Hello everyone. Month long lurker here, just joined today.
I'm 42 and was diagnosed with T2 diabetes on the 21st July, however following some very specific symptoms and buying a blood glucose meter, I already knew that.
My meter arrived the evening before my first appointment with a nurse practitioner. Pre-dinner reading was 15.4. I was already following NHS "eatwell" at this point due to strong suspicions of diabetes due to symptoms experienced, so had a dinner in-line with their recommendations. 2 hours after that meal, BG reading was 17.9. At this point I panicked a little, but a voice in the back of my head was already starting to shout that maybe half a plate of carbs might not be a good idea for diabetes.
Next day comes, nurse practitioner appointment. Also had bloods taken same day. It was an experience, that's for sure, and looking back it was the worst and best moment of this process for me. The worst was comments like "I don't think you'll lose weight quick enough" (I'd already lost 1st in the 6 weeks prior to appt), "you'll be on maximum Metformin dosage" (while she refused to discuss diet/lifestyle changes), and when asked for any advice she could offer, responding with "just try and avoid the sweet stuff". I'm a big fan of the NHS, I love everything it stands for and provides, but this tested my support.
Dutifully carried on with the NHS "eat yourself to severe diabetes" plan for 2 more days, taking readings at all the relevant points, and the obvious struck home - I needed to change my diet. That's how I landed on this forum.
Meanwhile, blood tests came back. HBA1C of 83. Mid-high end LDL cholesterol (within rage though), low HDL cholesterol, sky high trigs at 5.3 so didn't get an LDL result. Fatty liver. I'm already on hypertension meds. I'm very obese 25st 11lb at peak, but was 24st 9lb on my appointment date. This was the moment of change.
With basically a whole evening and night of research, I put together a very basic low carb diet plan, 50g carbs a day to start. Over the next week, kept taking BG readings and saw improvement down to an average of 10, down from 17, after meals. Slowly adapted my diet more, walked 30 mins a day, and within a week ended up in keto territory, where I've stayed.
Due to a mistake by the nurse practitioner, my Metformin prescription took 2 weeks to get to me. By the time it arrived, my average BG was already down to 6.5. On active days my BG readings were 5.1 to 5.5 fasting and before meals, 6.5 tops after meals. So, I just didn't take the metformin (this was a personal choice, I'm not advocating anyone ignore medical advice).
I'm now 4 weeks on from my first appointment with the nurse practitioner. My average BG reading for the last 7 days is 6.1. When fasting or before meals, I'm down in the 5 point something range. After meals I'm 6.7 at most. Never more than +1 between before and after meals. I've lost a further 1st 9lbs in the last 4 weeks, making 3 stone in total since peak weight. My triglycerides are now 2.5, still way too high, but half what they were 4 weeks ago. My blood pressure is down 10-15 points for systolic and diastolic, and it was already normal range on medication before I started all this.
At a nurse appointment yesterday, she weighed me, then had a begrudging look at my BG data, then said "Well, the metformin is doing its job!" She was shocked (and what appeared to be disappointed) when I told her I hadn't taken 1 single tablet and handed her the full box back.
I really want to thank so many people on this forum. The advice here is better than anywhere else, it's transformed my life. I was stupid to let things get so bad, but with the help of advice here, I've started on something that I love, feel 10 years younger for doing already, and I couldn't have done it without so many people here. It's opened my eyes.
A lot of hard work ahead. 3 stone down, 10 stone to go, it'll be a long road - all while trying to mitigate metabolic syndrome issues along the way. Thanks to this forum though, I've seen the light, and I'm determined to keep going!
Apologies for the really long post and thank you again everyone.
I'm 42 and was diagnosed with T2 diabetes on the 21st July, however following some very specific symptoms and buying a blood glucose meter, I already knew that.
My meter arrived the evening before my first appointment with a nurse practitioner. Pre-dinner reading was 15.4. I was already following NHS "eatwell" at this point due to strong suspicions of diabetes due to symptoms experienced, so had a dinner in-line with their recommendations. 2 hours after that meal, BG reading was 17.9. At this point I panicked a little, but a voice in the back of my head was already starting to shout that maybe half a plate of carbs might not be a good idea for diabetes.
Next day comes, nurse practitioner appointment. Also had bloods taken same day. It was an experience, that's for sure, and looking back it was the worst and best moment of this process for me. The worst was comments like "I don't think you'll lose weight quick enough" (I'd already lost 1st in the 6 weeks prior to appt), "you'll be on maximum Metformin dosage" (while she refused to discuss diet/lifestyle changes), and when asked for any advice she could offer, responding with "just try and avoid the sweet stuff". I'm a big fan of the NHS, I love everything it stands for and provides, but this tested my support.
Dutifully carried on with the NHS "eat yourself to severe diabetes" plan for 2 more days, taking readings at all the relevant points, and the obvious struck home - I needed to change my diet. That's how I landed on this forum.
Meanwhile, blood tests came back. HBA1C of 83. Mid-high end LDL cholesterol (within rage though), low HDL cholesterol, sky high trigs at 5.3 so didn't get an LDL result. Fatty liver. I'm already on hypertension meds. I'm very obese 25st 11lb at peak, but was 24st 9lb on my appointment date. This was the moment of change.
With basically a whole evening and night of research, I put together a very basic low carb diet plan, 50g carbs a day to start. Over the next week, kept taking BG readings and saw improvement down to an average of 10, down from 17, after meals. Slowly adapted my diet more, walked 30 mins a day, and within a week ended up in keto territory, where I've stayed.
Due to a mistake by the nurse practitioner, my Metformin prescription took 2 weeks to get to me. By the time it arrived, my average BG was already down to 6.5. On active days my BG readings were 5.1 to 5.5 fasting and before meals, 6.5 tops after meals. So, I just didn't take the metformin (this was a personal choice, I'm not advocating anyone ignore medical advice).
I'm now 4 weeks on from my first appointment with the nurse practitioner. My average BG reading for the last 7 days is 6.1. When fasting or before meals, I'm down in the 5 point something range. After meals I'm 6.7 at most. Never more than +1 between before and after meals. I've lost a further 1st 9lbs in the last 4 weeks, making 3 stone in total since peak weight. My triglycerides are now 2.5, still way too high, but half what they were 4 weeks ago. My blood pressure is down 10-15 points for systolic and diastolic, and it was already normal range on medication before I started all this.
At a nurse appointment yesterday, she weighed me, then had a begrudging look at my BG data, then said "Well, the metformin is doing its job!" She was shocked (and what appeared to be disappointed) when I told her I hadn't taken 1 single tablet and handed her the full box back.
I really want to thank so many people on this forum. The advice here is better than anywhere else, it's transformed my life. I was stupid to let things get so bad, but with the help of advice here, I've started on something that I love, feel 10 years younger for doing already, and I couldn't have done it without so many people here. It's opened my eyes.
A lot of hard work ahead. 3 stone down, 10 stone to go, it'll be a long road - all while trying to mitigate metabolic syndrome issues along the way. Thanks to this forum though, I've seen the light, and I'm determined to keep going!
Apologies for the really long post and thank you again everyone.
