Longtime lurker finally introduces herself - Type 2

superwoman1964

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi,

I am a 51 year old female diagnosed with Type 2 about 2 years ago whilst having blood tests for something else. At the time my FBG was 8+. Happily my surgery readily supplied a meter to test with and as many strips and lancets as I want. I was also put on Metformin and currently take 2000mg per day.

Initially I was just plain cross to be Type 2. Whilst having always struggled with my weight I was not a fan of cakes, biscuits or chocolates, preferring savoury foods. Of course the Eatwell plate as recommended by my DN was exactly what I have always eaten as I love good food have always cooked from scratch for my family. So unfair! Almost immediately found this forum and have been reading/lurking ever since. (I've read the beginners info kindly sent out by @daisy1 numerous times!)

In the past I have done low carb diets to lose weight, Atkins, Slimming World red days (never green) and most successfully Dukan. To be honest my following the LCHF way as recommended here has been half hearted up to 3 months ago but seeing my BG levels rise steadily to 14ish and needing a much stronger contact lens prescription to just see I took myself in hand and have been a dedicated follower of LCHF. Since August I have lost 16lbs (another 28lbs to goal) and got my BG levels down to between 6 - 8 most of the time.

I have discovered through testing that not only do all the usual forms of carb send my levels back into the teens I am also very sensitive to too much protein. I really have to keep to about 65g per day to keep down to levels of around 6. So I am working on eating less meat and increasing fat as I realise my previous low carb attempts just had too much protein in them to be really successful.

So I thought it was about time I introduced myself and started contributing to repay all the good advice I have found here.
 
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Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
:D
Good to have you.
And well done on getting things so well in hand!
 
Messages
18,448
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Bullies, Liars, Trolls and dishonest cruel people
Hello and welcome :)

Best wishes RRB
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@superwoman1964

Welcome to the forum :) I hope the information I posted has been useful to you. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will help.
 

DeejayR

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,375
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
Welcome and well done on sorting your life and facing up to what must be done.
I'm interested in this bit
needing a much stronger contact lens prescription to just see
Did your optician say anything about that?
 

superwoman1964

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Type 2
@DeejayR

He was surprised as at my age he said he expected it to be going the other way. I have been minus 6 and minus 6.5 for years. Have had to go up to -7.5 in both eyes. He thought it could well be the rise in my blood sugar so I'm hoping they settle down now I've got better control. I've had 2 retinal eye screens both of which have come back clear.
 

DeejayR

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,375
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
@DeejayR

He was surprised as at my age he said he expected it to be going the other way. I have been minus 6 and minus 6.5 for years. Have had to go up to -7.5 in both eyes. He thought it could well be the rise in my blood sugar so I'm hoping they settle down now I've got better control. I've had 2 retinal eye screens both of which have come back clear.
OK, I was wondering if he red-flagged it or just wrote another prescription without trying to fathom it. Sounds like he's on the ball. Er, not eyeball, it's not a pun.
 

minidvr

Well-Known Member
Messages
52
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Politics, Celebrity Life Styles being pushed as the ideal.
The thing with eye tests is that they can vary. My prescription was reduced because one eye seems to have improved, although I suspect that his previous prescription was too strong. I've had 2 retinal scans, and it's interesting when the operator shows you the pictures, rotating your eye balls so that you can see what they're talking about. Mine were both clear, just received confirmation in writing of the latest.

I'm on a low carb diet, which has worked. Lost about 17 ibs and 3 inches of the waistline. Started playing table tennis in a group of oldies, and that has contributed to overall fitness and weight loss, along with walking (fair weather walker) as well.

As I'm a vegetarian, the low carb suits me fine and no issues with too much protein as I avoid it with a veggie diet.

Good luck with your health, your GP sounds pretty switched on as they got you a meter and strips on prescription. My GP won't prescribe and says that I don't need to test, which is laughable - self funding isn't that bad if you only test weekly and when you feel a bit funny (which might indicate high or low BG).
 

superwoman1964

Well-Known Member
Messages
45
Type of diabetes
Type 2
That's interesting - I'm fully expecting my lens prescription to improve next time.

Your comments about being a vegetarian are interesting. I always thought that LCHF would be almost impossible for a vegetarian but I can see now it's an advantage. I'm currently cooking vegetarian dishes as they are easy to add plenty of fat to in the form of cheese, butter and cream. I then add a piece of meat for my family eg a chicken breast (I'd face mutiny from the OH and grown up sons otherwise) and I sometime have a couple of slices of meat myself if I haven't already eaten protein at breakfast and lunch.

Since doing this the weight loss has picked up a bit and the BG readings are definitely lower. It's almost as if I can tolerate a slightly higher carb level when I limit protein. ie 30/40g a day instead of 20g.