Confusion about reversing diabetes

[taunty]

Hi
I've been trying to reverse diabetes type 2 for one year with very low carb diet and lots of exercise. I managed to get the H1ABc measurement down to 61 from 67 but then it went up again to 67 so I've been told Metformin is the way forward.

When I test on my blood strips I see that is down to 7.0 on a day with very low carb and exercise (mostly 2 + hour walks or a 30 + mile bike ride) although the 3 monthly tests come out in the sixties as per above.

I am depressed about not reversing it. Is there anything else I can do. Should I just accept that I am not going to reverse it and go on to Metformin. i tried it by the way and it made me feel really ill - very bloated and stomach ached.

The doctor said the risks of having a heart attack if i don't take Metformin are as high as someone who's just had a heart attack, or something alarming.

thanks for your advice

 

[xfieldok]

Hi @taunty can you tell us everything you ate yesterday please? We may be able to help tweak your diet.

Are you testing before you eat and 2 hours after the first bite?

 

[bulkbiker]

When you say very low carb what exactly do you mean? It can mean many different things to different people.
What kind of things are you eating each day?

 

[DCUKMod]

Hi
I've been trying to reverse diabetes type 2 for one year with very low carb diet and lots of exercise. I managed to get the H1ABc measurement down to 61 from 67 but then it went up again to 67 so I've been told Metformin is the way forward.

When I test on my blood strips I see that is down to 7.0 on a day with very low carb and exercise (mostly 2 + hour walks or a 30 + mile bike ride) although the 3 monthly tests come out in the sixties as per above.

I am depressed about not reversing it. Is there anything else I can do. Should I just accept that I am not going to reverse it and go on to Metformin. i tried it by the way and it made me feel really ill - very bloated and stomach ached.

The doctor said the risks of having a heart attack if i don't take Metformin are as high as someone who's just had a heart attack, or something alarming.

thanks for your advice

Hi there Taunty - Diabetes can certainly be an infuriating condition!

The sad reality is not everyone can reverse T2, for a number of reasons, but it would be helpful to give us an idea of the sorts of things you're eating on your LC diet, just in case there might be any tweaks we could help you with.

Do you have any other conditions you take medication for?

It would likely help minimise these sort of questions if you had a minute to update your profile to show your type of diabetes and any medications you take.

 

[taunty]

Hi @taunty can you tell us everything you ate yesterday please? We may be able to help tweak your diet.

Are you testing before you eat and 2 hours after the first bite?

Hi @taunty can you tell us everything you ate yesterday please? We may be able to help tweak your diet.

Are you testing before you eat and 2 hours after the first bite?

Hi ok my diet yesterday

breakfast 1 egg scrambled with mushrooms fried
1 cup of tea with skimmed milk - no sugar
lunch - 1 mackerel, green beans, lettuce, toms, French dressing
(5 mile walk)
snack - 1 apple
evening meal - 1 salmon steak, cannelloni bean mash as per Mr Moseley's diet book
snacks - nuts

I don't religiously test before and 2 hours after - why should i do that?

 

[taunty]

Hi there Taunty - Diabetes can certainly be an infuriating condition!

The sad reality is not everyone can reverse T2, for a number of reasons, but it would be helpful to give us an idea of the sorts of things you're eating on your LC diet, just in case there might be any tweaks we could help you with.

Do you have any other conditions you take medication for?

It would likely help minimise these sort of questions if you had a minute to update your profile to show your type of diabetes and any medications you take.

Not sure how to update my profile - can anyone advise?

 

[xfieldok]

The purpose of testing is to see the effect of the meal on our BG. You want a rise of no more than 2.

Apples not a good idea. What were the carbs in the cannelloni bean mash, sounds very carby. I found Mosley recipe book unsuitable for me.

 

[taunty]

The purpose of testing is to see the effect of the meal on our BG. You want a rise of no more than 2.

Apples not a good idea. What were the carbs in the cannelloni bean mash, sounds very carby. I found Mosley recipe book unsuitable for me.

ok. will avoid apples then! it was beans with onion and garlic.

i see you have made a big difference to your HbA1c how did you do that?

thanks

 

[xfieldok]

I went keto straight away, carbs less than 20g per day.

Not sure if you have seen @daisy1 's intro post so tagging her.

I am sensitive to onions, I only eat small amounts at a time. We are all different, what works for me may not work for you.

The meter and testing at the right time is your best friend.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi ok my diet yesterday

breakfast 1 egg scrambled with mushrooms fried
1 cup of tea with skimmed milk - no sugar
lunch - 1 mackerel, green beans, lettuce, toms, French dressing
(5 mile walk)
snack - 1 apple
evening meal - 1 salmon steak, cannelloni bean mash as per Mr Moseley's diet book
snacks - nuts

I don't religiously test before and 2 hours after - why should i do that?

If you eat to your meter, (as in, testing before a meal and 2 hours after first bite), then you know whether the amount of carbs in a meal was too much for your body to process or not. If it goes up more than 2.0 mmol/l, it was too much. Then you can either repeat a "safe" meal or scrap one that didn't agree with you. Your diet doesn't look particularly low carb to me, to be honest... 15 Grams of carbs in the average apple, no idea how much was in the mash, but beans aren't usually low carb either. Nuts, depends on what kind; pecans are better than cashews for instance. French dressing also depends on brand and how much you used... Your diet is close, I mean, eggs with mushrooms sound fine, mackerel with lettuce too (green beans may be iffy).... Could just need a tiny bit of tweaking, but not everyone's T2 can be reversed with LCHF. Keto may be an option (Less than 20 grams of carbs a day). Maybe check Dr. Jason Fung's books? In any case, there are more meds than just metformin, and if it doesn't agree with you, look for others that might fit. Gliclazide for instance?

 

[taunty]

I went keto straight away, carbs less than 20g per day.

Not sure if you have seen @daisy1 's intro post so tagging her.

I am sensitive to onions, I only eat small amounts at a time. We are all different, what works for me may not work for you.

The meter and testing at the right time is your best friend.

ok thank you
what do you use to find out how many carbs there are in everything you eat - i have literally no idea

 

[taunty]

If you eat to your meter, (as in, testing before a meal and 2 hours after first bite), then you know whether the amount of carbs in a meal was too much for your body to process or not. If it goes up more than 2.0 mmol/l, it was too much. Then you can either repeat a "safe" meal or scrap one that didn't agree with you. Your diet doesn't look particularly low carb to me, to be honest... 15 Grams of carbs in the average apple, no idea how much was in the mash, but beans aren't usually low carb either. Nuts, depends on what kind; pecans are better than cashews for instance. French dressing also depends on brand and how much you used... Your diet is close, I mean, eggs with mushrooms sound fine, mackerel with lettuce too (green beans may be iffy).... Could just need a tiny bit of tweaking, but not everyone's T2 can be reversed with LCHF. Keto may be an option (Less than 20 grams of carbs a day). Maybe check Dr. Jason Fung's books? In any case, there are more meds than just metformin, and if it doesn't agree with you, look for others that might fit. Gliclazide for instance?

thank you this is really helpful
Lesley

 

[xfieldok]

Carbs can be found on the labels of your food. Also read the ingredients. You don't want any form of sugar, glucose, dextrose etc, all sugars.

 

[xfieldok]

Click on your profile.

 

[Bluetit1802]

ok thank you
what do you use to find out how many carbs there are in everything you eat - i have literally no idea

There are several ways to do this.

There is an excellent book (and app) called Carbs & Cals available from Amazon. This contains thousands of photos of all the common foods served up on a plate so you have a visual thing to look at. It gives the weight, number of carbs, calories, protein, fat and fibre content.

All packaged foods have nutrition labels that tell us the number of Total Carbs per 100g among other nutrients. It is the total carbs you need,, not the "of which sugars"

You can Google. All the major supermarkets list their products and include all the nutrition values, including carbs per 100g. If you Google "x product Tesco" you will see what I mean.

 

[Rokaab]

You can Google. All the major supermarkets list their products and include all the nutrition values, including carbs per 100g. If you Google "x product Tesco" you will see what I mean.

For example if you look here: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/262489348 that gives all the nutritional info for Tescos Cannellini beans (if you scroll down quite a way) - I'm presuming cannellini beans are the right ones as I couldn't find any reference to cannelloni beans anywhere , so you can see 100g of them is 12.5 carbs, and half a tin is 15.4. Obviously the ones you have may differ slightly.

 

[britishpub]

I don't religiously test before and 2 hours after - why should i do that?

It helps the profits of the meter manufacturers.

 

[xfieldok]

It helps the profits of the meter manufacturers.

Testing is not forever and I see it as an investment in long term health. Not a helpful statement to someone who is struggling @britishpub.

 

[hankjam]

Testing is not forever and I see it as an investment in long term health. Not a helpful statement to someone who is struggling @britishpub.

100% this post.

 

[taunty]

I went keto straight away, carbs less than 20g per day.

Not sure if you have seen @daisy1 's intro post so tagging her.

I am sensitive to onions, I only eat small amounts at a time. We are all different, what works for me may not work for you.

The meter and testing at the right time is your best friend.

Can i ask what a typical day's food looks like for you on 20g carbs a day?
thanks