Diagnosed Type 2 ,trying to reverse it !!

I've been officially diagnosed less than a week so it would be wrong of me to give you any advice as such - I do know there are type 2 sufferers out there who eventually do control their own T2 Diabetes - but usually after a while of being on tablets, monitoring sugar levels etc and also in most instances, these people have lost a fair bit of weight.

With regards to your cholesterol level - they no longer work on a single figure but how that figure is made up through good and bad cholesterol (HDL and LDL and Triglycerides) - my cholesterol was 4.7 - but my triglycerides were horrendous - so ostensibly the figure looks not just good, but fantastic - I'm waiting to go on to statins - my practice never start me on more than one drug at a time because I have a tendency to react to things.

I didn't want to go on statins either - then chatting to my mum who had her heart attack at 66, she told me she'd been on them since then - she is now 81 and despite numerous other health problems - with our assistance - she's led a good life since she lost my dad (we never thought she would outlive him - but there you go) and she's now a proud great granny.

During the time since you've been diagnosed - have you been monitoring your sugar levels?

I was told the ideal HbA1C is 53 (or lower possibly?) - mine was 106 - so considerably higher than yours - it also contributed to how horrendously ill I'd been not long before the diagnosis.

You've clearly been through it with your health and I can totally understand why you want to take control of this - but whilst I'm no expert - I do know that the complications of poorly controlled diabetes and / or a high bad cholesterol / tricglyceride level can have very serious consequences.

My diagnosis ultimately came through a very dodgy brain scan and wasn't what anyone expected.

It is good that you are working with the right people - but you need to understand your sugar and cholesterol levels better to enable you to make informed decisions

Cupcake123. said:

Hi there, diagnosed type2 in June of this year, hba1c 67 , cholesterol 6, prescribed Metformin and statins which to date I am reluctant to start taking, I have changed my diet around completely and really want to reverse my diabetes without medication, I have had my 2 sessions with the diabetes team at my clinic and had a one to one with a dietician ,I have told my diabetes nurse about not starting meds just yet, and would like to be tested again 3 months from diagnosis, I am finding all the numbers and percentgages confusing I have a few questions I would like to ask...

1, going by my blood results above are those readings really high ?
2, is it possible I can totally avoid the meds by diet only ?

I have had other major health problems in the past, cancer, brain surgery to remove a benign tumour ,which I had no control over
Just feel i want to control the diabetes myself and will do anything I can in my power to try and reverse it !!!

Thanks for reading .

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Hi @Cupcake123 welcome to the forum. At 67 (8.7%) your hba1c is fairly high as non-diabetic is 41 (5.5%) however there are forum members who had higher levels at diagnosis and have managed to reduce their levels significantly by lowering their carbs and eating full fat, as opposed to low fat, foods or by going on a very low calorie diet such as @Andrew Colvin or @Pipp. There are also some who started off on medication and are now diet only. Obviously I'm not medically trained and you need to take your other health issues into account but itis possible. I eat low carb, full fat and my hba1c has steadily reduced from 42 last August, 41 in December and 36 this July and my cholesterol level is 4.8 which is without statins. Re cholesterol it's not the total level that you need to worry about but the breakdown into LDL (bad) which should be less than 2.5 and HDL (good) which should be over 2.5. Have a read around the forum and ask any questions. One more thing if you haven't been given one your most important weapon is a glucose meter!

Hiya Cupcake, welcome, and you seem to have hit the ground running as they say by straight away wanting to take control your diabetes. I'll tag @daisy1 to give you her excellent guide to doing just that and when you've had a read please ask more questions.
Briefly, ref your specific queries:
1) Quite, not really
2) Many of us do

Cupcake123. said:

Hi there, diagnosed type2 in June of this year, hba1c 67 , cholesterol 6, prescribed Metformin and statins which to date I am reluctant to start taking, I have changed my diet around completely and really want to reverse my diabetes without medication, I have had my 2 sessions with the diabetes team at my clinic and had a one to one with a dietician ,I have told my diabetes nurse about not starting meds just yet, and would like to be tested again 3 months from diagnosis, I am finding all the numbers and percentgages confusing I have a few questions I would like to ask...

1, going by my blood results above are those readings really high ?
2, is it possible I can totally avoid the meds by diet only ?

I have had other major health problems in the past, cancer, brain surgery to remove a benign tumour ,which I had no control over
Just feel i want to control the diabetes myself and will do anything I can in my power to try and reverse it !!!

Thanks for reading .

Click to expand...

Hi and welcome,

I'm not going to add to the advice given by the others, which is excellent. Just to say, in answer to your questions, Your HbA1c reading is high but many on this forum started a lot higher. The diabetic range begins at 48.

under 42 is considered non diabetic
42 to 47 is considered pre-diabetic and therefore at high risk of becoming diabetic
48 and above is diabetic.

Yes, some people do control their levels by diet only, but not everyone can. Sometimes there is already too much damage done to the pancreas and therefore extra help is needed. Also, the diet has to be suitable but more importantly, sustainable, because this is for life, not for a few months. There are also other factors such as internal organ fat and a lot of insulin resistance, others have less of a problem in this respect. Some people are diet only from the outset but find they need extra help down the line, others start on meds and find they can come off them down the line, others may never need meds. No two people are the same.

As for the Metformin, I personally had no side effects at all, and I think it does have various benefits even if having a dramatic affect on BG levels isn't one of them.

the only side effect I have from metformin lis that it has triggered my "full" button so I am eating a lot less & the weight is coming off quite steadily . I've lost 6kg since mid July despite going to a wedding ( a few days off the wagon"

Hi @Cupcake123. I started with an HbA1c of 91 so as you can see much worse than yours and as you can see from my signature now at 31. I managed to get down to 40 in 3 months (no meds). I did it by a very low calorie diet. Have a read of my 3 month journey (linked in my signature). If you are interested just ask and we can point you are prof taylor's work.

silky1 said:

I was told the ideal HbA1C is 53 (or lower possibly?)

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This level is much higher than the normal range or the prediabetic range. At one point I had a level of 54 and my nurse told me that microvascular complications happen at around that level. I would aim for below 48, or even better: below 42.

What is HbA1c?

This explains an HBA1c @Evelynross.

http://www.diabeticretinopathy.org.uk/prevention/what_is_the_hba1c.htm

I'd recommend buying David Cavan's Reverse your diabetes (which you can get from this website's shop - or from all the online booksellers). It's highly readable - puts this all in straightforward terms, as well as making me want to go down this pathway of no meds.

I cant really add to the great advice above but many here, myself included started out on meds and are now doing it by diet alone. As you were diagnosed in June you must be due for your next HbA1c test soon. Hopefully after you get the results you wiĺl have a clearer picture of what direction you want to follow, meds or diet alone.

Hi, what is the best diet control or meds from your experience? I'm still trying to get hold of the situation and looking for some support. Thanks in advance.

thane768 said:

Hi, what is the best diet control or meds from your experience? I'm still trying to get hold of the situation and looking for some support. Thanks in advance.

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It depends on your situation. I went straight on metformin and I believe it helped (it can suppress appetite and seems good for obese people, like I was). But I think it's ok to try diet only for 3 months and then see if things are improving at that point.

I started out on Metformin, BP and cholesterol meds while eating "the healthy plate". I then started going LC and after 3 months I stopped my meds due to lots of hypos. I am now permanently doing LCHF and my last Hb test was 34. Personally I will be sticking with LCHF as it suits me, Im never hungry and my BS is stable. There are many options out there that can give the same great results though so it really is a matter of finding what suits you best. Its definately not the end of the world if you have to go on meds, some are able to control their diabetes by diet alone but for others it isnt an option for various reasons.

Best of luck for that but I would suggest to take it slow.Give it some time and with proper diet and exercise everything is possible.