly wrong but it will be okay, we are all doing so well.

There must be doctors and nurses all over the country asking themselves what on earth is happening to diabetics.

That reminds me. If you read http://www.mendosa.com, David Mendosa gives a list of false words used for diabetics. Diabetics being the first one. Why are we called diabetics. If you have cancer you are not a cancer, if you have heart disease you are not a cardiac, we are people with diabetes, not diabetics. Do not let the illness become how you are defined. Read his blog, that are other things that give food for thought, oh, forgot, we can’t have the food. Joke…….