Every Type 2 Diabetic should know that the A1c test should be performed at 90-120 day intervals. The A1c is a measurement of damage (by blood glucose) called glycation to the red blood cells. Red blood cells completely regenerate every 90-120 days.
The highest “Normal” number is currently designated as 5.6%.
5.7% to 6.4% is considered “prediabetic”. 6.5% and up is diabetic.
I was a “wildly out of control” undiagnosed diabetic for about 2 years. I had symptoms and complications developing and when severe enough, I went to a doctor. She was incompetent. I fired her after the first 30 days of MY self management of MY disease.
She told me there was no way that I could figure out what my A1c was going to be after only 30 days. I told her that I would be under 7%, likely at 6.5%, and was NOT taking the drug she prescribed.
After I proved it to her, I fought with her to get referrals to nutritionists and board certified endocrinologists, she told me she could “handle” my Diabetes. For many reasons, I knew she could not help me stop or beat my Type 2, and I fired her on the spot- and forced her to give me the referrals to doctors and RDN’s she did not know and would never meet.
My A1c was- as predicted- under 7% and precisely 6.5%. A remarkable feat, considering I knew nearly nothing about Diabetes when I was diagnosed. What did I know about it?
Type 2 Diabetes is a DEATH SENTENCE
No bullshit- my grandfather lived with it for about 10 years. After they chopped off toes, half the foot, then the leg up to the knee. And if they didn’t eventually install a pacemaker- he would have died long before that. 10 years is not bad. But a decade of having extremities hacked off at several intervals, and having a machine installed to keep your heart going doesn’t sound like “living”- especially with having to put on and take off a prosthetic leg every day.
His son, my Uncle, was a very wealthy individual with excellent medical coverage and many excellent doctors as his personal friends and clients. He has the best of care, yet he mostly ignored it, sneaked all kinds of treats, kept smoking, drinking and enjoying life. He went blind, nearly insane, lost a fortune because he couldn’t see his computer screens while attempting to trade stocks, and died a few short years later of a massive heart attack.
These were the ghosts of my Diabetic Future.
I decided that I was in a much better position than my Grandfather and my Uncle. I have the internet and access to every written word about the subject of Diabetes. And I have a keen analytical mind. I also had the benefit of watching them both suffer and die- which was not much of a benefit to me when I was a kid- but watching my Uncle remain a closet sugar addict- hiding sweets, smokes, alcohol and fast food from his family- was pitiful to watch, and I had forgotten about it until Type 2 knocked on my door.
I gave myself a year to crack the sugar addiction.
My goal was to beat the disease so I could “go back to normal”. There is no going back, without a heavy toll on quality or quantity of life. Lowering my A1c to 5.6% in less than a year was easier than I anticipated, but required a lot of learning. I cracked sugar easily. Cracking processed carbs was not so easy.
Preventing & Beating Type 2 Diabetes 