Is it ever to late ?

gooner10

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100
Good Morning folks
I have been type 2 now for 15 years never really had an Hba1c over 9.8 which was my last one in May.. My question is .Is it ever to late to try and reverse by going low carb ? I started low carb in May and my weight has dropped from 96.9kg to 85.4 kg and the average reading on my meter over 90 days is now 8.5 ! ( I thought maybe it might be lower over that 90 day period) I have been fighting a UTI during this period of time also which I think may affect my levels ! Anyway my question is . Is it ever to late to try and reverse it after 15 years by dropping the carbs? I'm doing about 50 a day TIA.
 

Fenn

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Messages
1,405
Type of diabetes
Type 1.5
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I don’t see any reason why it could ever be too late, what have you got to lose :)
 
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Drfarxan

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149
Your life style should change then the results will be what theyll be. The whole "reverse/remission of type 2 diabetes" thing is very new and it was because of people who tried it against popular ideas of type 2 diabetes and succeceded. Your beta cells are still there depending on your age and other factors. So with the same spirit you should change your life style, go full keto or just low carb adapt to it then see what happens. In the process your diabetes will be alot better and youll be able live a healthier life.
 
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Ronancastled

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Messages
1,236
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Anything is possible & probably depends on your residual beta cell function.
Taylor states clearly that:
The good news for people with Type 2 diabetes is that our work shows that even if you have had the condition for 10 years, you are likely to be able to reverse it by moving that all important tiny amount of fat out of the pancreas. At present, this can only be done through substantial weight loss," Professor Taylor adds.

I believe from memory that he championed someone who had been a T2 for 20 years & on insulin who managed to achieve remission.
 
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Dollylolly

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Messages
190
Type of diabetes
Prediabetes
Treatment type
Other
Dislikes
The docs thinking drugs cure all
Is it the max dose of metformin?

how has that been for you over the years?

how long have you been low carbing as I went low carb again as I know it works but with a dapagliflozin this time and have lost 17kgs over 20 weeks, now maintaining and hopefully remission at next appointment. I’m also hoping to come of the dapagliflozin too.

it isn’t too late as folks have found out doing the changes do help. If struggling post about it always someone to bolster you and advise if that’s what you want or to vent. Which is always good to do at times
 
M

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Is it ever to late to try and reverse by going low carb ?

No. You can only make things better. Success will probably depend on many factors, not least of which is your personal definition of success. If your goal is to get off Metformin then I imagine in all likelihood that is very possible.
 
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gooner10

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100
Is it the max dose of metformin?

how has that been for you over the years?

how long have you been low carbing as I went low carb again as I know it works but with a dapagliflozin this time and have lost 17kgs over 20 weeks, now maintaining and hopefully remission at next appointment. I’m also hoping to come of the dapagliflozin too.

it isn’t too late as folks have found out doing the changes do help. If struggling post about it always someone to bolster you and advise if that’s what you want or to vent. Which is always good to do at times
Hi @Dollylolly Thanks for your comments . I was on 1000 mg of Metformin up to 2014 . Since then I have been on 2000mg. To be fair I don't know what the Max is !!
 

Daibell

Master
Messages
12,642
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi @Dollylolly Thanks for your comments . I was on 1000 mg of Metformin up to 2014 . Since then I have been on 2000mg. To be fair I don't know what the Max is !!
The max is 2000mg. Sadly doubling it up to 2000mg won't have doubled the e. This is true of many meds.
 

EllieM

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9,208
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Type 1
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Insulin
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forum bugs
Hi @zand Yes been on Metformin for the whole duration.!

Metformin is a relatively mild T2 drug and if you haven't had to move to anything more serious after 15 years it suggests to me that there is definitely a lot of scope for diet to improve your situation. (Disclaimer, I am neither a doctor nor T2). It's regarded as fairly "normal" for T2s to progress to insulin after 10 or so years so to still be on metformin after 15 is awesome. And some people manage to come off insulin by low carbing so what have you got to lose?
 

TriciaWs

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,727
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Other
I hope that you can achieve remission; it was a relief for me to know I'm no longer risking the damage my mother developed as she refused to stop eating cakes and sweets.
There is some evidence that the sooner you go low carb the better chance of getting into remission (and faster) but even if you only get your blood sugars a little lower that is a great improvement. It used to be believed that for most T2s this was a progressive disease with increasing amounts of drugs and then too often developing some unpleasant life-changing complications. If going low carb only stops the progression and avoids damage to feet and eyes then it must be worthwhile?
 

Andydragon

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
3,324
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Yes it’s possible
Not in every case but I did it after more than a decade and I was on a more drugs than you are.

i am surprised with levels you have had that the doctors haven’t interceded bu now though. Mine at lower levels had increased to max metformin and added daplaflaglozin and I was already of bydureon. I was very nearly on insulin path before I took steps.

however it is a lifelong change, even now anything too high carb sends my bloods way into the bad ranges, something I am currently challenging myself with

again, my experience, I also don’t know if this will sustain
 

Andydragon

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
3,324
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi @Andydragon There was talk of adding more meds at my last review in May hence why I have decided to go low carb since. .
That’s partially what made me change. Insulin was fast on the horizon plus covid scared me. Sometimes there is a push we need

good luck on the low carb, hope it helps
 

LaoDan

Well-Known Member
Messages
993
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
The term “new normal “
Who knows how long I was walking around with T2, I’d bet over 10 years. I went ultra low carb, started exercising and measuring. BG dropped like a rock. I’ve since relaxed the carb intake to 50ish. So yeah, give it a try.
 
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pinkfoot

Well-Known Member
Messages
69
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Good Morning folks
I have been type 2 now for 15 years never really had an Hba1c over 9.8 which was my last one in May.. My question is .Is it ever to late to try and reverse by going low carb ? I started low carb in May and my weight has dropped from 96.9kg to 85.4 kg and the average reading on my meter over 90 days is now 8.5 ! ( I thought maybe it might be lower over that 90 day period) I have been fighting a UTI during this period of time also which I think may affect my levels ! Anyway my question is . Is it ever to late to try and reverse it after 15 years by dropping the carbs? I'm doing about 50 a day TIA.

I'm almost in the same boat as you. I've been low carbing and it has been amazing how my body and outlook has changed. I am now not taking any drugs and my control is pretty good. My average over the last 30 days is 6.5mmol/L, in the last seven days, it is 6.0 mmol/L. The last seven days saw me drop Atorvastatin, I think that was one of the reasons my bloods were higher.
All the very best wishes to you, you're doing a brilliant job!
 
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pinkfoot

Well-Known Member
Messages
69
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
@EllieM your post scared the life out of me - for all the right reasons. Glad I never had to go insulin, been close but avoided it. Diet is now the key.
 
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