"Complete diabetic remission!"

Ceres

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I just got back from my first appointment with an endocrinologist, and, subsequent to my latest test results, he says that he considers me to be in "complete diabetic remission"!

My latest fasting glucose was 4.4 mmol/L and my HbA1c was 27 (4.6%). Essentially, I was told it's likely that if I maintain my current weight, or (preferably) continue losing weight, as well as maintain my current diet (lowish carb/lower GI), I can ward off the diabetes for many years, though I am obviously more at risk of it returning than someone who has never been diagnosed with diabetes.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my good news! Needless to say, I'm thrilled! :)
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well done!
That is brilliant news. :)

We get a lot of debate on here about the terminology of cure/reversal/remission - but with an HbA1c like that, you have cracked it (whatever 'it' is!)

:D:D:D
 

Arab Horse

Well-Known Member
Messages
884
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I just got back from my first appointment with an endocrinologist, and, subsequent to my latest test results, he says that he considers me to be in "complete diabetic remission"!

My latest fasting glucose was 4.4 mmol/L and my HbA1c was 27 (4.6%). Essentially, I was told it's likely that if I maintain my current weight, or (preferably) continue losing weight, as well as maintain my current diet (lowish carb/lower GI), I can ward off the diabetes for many years, though I am obviously more at risk of it returning than someone who has never been diagnosed with diabetes.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my good news! Needless to say, I'm thrilled! :)

That's brilliant news, very well done. Can you share how you did it with us, please?
 

DiabetesDestroyer

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Forgive my sceptism, but an Hba1c of 39 is not diabetes.

"Diagnosed T2 Sept 2015

[Sep. 2015] HbA1c 39 (5.7%) || FBG 7.6 || GTT: 1hr 10.5; 2hrs 11.6 || BMI 38
[Jan. 2016] HbA1c 27 (4.6%) || FBG 4.4 || BMI 32"

You may have had a high FBG but, I don't think tthat you were a proper diabetic. Prediabetes is diagnosed at 42 and above and diabetes at 48 and above.
 

Neohdiver

Well-Known Member
Messages
366
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Forgive my sceptism, but an Hba1c of 39 is not diabetes.

"Diagnosed T2 Sept 2015

[Sep. 2015] HbA1c 39 (5.7%) || FBG 7.6 || GTT: 1hr 10.5; 2hrs 11.6 || BMI 38
[Jan. 2016] HbA1c 27 (4.6%) || FBG 4.4 || BMI 32"

You may have had a high FBG but, I don't think tthat you were a proper diabetic. Prediabetes is diagnosed at 42 and above and diabetes at 48 and above.
In the US, if 7.6 was a second FBG that high - or a confirmation that the first test was accurate, it would create a diagnosis of diabetes.

(There are multiple criteria - one of which is two FBG tests equal to or greater than 7 (126 mg/dl) - even if the A1C isn't above 6.5% (the US standard for diagnosis by A1C), or the GTT is not above 11.11 (the US standard for diagnosis by GTT))
 

DiabetesDestroyer

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@***************** ... i believe 2hr GTT result of 11.6 indicates diabetes.?
Check this site and Google for the HbA1c indictators and range.

The term HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. It develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body, joins with glucose in the blood, becoming 'glycated'.

By measuring glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), clinicians are able to get an overall picture of what our average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks/months.

For people with diabetes this is important as the higher the HbA1c, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
HbA1c mmol/mol %
Normal
Below 42 mmol/mol Below 6.0%
Prediabetes
42 to 47 mmol/mol 6.0% to 6.4%
Diabetes
48 mmol/mol or over 6.5% or over

I rest my case.
 

NoCrbs4Me

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,700
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
Vegetables
Check this site and Google for the HbA1c indictators and range.

The term HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. It develops when haemoglobin, a protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body, joins with glucose in the blood, becoming 'glycated'.

By measuring glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), clinicians are able to get an overall picture of what our average blood sugar levels have been over a period of weeks/months.

For people with diabetes this is important as the higher the HbA1c, the greater the risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
HbA1c mmol/mol %
Normal
Below 42 mmol/mol Below 6.0%
Prediabetes
42 to 47 mmol/mol 6.0% to 6.4%
Diabetes
48 mmol/mol or over 6.5% or over

I rest my case.

HbA1c is not an exact science. An HbA1c result depends on how long your red blood cells are around before they die/get replaced. The shorter the cells live, the lower the HbA1c for a particular level of average blood glucose. So an HbA1c value is not an exact correlation to a person's average blood glucose level. In other words, a person could have a supposedly non-diabetic HbA1c, yet have diabetes, and vice versa. The OGGT is a much better indication of whether a person has type 2 diabetes or not.

To give some perspective on the HbA1c test, here's a graph showing average blood glucose versus HbA1c:

HbA1c_EMBG.jpg


It's not particularly helpful to tell someone who failed an OGTT that they were not diabetic. Clearly they were.
 
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DiabetesDestroyer

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Anyone can fail one, maybe they hadn't fasted for the required period of time, or smoked a cigarette etc. In the UK, my GP surgery bases a diabetes diagnosis on the HbA1c reading. This reading also depends on whether or not you are given meds and which meds you are prescribed.
 

NoCrbs4Me

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3,700
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
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Other
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Vegetables
Anyone can fail one, maybe they hadn't fasted for the required period of time, or smoked a cigarette etc. In the UK, my GP surgery bases a diabetes diagnosis on the HbA1c reading. This reading also depends on whether or not you are given meds and which meds you are prescribed.
Your GP surgery is partially right. Type 2 can be diagnosed from an HbA1c, but a normal HbA1c does not rule out diabetes. Similar with a fasting blood glucose. An OGTT is pretty much the gold standard for diagnosis. Using only HbA1c is kind of lazy, but it does save money. Unfortunately it will result in some false positives and negatives (see graph above). If you have some kind of evidence that smoking or not fasting would result in failing an OGTT, that would be interesting. A prolonged very low carb diet can result in failing an OGTT, but I don't think this is the case here.
 
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NoCrbs4Me

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I reversed my Type 2
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Vegetables
I'm trying to work out when the best time to have a blood test will be. I'm following the 8 week blood sugar diet and will have been on very low carb for 8 weeks by the time I finish. From your comment it seems best to leave some time between concluding the weight loss and having a blood test?

Depends what kind of tests. You can do an HbA1c anytime. Personally I'd never do an OGTT except for an initial diagnosis. If it's a lipid panel, I'd wait until my weight had stabilized for a month or so.
 

mogzilian

Well-Known Member
Messages
64
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well done Ceres, the important thing here is that you have established control over your diet and weight and this has had a positive effect on your blood sugars.


I'm trying to work out when the best time to have a blood test will be. I'm following the 8 week blood sugar diet and will have been on very low carb for 8 weeks by the time I finish. From your comment it seems best to leave some time between concluding the weight loss and having a blood test?

I bought the book the other day - still not got around to reading it!
 

mogzilian

Well-Known Member
Messages
64
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well the book is really in sections, with a bit of repetition. I think the idea is to provide motivation by presenting the problem, the science behind it and examples of people who have 'resolved' it with the diet.

If you're already motivated you can just dive straight into the diet and read the book at your leisure. The diet is incredibly simple and takes just a few pages to explain a couple of options. Go with shakes (the simple option) or go with real food (with menu examples to help).

For the first three weeks the weight just fell away and it was easy being able to see a pound a day on the scales. Now it's slowed somewhat but my body feels better. I decided to increase my target loss by half a stone today.

Thanks! I might just do that! XX
 
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Ceres

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Yikes, apologies, guys! I've been away on holiday and have been neglecting this forum!

Thank you to everyone for their kind words and encouragement. It is pretty much solely because of all of you that I've managed to get to this point. This forum was a lifesaver for me when I was first diagnosed and in a pretty bad place emotionally. Honestly, I cannot thank you enough.

To answer a couple of questions:

That's brilliant news, very well done. Can you share how you did it with us, please?

Initially, I went super low-carb (<20g of carbs per day, predominantly from vegetables) and dropped some weight. Unfortunately, a couple of months of being in ketosis seemed to exacerbate some sensitive bladder issues!, so I began to reintroduce some lower GI carbs, such as pasta and wholemeal bread--up to 100g per day. To my surprise, I found that I could tolerate them quite well. This tolerance keeps improving as I lose more weight (e.g. I ate an 80g serving of pasta last night and the highest number I saw was 5.6, and I was back to 4.5 after 3 hours). Since diagnosis, I have lost about 30kg. From my highest weight, I have lost 46kg in total. I also exercise regularly, though I wasn't exercising at all when I was low-carbing. My current regime is a 30-40 minute moderately-paced walk, a couple of aerobics classes, and a few gym sessions per week. I should reiterate, though, that my numbers were already quite good when I started exercising, so whilst exercise is a fantastic tool in the diabetic toolbox, diet (in my case, low carb) is the sledgehammer!

I think I was lucky in some ways, because if you look at my numbers at diagnosis, I had essentially just tipped over the line between prediabetes and diabetes. Add in the fact that I had so much weight to lose (I still have about 15kg to go to be at the top end of my 'ideal' weight range), and possibly my age (30s), I was in a fairly good position to 'reverse' the diabetes.

That's a fabulous result, and interesting where your current BMI is.

What are your personal objectives from here, going forward?

Lose the rest of the weight! At least 15kg, to get to a healthy BMI. Continue with regular exercise. And, probably most importantly, not slip back into my previous eating habits (I was a terrible emotional/binge eater). I plan to be on a lower-carb diet for life, sticking to lower GI carbs as much as possible.

And, uh, for those of you who may be questioning my initial diagnosis, I first received a 7.8 fasting BG during a regular 'check-up' blood test. That alerted my GP to the potential diabetes diagnosis. I was then referred to take the OGTT, for which I received the below results (including a fasting BG of 7.6). I had not been low carbing in the week leading up to the test, nor do I suffer from any medical conditions, or take any medication that may adversely affect BG. I was fasting for the appropriate time prior to the test and I am not a smoker. I was obese at diagnosis, and I have a very strong family history of diabetes type 2. I hope that helps clarify things. :)