Newly Diagnosed and First Post

[KevinPotts]

Hi there,
I was diagnosed T2 at the end of February this year,following a routine blood test.
HbA1c was 69 cholesterol was 6.2
No symptoms at all.
The diabetic nurse wanted to put me on Metformin Statins and BP meds.
I was also told to "shift some weight"
I declined all medication much to her astonishment.
She also offered me counselling to help me cope with my T2 diagnosis.
Also offered me an appointment with the dietitian.
I politely declined those appointments as well.
She gave me 8 weeks and then if things had not improved then I WOULD HAVE TO GO ON MEDICATION.
I went home with the pile of information she printed off for me on how to come to terms with my diabetes.
I was in SHOCK....
I remember seeing Dr Michael Mosley on BBC2 and how he reversed his T2.
I bought his book The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet.......read it from cover to cover.
What a revelation.
I have dieted all my adult life....for the past 40years.
Within the 8 weeks I lost 2 stone+.
The repeated blood test came back as blood sugars in normal range and cholesterol down to 4.2
The GP I saw about these results was astonished at my weight loss and informed me of the reversal of my T2 diagnosis.
Though he could not advocate any eating plan that excluded bread pasta rice and potatoes.
I have since then been following a Mediterranean diet.
Very little meat but olive oil ,avocado,fish,full fat natural yoghurt etc( low fat has more sugar !)etc.lots of veggies.Caulflower rice courgette spaghetti.etc.
Substitute Gin n Slim for white wine....less sugar.
It's not a difficult thing to get used to.
I have now lost 3 stone.
Sleeping better and feel fine.
I will carry on this eating regimen for the foreseeable future.
I hope that you cope emotionally with your diagnosis...I was SO upset.
I thought I would be having all sorts of diabetic complications for the rest of my life.
I am SO glad I refused the medication cocktail offered to me.
Good luck and best wishes for your future health.
Have a good weekend.

What an absolutely terrific and inspirational story. Clearly a changed lifestyle. Congratulations


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[KevinPotts]

Been up and down to be honest @Ross.Walker
I had my fasting blood test yesterday and awaiting results which I will get on the 23rd. I have been doing my best to be good with eating, cutting out carbs and sweet/ chocolate etc. Been reading up on the forum and at times getting myself a little freaked out as to how much I need to learn. Like I said before, I am generally quite active, so that's not difficult to maintain and do more. The food part is hard, and I worry about getting my head around what is good, and more so the quantities I should be eating. Looking at the LCHF side of things, I feel it takes a while and I am one of those that wants to know everything now!
I have just purchased the Dario Smart Monitor (I hope my GP will prescribe their test strips for me), as it looks good.
Since taking the Metformin each morning and only 500g, the thirst has stopped. Havent had any noticeable side effect.
I havent stopped eating my morning overnight oats as I really love them, but do feel maybe I should. I just dont have time in the morning to be making eggs etc and I do like to eat my breakfast at work. I also dont want to move to brown bread, brown rice, wholewheat pasta etc I rather cut all that out and stick to protein and fat.
Not sure what else to say at this stage other than waiting for the results next week and to hear from the diabetic service for more information.
Oh yeah, really really cannot get over how good the info is on this forum and how supportive people are!

Even though you've been up and down, I'm glad your taking the time to share with us.

I have only been on my journey for just under 3 months and the summary compressed strategy for me has been to keep it simple:

Cut those carbs, normal protein, up the fat.. Weight will go if it needs to without you doing anything else, you will quickly start to feel full and within a couple of weeks you will be fully adapted to fat burning rather than sugar burning Good luck


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum mobile app

 

[dazzeur]

Really loving all the advice and stories. Thank you everyone.
I ordered my Dario Smart Meter yesterday and it just arrived. Feel like a kid with a new toy! Gotta say, after using it once, it is really good and compact. Easy to use and I like that it all uploads automatically to the app. Of course, I have nothing to compare it too so totally biased right now.
Additionally, now eager to understand what food is good and bad for me and I can understand my levels. Whats for lunch!?

 

[Salvia]

Feel like a kid with a new toy!

Weeeell - you are a kid with a new toy ! Enjoy !!

 

[dazzeur]

So two readings today and both 13 mmol/L. This is reduced from 2 weeks when I started. How long does it take to start seeing a reduction to recommended levels? 2nd reading today was 2 hours after lunch. All I had was chicken cubes, greek salad, hummus and sour cream. Am I expecting too much too quick? It is down from 17 mmol/L two weeks ago.

 

[Nigelh]

Avoid eating bread, potato, pasta, rice, pastry and obviously things like cake, sweets etc. DO eat un processed meat, fish, chicken, eggs, veg, fatty stuff is fine, ditch the margerine and have butter instead, eat things with high fibre. Also exercise regularly. Its hard at first to say no to all the nice stuff , but after a year since my T2 diagnosis it has become normality. Once a month just treat yourself to something naughty (im mean food wise)...

Sent from my SM-T533 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[Liam1955]

@dazzeur - Hi . Now that you have a Meter, it is a good idea to keep a record diary - over time you will see which foods give you spikes (raise your blood sugars), write down what your blood sugar result was before, then eat (list what food you ate) and then test 2 hours later and record this reading.

 

[dazzeur]

Doing it all on the Dario app. Although I wish I could add food like on myfitnesspal.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

 

[KevinPotts]

Doing it all on the Dario app. Although I wish I could add food like on myfitnesspal.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Diabetes.co.uk Forum mobile app

If the app isn't adequate might be an idea to get a little notebook. I've done this from the outset so I know every single meal, every BG reading, my BP, heart rate, etc it's easy to keep in a little book


Diagnosed 13/4/16: T2, no meds, HbA1c 53, FBG 12.6, Trigs 3.6, HDL .75, LDL 4.0, BP 169/95, BPM 85, 13st 8lbs, waist 34" (2012 - 17st 7lbs, w 42").

16/6/16: FBG AV 4.6, Trigs 1.5, HDL 2.0, LDL 3.0, BP 112/68, BPM 6O, 11st 5lbs, waist 30", PWV 7.0. Lifelong migraines and hay fever gone.

Regime: 20g LCHF, run 1 mile daily, weekly fasting, occasionally longer fasts.

 

[chalup]

I havent stopped eating my morning overnight oats as I really love them, but do feel maybe I should. I just dont have time in the morning to be making eggs etc and I do like to eat my breakfast at work.

Hi there

There are some really good low carb breakfast muffin recipes out there that are mostly sausage, egg, cheese, and almond flour. These are great out of the fridge as a grab and eat on the go breakfast that you can make ahead. They will also keep you filled up until lunchtime.

 

[dazzeur]

Haven't been on the forum for some time, but felt like I should give an update. I increased my metformin up to 3 a day, I refused moving to 4 as felt I was managing well with 3 and a LCHF diet. I struggled to do more exercise but with the new diet, did see me lose a stone quite quickly. Anyways, had results from a fasting blood test last week and the doc suggested I reduce to two pills a day! HB1AC is 5.8%. Really happy with this and hope I can continue and reduce to 1 or no pills. Don't think I could have done it without the early advice from this forum, so THANK YOU!

 

[pleinster]

Haven't been on the forum for some time, but felt like I should give an update. I increased my metformin up to 3 a day, I refused moving to 4 as felt I was managing well with 3 and a LCHF diet. I struggled to do more exercise but with the new diet, did see me lose a stone quite quickly. Anyways, had results from a fasting blood test last week and the doc suggested I reduce to two pills a day! HB1AC is 5.8%. Really happy with this and hope I can continue and reduce to 1 or no pills. Don't think I could have done it without the early advice from this forum, so THANK YOU!

Good stuff, mate. Well done.

 

[goose64]

Be careful big the advice given by Decongest re your cholesterol, I tried LCHF and my cholesterol readings went sky high, I now have a lowish fat diet and although they have dropped considerably they are still high. It's so hard getting a balance

 

[pleinster]

Be careful big the advice given by Decongest re your cholesterol, I tried LCHF and my cholesterol readings went sky high, I now have a lowish fat diet and although they have dropped considerably they are still high. It's so hard getting a balance

Goose, when you say "sky high" can you be more specific. In my experience, and in the opinion of two diabetic consultants I have spoken with recently (both very well informed and up to date with the benefits of low carb diets for Type 2s, a good LCHF diet will quite possibly increase the cholesterol level - but this level breaks down into LDL and HDL; the latter being referred to as "good cholesterol". Is it possible that the actual increase to yours is due mainly to an increase in HDL as is common with this kind of diet (and thoroughly beneficial). My own level sits around 5.6mmols/L which, while above what is ideal for the average person is not by any means a concern to me for various physical reasons unrelated to diabetes. As for LDL, the supposedly normal level would be under 3mmols/L. Your HDL (the good stuff), you require at least 1mmol/L. Many people on Type 2 have more HDL than LDL if their low carb diet managed well. Have you seen a breakdown of your cholesterol level?

 

[Looking4someone2help]

Sounds similar to my story. I began researching as soon as I found out. I didn't wait for help and my doctor is slow. I was diagnosed in May and I begin talking to a diabetic educator at the end of last month and nutritionist at the end of this month. I think, stress management and less caffeine and sugar is what helped me. I made some easy minor changes to my diet that could be summarized as low carb, high fiber, and I go meatless and diary less more now but I was never big on meat or diary. I also added beans, humus, nuts and seeds. I think stress effects me a lot but I'm a sensitive girl. But I think your on the right path researching early. And these people are nice. Good luck.