So I've been somewhat stalking the Low-carb Diet forum for about 3 months now, but never had the guts to sign up and get talking.
The one thing I have noticed, is that the majority of Diabetics posting here are from an older generation than myself, obviously making you all much wiser than myself.
I just want to share my story, so that if maybe there are any other younger one's doing the same as I, they realise that perhaps this is achievable and manageable at our age.
I'm Lydia, and 19 years of age, and have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes since the young ol' age of 3 on December 11th 1997, making me a 15 year old diabetic I guess?
In any case, when I hit my teens, as most teenage diabetic girls do - I rebelled against everything I'd ever been told.
I hated what I was, thought that no-one else understood, rejecting my injections and pretty much set myself on a self-destructive course that ended me in hospital with Diabetic KetoAcidosis more times than I can count on my fingers.
This carried on from age 12 to age 18 - I understand I'll get some complications in my future now, and my eyesight is only now improving slightly. I was lucky enough to get away without any neuropathy/retinopathy.
Last year, I signed up for the DAPHNE course. My doctors and nurses were always incredibly emotional when I saw them because they saw a bright young girl wasting her future away. Needless to say, I decided that maybe it was time to change after I met my boyfriend of 2 years now and realized I needed my future. As such, I decided to take the course and see what I could do.
This is where my life changed.
I went on the week long course, and for the first two days, I saw no change. Why would I? All the glucogen was still being released from my liver.
Day three hit me hard. I was told my HBA1C% had reached the top of the scale 14. But I saw my first 5.0mmol/l that I had seen in nearly two years.
I became determined. I spoke to the dietician who ran the course, and she recommended my low-carb diet.
We calculated that I averaged 300-400g of carbs a day back then, and this is now sitting at 60-80g depending on my activity levels for the day.
My total daily doses used to be that of a pregnant diabetic with twins, so I was told.
I'm now taking a healthy level, which is more like someone with a smaller frame than myself.
To finish my story, last week I returned to my local centre for a check-up.
In under a year, my HBA1C% had dropped from 13.4% to 7.6%, my carb intake has more than halved, and my insulin levels are virtually non-exsistant compared to what I used to take.
You always hear stories about how somebody can reverse Type 2 diabetes.
I feel like I've managed to reverse my Type 1, and have never felt so good.
So here's my little story.
I'm not looking for praise or anything, I simply hope that all of the teenagers out there who struggle with things might see this, and realize that low carb can achieve a new lifestyle even at a younger age.
Finally, thank you all for being so inspirational to me for the past three months! :thumbup:
The one thing I have noticed, is that the majority of Diabetics posting here are from an older generation than myself, obviously making you all much wiser than myself.
I just want to share my story, so that if maybe there are any other younger one's doing the same as I, they realise that perhaps this is achievable and manageable at our age.
I'm Lydia, and 19 years of age, and have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes since the young ol' age of 3 on December 11th 1997, making me a 15 year old diabetic I guess?
In any case, when I hit my teens, as most teenage diabetic girls do - I rebelled against everything I'd ever been told.
I hated what I was, thought that no-one else understood, rejecting my injections and pretty much set myself on a self-destructive course that ended me in hospital with Diabetic KetoAcidosis more times than I can count on my fingers.
This carried on from age 12 to age 18 - I understand I'll get some complications in my future now, and my eyesight is only now improving slightly. I was lucky enough to get away without any neuropathy/retinopathy.
Last year, I signed up for the DAPHNE course. My doctors and nurses were always incredibly emotional when I saw them because they saw a bright young girl wasting her future away. Needless to say, I decided that maybe it was time to change after I met my boyfriend of 2 years now and realized I needed my future. As such, I decided to take the course and see what I could do.
This is where my life changed.
I went on the week long course, and for the first two days, I saw no change. Why would I? All the glucogen was still being released from my liver.
Day three hit me hard. I was told my HBA1C% had reached the top of the scale 14. But I saw my first 5.0mmol/l that I had seen in nearly two years.
I became determined. I spoke to the dietician who ran the course, and she recommended my low-carb diet.
We calculated that I averaged 300-400g of carbs a day back then, and this is now sitting at 60-80g depending on my activity levels for the day.
My total daily doses used to be that of a pregnant diabetic with twins, so I was told.
I'm now taking a healthy level, which is more like someone with a smaller frame than myself.
To finish my story, last week I returned to my local centre for a check-up.
In under a year, my HBA1C% had dropped from 13.4% to 7.6%, my carb intake has more than halved, and my insulin levels are virtually non-exsistant compared to what I used to take.
You always hear stories about how somebody can reverse Type 2 diabetes.
I feel like I've managed to reverse my Type 1, and have never felt so good.
So here's my little story.
I'm not looking for praise or anything, I simply hope that all of the teenagers out there who struggle with things might see this, and realize that low carb can achieve a new lifestyle even at a younger age.
Finally, thank you all for being so inspirational to me for the past three months! :thumbup:
