Has anyone gone from long-standing Type 2 diabetes - say 20 years - to remission/ reversal?

[Rosie9876]

Okay, so I've been a slow learner. I didn't realise how serious my diabetes was. Of course, in the end my idiocy, but GP practice reported nothing alarming apart from my A1c blood glucose at times very high, and high BP and cholesterol. But my father had high cholesterol and died age 95 after a high cholesterol diet and almost no illness. My BP had always been variable rather than high, and still was. I was at times a little into overweight on the BMI, not thin as in my youth. Peripheral neuropathy SHOULD have been diagnosed, but the only criteria diabetic nurse tested for and counted was NO sensation in feet. I had tingling in both feet and claw toes in one, which were deemed irrelevant. I wanted a monitor, but was told it was only suitable if on insulin. I read about Prof. Roy Taylor reversing diabetes with an extreme low calorie diet, but was told I was too old and my diabetes too long-standing.

So fast forward to now. I finally woke up when I was deemed unsuitable for essential major surgery. So aiming to correct it, I began to teach myself online. I've gone from 88 to 62 in 3 months, mainly on 16/8 .intermittent fasting, reducing, not eliminating, carbs. Now I don't want to stop here. I would like to get my A1c down to normal and keep it there, going off metformin and dapagliflozin. Is this too much to hope for? Has any oldie succeeded in doing it? Thank you.

 

[AndBreathe]

Okay, so I've been a slow learner. I didn't realise how serious my diabetes was. Of course, in the end my idiocy, but GP practice reported nothing alarming apart from my A1c blood glucose at times very high, and high BP and cholesterol. But my father had high cholesterol and died age 95 after a high cholesterol diet and almost no illness. My BP had always been variable rather than high, and still was. I was at times a little into overweight on the BMI, not thin as in my youth. Peripheral neuropathy SHOULD have been diagnosed, but the only criteria diabetic nurse tested for and counted was NO sensation in feet. I had tingling in both feet and claw toes in one, which were deemed irrelevant. I wanted a monitor, but was told it was only suitable if on insulin. I read about Prof. Roy Taylor reversing diabetes with an extreme low calorie diet, but was told I was too old and my diabetes too long-standing.

So fast forward to now. I finally woke up when I was deemed unsuitable for essential major surgery. So aiming to correct it, I began to teach myself online. I've gone from 88 to 62 in 3 months, mainly on 16/8 .intermittent fasting, reducing, not eliminating, carbs. Now I don't want to stop here. I would like to get my A1c down to normal and keep it there, going off metformin and dapagliflozin. Is this too much to hope for? Has any oldie succeeded in doing it? Thank you.

Hi Rosie I'm unsure if I've seen anyone with over 20 years standing, but plenty in excess of 10, and anyway, just because I (one person) can't specifically recall seeing it, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Back in the day when you were diagnosed (and to a slightly lesser extent when I was diagnosed), diagnosis was often followed by "ease up on the sweet stuff and we'll (i.e. the medics) will manage it for you.

Times have changed and if you are inclined to keep trying to improve, then go for it - provided you are well on your new regime and not getting too skinny.

Your new HbA1c is now under the usual cut off for routine surgery (at 69), so a huge well done there. A smidge lower would likely be ideal, but that's a marked and significant improvement.

On cautionary word I will say is that as we get a few miles on the clock, it takes us a bit longer to recover from things and our systems can't always heal in an ideal way (I'm thinking your diabete here, not anything else), so don't expect miracles. Life is for living, so please ensure you still do that, whilst looking to improve your health.

Big well done to you. You'll have plenty cheerleaders on here.

 

[KennyA]

Hi

I hope this is useful. My blood glucose probably went out of normal range around 2009, possibly a few years earlier. I know I began to have diabetic symptoms in 2009/10 - in the beginning weight gain, oedema, kidney problems. Googling told me that these could be diabetes-related, so I trotted along to the GP to be told I didn't have diabetes as my blood glucose wasn't high enough. Nobody told me it was not normal, and I only found that out by looking back through my records in 2020, following diagnosis. This "you're not diabetic" message was repeated as I developed more diabetic symptoms over the years.

Once eventually diagnosed in Dec 2019 I practically eliminated carbs and have been on around 20g/day ever since. I had normal blood glucose by April 2020 and in the three or four years following that lost 90lbs and 10 inches off my waist. No medication, and I've not since needed the medications I was on for kidney failure, gout, oedema, neuropathy etc.

So I guess I had ten or so years of undiagnosed and untreated Type 2 complications, which could have been sorted in less than six months on the evidence of what happened in 2020.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi

I hope this is useful. My blood glucose probably went out of normal range around 2009, possibly a few years earlier. I know I began to have diabetic symptoms in 2009/10 - in the beginning weight gain, oedema, kidney problems. Googling told me that these could be diabetes-related, so I trotted along to the GP to be told I didn't have diabetes as my blood glucose wasn't high enough. Nobody told me it was not normal, and I only found that out by looking back through my records in 2020, following diagnosis. This "you're not diabetic" message was repeated as I developed more diabetic symptoms over the years.

Once eventually diagnosed in Dec 2019 I practically eliminated carbs and have been on around 20g/day ever since. I had normal blood glucose by April 2020 and in the three or four years following that lost 90lbs and 10 inches off my waist. No medication, and I've not since needed the medications I was on for kidney failure, gout, oedema, neuropathy etc.

So I guess I had ten or so years of undiagnosed and untreated Type 2 complications, which could have been sorted in less than six months on the evidence of what happened in 2020.

My only comment would be that in 2010, it would have been unlikely you would have received the same messaging about diet as today.
I was diagnosed late 2013 and at that point there were two very different camps, in terms of diet. Reduced carb was very much in its' infancy, in terms of acceptance and support. BY a long, LONG way the messaging was for a carb based diet.

Fortunately for me (in a sort of perverse way) my late father became diabetic, following high dose steroids for another condition, and was immediately introduced to finger prick testing. To be fair, that messaging was to be looking for the big numbers, but having asked the Doc what a good number was "Around 7 after eating", he set about trying to be there or there about.

When I was diagnosed I was astonished to be told not to test, bit I set about it anyway, and modified my eating, based on meter readings.

Many of us were advised out kidneys would fail, livers explode and so on. So far, I'm doing OK.

(Knowing you @KennyA, you'd have done massive research, but 2010 is even a few years pre-Newcastle, and that brand spanking new concept of remission.)

 

[KennyA]

My only comment would be that in 2010, it would have been unlikely you would have received the same messaging about diet as today.
I was diagnosed late 2013 and at that point there were two very different camps, in terms of diet. Reduced carb was very much in its' infancy, in terms of acceptance and support. BY a long, LONG way the messaging was for a carb based diet.

Fortunately for me (in a sort of perverse way) my late father became diabetic, following high dose steroids for another condition, and was immediately introduced to finger prick testing. To be fair, that messaging was to be looking for the big numbers, but having asked the Doc what a good number was "Around 7 after eating", he set about trying to be there or there about.

When I was diagnosed I was astonished to be told not to test, bit I set about it anyway, and modified my eating, based on meter readings.

Many of us were advised out kidneys would fail, livers explode and so on. So far, I'm doing OK.

(Knowing you @KennyA, you'd have done massive research, but 2010 is even a few years pre-Newcastle, and that brand spanking new concept of remission.)

Ah, but I was already an Atkins graduate (for weight loss) and remember my O level biology, plus some of my work experiences would have helped. And I'm more than old enough to recall when the standard advice was to "cut the starches and sugars" pre-1980.

But if you're firmly told by doctors you trust that "it's not diabetes", there's little point in doing anything about tackling a disease they tell you that you definitely don't have.

 

[Jo123]

@KennyA that's appalling your gp never said your blood sugar was high. My gp actually phoned me to say I had impaired fasting glucose, what pre diabetes was called in 2008. I asked for the test due to various symptons combined with a family history of diabetes. He phoned me as he was so surprised as I had a normal bmi and exercised.

This was in 2008. I was fortunate enough to find this forum and embarked on low carbing, I've low carbed ever since, maintaining a normal hba1c.

 

[Resurgam]

I had a flagged test result 10 years before diagnosis which was dealt with by cancelling the test and pressuring me to eat a 'healthy' high carb diet. No mention of high glucose levels.
At 73 years of age I seem able to keep my Hba1c levels at around the top end of normal, eating at 12 hourly intervals and no more than 40 gm of carb a day.
Fortunately I did know of Atkins, and could work out from my lifelong reaction to 'healthy' foods that carbs were never my friend, so I did not do any more than gain lots of weight - but my whole family did the same as they aged - probably following the same advice.
These days I am quite a bit thinner and have gone back to my normal levels of activity.

 

[MrsA2]

I had a high test result in 2006, but it was never communicated to me, nor followed up on.
Fast forward to 2020 when I was finalky properly diagnosed.
I've been eating low carb and staying lower Hba1c ever since. Not ready to call it reversal yet, but at least I feel in control.
I certainly think its doable
And now there so much research nd advances too