Newly diagnosed from Scotland

[AM1874]

Hi @Ian-J .. what fantastic results .. you're an object lesson to me and (I guess) many others here ...
Well done

 

[Liam1955]

Well Done @Ian-J - so that result of HBA1C 46 puts you in the Prediabetic range = 42 to 47mmol .

 

[Ian-J]

My diabetes doc phoned me yesterday as a follow-up and asked me if I wanted to drop metaformin ahead of our meet in 4 weeks time.....as she knows it makes me ill, but I decline as I reminded her of my retinal issues recently picked up........so we've agreed to half the dose and run with that for the next 4 months until my next HbA1c test.

I asked her if it was the metaformin or the diet which has got my level down and she said undoubtably the diet will be the biggest factor by far........I was never sure!

I used to love chocolate/cake etc, I always have since I was a kid and the crave never went away........but have to say I don't really miss it!.......it's amazing how the mind changes, I "know" it's just a craving and it'll pass literally within minutes and if I am with other folks who are gorging (say at a party) then I just eat something else......but even then as long as I have a drink to hand then it's fine.

I don't really exersize to tell you the truth, and although I have a desk job I am always walking around, climbing stairs etc.

Lost a lot of weight too!

Ian.

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hi and welcome to the forum hoo are ye ?

 

[Ian-J]

Hi all,

At docs yesterday off the back of my recent HbA1c test and she was obviously happy at my figures.

She suggested I could come off Metaformin and try just the diet, but I said I was reluctant due to my existing retinal problems and also the haemorrages detected when I was first diagnosed........she agreed.
I then said I wanted a different drug because I get ill with the Metaformin, so I've been prescribed Metaformin "Modified Release"........and she said I shouldn't get anything like the same side-effects. I asked if the drug would have the same direct effect and she said yes.........I can only guess that Modified Release is a lot more expensive otherwise they'd be giving it everyone.
She also mentioned that Metaformin is the "best" drug.

Ian.

 

[Liam1955]

@Ian-J - Hi Ian and well done with your results. The Standard Metformin is not tolerated by a lot of people and can cause upset stomachs and in some people diarrhoea.
We usually suggest that people don't suffer these conditions and go back to see their GP and/or Diabetes Nurse and ask for the Slow Release Metformin which is better tolerated and costs just a little bit more.

 

[Ian-J]

Hi all,

6 monthly HbA1c result just in = 43

Very happy with that as it's down 3 from the last test......and given I am partial to a Belvita biscuit every day nowadays I am over the moon......I seriously thought I'd be up on my last result of 46.

I've also lost another 4kg.

Have a visit with the doc in a few days.......I'm sure I'll be asked to come off Metformin......we'll see.

Whoop whoop!

Ian.

 

[Liam1955]

@Ian-J - Well Done on your HBA1C and Weight loss.

 

[Ian-J]

Hi all, just an update (Mar. 2018):

Just had my latest 6 monthly HbA1c and it's crept up slightly to 46 (from 43, see sig below)....BUT.....this is without any medication these past 6 months so overall am happy. Got the diabetic clinic/doc next week to review my progress.
I could probably get it lower as I do have a breakfast biscuit every day and I haven't gotten into the low carb diet yet.....I've just cut back on the known sugar content foods n snacks as I've posted before.
The plan is when at the clinic is to ask where I need/want to be in terms of HbA1c.

So far so good!

Ian.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Congrats, you're doing great!

 

[Crocodile]

Hi all, just an update (Mar. 2018):

Just had my latest 6 monthly HbA1c and it's crept up slightly to 46 (from 43, see sig below)....BUT.....this is without any medication these past 6 months so overall am happy. Got the diabetic clinic/doc next week to review my progress.
I could probably get it lower as I do have a breakfast biscuit every day and I haven't gotten into the low carb diet yet.....I've just cut back on the known sugar content foods n snacks as I've posted before.
The plan is when at the clinic is to ask where I need/want to be in terms of HbA1c.

So far so good!

Ian.

How's the tingling feet and hands. Has this cleared up since.

Glenn

 

[Ian-J]

How's the tingling feet and hands. Has this cleared up since.

Glenn

My hands are a sticking point at the mo.....the tingling has more or less gone.....however, I have blood test tomorrow to rule out a possible athritic issue (my fingers/hands are sore'ish and right hand really, really stiff in the morning when I wake)......yeah, kinda gutted but I hope it's just a muscle issue...........

Ian.

 

[Ian-J]

Update:
Diabetic review yesterday with Doc, and they are very happy. 46 is a good enough number that if I stay there for the rest of my life then that's fine and there will be no ill-effect or consequences. No dietary changes required.
I can probably get it down a bit further though without much change, maybe back to 43.

Whoop whoop!

Ian.

 

[SueJB]

Hi all, just an update (Mar. 2018):

Just had my latest 6 monthly HbA1c and it's crept up slightly to 46 (from 43, see sig below)....BUT.....this is without any medication these past 6 months so overall am happy. Got the diabetic clinic/doc next week to review my progress.
I could probably get it lower as I do have a breakfast biscuit every day and I haven't gotten into the low carb diet yet.....I've just cut back on the known sugar content foods n snacks as I've posted before.
The plan is when at the clinic is to ask where I need/want to be in terms of HbA1c.

So far so good!

Ian.

Just read your thread from the start and you have done sooo well. Onwards and downwards

 

[Alexandra100]

46 is a good enough number that if I stay there for the rest of my life then that's fine and there will be no ill-effect or consequences. No dietary changes required.

I agree with everyone else that you have made great progress - well done! However I hope you will not be content to remain in the pre-diabetic category, as it is not as harmless as you think. Here is an extract from an article by the much respected author Jenny Ruhl:

"Prediabetes, even when it does not progress to full-fledged diabetes, is not a benign condition. It does damage the body, and though this damage is often subtle--it causes small changes in the growth of blood vessels in the retina and kidneys, for example--the real danger lurking for people with prediabetes is heart disease. The risk of heart attack is much higher in people with prediabetic blood sugars than in those with normal blood sugars.

So if you have been diagnosed with prediabetes you should do all you can to lower your blood sugars to normal, since it is the blood sugars, not the insulin resistance that damage your organs.

The research makes it clear that what correlates most strongly with the risk of heart attack is how high your blood sugar goes after meals, not the fasting blood sugars which are, all too often, the only sugars doctors tell you to measure.

People whose blood sugars are over 155 mg/dl (8.6 mmol/L) an hour after eating have a higher risk for heart disease. (Details HERE.)

The experience of the online diabetes community suggests that if you keep your blood sugars under this level--many of us shoot for under 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L) to be safe--you will do fine, no matter what your diagnosis, or even what the cause is of your diabetes. It appears to be the high concentrations of glucose in the blood that cause organ damage, not the underlying condition.

So use the simple strategy you'll find explained HERE to find out what foods you can eat safely without pushing your blood sugars into the danger zone.

The cheap, generic drug, Metformin is also highly recommended for people who are insulin resistant. It seems to block the process by which the liver deposits more liver fat, changes the way that muscles burn glucose to one that lowers insulin resistance, and lowers blood sugar.

Metformin's only significant side effects, observed after decades of use, appear to be that it decreases your chance of having a heart attack and also lowers your risk of developing various cancers. (Details HERE.) If only other drugs had those kinds of side effects!"

You will see that she advocates taking Metformin. You have not mentioned if the extended release form is suiting you better.

 

[Guzzler]

Very well done. You are an inspiration.

 

[New2ThisType2]

Wonderful story. Congrats to the Op for the changes made.

Has me wondering. Do many suffer from tingling feet and is it always assumed to be diabetes related?

 

[Ian-J]

I agree with everyone else that you have made great progress - well done! However I hope you will not be content to remain in the pre-diabetic category, as it is not as harmless as you think. Here is an extract from an article by the much respected author Jenny Ruhl:

"Prediabetes, even when it does not progress to full-fledged diabetes, is not a benign condition. It does damage the body, and though this damage is often subtle--it causes small changes in the growth of blood vessels in the retina and kidneys, for example--the real danger lurking for people with prediabetes is heart disease. The risk of heart attack is much higher in people with prediabetic blood sugars than in those with normal blood sugars.

So if you have been diagnosed with prediabetes you should do all you can to lower your blood sugars to normal, since it is the blood sugars, not the insulin resistance that damage your organs.

The research makes it clear that what correlates most strongly with the risk of heart attack is how high your blood sugar goes after meals, not the fasting blood sugars which are, all too often, the only sugars doctors tell you to measure.

People whose blood sugars are over 155 mg/dl (8.6 mmol/L) an hour after eating have a higher risk for heart disease. (Details HERE.)

The experience of the online diabetes community suggests that if you keep your blood sugars under this level--many of us shoot for under 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L) to be safe--you will do fine, no matter what your diagnosis, or even what the cause is of your diabetes. It appears to be the high concentrations of glucose in the blood that cause organ damage, not the underlying condition.

So use the simple strategy you'll find explained HERE to find out what foods you can eat safely without pushing your blood sugars into the danger zone.

The cheap, generic drug, Metformin is also highly recommended for people who are insulin resistant. It seems to block the process by which the liver deposits more liver fat, changes the way that muscles burn glucose to one that lowers insulin resistance, and lowers blood sugar.

Metformin's only significant side effects, observed after decades of use, appear to be that it decreases your chance of having a heart attack and also lowers your risk of developing various cancers. (Details HERE.) If only other drugs had those kinds of side effects!"

You will see that she advocates taking Metformin. You have not mentioned if the extended release form is suiting you better.

Great info.....and kinda set me back a bit given what they told me!!!!
The extended release Metformin I was fine with.
So, I think I will make an appointment with the diabetes specialist doctor at our clinic and see what she says given the above. They way it's been put to me is that the decisions are mine to make in regard to Metformin etc........hmmm!

Thanks,

Ian.

 

[Crocodile]

Wonderful story. Congrats to the Op for the changes made.

Has me wondering. Do many suffer from tingling feet and is it always assumed to be diabetes related?

I have numbness in my feet and hands. It isn't very bad but there anyhow. Occasionally I get a kind of burning sensation in the toes but so far I can deal with it. The assumption was that it is related to my type 2 diabetes. There were a few suspicions as to why it may not be and a few pointers to say that it was. Nothing conclusive though.
In the wasn't corner:
1. Only diagnosed less than 1 year before this was noticed.
2. HbA1c has been well controlled. Once diagnosed with a reading of 9.5 and a second at 6.5 successive ones have been around 6.0 or less.
3. no other signs of vascular damage such as eyes or kidneys

In the maybe corner:
1. May have been diabetic for a long time before it was detected.
2. although HbA1c is OK, perhaps I was getting large but short spikes which may not show up.

At this point I pretty well demanded that my GP sign the form so that I had access to the test strips once again as this ridiculous new regime of following the food chart and getting a 3 monthly blood test just isn't working. He agreed and I began self testing again making sure spikes were minimised and BGs were always acceptable.

On top of all this my vigilant GP packed me off to a neurologist just to make sure. He did some very comprehensive blood tests and they at first appeared OK so he pretty well put id down to the T2. Some more tests came back from the pathology lab and I was found to have tested positive for an antibody known as PR3-ANCA which is a marker for Vasculitis which does cause peripheral nerve damage. I was re-tested a month later with the same result.

The neuro then packed me off to see an immunologist to check out these antibodies and see if I was a candidate for Wegener's Granulomatosis or Sclerosing Cholangitis. Since the levels were extremely low and I had no other symptoms of these two positively awful conditions they were rejected as possibilities.

The immu wants 6 monthly blood tests just to keep an eye it which I get with every second HbA1c. so far they haven't moved. All three doctors are quite puzzled by it but have gone back to the original T2 thought. I honestly don't know but T2 is a possibility.

From this wonderful forum I found out that some members have had some success with peripheral neuropathy and R-ALA supplements. I've been taking these for about a month now with vitamin B12 and the neuropathy did improve at first but has now plateaued out. At least it is not getting any worse. If it stays the way it is I can live with it as it is presently just an irritation.

Sorry for the long winded personal history.
Glenn

 

[Alexandra100]

Has me wondering. Do many suffer from tingling feet and is it always assumed to be diabetes related?

I believe tingling feet can also be due to vitamin B12 deficiency, which is a known long-term (over many years) possible side effect of Metformin. Metformin can cause mal-absorption of B12, so the remedy is not pills but injections.