Non diabetic Hba1c [emoji3]

mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
In the spirit of sharing success (& allowing myself to feel proud!) I thought I’d share my story.
An ‘out-of-the-blue’ diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in September sent me into shock & a 2 day binge on self pity. The shock was that a) I’ve always been slim b) always been active c) seemed to have no symptoms. That said my Hba1c was 91 & random bg of 17 & I was started on metformin straight away.
I spent the following few days snivelling & reading as much as I could about what to eat. Whilst reading through this forum I was astonished to realise that ordinary people, not just in clinical trials, could reverse their type 2 diabetes. Being a stubborn old bird I wanted to be in that ‘club’!
I drastically cut my carb intake which wasn’t as difficult as I imagined, but having lived a fairly low fat lifestyle for years I really struggled to increase fat intake. Initially the increase fat made me feel sick but this improved over several weeks. In addition to diet I ditched the car wherever possible & walked come rain or shine.
After 3 months Hba1c had dropped to 53 & yesterday after 6 months of low carb high fat & increased activity my latest Hba1c was just 40! My plan now is to come off meds....the work will be maintaining this improvement!
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
That is a stupendous success story! Well done that lass!

I hope to mimic your success though it will have taken me longer and it is stories such as your own that spur me on. Again, well done.
 

mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
That is a stupendous success story! Well done that lass!

I hope to mimic your success though it will have taken me longer and it is stories such as your own that spur me on. Again, well done.

Thanks Guzzler, I’m pretty stubborn & decided I really had nothing to lose by trying it & if I failed then I’d know I had done my best & would be able to accept medication long term.
 

Guzzler

Master
Messages
10,577
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Poor grammar, bullying and drunks.
Thanks Guzzler, I’m pretty stubborn & decided I really had nothing to lose by trying it & if I failed then I’d know I had done my best & would be able to accept medication long term.

My sentiment exactly.
 
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Dexterdobe

Well-Known Member
Messages
305
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Being unwell and seeing BG levels soar
In the spirit of sharing success (& allowing myself to feel proud!) I thought I’d share my story.
An ‘out-of-the-blue’ diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in September sent me into shock & a 2 day binge on self pity. The shock was that a) I’ve always been slim b) always been active c) seemed to have no symptoms. That said my Hba1c was 91 & random bg of 17 & I was started on metformin straight away.
I spent the following few days snivelling & reading as much as I could about what to eat. Whilst reading through this forum I was astonished to realise that ordinary people, not just in clinical trials, could reverse their type 2 diabetes. Being a stubborn old bird I wanted to be in that ‘club’!
I drastically cut my carb intake which wasn’t as difficult as I imagined, but having lived a fairly low fat lifestyle for years I really struggled to increase fat intake. Initially the increase fat made me feel sick but this improved over several weeks. In addition to diet I ditched the car wherever possible & walked come rain or shine.
After 3 months Hba1c had dropped to 53 & yesterday after 6 months of low carb high fat & increased activity my latest Hba1c was just 40! My plan now is to come off meds....the work will be maintaining this improvement!
Well done you. That is a fantastic effort. I got my HBa1c down to 42 in three months, but I started from a reading of 53 not 91, so it just shows that putting the effort in works even when you start with a very high BG level. I wish you had been with me last week when I attended a session for newly diagnosed diabetics. The nurses and dieticians were impressed with my improved HBa1c, but still said I should aim to eat a minimum of 100g of starchy carbs every day and aim for 250g +. They were concerned that restricting carbs to 30g a day would ultimately lead to malnutrition. Frightening isn't it?
 
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mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
Well done you. That is a fantastic effort. I got my HBa1c down to 42 in three months, but I started from a reading of 53 not 91, so it just shows that putting the effort in works even when you start with a very high BG level. I wish you had been with me last week when I attended a session for newly diagnosed diabetics. The nurses and dieticians were impressed with my improved HBa1c, but still said I should aim to eat a minimum of 100g of starchy carbs every day and aim for 250g +. They were concerned that restricting carbs to 30g a day would ultimately lead to malnutrition. Frightening isn't it?

I’ve been on the Desmond course & a half day with a dietetic assistant to teach me what to eat...... I definitely learned more from this forum. I feel there’s a head-in-the-sand/fingers in ears approach to the low carb approach to diabetes & unfortunately it’s denying people who aren’t internet savvy the chance to take control of their condition.
 
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PenguinMum

Expert
Messages
6,782
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I’ve been on the Desmond course & a half day with a dietetic assistant to teach me what to eat...... I definitely learned more from this forum. I feel there’s a head-in-the-sand/fingers in ears approach to the low carb approach to diabetes & unfortunately it’s denying people who aren’t internet savvy the chance to take control of their condition.
I couldnt agree more! Well done for that truly inspirational reduction so quickly. Be proud!
 
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shelley262

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,828
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Congratulations @mrsAP youve done so well and in a fairly short time frame. Great that you stuck at the eating more fat bit too we’ve had so many years of eating low fat or believing it’s best for us and our health that this can be one of the hardest bits to breakthrough but even more important for you when you were not overweight on diagnosis - spectacular work I’m sure with your determination you’ll be off the meds too soon good luck and well done again,
 
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mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
Congratulations @mrsAP youve done so well and in a fairly short time frame. Great that you stuck at the eating more fat bit too we’ve had so many years of eating low fat or believing it’s best for us and our health that this can be one of the hardest bits to breakthrough but even more important for you when you were not overweight on diagnosis - spectacular work I’m sure with your determination you’ll be off the meds too soon good luck and well done again,
Thanks Shelley
 

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
15,808
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Very well done! It’s good here isn’t it?
I did my ‘education’ course very soon after diagnosis, so although I was low carbing then I didn’t have concrete results by then to see how well it was working. In my county I’m entitled to go to a second session at my one year anniversary, so it’ll be interesting for them to see I’m 5 1/2 stone lighter with a non diabetic HbA1c and I’m not mal nourished! And that wasn’t by following their advice! :joyful:
 
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GerryDavies

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
HCP
In the spirit of sharing success (& allowing myself to feel proud!) I thought I’d share my story.
An ‘out-of-the-blue’ diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in September sent me into shock & a 2 day binge on self pity. The shock was that a) I’ve always been slim b) always been active c) seemed to have no symptoms. That said my Hba1c was 91 & random bg of 17 & I was started on metformin straight away.
I spent the following few days snivelling & reading as much as I could about what to eat. Whilst reading through this forum I was astonished to realise that ordinary people, not just in clinical trials, could reverse their type 2 diabetes. Being a stubborn old bird I wanted to be in that ‘club’!
I drastically cut my carb intake which wasn’t as difficult as I imagined, but having lived a fairly low fat lifestyle for years I really struggled to increase fat intake. Initially the increase fat made me feel sick but this improved over several weeks. In addition to diet I ditched the car wherever possible & walked come rain or shine.
After 3 months Hba1c had dropped to 53 & yesterday after 6 months of low carb high fat & increased activity my latest Hba1c was just 40! My plan now is to come off meds....the work will be maintaining this improvement!
You may want to think about staying on a low dose of metformin. There is a lot of interest in antiaging effects and cardioprotection from metformin even for non diabetics:
 

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agwagw

Well-Known Member
Messages
101
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Very well done!
Something to ask your medics, are they sure it's Type 2 and not LADA? My symptoms were very much like yours (lean, v high BG) when I was diagnosed back in the mid 90s, when LADA wasn't really considered (still pretty rare to find diabetes staff who consider it now, IMO). I wish I had considered a high fat low carb diet back then, I have tried in recent years and it certainly helps.
Re metformin, for long term usage I understand it can affect bone calcium, so worth considering extra vitamin D and more milk/cheese (which is fortunate for high fat diets :)
 

mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
You may want to think about staying on a low dose of metformin. There is a lot of interest in antiaging effects and cardioprotection from metformin even for non diabetics:

Wow that made my brain hurt!
 

mrsAP

Member
Messages
19
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Not much
Very well done!
Something to ask your medics, are they sure it's Type 2 and not LADA? My symptoms were very much like yours (lean, v high BG) when I was diagnosed back in the mid 90s, when LADA wasn't really considered (still pretty rare to find diabetes staff who consider it now, IMO). I wish I had considered a high fat low carb diet back then, I have tried in recent years and it certainly helps.
Re metformin, for long term usage I understand it can affect bone calcium, so worth considering extra vitamin D and more milk/cheese (which is fortunate for high fat diets :)

Sorry for a late reply, I get caught up in a million other things sometimes! On diagnosis my GAD antibodies were tested as the nurse thought I didn’t look ‘typical’ type 2. Came back as type 2.