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Thanks for the update @symbolicus, it's great to hear all is well with you a year on. You continue to be an inspiration! 
1 year from diagnosis and a new lease of life
- Thread starter symbolicus
- Start Date
Well... I missed a few years. Oops. Lots of chaos in life, and a job that kept me traveling until we all couldn't.
However things are still (mostly) good. I find myself in a situation where my blood sugar is fine, never seems to go outside non-diabetic range, but on my annual eye screening test there can be some evidence of background retinopathy.
My weight went up last year (my eating habits deterioated in parallel with my mental health because, well... *gestures* 2020), and I found myself on the slippery slope back towards my theoretical personal threshhold. However I caught myself at the start of this year, put in the work, got my eating habits under control, got my exercise regime back in check and tried to take better care of myself.
Currently at 12st 9lbs (and a comfortable 32" waist), walking/running 10km a day or cycling up to 25km (depending on how I choose to get to work), and testing blood sugar regularly, and my last HBA1C came back yesterday at 29mmol.
I'm 40 next month, and this year is 5 years on from when I was both diagnosed and turned things around. I'll never not regret the behaviour that lead to my initial diagnosis and I still feel like I'm sat on a ticking timebomb, and that whatever I'm doing may eventually stop working... but that's not happening just yet.
However things are still (mostly) good. I find myself in a situation where my blood sugar is fine, never seems to go outside non-diabetic range, but on my annual eye screening test there can be some evidence of background retinopathy.
My weight went up last year (my eating habits deterioated in parallel with my mental health because, well... *gestures* 2020), and I found myself on the slippery slope back towards my theoretical personal threshhold. However I caught myself at the start of this year, put in the work, got my eating habits under control, got my exercise regime back in check and tried to take better care of myself.
Currently at 12st 9lbs (and a comfortable 32" waist), walking/running 10km a day or cycling up to 25km (depending on how I choose to get to work), and testing blood sugar regularly, and my last HBA1C came back yesterday at 29mmol.
I'm 40 next month, and this year is 5 years on from when I was both diagnosed and turned things around. I'll never not regret the behaviour that lead to my initial diagnosis and I still feel like I'm sat on a ticking timebomb, and that whatever I'm doing may eventually stop working... but that's not happening just yet.
Ronancastled
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- Messages
- 1,235
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
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- Diet only
Well that was an inspirational read @symbolicus, especially as it covered such a long time frame.
I find it weird that background retinopathy was picked up with an A1c of 29, that seems unfair.
Mine was picked up post remission too but cleared up the following year.
You really seem to fall into the subset that Taylor identified where visceral fat was the primary driver of their insulin resistance.
You're further proof that staying below your PFT keeps the BG in check.
Hoping for a similar update in another 10 years.
I find it weird that background retinopathy was picked up with an A1c of 29, that seems unfair.
Mine was picked up post remission too but cleared up the following year.
You really seem to fall into the subset that Taylor identified where visceral fat was the primary driver of their insulin resistance.
You're further proof that staying below your PFT keeps the BG in check.
Hoping for a similar update in another 10 years.
Yeah. In 2019 I was halfway through a multi-stop international trip that took me all over the place for work. Whilst on a layover in Dubai (and after a few really unpleasant flights) I noticed I had a batch of floaters in my eyes. It... really freaked me out, especially as I was a long way from home and still had over a week of travel ahead of me. My Retinopathy exam was booked for a week after my return but I still decided to go and get a full eye exam at an optician anyway. Nothing unusual came up in that (other than a reminder I need some glasses for long distances... something that predates my diagnosis by a decade or more), and my Retinopathy exam was mostly clear, some background in one eye. Blood sugars were still normal.
It was only after my last exam (again, some background in one eye) that my GP suddenly took an interest in me again, and I got a text message asking me to come in for a HBA1C (an 'annual test', in their words. Hilarious as I hadn't been offered one since 2018.), and then the NHS decided I was now in the high risk group with regards to Covid. My surgery couldn't tell me if it was because of the Diabetes diagnosis from 2016, or because they had my old BMI on record or... what. I waited to go in until I'd had both my vaccine shots, because with numerous people dependent on me and my towns numbers being *terrible* I didn't want to take any unncessary risks. When the test results came back I had to fight to get an actual number out of them as all they wanted to tell me was 'Normal', but not what I was 'Normal' for. Normal for Diabetic, Non-Diabetic, Pre-Diabetic, a Dolphin? It took 2 days and numerous phone calls to get confirmation of what Normal was. I think I'm done with this surgery... the only Doctor and Nurse there that ever seemed to work with me rather than talk down to me are gone, and I was left feeling really guilty for just wanting to know some simple information about my own health.
As far as I know, there is still a question mark on Retinopathy in resolved/remission. It's a worry, but not one I can do anything about other than what I'm already doing. Just stay healthy, keep my weight down, keep my blood sugar in the normal range, keep any complications at bay for as long as possible.
It was only after my last exam (again, some background in one eye) that my GP suddenly took an interest in me again, and I got a text message asking me to come in for a HBA1C (an 'annual test', in their words. Hilarious as I hadn't been offered one since 2018.), and then the NHS decided I was now in the high risk group with regards to Covid. My surgery couldn't tell me if it was because of the Diabetes diagnosis from 2016, or because they had my old BMI on record or... what. I waited to go in until I'd had both my vaccine shots, because with numerous people dependent on me and my towns numbers being *terrible* I didn't want to take any unncessary risks. When the test results came back I had to fight to get an actual number out of them as all they wanted to tell me was 'Normal', but not what I was 'Normal' for. Normal for Diabetic, Non-Diabetic, Pre-Diabetic, a Dolphin? It took 2 days and numerous phone calls to get confirmation of what Normal was. I think I'm done with this surgery... the only Doctor and Nurse there that ever seemed to work with me rather than talk down to me are gone, and I was left feeling really guilty for just wanting to know some simple information about my own health.
As far as I know, there is still a question mark on Retinopathy in resolved/remission. It's a worry, but not one I can do anything about other than what I'm already doing. Just stay healthy, keep my weight down, keep my blood sugar in the normal range, keep any complications at bay for as long as possible.
Ronancastled
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,235
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Take them out of the equation, get a CGM, 2 weeks of real time data with a full report.
You sound clued in, become your own practitioner, review & adjust your carb intake accordingly.
Cheaper than a doctors visit with loads more data.
