5 Stone Weight Loss

didie

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People who think they are always right and ram their opinions down your throat. No-one knows everything. Those who shout loudest are usually the ones who actually know the least.
The last year has been a most interesting one for me and I'm going to ramble on about it.

This time last year I was on holiday in Australia. I was not feeling well, but put that down to having had a horrible stressful year at work and being absolutely worn out and generally unfit. I was sure that a good holiday was going to do the trick and make me feel better.

In fact it made me feel worse, but probably saved my life.



This is me in Alice Springs holding a joey. I really hate having my picture taken, so this is the only one I could find of me. Looking at it now, I don’t really recognise the person there as me.

The journey home from Ayers Rock was really long. We got up at 5.30 am to watch the sunrise at Ayers Rock, then sat at Ayers Rock airport for almost 4 hours waiting for a flight to Sydney. The flight to Sydney took about 3 hours and then we had to rush between terminals to get our flight to the UK. As it turned out there was a delay and I ambled round the shops and brought 2 packets of Skittles in a flavour we don’t get in the UK. Once on the plane heading for Hong Kong and feeling really quite uptight because I hate flying at the best of times and getting on a plane that was delayed because of a problem with the hydraulics was making me even more uptight; I munched my way through the 2 packs of Skittles. I can now remember looking back, that I felt really hot and tired and fell asleep thinking that it was amazing that I was going to sleep because I don’t sleep on flights. I now know that this was my sugars spiking horribly on top of already horribly high levels and that I had a stroke in my sleep. When I woke up I didn’t notice anything and neither did Sue my friend who I travel with a lot. I just thought I was really tired and jet laggy. We flew from Hong Kong to Heathrow where I had another 4 hour wait for a flight back up to Edinburgh. When I got back I was virtually dead on my feet and fell into bed. I thought I had really bad jet lag over the next couple of days. My husband went off walking and I was on my own with the dogs. The next day my son came round and the dogs were jumping around outside the house and as I was trying to get them back into the house I fell up the step and then later that day I dropped the hairdryer on my head twice. The next morning, thinking I maybe had a virus I went down to the surgery to the drop-in clinic where when I described what had happened, I was told to come back the next day to see the doctor for a full appointment.

I was very very lucky to see this doctor. She was wonderful. She examined me and wasn’t sure what was going on. She thought it was either an ear infection or the outside chance of a stroke. She followed her instincts and did neuro tests which I failed dramatically. She took bloods, I was told to go home, take aspirin and wait for her call. By the time I got home she had phoned and spoken to my husband who had just come home and she’d fixed up an appointment at the Stroke Clinic and I was to double the amount of aspirin. I was a twit and went to work the next day where I lasted 3 hours and then gave in and rested up until we went to the hospital the next day. After an MRI scan and a scan of my carotids, the conclusion was that I’d had a stroke in the right side of my brain affecting my left side. The neurologist misread my blood results. He told me that I had a dangerously high cholesterol level, when in fact he was reading a high sugar level. I had a horrible weekend waiting to die of a heart attack from these high levels and saw my doctor on the Monday who when I queried the results, told me it was my sugar levels that were raised. She did more bloods and I had a call from the diabetic nurse telling me that I was a Type 2 diabetic and I should go and see her in a week. At first I was horrified and panicky that I had to wait a week to see the nurse, but in the meantime I got on the internet and found this forum which was fantastic. I also saw the doctor again as she was keeping a close eye on me post-stroke and as she is the diabetic specialist doctor we had a long talk about diabetes. She said that she wasn’t going to give me any medication at first because she was sure that if I lost weight and got down to below 10 stone my sugar levels would come down. I admit I was a bit miffed about this, but in fact that is the best thing she did for me, because she spurred me to get into action. There was no question about my diagnosis as my GTT test came in at 19 and it was also found that I had been pre-diabetic the previous December when I had had blood tests prior to have a lump in my breast removed. No-one told me at the time, though to be fair if they had, I’d probably not have done anything about it.

The diabetic nurse gave me the leaflets about eating and at first I was really pleased because I was already eating all the stuff in the leaflet. She also gave me a blood monitor – but only because I had had a stroke, otherwise I would not have qualified for one. I went home and mused on the leaflet and realised that if I had already been eating the food suggested and had had a stroke, then I shouldn’t be eating it now.

I had to totally rethink my attitude to food. I never was much of a foodie, but now I just see food as a source of fuel, not a pleasure. I find my pleasure in other things. I do tend to eat the same thing every day and that is fine by me. I have found to my surprise that I have become a creature of habit.

The best bit of advice that was given to me in all this was by Grazer and it has been the magic key – exercise 45 minutes to one hour after you eat to burn your levels back. I started doing this with gentle walking to rehab myself after the stroke and built up my levels to the point where I walk at least 5 miles a day. I use the Wii console and do Zumba and various workout programmes. I used a basic walking programme in the early days when I could not walk far without lurching to the left.

After 6 weeks of not being able to drive and 8 weeks off work, I slowly went back to work and got on with my new lifestyle change.

It has worked. I’ve gone down from 13 st 10 lbs to 8 st 9 lbs as of today. My BMI has come down from way over 36 to 23.8 at the moment. I was a size 22-24 and am now a size 10-12. The best thing about doing lots of exercise is that I am so incredibly toned. I can’t remember the last time I looked so good – probably when I was about 18 and I had my 54th birthday last Friday.

I feel that I’m very lucky and have been given a second chance and I’ve grabbed it. My Hb1Ac was 8.0 on diagnosis and is now down to 5.8. I’m hoping to get it down to 5.5 or lower if possible. My blood levels have come right down to non-diabetic levels. I did a lot of testing and now I test first thing in the morning, two hours after my breakfast and then again 2 hours after my meal in the evening so I know what levels I am going to bed on. I cut out bread, pasta, rice and potatoes from my diet. I do eat porridge every morning and also Mrs Crimbles corn cakes with my meals. I do not eat a lot of fat, except in my prawn cocktail and tuna. I worked out what was right for me and I’ve stuck to it. I feel so well now and if that wasn’t enough to keep going, the fear of another stroke keeps me on the straight and narrow. My doctor is delighted with me. The Diabetic Nurse did a blood test for me in early April and told me that she didn’t need me to go for my annual review with her because I was obviously doing really well. There has never been any serious discussion about my diet. They can see the results and are happy to let me get on with things for myself.

This is me on the day I reached my 5 stone weight loss earlier this month:-



Happier, healthier and going to live (hopefully for a long long time yet).

My birthday last week felt like my first birthday with all that has happened in the last year. On reflection it has been a good year. My life changed forever, but I picked myself up and took control of the situation and have lived to tell the tale, though with a slight list to the left and a bit of a limp.

For me diabetes has been a positive experience. It was a relief to know that it caused my stroke and that it is a condition where I can have a vast amount of control (being a bit of a control freak, this suits me very well). I had to decide whether to give into it (as the diabetic nurse, but not the doctor expected me to do) or wrestle it into submission. I went with the wrestling and surprised myself at how well I have done. So far today I've walked 7 miles and I'm not finished yet.

Anyway I'd like to thank everyone on this board (especially Grazer and also viviennem who I feel literally held my hand when I started posting my fasting levels - she was so encouraging) who has been supportive and answered questions or just been there. This forum has been a major form of support for me and I'd not be where I am today without it.

Life is good
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eta: I had a long chat with a very sensible pharmacist and we agreed that I should take a general multivitamin every day to cover all bases, though I was probably ok, so I do.
 

Paul1976

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The puzzle that is Asperger syndrome that I still can't fit together.
:clap: :clap: :clap: WOW!! What an inspirational story!! :thumbup: You've over come and achieved so much and you're looking GREAT!! well,well done you!!! :thumbup: :D
 

daisy1

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Yours is a fantastic inspiring story :D
 

catza

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You story has given me hope. Thank you for sharing.
 

noblehead

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What a story, congratulations on the weight loss and healthy lifestyle! :D
 

Defren

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What an absolutely amazing story. You are, as others have said, such an inspiration. You look absolutely fabulous - congratulations.
 

DavideB

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What a Great STORY WELL DONE!!! :clap: :clap:

Cheeky Question, could you post your daily food routine , Thanks
 

didie

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People who think they are always right and ram their opinions down your throat. No-one knows everything. Those who shout loudest are usually the ones who actually know the least.
My food routine is really boring, but it works very well for me. I expect it would bore anyone else to distraction - it certainly does bore my husband, who does not eat the same things as me. I am quite happy to eat the same thing day in and day out :D


Morning: Porridge with skimmed milk and a tiny bit of fruit sugar.

Lunch: Mass of salad with peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes with full-fat prawn cocktail + corn cakes.

Tea: Mass of salad with peppers, onions and cherry tomatoes with no-drain tuna in sunflower oil + corn cakes.

Snacks are apples and satsumas and I drink Pepsi Max.

I eat my evening meal by 6 pm and usually don't eat anything after, unless my evening level is below 5.5 and then I'll munch an apple to try and make sure that I don't have DP in the morning.
 

xyzzy

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Absolutely marvelous, well done :clap: :clap: :clap:
 

Sunny

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Thats such a great story - made me cry. Well done - im sure so many people will be inspired to turn their lives around too. Thankyou.
 

borofergie

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didie said:
This is me in Alice Springs holding a joey. I really hate having my picture taken, so this is the only one I could find of me. Looking at it now, I don’t really recognise the person there as me.

Good job that you went low-carb after that photo was taken, otherwise you might have eaten the kangaroo...

Well done Didie, you look fantastic and you're an inspiration to all of us.

I don't think 5 stones does you justice. It looks like you've lost far more fat mass than the scales suggest, probably because of all the muscle you've gained from all the Wii-fitting.
 

lucylocket61

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Brilliant, simply brilliant. Well done and thank you for sharing your story.

I feel truly inspired now.

:clap: :thumbup:
 

anna29

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Hi .
Wonderful post and story, so inspiring ...
You look amazing , this is spurring me on !!!
Will reread this when I am having a difficult day .
Thank you for sharing this with us all . x
Well done you :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Anna.
 

didie

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People who think they are always right and ram their opinions down your throat. No-one knows everything. Those who shout loudest are usually the ones who actually know the least.
Thanks everyone :)

I'm quite proud of myself.

I've found out some interesting things along the way, such as blood tests done on my left hand where there is reduced sensation (so therefore I used to test all the time) actually produces higher readings than on my right side. Maybe the blood has to work harder circulating on my stroked left side.

I also found out that exercising at a very high intensity puts your sugar levels up. It took me a while to work that one out. I was so pleased with myself at being able to push my heart rate up to 160-165, but it was actally defeating the purpose of the exercise. What works really well is walking for about an hour or a 35-minute session of medium intensity Zumba which I love (takes me back to my Santana days). I have walked my way through 2 pairs of boots - I don't wear walking boots or trainers (don't like them). I've also killed one Wii console and one Wii balance board along the way.

Some days are strokey days when my balance is not good. On those days I can get out of bed and find myself walking in a circle and falling back on my bed which is highly amusing to watch, but very frustrating. Thankfully those days are becoming less frequent. If I close my eyes I sway backwards and forwards and will invariably fall backwards which is a very strange sensation. I keep my handbag swung across my body now, carrying the bag on my right side which pulls my balance back very nicely.

Yesterday morning I was out with the dogs, going up a path between some gorse on a glacial pavement, when I felt a tickle on my left arm. I looked down and saw that I'd walked through a spider's web line across the path. I did a happy dance because that is the first time since the stroke that I've been able to feel such a tiny sensation on my left side :D

Sue, my travelling companion is coming to visit next week and we're going to plan a visit to Barcelona in September which I'm really looking forward to. Long-haul travel is probably out of the question for a while. I have a doctor's appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss things. I'm going to take her a huge bunch of flowers to thank her for all she has done for me.