Once A Diabetic, Always A Diabetic?

[Grant_Vicat]

I did think of your situation after I had logged out earlier, so glad you popped in with that info, @Grant_Vicat . Don't suppose there are many in your situation?

Hi @Pipp As someone posted in I think April last year, there needs to be a label such as Ex Type 1. It is difficult to say how many are in my position, but even Pancreas Transplants, which presumably are carried out for reasons other than diabetes (perhaps?),
are not yet measured in their hundreds. I personally know of at least seven, but I don't go up to all the patients in the transplant clinic at Cambridge and ask them, even though it's tempting! I have had Type 1s ask me how to get on the transplant list. Apart from the famous lady who suffered from extreme needle phobia, most transplants are carried out on people who are close to kidney failure and have had other problems related to diabetes. You also need to have heart, liver and gall bladder in good condition. Although I had complications from 1959 - 2013, I kept a good HbA1c from about 1982 onwards. I am certain that is what gave me the chance of success in 2013. It really is the key! Good luck with your regime.

 

[Ojustaboo]

Can one become a former diabetic? Are the bodies of people who have had a diagnosis of diabetes, but then lose weight and return to normal levels of blood glucose and insulin sensitivity still different from those who have never been diabetic?

Or another way: is a diabetic merely a person who has discovered, thanks to blood testing, roughly how fat they have to get to trigger a diagnosis of diabetes?

I created a thread on the Type2 forum this evening with exactly the same title as yours
One of the replies pointed me to this thread.
Great minds think of the same questions

 

[Pipp]

Thank you, @Grant_Vicat .
You obviously belong to a rather 'exclusive club'. Keeping healthy must have been, (still is) quite a challenge.

 

[bigsi1984]

I’ve often wondered if someone with a HBA1C of 50+ was to make lifestyle changes and reduce that to 30, would they be diabetic? What I mean is if they never had a blood test when it was high but then did when it was low, they would never officially be a diabetic. From a diagnosis point of view.

Makes you wonder how many people out there have insulin resistance but don’t know it or may never know it.

 

[gettingamoveon]

I’ve often wondered if someone with a HBA1C of 50+ was to make lifestyle changes and reduce that to 30, would they be diabetic? What I mean is if they never had a blood test when it was high but then did when it was low, they would never officially be a diabetic. From a diagnosis point of view.

Makes you wonder how many people out there have insulin resistance but don’t know it or may never know it.

Yes, this is something I wondered, too. In fact, I wonder if something similar may have happened to me.

I had blood tests a little over two years ago which showed a fasting blood sugar which I think was borderline diabetic. I can't remember the number, I'm afraid,and I wasn't symptomatic, but they wanted me to repeat the test. The earliest appointment I could make was 3 or 4 weeks later, and I spent the intervening period exercising and dieting like crazy hoping to avoid diabetes! The next test came back with a normal result (unless the receptionist made a mistake, which I wouldn't rule out) and, foolishly, I breathed a big sigh of relief and thought no more of it. Four or five months later, I was admitted to A&E for another reason and had blood tests. The A&E doctor circled the blood glucose result and said it was 'a bit high'. I wasn't too worried about that either, as the blood was taken about two hours after a huge meal (an old family friend had come for dinner). I told her about the previous result, and she just said that this result wasn't fasting, and she just wanted to bring it to my attention. Silly me.

 

[Guzzler]

You can be be insulin resistant for decades leading up to diagnosis. I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 98 and without any of the classic symptoms. Took me a very long time to accept it.

 

[gettingamoveon]

Hi @Pipp As someone posted in I think April last year, there needs to be a label such as Ex Type 1.

I was thinking about this. How about transnormoglycaemic (TNG) for those who have had a transplant?

 

[gettingamoveon]

You can be be insulin resistant for decades leading up to diagnosis. I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 98 and without any of the classic symptoms. Took me a very long time to accept it.

It took me a long time, too. I had pretty much convinced myself that I was before making an appointment, but somehow it was still a shock when the doctor told me my HbA1c result and said I was diabetic. And then she said, 'Now let's check your blood pressure ...'.

 

[leahkian]

Well i was a diabetic from the age of 3 till just before i was 39, then i had a kidney and pancreas transplant so at the minute i am a insulin free holiday. How long it will last i don't no but with my BG returning to a normal level the damage that the diabetes had done has shown it's face. The fact that there is no cure for type 1 diabetes this is as good as it gets but you have to be renal stage 5 so you have to be bad, then you have to take tablets for the period if the transplant working. So you swap insulin for tablets but the tablets have side effects as well, one of the most common told by a doctor is that you are at a higher of skin cancer due to you immune system being suppressed so factor 50 is a must. If you get a transplant it does take ages to forget your diabetic ways, i still look at things now and think how much sugar is in that.

 

[Grant_Vicat]

Well i was a diabetic from the age of 3 till just before i was 39, then i had a kidney and pancreas transplant so at the minute i am a insulin free holiday. How long it will last i don't no but with my BG returning to a normal level the damage that the diabetes had done has shown it's face. The fact that there is no cure for type 1 diabetes this is as good as it gets but you have to be renal stage 5 so you have to be bad, then you have to take tablets for the period if the transplant working. So you swap insulin for tablets but the tablets have side effects as well, one of the most common told by a doctor is that you are at a higher of skin cancer due to you immune system being suppressed so factor 50 is a must. If you get a transplant it does take ages to forget your diabetic ways, i still look at things now and think how much sugar is in that.

Hi @leahkian I completely agree with you. I still find myself totting up Carbohydrate values and trying to stick to my old regime. At least I keep a steady weight and feel fine. Do you find the immuno-suppressants cause tremors in your hands? Mine are at their worst for up to 5 hours after the morning dose (3mg Adoport tacrolimus and 250mg Mycophenolate Mofetil). Makes playing the piano for school assemblies interesting! As for skin cancer, I avoid sun worshipping even with factor 50. I have had some odd looks for being dressed so that legs, arms, and body are completely covered in clothing and my head is always under a hat. This is a small price to pay ater many years of unpredictable living. As another member of th"Exclusive Club", I wish you many years to come without daily invasive therapy. Good luck!

 

[Grant_Vicat]

I was thinking about this. How about transnormoglycaemic (TNG) for those who have had a transplant?

Good one! I guess only TNG would be used!

 

[nomoredonuts]

For what it's worth, my DN told me on the last visit that I could be classed as no-longer-diabetic, (with an A1c of 39) although she would prefer it if I remained on the register. "So would I", I said. Currently I take enough liberties with my diet to undeserving of a lower score, but it's a happy medium.
And @gettingamoveon , I don't think I was "fat" when diagnosed (5'10" and 12st 10), but immediately produced lower scores as soon as I lowered my carb intake.

 

[gettingamoveon]

For what it's worth, my DN told me on the last visit that I could be classed as no-longer-diabetic, (with an A1c of 39) although she would prefer it if I remained on the register. "So would I", I said. Currently I take enough liberties with my diet to undeserving of a lower score, but it's a happy medium.
And @gettingamoveon , I don't think I was "fat" when diagnosed (5'10" and 12st 10), but immediately produced lower scores as soon as I lowered my carb intake.

Well, this is the question, isn't it? Professor Taylor seems to think that excess fat in the liver and pancreas cause the metabolic problems. 'Fat' in Professor Taylor's world actually means 'too much fat in the liver or pancreas' whatever your BMI. Weight loss alone reverses diabetes, according to him.

But a keto diet has worked wonders for me, and quickly. Also, the fact that bariatric surgery and gastric bands reverse diabetes long before significant weight is lost seems to point towards diet. Maybe there is more than one road to a healthy metabolism?

And it occurs to me, of course, that it may simply be the calorie restriction in Professor Taylor's study, not the weight loss he focuses on, which produces the reversal.