Have I reversed my T2 Diabetes Diagnosis

Macspiffing

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Hello,
I got the biggest shock on the 13th March 2019 when I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after I went to the doctors with ear ache and chesty, I told him I had a dry mouth and I also mentioned persistant thrush that the cream would not work so I asked what it could be and he said lets do some blood tests. I got my appointment for the following Monday and on the Wednesday 13th March I got a phone call at home that my wife answered and when she said it was the doctors I knew it was something bad, she handed me the phone and I said hello, the woman said hello and that I have diabetes, I said no, no way, no she said we have an appointment for this afternoon with the diabetes nurse and I said yes. I was in total shock trying to work out how I get out of this mess and I had no answers at that point.

Later that day I saw the diabetes nurse and she gave nothing away at first just numbers I didnt understand and the way she said seemed like it was wrong or not for me, and I said oh is it fine then and she said oh no you have diabetes, your HBA1C result was 111, and went on to weigh me checking in at 110kg she tickled the tops of my toes with a little plastic thing and said do you feel that and I said yes. She was filling out stuff on the computer and I was rattling off nervous energy stupid questions and she said you are going to have a massive learning curve and I can see you googling this and that you'll be an expert on it soon. I asked her could this be prediabetes and she Noooo.

Afterwards she brought out a blood glucose monitor and said you will be using this and I thought ok, and she picked up what looked like a pen and placed a blue plastic on it later now knowing it was a lancet and then exposing the needle, she said give me your finger and I wasnt comfortable looking at this blue lancet and a fairly long needle on it and I thought that looks nasty but I have to get used to so i gave her my right index finger and she jabbed the needle into my finger and as it was going in i said OUCH and she said aww hes scared and hell yes i was. She placed the kit on the table and proceeded to show me how this stuff works and I said does the top part not go on after the blue plastic piece (lancet) and she said oh yeah it does, I dont use these often.

On returning home with my new monitoring kit, diary and medication gliclazide that I have to take 3 times a day. I was quickly on the internet reading everything I could about type 2 and reading stories of reversing it, I was sure I will reverse this, some how some way. I found out about carbs, sugar, insulin, insulin resistance, pancreas, weight, body fat, diet, exercise, stories of reversal, horror stories everything from eating green bananas having less carbs to seeking out milk alternatives because milk has lots of carbs too, After trial and error I found Alpro Soya milk wholebean unsweetened perfect for coffee if you pour half into another milk container and shake it vigourously and you get nice frothy coffee, but horrible in tea, the best milk for cereal is diamond breeze almond milk only 25% of the calories of semi skim milk, I drink it all the time now even though I can drink dairy milk but i choose not to now, because I prefer the alternatives.

Day 3 after diagnosis: My head was geared up for a full on frontal assault of this massive problem, I was pumped and ready now, At the same time as stopping my medication, I dusted down our old wii fit console from the loft and hooked it up in our living room, I am going to weigh myself daily as it records my weight and BMI, I was going to stop drinking all that poisonous lager/beer out of Aldi, .

My very first use of my glucose monitor the night after getting it was a reading of 24.2 and I had special fried rice from the takeaway so after reading online how bad that was I was scared now, Luckily the day after it came down and my readings that day were 16 when i woke and 14.7 after my dinner. The first 4 days after my diagnosis my blood glucose levels averaged around 13 to 14 on waking and 2 hours after my main meal, those were the times I was told to do it.. My thought after getting those readings were yep I really do have this and nothing I do will make it reverse, but I continued on to keep trying to fix this the 2nd week saw glucose readings of 10 point something then some 9 point something and 8 point something reading and I though oh good its coming down, but after reading online I was more informed these readings wont cut it if im to get better these are still not normal.

All the while steadily losing weight. I started recording my weight plus or minus in my glucose diary. Week 3 saw the reading got to 8's 7's and even 6's so thought this is better and felt great this was without my gliclazide that I only took for 2 days, had I took my medication I would not know if it was my diet or the meds that was bring my blood glucose down so I was so glad to have made that decision and I knew it was diet! for me anyway I am not advising anyone to do as I done. I just wanted to tell my story about it in that someone else may read this and be in a similar position and help them maybe.

Around 4 weeks after diagnosis I was given another blood test that I was told was a liver function test and it turned out it was an HBA1c test and it took a bit of time getting to hear the result as the receptionist said she couldnt tell me because it said on her computer I had been told, luckily a friendly nurse asked whats the problem and wrote it on a piece of paper for me which said 102 and I said is that ok and she shook her head noooo. I thought at least its not 111 and im getting it down without meds so i carried on what i knew was a major lifestyle change but something that i am enjoying the more i do it and the bonus of seeing the weight loss and making foods that dont have a whole lot of carbs was a challenge but good to try.

Week 4 and 5 after diagnosis the readings were going down steadily that you can see when reading my diary to 7's 6's even 5's now albeit only the odd one here and there.and still the odd highs of 8 now and then but becoming rarer as time went along. 27th April when I started writing my weight in my diary was 15st 12 Pounds, I had lost 18 pounds in just 6 weeks and was starting to show especially big belly. I made recipes and mastered how to make the tastiest donner meat at home way better than the shops and would have this twice a week or so with salad and 150g of cooked pilau rice, was amazing my wifes weight loss was much the same as mine now too she just followed whatever I was making and it was and is still working. On the 27th May I weighed in at 15 stone 3 pounds my readings waking that day was 6.5 and 2 hours after my dinner 5.3. now all my readings are in the 6's 5's and the odd 4's, I got 2 of my highest reading were a shock and I realised I had eaten an apple and not washed my hands and redone them and they were false highs due to not washing before pricking and testing.!

I had another HBA1C blood test after 12 weeks on the 4 th June, I phoned the doctors for the result on the 10th June and I said Im calling about my blood test is it normal and she said its 41 yes its normal and I expressed my complete joy and excitement saying to my wife I knew I would do it, I had told the nurse who took my blood on the 4th June that it would be normal and she looked at me as if to say yeah right of course you will. But I did, I really did and without meds! When I think over this whole time when ever I was at the doctors for whatever, I would say im not taking my meds because I wanted to see what they would say im sure, I was always told you should not stop your meds, your hba1c was very high, you should be taking them. I am still a bit angry now at them trying to tell me to take medication without them even giving me the chance to try diet first or saying well done you and that one doctor saying to me when i told her my blood glucose reading were always low now she said that was different to HBA1C and I knew that was false and they are connected but I left saying ok I maybe will take it but I never did, and also that very first nurse said in a quite forceful way "YOU HAVE DIABETES" with a look as If i was stupid when I asked if there was the slightest chance it could be prediabetes. I have moved on in my head from that now but I wont forget how adamant they were and it can make me angry or upset maybe, maybe frustrated or something.

16 weeks after diagnosis on the 3rd July 2019 I awake with a reading of 5.5 this is my normal reading now even after food including rice, chips full sugar coke even that I only drank at a party to test myself and chocolate cake too. All my readings now are in the 5's the very odd 6's. over 14 days 2 readings a day, all of the readings are in the 5's bar 5 readings in the 6's and the highest being 6.7. On this day I now weigh 13 stone 12 pounds - 46 pound weight loss

Finally today 14th July 2019 I woke up with my usual reading of 5.3 and now weigh 13 stone 7 pounds a weight loss of 51 pounds in just over 17 weeks, in actual fact 2 weeks before I was diagnosed to the day I stopped drinking beer and weighed 17 stone 8 but I have always measured from the day after my diagnosis when I was 17 stone 2 pounds but I was 6 pounds on that 2 weeks earlier making it 57 pounds in just over 19 weeks, my calorie intake target is now 1000 - 1200.. My results are consistent now no matter what I eat and all without my gliclazide and I do feel proud and think I did win but who knows, no one from the doctors has contacted me since I called the reception for the last normal result. Thanks for reading my story, I have tried to put my experience of diagnosis and what I believe is my cure in writing over the last 17 weeks of my life. I would be interested to hear others peoples views of my story and theirs. x
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
The nurse jabbed the exposed lancet into your finger - without putting the end of the holder back on?
If she wasn't sure how to use it why didn't she look at the instruction book - honestly - you could not make this up.
You have done really well if you are still eating rice, breakfast cereal and other grains as part of your diet - but reducing carbs is a powerful tool to reduce blood glucose, and Hba1c. Just getting rid of the beer must have taken a load of your metabolism.
My doctor is not interested either - told me I was a very bad diabetic at diagnosis, not seen him since.
I have always put on weight really easily - that has come back now that I am back to what for me is normal so I still avoid the carbs, even though I know I could eat far more than I do - because next day I would see that my weight had increased, so I am still eating salads and stir fries, even though I have had top end of normal results for three tests now.
If you want to go on testing you might need to buy your own test strips - or perhaps get a new meter and strips which have cheap supplies - you were only supplied them due to the Gliclazide medication making it possible you would have hypos, so as you are not taking it the NHS is not likely to continue with the testing supplies. You can get a meter mail order which is not very expensive, if you need it.
 
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Prem51

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Welcome to the forum @Macspiffing and well done on your bg and weight reductions. Your experience with your hcps is not uncommon unfortunately. The NHS dogma is that Type 2 diabetes is progressive.
In answer to your question 'Have I reversed my T2 Diabetes Diagnosis?' there are different views on this. Most T2s wouldn't say it is possible to 'reverse' the diagnosis. It is possible to control the condition, or keep it 'in remission'.
The probability is that if you were to revert to your former ways of eating and drinking your blood glucose would rise again and you would go back into the diabetic range.
So you do need to continue to limit your carb intake. But again ,well done on your achievement - but keep up the good work.
 

Rachox

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I reversed my Type 2
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Hi Macspiffing and welcome to the forum.
Well done on your achievements so far with your weight loss and blood sugar control! Reversed, in remission or cured are not how I consider my diabetes, but just very well controlled. I have to keep up the healthier life style I chose which in my case is low carb, to keep my non diabetic numbers, both finger pricks and HbA1cs. Your chosen way which appears to be low calorie, as I see it is a short term way of control but I think maybe not sustainable in the longer term. Also once you have lost all the weight you need to you’ll need a longer term strategy, this is where low carb maybe your answer too. Have a read of the info written for newly diagnosed here:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
As you have been formally diagnosed Type 2 you should make sure you still receive all the checks that go with that despite having a non diabetic HbA1c now, that is, foot checks, eye screening etc...
 

Macspiffing

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The nurse jabbed the exposed lancet into your finger - without putting the end of the holder back on?
If she wasn't sure how to use it why didn't she look at the instruction book - honestly - you could not make this up.
You have done really well if you are still eating rice, breakfast cereal and other grains as part of your diet - but reducing carbs is a powerful tool to reduce blood glucose, and Hba1c. Just getting rid of the beer must have taken a load of your metabolism.
My doctor is not interested either - told me I was a very bad diabetic at diagnosis, not seen him since.
I have always put on weight really easily - that has come back now that I am back to what for me is normal so I still avoid the carbs, even though I know I could eat far more than I do - because next day I would see that my weight had increased, so I am still eating salads and stir fries, even though I have had top end of normal results for three tests now.
If you want to go on testing you might need to buy your own test strips - or perhaps get a new meter and strips which have cheap supplies - you were only supplied them due to the Gliclazide medication making it possible you would have hypos, so as you are not taking it the NHS is not likely to continue with the testing supplies. You can get a meter mail order which is not very expensive, if you need it.
Hi and thank you for your reply, She wasn't just any nurse either she was a sister in charge of all the nurses, and almost ready for retirement, I had never seen these pen things to prick your finger and I thought at the time it didnt look right to jab with an open needle, when I got home and used it as designed it was 90% less painful and the needle doesn't go deep because of the top cover, maybe it was my initiation:p, the mere suggestion I would reverse this was met very swiftly with a firm tongue, only one locum doctor who I saw once boosted me when he read my readings when I went in for an appointment a few weeks after diagnosis, I had the book at the ready and he said they had come down really good and this was great for me, a qualified doctor to tell me that, he went onto say a doctor friend at the local hospital had reversed his without meds and just changing diet ie losing weight, eating properly, looking back I think he boosted me enough to be able to really go at it, I was determined I would after reading online reversals/cures but his validation of my early readings was just the positive hope/help I needed.

Sorry to hear your doctor showed no care or interest and comments like that you do not need, I think my lifestyle was the cause 100%, I could go all day without eating and sit down in the evening with 8 beers sometimes 12 and then eat very late into the night or not at all, I done this for a long time, years. I had no symptoms until around 3 months prior to diagnosis, I had a really dry mouth that I put down to just dehydrated and it'll be fine Ive had it before, but this was different it lasted weeks, and I had thrush for like 6 months or more but I never connected it or told anyone other than my wife about the thrush but looking back it made sense as thrush is a yeast and what does yeasts like sugar, I know that from making bread from yeast and sugar to activate.

Thanks very much on the info about glucose testing and about getting a new meter with cheaper test strips, at the moment I get enough to test twice a day but my readings are always low now so I only test 2 hours after dinner every 2 or 3 days and the odd day in the morning to check its still ok but they are coming out so consistent now that I would be happy to leave it and just test on the odd occasion if either its a naughty big dinner or beer or cakes etc. I can eat mostly rice on my plate as I make my own fried rice, I use 150g of cooked rice which is around 200 calories and sometimes I use 200g which is 260 calories and I add chicken, prawns, 1 egg, peas, spring onion. I adjust the other ingredients to however much rice I use so that my dinner comes in at 450 to 500 calories depending how I feel. I have tested myself after all of these meals and it has no ill effect, its like my body has healed and is working properly again and I believe that, I eat regularly now and dont drink beer, I firmly believe that it was my bad lifestyle choices that caused my body to fail.

I found that calorie counting is the only way for me to lose weight and highlight all the bags of crisps, biscuits or whatever here and there, or portion sizes being silly so i weigh everything it teaches you what a healthy amount on your plate is, I bought 4 smaller plates so they always look full:) , I use spread cheese to butter my bread, no butter or dairy milk especially whilst im going down in weight, I love peanut butter sandwiches but they have gone for now too, , I have got smarter and wiser knowing how to max my food mass with my calorie allowance,, barenaked noodles 24 calories a whole pack, are excellent a bit pricey but worth it! in my stirfry brings a big dinner down to like 350 - 400 calories, I will base my intake on my activity levels even when I am ideal weight, only a few weeks away now, weird to say, so if I can do it anyone can, I can eat anything including cakes but it has to fit into my current 1200 calorie limit some days I do 1000c limit when im in the mood its not easy but when you see the results the next morning and its not every morning so you need to stay real and give it time to work, it really does even if it doesnt show instantly it does eventually, my wifes lost 44 pounds too since.
 

Macspiffing

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Welcome to the forum @Macspiffing and well done on your bg and weight reductions. Your experience with your hcps is not uncommon unfortunately. The NHS dogma is that Type 2 diabetes is progressive.
In answer to your question 'Have I reversed my T2 Diabetes Diagnosis?' there are different views on this. Most T2s wouldn't say it is possible to 'reverse' the diagnosis. It is possible to control the condition, or keep it 'in remission'.
The probability is that if you were to revert to your former ways of eating and drinking your blood glucose would rise again and you would go back into the diabetic range.
So you do need to continue to limit your carb intake. But again ,well done on your achievement - but keep up the good work.
Hi Prem, I agree with you if I were to abuse my body the way I was it would fail again, I am sure of that, my long term strategy is not to do that again.
 
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Rachox

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I reversed my Type 2
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Tablets (oral)
Hi thanks Resurgam I wrote you a lengthy reply that seems to have been deemed spam I think and not posted, oops sorry, I think Its all coming out of me lol I have had a huge release writing it I think, can settle myself now:). I just really wanted to thank you for understanding and the reply with really good advice on buying a meter.
Your reply to @Resurgam has posted and is visible on this thread, so don’t worry :)
 
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Macspiffing

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Hi Caeseji,
thank you for the supportive comment, It looks like you are on track at the same rate too with 41 the same as my last result and very similar starting result. All the very best to you!
 
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Debandez

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4,019
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @Macspiffing
Well done. You have done so well in such a short space of time. You might want to add your journey to this link, to encourage others. Your journey is one of the most encouraging I have read. Not only because of your significant weight loss and hba1c reduction but the fact you seem to be able to eat so many carbs without it putting up your blood sugars. Not many of us are able to do this without it sending our hba1c in the wrong direction.

https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/
 

Adm_Mad

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112
Type of diabetes
Type 2
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Other
When you say your results are consistent no matter what you eat, what would your reading be do you think if you ate a bag of chips and a big plate of pasta, followed by a big slice of pie and scoops of ice cream for dessert, three times a day? Because if your readings stay in the “normal non diabetic person” range then yes you’ve reversed your disease. But if they go high until all the sugar is out of your system then no, you’re managing your disease (but AMAZINGLY well) but you haven’t reversed it.
 
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Marie 2

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LADA
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Pump
@Macspiffing I just wanted to tell you my husband as a diagnosed type 2 eats what he wants too. He at first lost weight, takes metformin and just added a lot more salads and veggies to his diet and probably will stay on metformin because he still likes his treats some of the time. He is a vegetarian and also eats pasta etc. His A1C went down to 6.2%. It can be done, I just wanted to make sure you knew there are others that don't low carb either that have been successful!

My husband did wear a couple of my Libre sensors (I am a type 1) I had switched to a Dexcom so I had a few left and it really helped him easily know what raised his sugars and to learn portion control. Instead of sitting down with the box of crackers like he used to he learned to count a reasonable amount in a small bowl instead.
 

Cocosilk

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818
Type of diabetes
Gestational
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Insulin
When you say your results are consistent no matter what you eat, what would your reading be do you think if you ate a bag of chips and a big plate of pasta, followed by a big slice of pie and scoops of ice cream for dessert, three times a day? Because if your readings stay in the “normal non diabetic person” range then yes you’ve reversed your disease. But if they go high until all the sugar is out of your system then no, you’re managing your disease (but AMAZINGLY well) but you haven’t reversed it.

Why does anybody expect to get away with eating like that with no consequence though? We all know sugar is bad for us, don't we? So you just extend that to all carbs once you are diabetic and realise you may have exceeded your lifetime "allowance" of carbs if you went nuts on them for years.
If you are determined not to damage yourself further, it takes a bit of self-care to realise that everything we put into our mouths counts. Once you see the effects on a metre it's harder to keep your head in the sand about it.
You then have to address your relationship with food. It's a long journey for many. For some, walking away from a lifetime of rubbish food is a revelation. And if they are accepting of their new situation of eating quite differently, there's no reason to mentally burden themselves with a label that says they are ill when they have moved on from the foods that were making them so.
But for others, letting go is impossible. And then you will always carry the label. You must in order to remind yourself every day, every hour, that what you put into your mouth counts. And you'd better not make it count against you, if you want to be well.
 

WuTwo

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And to whom the principle of ahimsa is a closed book that they refuse to open because it would make life more difficult for them.
@Macspiffing I just wanted to tell you my husband as a diagnosed type 2 eats what he wants too. He at first lost weight, takes metformin and just added a lot more salads and veggies to his diet and probably will stay on metformin because he still likes his treats some of the time. He is a vegetarian and also eats pasta etc. His A1C went down to 6.2%. It can be done, I just wanted to make sure you knew there are others that don't low carb either that have been successful!

My husband did wear a couple of my Libre sensors (I am a type 1) I had switched to a Dexcom so I had a few left and it really helped him easily know what raised his sugars and to learn portion control. Instead of sitting down with the box of crackers like he used to he learned to count a reasonable amount in a small bowl instead.


Oddly my husband is diagnosed T2 and has an HbA1C (in May of 2019) of 38. . He takes metformin and is perfectly happy with it. He tends to eat what he wants but I am vegan and he was flexi (now veggie) although we don't drink, don't eat sweets, he doesn't like biscuits, cakes or puddings. We both eat a lot of salad and veg.

He has a meter and occasonally uses it, but although he does control what he eats he doesn't make notes or anything.

He hasn't gained or lost more than a kilo each time he is weighed going back years. Same wretched kilo just comes and goes. And he has absolutely no other health problems besides the arthritis that comes to a lot of 70 year olds.

I find it very odd.
 

Adm_Mad

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Messages
112
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
@Cocosilk Why are you attacking and lecturing me???? Trust me I am under no delusions that I can eat whatever I like with no consequence. I am fully aware of how this disease can progress, even with all your best efforts to control it. Most days I seriously consider just killing myself now before things get too bad. I thought that was the point of my post, that for most people there’s no reversal of type 2 diabetes, just the potential for good management!!!

But thank you for that lecture. I’ll consider myself put firmly back in my box.
 

WuTwo

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1,867
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
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People whose attitude says "Me, my opinion, my desire is greater and more important than anyone else"

And to whom the principle of ahimsa is a closed book that they refuse to open because it would make life more difficult for them.
@Cocosilk Why are you attacking and lecturing me???? Trust me I am under no delusions that I can eat whatever I like with no consequence. I am fully aware of how this disease can progress, even with all your best efforts to control it. Most days I seriously consider just killing myself now before things get too bad. I thought that was the point of my post, that for most people there’s no reversal of type 2 diabetes, just the potential for good management!!!

But thank you for that lecture. I’ll consider myself put firmly back in my box.

Please don't stress out about a couple of messages.

We are - theoretically - accepting of each others' differences in diet and lifestyle here. Your way of eating could help those who find they cannot (for whatever reason) manage low carb.

No one type of eatng is the answer to every T2's problems and it's good to hear about others.