Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just to the bold part. After having a Libre 3 for 17 months I highly disagree. If you only do it once in the 3 months before your blood test then yes I agree. From personal experience just one bad meal or a 2 donut breakfast once a week will make a difference. Now if you still only have 2 or 3 bad meals/treats per week it will significantly raise you A1c level in my personal experience.
As a real example my A1c was 6.4 two tests ago. Last test was up to 6.9 from just 1 or 2 bad meals per week. It takes days of being slightly below normal to make up for a huge few hour spike from a bad meal, silly snack, or even a single soda.
If you are on meds it could be different for you. I have to be crazy strict to get a A1c of 6.4 since I am not on any meds.
I agree with you. I am a Type 2 and I am on insulin. I must be very strict with my diet or my numbers go way up. By now I have learned what foods do me the most harm and I restrict those; even small amounts of sweets cause my blood sugar to skyrocket.
All of these posts are helpful to me also, thank you.
I have never been overweight, don't drink alcohol, and am lifelong ovo-lacto vegetarian. With plenty of moderate exercise ( walking several miles a day ).
About six years ago I was informed I was pre-diabetic and made some modest changes to my diet. I say modest because I had already given up cake, cookies, candy, chocolate, donuts, etc., and there wasn't much else to do except reduce my soda intake.
That proved very hard to do, as I don't drink water, never have, as it makes me nauseous. But I need to stay hydrated. I tried many alternatives to soda and couldn't stand drinking any of them. My solution was to add a little water to the soda. Then after a while, increase the percentage of water and reduce the total amount of soda. Getting to a 50% mix was very hard, but after that it became easier. Now my mix is around 30% soda 70% water. Now down to 19.5 ounces of soda a day, with 41 ounces of added water, when previously was much much more soda and no water. Next week I will try 15 ounces of soda and increase the amount of water to 46.5 ounces.
The result of all this is that my A1C had dropped slowly but steadily. Started out at 7.2 five years ago, was down to 6.2 a year ago, and I expect my next test will be even lower, as most of my soda reduction has been in the last 8 months or so. My goal is to remain diet-controlled with no recourse to drugs.
I am otherwise quite healthy and fit. Not too bad for 76 years old.
Actually, I just told my wife about it. The Dr. recommends Crestor 10mg, which is for cholesterol not A1C!
So that's my misunderstanding.
That being said, my cholesterol is 205 (down from 213 in November 2021) which I think is close enough to give it a shot on my own!
Thanks for the replies.
I don't tolerate cholesterol drugs at all. As long as I am 220 or less, I just don't worry about it. My A1c runs about 5.9, and my doctor is not worried about that.
Best way to reduce cholesterol that I've found is to not eat processed carbs. No soft drinks, not cakes, cookies, etc. I don't drink alcohol, so have no idea if stopping that would reduce cholesterol. Plus, doing all of that will help with your A1c.
Just to the bold part. After having a Libre 3 for 17 months I highly disagree. If you only do it once in the 3 months before your blood test then yes I agree. From personal experience just one bad meal or a 2 donut breakfast once a week will make a difference. Now if you still only have 2 or 3 bad meals/treats per week it will significantly raise you A1c level in my personal experience.
As a real example my A1c was 6.4 two tests ago. Last test was up to 6.9 from just 1 or 2 bad meals per week. It takes days of being slightly below normal to make up for a huge few hour spike from a bad meal, silly snack, or even a single soda.
If you are on meds it could be different for you. I have to be crazy strict to get a A1c of 6.4 since I am not on any meds.
If you're doing an HbA1c test more than once in three months (as I said, illogical) then maybe it will go up after one lousy dietary indiscretion....but think is of it this way-- the test measures glucose exposure to Hb over 24 x 90 = 2160hrs. After one box of candy, your BS will be up for no more than 6 hrs, or 0.28% of the 90 days. It contributes almost nothing to the average.
If yours is noticeably higher then you're cheating regularly, not just once.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7753859/ You also have to take into account the level of precision of the testing method-- it can be as high as 10% depending on the product used-- that means your reading should really be stated as 6.4 +/- 0.64....not all that accurate. ...Most units are better than that, but the point about accuracy remains. Don't get carried away one way or the other about changes of only a tenth of a point or two in your readings. Statistically, they're identical.
If you're doing an HbA1c test more than once in three months (as I said, illogical) then maybe it will go up after one lousy dietary indiscretion....but think is of it this way-- the test measures glucose exposure to Hb over 24 x 90 = 2160hrs. After one box of candy, your BS will be up for no more than 6 hrs, or 0.28% of the 90 days. It contributes almost nothing to the average.
If yours is noticeably higher then you're cheating regularly, not just once.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7753859/ You also have to take into account the level of precision of the testing method-- it can be as high as 10% depending on the product used-- that means your reading should really be stated as 6.4 +/- 0.64....not all that accurate. ...Most units are better than that, but the point about accuracy remains. Don't get carried away one way or the other about changes of only a tenth of a point or two in your readings. Statistically, they're identical.
I clearly stated once or twice a week not just once in 90 days.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
