- Messages
- 207
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
I was diagnosed on the 27th of April with a HbA1c of 82. I had already started to make changes to my diet to cut out processed foods and make sure I was eating a balanced diet with a good mix of nutrients. A few days later I went to see the Diabetic Nurse, and asked for a blood glucose meter so that I could fine tune my diet by checking for spikes in blood sugar.
Unsurprisingly, but rather disappointingly she said no. Her view was that there was no need for Type 2's to check their blood sugars - in fact it would be counter productive. She then went on to list the inevitable complications: heart disease, stroke, amputations and blindness and told me I would have to take metformin, and would need more medication as my disease progressed. I politely declined, due to fears that any potential side effects would derail my efforts to bring my weight down along with my blood sugars with diet and exercise. Fortunately I had already found this forum, and so took her statements with a very large pinch of salt.
As soon as I got home I ordered a meter and some testing strips, and began to test on waking, before meals, two hours after meals, and at bedtime, using a food diary to cross reference against my blood sugar results to work out what to do to improve my situation.
It has been less than two weeks since I got the meter, and already I have been able to adjust my diet and start to lower my blood sugar. I have gone from three meals a day to switching between one meal a day and two meals a day. I have settled on one meal a day eaten in the morning at the moment, as I seem to handle carbs a lot better in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. I have also reduced the carbs to less than 30g per day, from non starchy vegetables.
Using this approach I have gone from 8s and 9s to 5s and 6s. The mySugr app I use to track results predicts a HbA1c of 43.1. I even went out for a meal on Friday with friends and managed to eat low carb and high fat - tapas, my new favourite food.
On Friday this week I saw my doctor for the first time about the diabetes and decided, to hell with it I am just going to tell him what I am doing and not worry too much about his reaction. I have seen a lot of comments on these forums about less than helpful health professionals, and the Diabetic nurse's comments about inevitable progression and refusal to prescribe a meter made me anxious about what I would be walking into.
I needn't have worried. He was impressed with the weight loss I had already achieved and the lifestyle changes I had made, and did not turn a hair when I told him I was using fasting and a low carb high fat diet to help to bring down my blood sugars. I showed him my blood sugar results on the mySugr app on my phone and he was really encouraging. He gave me a target of below 48 for the next HbA1c test in 3 months time, which I am hopeful of achieving given my results so far. If I can achieve this then medication is off the table.
He mentioned that with better control over blood sugar, the need for medication could be pushed back for years, and that some people were able to get very good control of their diabetes through diet and avoid medication for life, and the complications that the nurse seemed to think were inevitable.
The only issue was high blood pressure, which had been measured in the appointment with the nurse, and, although it had come down a little by the appointment with the doctor, was still too high. He gave me some advice relating to keeping up the exercise I was already doing (minimum one hour per day), and said he would measure it again in 2-3 weeks to see where we were then. I have since bought a blood pressure meter and found that my blood pressure is completely normal - it must have been the stress of the diagnosis and "white coat syndrome" - I have always tended to avoid going to the doctor's as it makes me feel anxious and stressed. Significantly it was a lot higher when measured by the diabetic nurse after her talk about complications.
So a really pleasant surprise, and hopefully the start of a good working relationship that will help me manage this condition successfully. I feel really fortunate to have had such a positive response to my initial attempts to gain control of my situation.
To date I have lost around a stone and a half (around 8.5 more to go), and I am feeling better than I have in years and loving the new way of eating. My brain fog is gone and I am fizzing with energy. Tomorrow I will be making my first attempt at keto bread after reading on these forums and doing a lot of googling.
I am so grateful I found these forums, and gained so much support and great advice from my fellow members. Thanks to that I faced the nurse with less fear, and the doctor with a feeling that I could make informed decisions about my diabetes, and actively participate in my care rather than feeling overwhelmed and alone.
Unsurprisingly, but rather disappointingly she said no. Her view was that there was no need for Type 2's to check their blood sugars - in fact it would be counter productive. She then went on to list the inevitable complications: heart disease, stroke, amputations and blindness and told me I would have to take metformin, and would need more medication as my disease progressed. I politely declined, due to fears that any potential side effects would derail my efforts to bring my weight down along with my blood sugars with diet and exercise. Fortunately I had already found this forum, and so took her statements with a very large pinch of salt.
As soon as I got home I ordered a meter and some testing strips, and began to test on waking, before meals, two hours after meals, and at bedtime, using a food diary to cross reference against my blood sugar results to work out what to do to improve my situation.
It has been less than two weeks since I got the meter, and already I have been able to adjust my diet and start to lower my blood sugar. I have gone from three meals a day to switching between one meal a day and two meals a day. I have settled on one meal a day eaten in the morning at the moment, as I seem to handle carbs a lot better in the morning than in the afternoon or evening. I have also reduced the carbs to less than 30g per day, from non starchy vegetables.
Using this approach I have gone from 8s and 9s to 5s and 6s. The mySugr app I use to track results predicts a HbA1c of 43.1. I even went out for a meal on Friday with friends and managed to eat low carb and high fat - tapas, my new favourite food.
On Friday this week I saw my doctor for the first time about the diabetes and decided, to hell with it I am just going to tell him what I am doing and not worry too much about his reaction. I have seen a lot of comments on these forums about less than helpful health professionals, and the Diabetic nurse's comments about inevitable progression and refusal to prescribe a meter made me anxious about what I would be walking into.
I needn't have worried. He was impressed with the weight loss I had already achieved and the lifestyle changes I had made, and did not turn a hair when I told him I was using fasting and a low carb high fat diet to help to bring down my blood sugars. I showed him my blood sugar results on the mySugr app on my phone and he was really encouraging. He gave me a target of below 48 for the next HbA1c test in 3 months time, which I am hopeful of achieving given my results so far. If I can achieve this then medication is off the table.
He mentioned that with better control over blood sugar, the need for medication could be pushed back for years, and that some people were able to get very good control of their diabetes through diet and avoid medication for life, and the complications that the nurse seemed to think were inevitable.
The only issue was high blood pressure, which had been measured in the appointment with the nurse, and, although it had come down a little by the appointment with the doctor, was still too high. He gave me some advice relating to keeping up the exercise I was already doing (minimum one hour per day), and said he would measure it again in 2-3 weeks to see where we were then. I have since bought a blood pressure meter and found that my blood pressure is completely normal - it must have been the stress of the diagnosis and "white coat syndrome" - I have always tended to avoid going to the doctor's as it makes me feel anxious and stressed. Significantly it was a lot higher when measured by the diabetic nurse after her talk about complications.
So a really pleasant surprise, and hopefully the start of a good working relationship that will help me manage this condition successfully. I feel really fortunate to have had such a positive response to my initial attempts to gain control of my situation.
To date I have lost around a stone and a half (around 8.5 more to go), and I am feeling better than I have in years and loving the new way of eating. My brain fog is gone and I am fizzing with energy. Tomorrow I will be making my first attempt at keto bread after reading on these forums and doing a lot of googling.
I am so grateful I found these forums, and gained so much support and great advice from my fellow members. Thanks to that I faced the nurse with less fear, and the doctor with a feeling that I could make informed decisions about my diabetes, and actively participate in my care rather than feeling overwhelmed and alone.
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