Diet and exercise control

julianh said:

How long will it take to get my BG levels down with strict low carb diet and exercise?

I'm currently averaging a daily BG of around 12 and would like to halve it.

I realise it's a 'how long is a piece of string question' - but I'd like to have some idea of what other people's experience has been.

Thanks

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I'm T1 using insulin but find with between 2 to 4 hours activity per day whilst at work my levels come down to 5's instead of 8's

I would imagine with daily intense exercise and proportionate amount of low GI carbs the effects should be noticeable same day / next day.

It is possible to get down to single figures or even 7 and 8s in as little as a month.

This all depends on individuals and how much insulin resistance and how much the pancreas is still working, so yes it is a piece of string question.

I note you are not on any medication, it might be best to speak to your doc. and get something to help get your BGs down. Maybe Metformin.

I would advise against trying to drop BGs very quickly, it can be detrimental to your eyes and maybe other parts of your body.
It is best done in a controlled and steady way, over at the very least a month, two months would be better.

Averages are just that, and it depends when you tested etc. Finger prick testing is fine for seeing how foods affect you and changing things accordingly, the average of these figures does not represent the results of an HbA1c and it is not easy to come up with any correlation between the two.

As always, just my opinions.

H

It seems the "Nanny" controls don't like the expression "finger pr1ck" never mind

Hi Julianh
I have gone from 85 to 46 in about three months. I have really worked on it and I can't say that I have not had off days. Testing is really important to mark how you are progressing. We are all different though so it could take more or less time for you. It is possible though and this forum will help you with advice and encouragement. Good luck with it and I hope you succeed.

happycat said:

Hi Julianh
I have gone from 85 to 46 in about three months. I have really worked on it and I can't say that I have not had off days. Testing is really important to mark how you are progressing. We are all different though so it could take more or less time for you. It is possible though and this forum will help you with advice and encouragement. Good luck with it and I hope you succeed.

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Yes, I've had a similar experience and manage to control by diet and some exercise, now that I have lost 3 stone.
I would agree that regular testing is essential while you get a grip with how various foods affect your sugar level. Once you've gained confidence, you should be able to test much less often
Insist on 3 monthly gHb for at least a year, as otherwise you will have no idea about longer term trends - you really can't judge a trend until you have 3 or 4 readings. Hope your improvement continues.

It really depends on how broken your pancreas is how much diet and exercise will lower levels.

You could put yourself at risk of a bleed in your eyes (retinopathy) by trying to reduce your levels quickly.

))Denise(( said:

You could put yourself at risk of a bleed in your eyes (retinopathy) by trying to reduce your levels quickly.

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Denise, I have recently seen this comment in a couple of places but have never read about it in literature. If you have it and would be so kind, could you provide a reference to a source.

Thanks
Kenny

Kenny: re retinopathy,
The phenomenon is called early worsening of retinopathy. It was noticed in the original DCCT trials, a long term trial with T1 subjects and almost caused the whole trial to be abandoned. After that it has been found in other trials including with T2. Here's a 2007 review of retinopathy care that mentions it

Tight glycemic control has two clinically important adverse effects. First, there is risk of early worsening of DR. In the DCCT, this occurred in 13.1% of the intensive vs 7.6% of the conventional treatment group.49 However, this effect was reversed by 18 months, and no case of early worsening resulted in serious visual loss. Similar adverse event rates were reported in a meta-analysis.35 Participants at risk of this early worsening had higher HbA1c levels at baseline and a more rapid reduction of HbA1c levels in the first 6 months, suggesting that physicians should avoid rapid reductions of HbA1c levels where possible.

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http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... eid=208502
If you google you will find lots of papers on it.
Good Hope hospital site has some general info.
http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/retinop ... ession.htm

Most evidence concerns people who have had diabetes/higher HbA1cs for some time and have early diabetic changes (hence the term worsening) and it is in this context that the warning is usually given. People here in France are not allowed to go on a pump until they have had a thorough optical examination with fluorescein dye rather than the normal examination. Those at risk then have extra checks and any changes can be monitored and caught early.
However, I can see that this scenario could apply to a proportion of newly diagnosed people with T2 since they may have had high levels for some time. The first paper I found (probably from a US perspective) gave a figure of up to 21% of T2s having a degree of retinopathy at diagnosis
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/conten ... 1/s84.long

Thanks Phoenix for explaining it so well. There was also a lady who used to come on this forum who is almost blind through having her levels reduced very quickly by medication.

the key is in the diet.How strict is your definition of "Strict"?
I use minimal Metformin, but I know I'm VERY carb intollerant. It takes only a very small amount to push up my BG. o for me, "Strict" diet means VERY LOW CARB. I had 1 4car racker to support my pate for lunch and an avocado with lemon juice. that should be ok, but I haven't tested yet.
It might help you to find the right pattern for yourself if for a few days, you keep an accurate food diary [including portion size] and test before and 1 or 2 hours after starting your meals. It's the way to find what's going on.
Hana
PS 1 hour after eating will show you the highest bg reached. 2 hours after should be dropping down again. Just be consistent on which you choose to do.

It took me three months to get my HbA1C down from 68 to 45. In that time I've been taking Metformin, lost 10kg, cut out most sweets and sugary things, reduced food intake particularly carbs and increased daily excercise regime. (weekend walks 2-6 miles, 12 mins on cross-trainer every day, 20 seconds of High Intensity Training exercise as referred to by Dr Michael Mosley on Horizon - Google it)

I would say it would take between 3 - 6 months, but each person is different