John Burns - 3/13/2025 06:49

You did fantastic. You are doing fantastic. Going from over 9 A1c to 5 is a wonderful accomplishment. You are an N=1 experiment success.

Just some notes about how our paths differed.

In my case my A1c almost never got above 7.0. But it was because of diabetic medication and insulin shots. My doctor told me way back when to keep the A1c under 7 to prevent diabetic damage and that insulin therapy had shown the best long term blood control results so that is what I did. In many ways I was a poster child for diabetic blood sugar control. But the 7.0 was a lie. Even though I did the control supposedly was good for a diabetic I still was developing diabetic neuropathy in my feet and lower legs. And I gained 100 pounds of fat over the years. Excessive insulin, be it from the pancreas or from shots from a needle, will do that.

But I have never been able to get down to 5.0 which I would like to. I have never been able to get down to a fasting blood sugar level of 100 except maybe a couple of times. It always lingers 120-130. My last A1c was 5.8 which is just in the pre-diabetic range. But getting back to how A1c comes about, my 5.8 is not from high spikes like 300 or even 200. I usually stay under 150 and often under 135 after meals. So my pre-diabetic 5.8 is coming mostly from the high fasting readings. I have no high spikes. Just high blood sugars when they should be low. That is why the A1c is kind of a funny number. Averages can be made a number of different ways. Mine is from higher and longer lows, not from high spikes. What does this mean from a health standpoint??? I am not sure. I am sure it would be better if I was down at 5.0. But I am also pretty sure my 5.8 is a lot better than a 5.8 made with a bunch of 200 or 300 spikes. Some of the doctors I follow believe it is the high spikes that are the most detrimental to health rather than the absolute average blood sugar. But then I listen to a doctor like Bernstein (90 year old type I diabetic - to live that long as a type I he is doing something right) that says fasting glucose needs to be below 80, diabetic or non-diabetic.

Over the last 6 years I have learned a lot. But there is still a lot I do not know. Such as why can't I get my fasting glucose down to below 100 (I do eat a LOT of meat protein and my biggest meal is usually around 7-8pm). My last fasting insulin assay test was under 7 so I do not have excess insulin floating around in my blood. 4 or 5 would be better but the doctors I follow say that anything in single digits is good. I would bet a lot of people eating a standard diet are around 20-25 and those already in trouble but don't know it yet will be much higher than that. With glucose still controlled, the pancreas is just working turbo overtime to get the job done.

Anyway, an interesting conversation. Thanks for your input. I wish I could bring my fasting blood sugar and A1c down the way you can.

Edit: As to your comment about not being as strict as me. My comment to that is that most people don't need to be as strict as me. I would guess the majority of people would do great doing what you do. I think it is just the fact of me being diabetic for so many years I am perhaps no longer capable of getting to where you are so I probably have to stay pretty much permanently strict or suffer the consequences of diabetes complications. But it is also my opinion that a LOT of people eating a standard diet with a lot of sugar and high fructose corn syrup are heading for a train wreck of diabetes and all the complications that go along with it. Diabetes type II IS reversible. For some people easier than others. If a person calls that a cure, reversal, remission......... I am not sure of the proper terminology (and possibly it is different for different people and situations - you vs me for example???). But they can prevent further degradation of their health because of the disease. Which I think is way more important than what we term the results.

Thank you for taking the time to give your input to the conversation. I appreciate it.