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First Annual Review

Ceppo

Well-Known Member
Messages
124
Location
West Yorkshire, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Well, so pleased to have my first one. First foot inspection yesterday - thankfully OK. First Diabetic Clinic today. Blood tests results surpassed themselves in normality - declared in remission at 39. They wish to check a few further times to confirm remission. Next test in 6 months. Although I've heard that one before. Seems no more foot checks but probably an annual blood one. Not completely clear.
Thank you all for your encouragement and support. I was cast out into the wilderness unsupported and you all rescued me. Long Life to Low Carb.
Sadly, I was told I am unusual and that most people aren't interested and just ask for medication. I'm so surprised at that. However, no information, support or guidance was available to me on new diagnosis. So sad. It could be so much better.
 
Firstly, huge congrats

Ceppo said:
Sadly, I was told I am unusual and that most people aren't interested and just ask for medication. I'm so surprised at that. However, no information, support or guidance was available to me on new diagnosis. So sad. It could be so much better.
Click to expand...

I was told exactly the same thing at my Endo appointment.
Most people treat it like raised BP & think the Met will sort it.
I was recently at a stag do where 2 guys I know are T2 were stuffing themselves with fries once the platters came out.
Unfortunately these patients are in the majority & skew that stats on the rest of us.
 
Congratulations on taking charge of your own health and delighted for you - wonderful results. It’s good to keep going on the checks even after a normal result to keep an eye on how it’s going. Well done.
 
Brilliant @Ceppo very well done to you.
I think many of us felt like you - cast out and unsupported at diagnosis. I know I’d still be struggling if it wasn’t for this forum too.
 
My DSN told me that when she suggests low carb to patients the response is often "cut out bread and potatoes? I couldn't possibly do that!" It seems to be a common attitude that it is the doctor's job to do something not the patient's.
 
Ceppo said:
Sadly, I was told I am unusual and that most people aren't interested and just ask for medication
Click to expand...

I think it's more a case that most people don't know about any alternatives to medication rather than being disinterested. It's 'You have diabetes, here's your meds' as if the entire thing was inevitable. Even if a newly diagnosed person tentatively inquired they'd be told 'It's progressive, it's inevitable, suck it up'.
 
I assume we are talking about Type 2. If HbA1c is not particularly high then I believe "diet and exercise" is the recommended first course of treatment, possibly with Metformin. Unfortunately not the right diet.
 
I knew there were possibilities for remission. It was forcefully denied and a progressive decline on 3 types of medication forecast for me by the dr who informed me over the telephone. It’s the random shake of the postcode dice.
Anyway this is a thankful testimonial not a grumble.
Thank you for taking me under your wings. You know who you are…
Thank you for patient explanations
Now it’s just continuing and making some more progress.
 
Well done and don't let the negativity of this practice grind you down!
Please consider them showing them Dr Unwin's GP low carb practice (see BMJ Nutrition for his paper on the topic).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7841829/
The first thing his practice doctors ask a newly diagnosed diabetic is Would you prefer to tackle this with drugs or a change in your diet?' Seems the answer is resoundingly in favour of diet so I supose it all depends on how you frame the question. He gets very good results and saves his practise thousands on diabetes drugs plus he finds it far more satisfying to 'deprescribe' patients than to see their diabetes progressing inexorably.
 
Yes a good idea. It would not I think be received well. I prefer not to alienate them. There was no uptake on my talk of giving patients a book list with so many helpful books around. Perhaps they are just worn out and have a group culture they can't yet break out of. It was the head of the practice who was so negative to me over a year ago. It all comes from the top. They don't grind me down. They give me the accolade of doing it on my own not realising what that reflects on those who should be partners in my journey..... Anyway its onwards and downwards I hope.... for all of us.
 
Congratulations Ceppo

I'm posting my happy results too....last HbA1c at 38 - consultant said it was better than his and to continue what I'm doing. I had been prescribed insulin for if I wanted to eat carbier meals as diagnosed as LADA...but my best results across the board were with the low carb-high fat diet alone - so I've ditched the insulin completely. Consultant thinks my sugars may rise in time...but I'll wait and see, and cross that bridge if it comes to it!

Also, my cholesterol is all good. I was told by my DN early in this journey that my high cholesterol was 'most probably due to low carb/high fat diet', and it's true that at the time I was eating a lot of cheese, so I curbed this and upped the healthier fats. However, I also believe that it was my body flushing out the stored cholesterol - which is what others on this forum reassured me was happening.

Just wanted to post to help anyone new to all this and feeling the fear I felt initially in eating against the grain (no pun intended) of the common understanding of 'healthy'. If you're new to all this, take heart: there is an absolute wealth of experience and the most generous help you can imagine on this forum. The LC/HF diet works, tastes good and I've never felt better in years! Thank you to everyone on this forum - you're all ace
 
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