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Am i being daft?

H

haggis1972

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hi i am a recently diagnosed type 2, and really want to try to control this without medication if at all possible, with diet and excersice so being really careful about what i eat and am trying to cut out the carbohydrate to see if this helps.
I keep meeting people where i live my mum included that are type 2 and they keep telling me to just take the tablets and eat what i want, surely that cant be good for you, or am i being silly, any advice appreciated.
My bs was down to 5.5 last night 2 hrs after eating and again this lunchtime,of which i felt good about , what should i aim to try and get it to again my mum who has been type 2 for years keeps hers about 8.0 surely this is too high.
thank you for reading
sara
 
haggis1972 said:
I keep meeting people where i live my mum included that are type 2 and they keep telling me to just take the tablets and eat what i want, surely that cant be good for you, or am i being silly, sara
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Hi Sara, I can tell by my own experience that does not work. I was of the same opinion for 2 years. Took the metformin, ate what I wanted and my BG levels gradually crept up.
I recently had a Hb1Ac test of 7.6 which isn't good for me. My GP put me on sitigliptin as well as my usual metformin. I finally decided to do a bit more research and cut back on the junk food in my diet.
I have reduced the amount of carbs in my diet. I now eat low carb pasta, a small amount of rice with my meals. Only 2 slices of wholemeal bread a day, 2 small new potatoes with meals etc.
I had an Hb1Ac result back today and with the combination of the new meds and the more sensible diet I am down to 6.5 :mrgreen: And that is within only 4 weeks.
Do you test daily with a meter? I think this is the only way of knowing how certain foods affects your BG. Try it and see.
 
Each person differs, but the figures to aim for are 4-6 or 7 fasting and under 8, 2 hours after meals. You seem to be doing well with 5.5 8)
Keep testing.
 
 
Hi Sara i dont think your daft but you should take your tabs 5.5 is very good.Im 10 and cant seem to get any lower.Eating well and exercise will always help.doctor knows best.
 
Hello Sara

You are not being daft, you are looking after your body. 8)
 
Noel 55 said:
Hi Sara i dont think your daft but you should take your tabs 5.5 is very good.Im 10 and cant seem to get any lower.Eating well and exercise will always help.doctor knows best.
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What medication are you on and what are you eating, Noel.?
 
Not on any medication yet, my doctor says he will give me 3 months to try with diet and excercise alone- i have just managed to cycle 3 miles with the kids and i definately couldent of done that a month ago. Am walking about an hour a day, going on kids trampoline and have cut our bread,rice,pasta,potatoes ect. Eating eggs, meat ,salad veg and drinking diet coke, have stopped drinking coffee,
 
That diet is sensible, Sara. People will be constantly encouraging you to eat "normally" but over the years diabetes (or rather, elevated blood glucose) will have its effect. It did on me. Cutting out the main carbs helped me to reverse intense muscle pain & gave me my active life back.

When I eat out, I reject carbs & ask for extra veg.

I add to your diet plenty of root & green veg, cheese & nuts. I make a "minute mufffin" bread substitute which works well & provides the basis for a variety of low carb breads & cakes.
 
Your doing well Sara, and I think you are being wise not silly. I take Metformin but wouldn't dream of eating as I was before being diagnosed four years ago. My last hba1c was 6.0 per cent and the nurse is pleased with me. I was lucky that the doctor I saw was surprised I wasn't taking any medication and so prescribed the Metformin and I was prescribed test strips for the meter I bought for several months so I learned how certain foods affected bg levels. I now buy my own test strips as the nurse said I didn't need them.
 
Hi Sara,

Very definitely you aren't being daft! In fact, you seem to be anything other than daft considering the advice that you say other people are trying to give you.

I'm a non-insulin dependent Type 2 who was daignosed over nine years ago and I'm still on metformin tablets. I got worse for eight years - my HbA1c rose to 9.4% - but have reversed my situation completely over the last eighteen months - last HbA1c down to 5.1% and is still dropping. Almost all of that improvement is down to changing my diet to eat less carbohydrate - particularly less starchy carbohydrate - i.e. cereals, bread, potatoes, past, rice, pizza etc.

You can read details of the sort of diet that is working for me elsewhere on this forum by clicking on the following link:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13750

Good luck and best wishes - John
 
well i must be doing something right my blood pressure has come down to 136/64 im so pleased, still losing weight and i actually feel better than ive done in ages, i hope i can keep it up, thank you for all your replies.
sara
 
Sara
the diet route wseems o me to be the safest.
Depending completely on medicationI think is what makes T2 progressive. AND you have side effects from any medication
Congratulations on your improved health so far.
PS
My Mum, aged 92, is just coming round to understanding my low carb eating.
Hana
 

Hi Sara,

No, I don't think you're daft either.

It is a very irresponsible attitude for others to continue having a bad lifestyle and relying on drugs to try and fix it for them.

I too am recently diagnosed and am trying to keep on top of things with diet only for now. My second visit to the DN is in April, so I'll very soon learn if I have succeeded or not. :shock:
 
Handr
Are you saying that taking medication is what makes type 2 diabets get worse?????

Thats a hell of a statement to make and if any newly diagnosed type 2 are reading that and they are not certain about taking there meds then that could make them not to take them when they really need to.

Brian
 
brian
Iam not saying the medication makes T2 get worse, I do believe that relying on medication gives a less stable BG. (More up and down) and that is most of the problem. the "Experts" call those changes "excursions" and they are now thinking that the excursions are as important as HbA1c in deterioration.
In any case ALL medication causes side effects and they are not usually good either.
So for me: lowered carbs = less glucose available for excursions = less medicine needed. What I call a win/win situation.
YES! Ido still miss crusty bread and the like, but seeing my numbers staying steady in the high 4s and low 5s is worth it. [ I'd like to get a bit lower ideally]
Hana
 
Does taking medication progress type 2 diabetes?
No that’s one to debate indeed..

I know that Bernstein theorises in the case of T1 which is an autoimmune disease, that if you can get the right control in the honey period that you should be able to hold the honeymoon period and hold that status quo, allowing the pancreas to maintain some production of insulin etc... But as yet this is only a theory waiting to be researched...

As to T2’s and medication this is a real difficult one indeed
We know that some T2’s can maintain a diet only control, but others requiring various levels of medications which can increase or decrease over time, when a T2 decreases their medication this is generally in line with improvements they’ve made within their lifestyle, change of diet, more exercise, weight lose which leads to better control and less insulin residence...

You’ve got to consider type/action of the medication, medication such as metformin work by changing how the body uses the insulin along side, reducing the release of glycogen into the blood stream helping to prevent increased blood glucose.. So really not touching the production/stress levels on the pancreas...

Medication such as Glicizide work on the pancreas, by increasing insulin production, so perhaps this would cause a burn out and progress the diabetes!

But another set of factors that would cloud if it’s the medication or not, are things like stress, change in lifestyle... The natural aging process, as we get older, our hormone levels change, then you’ve got to add in perhaps another medical condition that rears its ugly head many things that can impact on control, and activity/exercise levels your ability to exercise/activity changes the older you get or effected by another underlying medical condition or treatment..
 
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