THIS IS MY FIRST POST BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A LONG ONE.......

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
First of all I want to thank fellow members for sharing the stories about their journeys. I have been inspired by every single one of those that I have read. I have gained so much information about this condition and realised that a diabetes diagnosis isn't the end of the world. It became apparent almost as soon as I found the Diabetes.co.uk website that it can and has been reversed by many people. This gave me no end of hope that I might be able to do the same.

So this is my own story so far. I hope I can help others a little by sharing my experience.

I am a 55 year old female. I have been very lucky where my health is concerned. But on 16th November last year (2017) I went to my doctor complaining of severe heartburn that came on suddenly and with a vengeance. I had not had heartburn since I was pregnant at 29. I had had it for about 4 weeks and it was not going away and it lasted for hours. I also explained that for at least a couple of months I had experienced an urgency to go to the toilet (number 2). He gave me Omaprazole for the heartburn and referred me to the hospital for an abdominal ultrasound. That came back all clear apart from a slightly fatty liver which the sonographer wasn't concerned about thankfully. The symptoms persisted (I didn’t take the Omparazole to be honest) so I went back to the doctor early December. He took my bloods. On the 8th December I found out that I was a T2D! I was shocked but not surprised. I had put quite a bit of weight on over the years. In my 20's I was always 11 stone (I am 5 feet 9.5). This crept up when I got married to 12 stone where I stayed for about 20 years until my mum sadly passed away. Since then, keeping a tally on my weight didn’t seem so important. Then when I eventually got back on the scales I was over 14 stone! But still happy and felt very healthy. I didn’t eat too unhealthy I felt. Balanced diet (ish). I did have lots of pasta, rice, potatoes, bread! And I enjoyed a glass of red wine most nights. At weekend I might even have a bottle watching my favourite programs. And I loved to eat salted peanuts with the wine. We enjoyed lots of lovely meals out, lots of take aways in. I’m not sure if the diabetes caused the heartburn. The DN seems to think not. I was very stressed with work (and handed my notice in because of this), I left work at the end of November, about that time my heartburn stopped. So it could have been stress related.

I went on Diabetes.co.uk to find out more. It was in my family so it may be genetic I thought, My mum had it, her aunts, my sister (until she had a gastric bypass and lost over 6 stone which put her in remission). I’m from a big Irish family and know quite a few cousins who are battling with it. But I was overweight and this I know contributed.

What hit me in the face as soon as I went on the site was that it can be reversed without surgery. Everyone who had managed to reverse it did so by going on a Low Carb High Fat diet (LCHF) so this I decided would be the direction I would go in. So one the 8th December my eating habits changed drastically. Out with the pasta, rice, bread, potatoes and red wine (all alcohol actually) and peanuts! And in with the fish, eggs, cheese, cream, salad and veg. Could I do this?

Here is my chart. (UNFORTUNATELY THE TABLE HASNT BEEN INCLUDED WHEN I COPIED AND PASTED BUT I HOPE YOU GET THE IDEA.

DATE
WEIGHT
HBA1c
NOTES
8/12/17
14 stone 3lbs
62 HBA1c
Started LCHF

12/12/17
13 stone 11lbs

13/12/17
13 stone 11lbs
Fasting bloods taken

14/12/17
13 stone 10lbs

15/12/17
13 stone 10lbs
59 HBA1c
Fasting blood results

19/12/17
13 stone 9lbs

21/12/17
13 stone 7lbs
Feeling tired

23/12/17
13 stone 6lbs

25/12/17
13 stone 5lbs
Had a day off LCHF!
Ate chocolates and drank wine!

28/12/17
13 stone 7lbs
Leg cramps/heavy legs

31/12/17
13 stone 4lbs

4/1/18
13 stone 5lbs
Had day off LCHF on 1/1 so put a couple lbs on

5/1/18
13 stone 3lbs
LOSS OF 1 STONE
no stomach rumblings or feelings of hunger!

12/1/18
13 stone 2lbs
Energy levels lower

13/1/18
13 stone 1lb

14/1/18
13 stone

15/1/18
13 stone
1st appointment with diabetic nurse. Asked her to do HBA1c test. Told her if I can reverse things I wont be taking meds. She told me I would always be classed as diabetic even if levels get to normal range

17/1/18
12 stone 13lbs
47 HBA1c
Notes on system from nurse 'much improved'
SMILED ALL DAY LONG

BOOKS
Ditch the Carbs, 8 week Blood Sugar Diet – Dr Michael Mosley
Sugar Free – Karen Thompson
Diet Doctor – Prof Tim Noakes
Joe Wicks – various cookery books and exercise videos on You Tube

MEALS
As it was a very busy period for me through December and January (currently renovating a house) I kept it simple. I try to eat breakfast about 11am to avoid lunch.

Breakfast – kippers or eggs and bacon or cheese omelette or scrambled eggs (I have treated myself to a slice of toast 3 times)

Dinner – salad with chicken/turkey usually, roast beef with lots of veg

If I fancied a little something in the evening it would be 2 small crackers with butter and cheese and a coffee made with cream or perhaps a few nuts. When I get more time I’m going to try some of the LCHF recipes

DRINK – JUGS OF ICE COLD WATER WHICH DOES FILL YOU UP TOO. I treated myself on Christmas Day, New Years Day ans when I lost 14 lbs, my first stone.

I didn't find it hard over Christmas surprisingly enough. I just stayed focused. I kept thinking about my mum who struggled with her Diabetes. She was eventually registered blind (macular degeneration) which was probably due to her condition.

My diagnosis I now feel was a blessing in disguise. I have never felt better.

MASSIVE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME WITH MY JOURNEY SO FAR.

And so my journey continues……..
 

lindijanice

Well-Known Member
Messages
433
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hey Debandez, Welcome and cudos for job extremely well done. So sorry to hear about your Mum, but as you say, you keep her in your thoughts and helps to motivate you along your journey. Keep it up and you will amaze your health professionals!! I will follow with interest! Blessings/L
 

KathyCP

Well-Known Member
Messages
207
Type of diabetes
Type 2
hi, welcome to the forum, fabulous results! you say a couple of things that i think are key - one is that you're focused and committed (makes all the difference, but not always that easy to maintain). also that you often only have two meals a day - i personally have found that i've got used to leaving at least 5 hours with no snacking between meals, which doesn't really leave time for 3 meals, especially as i don't like eating first thing in the morning and also don't want to eat too late, ideally not after 7pm.

have you got a meter? i find it invaluable to monitor my own levels - i used to do it on a daily basis when i was still struggling to bring my levels down, now i do it twice a week, once when i wake up and then again two hours after a meal or sometimes just at random, depending on what fits into my day. there is lots of advice you can find here on the forum about meters, test strips etc.

oh, and lastly - peanuts are my staple treat - i eat them by the bucket load (they've replaced chocolate in my life) and they don't seem to push my levels up at all :)
 

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hey Debandez, Welcome and cudos for job extremely well done. So sorry to hear about your Mum, but as you say, you keep her in your thoughts and helps to motivate you along your journey. Keep it up and you will amaze your health professionals!! I will follow with interest! Blessings/L
Hey Debandez, Welcome and cudos for job extremely well done. So sorry to hear about your Mum, but as you say, you keep her in your thoughts and helps to motivate you along your journey. Keep it up and you will amaze your health professionals!! I will follow with interest! Blessings/L

Thanks for the lovely words Lindijanice. And for replying so quickly. I'm thinking of my mum constantly.
 

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
hi, welcome to the forum, fabulous results! you say a couple of things that i think are key - one is that you're focused and committed (makes all the difference, but not always that easy to maintain). also that you often only have two meals a day - i personally have found that i've got used to leaving at least 5 hours with no snacking between meals, which doesn't really leave time for 3 meals, especially as i don't like eating first thing in the morning and also don't want to eat too late, ideally not after 7pm.

have you got a meter? i find it invaluable to monitor my own levels - i used to do it on a daily basis when i was still struggling to bring my levels down, now i do it twice a week, once when i wake up and then again two hours after a meal or sometimes just at random, depending on what fits into my day. there is lots of advice you can find here on the forum about meters, test strips etc.

oh, and lastly - peanuts are my staple treat - i eat them by the bucket load (they've replaced chocolate in my life) and they don't seem to push my levels up at all :)
Thanks for your reply KathyCP. I'm learning something every day. And todays invaluable nugget of info is that peanuts might not push up.my bs! Happy days. I have got a meter. It's my daughter's as she had gestational diabetes and was given one. I've just started using it this last week. I tested after my turkey and veg last night and 2 and 3 hours later it was 8.5! COMING down to 6 after 4 hours so I was a bit gutted. I did have a little stuffing and horseradish so wondering if this made it spike. Your help appreciated.
 

ickihun

Master
Messages
13,698
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies
I love your info about sister's op creating remission. I'm aim for the same. Fingers crossed.
You aren't obese enough to qualify, I wouldn't think.
Great family you have. Full of achievers. Your mum must be proud.

Remember we all get hiccups but please try and persevere to achieve remission on your own. I wish I could now. I feel constantly prohibited by back pain which distracts me like mad. If I didn't have it their would be no stopping me.
Enjoy the walking and your lovable exercise of your choice. Keep it up, for life.

I dream of remission but more importantly keeping it there!
Have fun doing it and jump into any of the threads, we are a friendly bunch.
Welcome!
 

KitSileya

Well-Known Member
Messages
94
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Good work!

When it comes to heartburn, I had that constantly from when I had my gallbladder out in 2010. I was advised to eat a low fat diet because of it, but I thought the hburn was post-op complication, and I'd just have to live with it. Antacids in every purse, no eating after 18:30! After I was diagnosed in Jan 2017, I went lchf, and heartburn disappeared! My antacids are literally gathering dust in my medicine cabinet.
 

shelley262

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,830
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
You’ve done so well and in such a relatively short time - once you get more and more improvem3nts as you stick at it it will help keep up your motivation. One of my most motivating pieces of equipment - along with the scales! - was when I got my blood glucose monitor it really helps you to experiment more and tailor your diet in a way that will see the biggest drops bg and weight wise. I think stress and sadness too - your mum and your work situation- are also a big factor. I’m a carer for an adult son with autism, epilepsy and mental health issues and when life at work became difficult a few years back my health really suffered and I do think it was part of the whole diabetes development. I’ve found that dealing with the stress that I can’t change - in my case by doing a mindfulness app - has also helped probably partly as I also generally sleep better! Wishing you a good lCHF journey and do use all the help and encouragement on here - I’ve found this forum invaluable in helping me to understand what I need to do, and to get tips, hints and support along the way .
 

Rosiegough_

Well-Known Member
Messages
268
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Evil beings. Destroying our beautiful Planet X
First of all I want to thank fellow members for sharing the stories about their journeys. I have been inspired by every single one of those that I have read. I have gained so much information about this condition and realised that a diabetes diagnosis isn't the end of the world. It became apparent almost as soon as I found the Diabetes.co.uk website that it can and has been reversed by many people. This gave me no end of hope that I might be able to do the same.

So this is my own story so far. I hope I can help others a little by sharing my experience.

I am a 55 year old female. I have been very lucky where my health is concerned. But on 16th November last year (2017) I went to my doctor complaining of severe heartburn that came on suddenly and with a vengeance. I had not had heartburn since I was pregnant at 29. I had had it for about 4 weeks and it was not going away and it lasted for hours. I also explained that for at least a couple of months I had experienced an urgency to go to the toilet (number 2). He gave me Omaprazole for the heartburn and referred me to the hospital for an abdominal ultrasound. That came back all clear apart from a slightly fatty liver which the sonographer wasn't concerned about thankfully. The symptoms persisted (I didn’t take the Omparazole to be honest) so I went back to the doctor early December. He took my bloods. On the 8th December I found out that I was a T2D! I was shocked but not surprised. I had put quite a bit of weight on over the years. In my 20's I was always 11 stone (I am 5 feet 9.5). This crept up when I got married to 12 stone where I stayed for about 20 years until my mum sadly passed away. Since then, keeping a tally on my weight didn’t seem so important. Then when I eventually got back on the scales I was over 14 stone! But still happy and felt very healthy. I didn’t eat too unhealthy I felt. Balanced diet (ish). I did have lots of pasta, rice, potatoes, bread! And I enjoyed a glass of red wine most nights. At weekend I might even have a bottle watching my favourite programs. And I loved to eat salted peanuts with the wine. We enjoyed lots of lovely meals out, lots of take aways in. I’m not sure if the diabetes caused the heartburn. The DN seems to think not. I was very stressed with work (and handed my notice in because of this), I left work at the end of November, about that time my heartburn stopped. So it could have been stress related.

I went on Diabetes.co.uk to find out more. It was in my family so it may be genetic I thought, My mum had it, her aunts, my sister (until she had a gastric bypass and lost over 6 stone which put her in remission). I’m from a big Irish family and know quite a few cousins who are battling with it. But I was overweight and this I know contributed.

What hit me in the face as soon as I went on the site was that it can be reversed without surgery. Everyone who had managed to reverse it did so by going on a Low Carb High Fat diet (LCHF) so this I decided would be the direction I would go in. So one the 8th December my eating habits changed drastically. Out with the pasta, rice, bread, potatoes and red wine (all alcohol actually) and peanuts! And in with the fish, eggs, cheese, cream, salad and veg. Could I do this?

Here is my chart. (UNFORTUNATELY THE TABLE HASNT BEEN INCLUDED WHEN I COPIED AND PASTED BUT I HOPE YOU GET THE IDEA.

DATE
WEIGHT
HBA1c
NOTES
8/12/17
14 stone 3lbs
62 HBA1c
Started LCHF

12/12/17
13 stone 11lbs

13/12/17
13 stone 11lbs
Fasting bloods taken

14/12/17
13 stone 10lbs

15/12/17
13 stone 10lbs
59 HBA1c
Fasting blood results

19/12/17
13 stone 9lbs

21/12/17
13 stone 7lbs
Feeling tired

23/12/17
13 stone 6lbs

25/12/17
13 stone 5lbs
Had a day off LCHF!
Ate chocolates and drank wine!

28/12/17
13 stone 7lbs
Leg cramps/heavy legs

31/12/17
13 stone 4lbs

4/1/18
13 stone 5lbs
Had day off LCHF on 1/1 so put a couple lbs on

5/1/18
13 stone 3lbs
LOSS OF 1 STONE
no stomach rumblings or feelings of hunger!

12/1/18
13 stone 2lbs
Energy levels lower

13/1/18
13 stone 1lb

14/1/18
13 stone

15/1/18
13 stone
1st appointment with diabetic nurse. Asked her to do HBA1c test. Told her if I can reverse things I wont be taking meds. She told me I would always be classed as diabetic even if levels get to normal range

17/1/18
12 stone 13lbs
47 HBA1c
Notes on system from nurse 'much improved'
SMILED ALL DAY LONG

BOOKS
Ditch the Carbs, 8 week Blood Sugar Diet – Dr Michael Mosley
Sugar Free – Karen Thompson
Diet Doctor – Prof Tim Noakes
Joe Wicks – various cookery books and exercise videos on You Tube

MEALS
As it was a very busy period for me through December and January (currently renovating a house) I kept it simple. I try to eat breakfast about 11am to avoid lunch.

Breakfast – kippers or eggs and bacon or cheese omelette or scrambled eggs (I have treated myself to a slice of toast 3 times)

Dinner – salad with chicken/turkey usually, roast beef with lots of veg

If I fancied a little something in the evening it would be 2 small crackers with butter and cheese and a coffee made with cream or perhaps a few nuts. When I get more time I’m going to try some of the LCHF recipes

DRINK – JUGS OF ICE COLD WATER WHICH DOES FILL YOU UP TOO. I treated myself on Christmas Day, New Years Day ans when I lost 14 lbs, my first stone.

I didn't find it hard over Christmas surprisingly enough. I just stayed focused. I kept thinking about my mum who struggled with her Diabetes. She was eventually registered blind (macular degeneration) which was probably due to her condition.

My diagnosis I now feel was a blessing in disguise. I have never felt better.

MASSIVE THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME WITH MY JOURNEY SO FAR.

And so my journey continues……..
Well done you xx
 

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I love your info about sister's op creating remission. I'm aim for the same. Fingers crossed.
You aren't obese enough to qualify, I wouldn't think.
Great family you have. Full of achievers. Your mum must be proud.

Remember we all get hiccups but please try and persevere to achieve remission on your own. I wish I could now. I feel constantly prohibited by back pain which distracts me like mad. If I didn't have it their would be no stopping me.
Enjoy the walking and your lovable exercise of your choice. Keep it up, for life.

I dream of remission but more importantly keeping it there!
Have fun doing it and jump into any of the threads, we are a friendly bunch.
Welcome!
Hi ickihun

Yes my sister's op was very successful. She would do it all again in a heartbeat. It gave her confidence back. I wouldn't qualify but the way I'm feeling I am positive I can do it with diet. With everyone's help on this forum. We do have high achievers in our family. My auntie (my mum's sister) had 10 children and went on to do a masters degree!

Sorry to hear that you have severe back pain. My mum lived with that too. She had a support to wear but that just made her muscles lazy and didn't really help. So just pain relief. I do hope it eases for you.

I'm moving much more now I'm not sitting in an office. Doing at least 6000 steps a day but once my current project is finished I'm going to walk as much as possible.

Thanks for your lovely reply
 
Last edited:

Debandez

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Good work!

When it comes to heartburn, I had that constantly from when I had my gallbladder out in 2010. I was advised to eat a low fat diet because of it, but I thought the hburn was post-op complication, and I'd just have to live with it. Antacids in every purse, no eating after 18:30! After I was diagnosed in Jan 2017, I went lchf, and heartburn disappeared! My antacids are literally gathering dust in my medicine cabinet.
Wow! So it could be linked then? That's interesting. Is you diabetes controlled now with the lfhc?
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,850
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Thanks for your reply KathyCP. I'm learning something every day. And todays invaluable nugget of info is that peanuts might not push up.my bs! Happy days. I have got a meter. It's my daughter's as she had gestational diabetes and was given one. I've just started using it this last week. I tested after my turkey and veg last night and 2 and 3 hours later it was 8.5! COMING down to 6 after 4 hours so I was a bit gutted. I did have a little stuffing and horseradish so wondering if this made it spike. Your help appreciated.
You need to test - I am sensitive to all legumes, but not true nuts - people do differ.