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Is It Possible To Avoid Diabetes Medicines For High HB1Ac And Sugar Levels By Maintaining A Strict Diet?
Question: In May 2016 I had A1C of 7.4. my next visit in Sept 2017 showed A1C at 8.8. Dr has not put me on any meds yet but told me to go home and do the sugar test 4x daily and send back to him each week. I did this the first week and my numbers were anywhere from 95-130 with one time at 167 the first week. I then had to start traveling and did not do the test. I started back this wee and my numbers have been 208-300 fasting. Have I done much damage the past 4 months if my readings have been that high since Sept and can I somehow reverse this with strict diet exercise and avoid diabetic meds ?
Brief Answer:
About Diabetes treatment;
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!
I have gone through your concerns carefully.
First I would suggest checking HbA1c again. If it is over 9% and you have symptoms of high blood sugar (feeling thirsty, frequent urination, weakness, weight loss) we recommend insulin treatment for some weeks than the treatment for the future is discussed.
If it is under 9% or you do not the above symptoms, we recommend lifestyle modification ( diet and physical activity) and oral antidiabetics.
The values you reported are high but HbA1c gives more information regarding the treatment strategy. However, they can hardly get back to normal only with diet.
Regarding the actual damage, 4 months is considered a short period for the Diabetes to cause chronic complications, usually, a period of 5 years is needed.
Hope the information will help. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta
About Diabetes treatment;
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for asking!
I have gone through your concerns carefully.
First I would suggest checking HbA1c again. If it is over 9% and you have symptoms of high blood sugar (feeling thirsty, frequent urination, weakness, weight loss) we recommend insulin treatment for some weeks than the treatment for the future is discussed.
If it is under 9% or you do not the above symptoms, we recommend lifestyle modification ( diet and physical activity) and oral antidiabetics.
The values you reported are high but HbA1c gives more information regarding the treatment strategy. However, they can hardly get back to normal only with diet.
Regarding the actual damage, 4 months is considered a short period for the Diabetes to cause chronic complications, usually, a period of 5 years is needed.
Hope the information will help. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta
Note: For further follow-up, discuss your blood glucose reports with our diabetologist. Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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