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Can I manage without insulin. ?

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PaulJ150265

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I am type 2 diabetic and have been since 2018. My readings have varied every 6 months from 66 to 188. My latest last month was 101. I take Metformin and alogliptin at present. I now see my doctors are recommending me to go for an insulin clinic appointment. Of course I am sceptical and don’t want to go down that road. I know my main problem is my diet. I do go off the rails at weekends and have odd beers. Judging by what I’ve said here. What are your thoughts.
 
PaulJ150265 said:
I now see my doctors are recommending me to go for an insulin clinic appointment. Of course I am sceptical and don’t want to go down that road. I know my main problem is my diet. I do go off the rails at weekends and have odd beers.
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Hi @PaulJ150265 , and welcome to the forum.
Would you mind sharing the kind of things you eat on a normal day? A couple of beers on a weekend alone won't make your hba1c that high, but a regular diet with a lot of carbs can, even if it's conidered a healthy diet.
PaulJ150265 said:
My readings have varied every 6 months from 66 to 188.
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Is the 188 a typo?
 
No it actually peaked there and dropped down to around 120 6 months after.
 
Normally I would have toast or crumpet x 2 for breakfast. 2 ham cobs for lunch break at work together with 2 items of fruit. Normally an healthy ish gusto meal at tea time. 2 bottles of beer and maybe just maybe a chocolate buiscuit around 9pm. At weekend. A bacon or sausage cob for breakfast maybe a takeaway curry or kebab in the evening with maybe upto 5 bottles of beer. On Sunday a bacon butty followed by a Sunday dinner with usual items and in evening maybe a couple of beers and light snack.
 
Resurgam said:
My first thought was that if you have enough insulin inside you - do you really need more?
Many type 2's are over producing their own insulin and when they cut down the carbs they get wobbly moments due to things swinging back to normal too fast.
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I just know I should be able to help myself before taking insulin prescription
 
Many can avoid insulin and even other medications by changing their diet alone. As said above most type 2 already produce plenty of insulin, but they don’t respond to it. Adding yet more might force a response in the short term (as the traditional treatment focus’ on) but in the long term it adds the the resistance that means you don’t respond to it. A downward vicious circle that is what makes type 2 progressive in the traditional medical treatment.

That said levels such as your higher ones are also a serious threat to your health so you do need to do something differently and now. What you do and how effective it is is largely down to your choices. Most of us restrict carbs , not just sugars to lower blood glucose levels and reduce excess weight if that’s also an issue.

can you see the links below in my signature? They are a good place to start reading.
 
Thank you
 

Sounds like a lot of simple carbs going on there. They will spike blood glucose. Beer can be quite high in carbs too. One beer I would recommend that is low carb is called 'Skinny Brands' if you can get it where you are. It is 4% alcohol and only 3g of carbs per 330ml bottle - It actually tastes nice too!
 

those I’ve marked in bold will likely be causing big spikes in blood glucose. The italics may be depending on the specifics of what carbs are included. So the good news is you have a lot of room for positive changes. It seems heavily bread and beer (liquid bread?) based.

This is another page that explains the concepts behind reducing grains, rice, pasta, bread, potatoes. Www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes
 
How about eggs for breakfast?
Are dinner leftovers microwaved an option for lunch? Salads with meat, cheese, eggs, fish?
which fruit? tropical fruits have a lot of carbs and fructose and aren’t the best choice. Berries are much better
what’s a gusto meal? A ready meal? Probably quite carb heavy and not very filling. Can you cook? Anything?

spirits and wine have a lot fewer carbs so long as you choose mixers wisely. Beer and cider have a lot.

How about a full English on a Sunday with high meat content sausages with minimal fillers, bacon, eggs, mushrooms? Tomatoes? Skip the bread and go easy on beans.
 
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Ah - well that explains a lot - though the medication you are taking is intended to reduce blood glucose levels you are fairly hammering along the high carbohydrate route.
I eat proteins and fats, and a small amount of carbohydrate - these days under 40 gm a day - and I do enjoy the meals I have - I only eat twice a day though.
It is up to you how you decide to eat and live, but as a very ordinary type 2 my intention is to stay away from needing medication of any sort, so I don't eat high carb foods, and these days I would not want to. I really do not miss the sugars and starches.
 
Assuming true T2DM and no misdiagnosis, it's impossible to call without first knowing whether you are still overproducing or have progressed to underproducing. If it's the former then it's highly probable that no amount of insulin in the world will improve your long term heath outcomes beyond a superficial and temporary drop in blood glucose. Unfortunately your doctor almost certainly doesn't know this and will disagree if challenged, so proceed with caution and never assume medical professionals know what they're talking about just because they wear a white coat or blue dress.

If you're underproducing then the picture is way more complex and it's likely that some exogenous dosing may help, but you'll still be type 2 and will still be insulin resistant, so the goal should always be to cut the diabetes out at the roots with dietary change.

EDIT: If you do end up using insulin, make sure you become a pro user and know the potentially fatal dangers of overdosing before later marching headlong into any dietary changes.
 
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There is nothing to be afraid of re insulin, you need to protect your long term health. There is no reason not to occasionally treat yourself. Not listening to the professionals can lead to poor outcomes. 7 beers a day is a lot of sugar as is the number of cobs you eat. Consider a different kid of bread and perhaps pilsner beer.
 
Hello and welcome,

Since you have titled this thread as 'Can I manage without insulin' my answer will be- maybe. So that's not super awesome.

So to be more helpful what I will say is that many type 2s like me have been able to bring their levels down to non-diabetic levels by diet alone by reducing their carb intake- all carbs not just sugars. Not everyone can achieve this through. The diet you describe has a lot of scope for reducing carbs. If you want to avoid insulin then I suggest cutting your carb intake.

I also suggest getting a meter if you haven't already got one- that will let you know how different food have affected your levels.

If you want to avoid insulin I would absolutely encourage you to give you a red hot go. Try dramatically reducing your carb intake and measure your levels.

Good luck and let us know how you go.
 
Thank you. I’m now onto the low carb diet. I’ve just got to make my change in diet an happy one. Last two days have been potato and bread free. I know it may be challenging at times finding carb alternatives but I’d rather change the diet than rely on medication that will just keep increasing.
 
 
 
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