Hi folk

brottonmoores said:

once again I have a question
Do many type 2s start their journey one tablets? Or do most get put on diet and excercise first? Also do many type 2s wind up on insulin
One day I hope I can be as reassuring to newbies as the folk on this site I really think the only people that are qualified to deal with diabetes are diabetics, my faith in the medical profession is dwindling rapidly
Hope no one thinks I'm being cheeky asking these questions
At the moment we are having our first caravan hol. Since being diagnosed last November and so far it has been great even eating out hasn't been a problem
Thanks everyone for being there
Jan

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Hi jan, myself it was straight on two 500 dose metformin,and the usual ...exercise and don't eat anthing too sugary blah blah

First up, you must never, ever feel worried about asking a question on this forum. For as long as you follow the path of managing your diabetes you are welcome to enquire about absolutely anything you need to.

When it comes to type 2, there are a wide range of treatments, from diet alone through to insulin injections. The question you need to ask is this; what do you need to do to keep your blood sugars within safe levels? The only way to truly answer this is with a blood test meter. Unfortunately, the NHS is extremely reluctant to fund them for type 2s. However, if you can afford to finance one yourself, even for a short time, you can get a good feel for what different things do to your blood sugars.

The first thing to do is to see if diet alone can do the job of keeping you healthy. I believe that it's only worth taking medication when it is necessary. A number of type 2s have found that by limiting carbohydrate consumption, they have been able to avoid needing tablets or injections. If your pancreas has enough insulin producing capability, diet alone may be enough to keep you healthy. Again, the only way to know for sure is to be able to test your blood sugars.

The old saying of 'knowledge is power' really does apply here. My advice is to get hold of the book 'diabetes 101' by Jenny Ruhl. She has been a diabetic since the late 1990s, and keeps her diabetes very well managed. Her book helps to dispel a lot of the myths around Type 2 diabetes, and has also been of great use to type 1s such as myself. It also gives really helpful information of how to manage the condition.

Keep those questions coming as often as you need, and best of luck

On the insulin it seems from posts on here that T2's that follow the Nhs way end up on insulin, very few if any following lchf stay off it.
Oh yes, if your not reading or asking your not learning, so keep them coming. Hope your having nice weather as we are in Torbay.

When I was diagnosed I ahd a HbA1C of 58 I was put on Metformin 1x500mg a day and offered satins even though my LDL was 2,I refused satins.
After I joined this forum and got lots of advice my HbAic has gone down to 46 in six months,I dout from what i have read that the Metformin made the difference,It was the diet.
I am tempted to stop the Metformin on the other hand they made me so ill for the first few weeks,I wouldnt want to go through that again if I realy needed them.
I should have given diet a chance first,but i wasnt told that.

Like many others, I was prescribed 2 x 500mg Metformin on diagnosis but now I'm just diet controlled.

When first diagnosed I was diet only then I started taking statins which pushed my BS up and I was prescribed Sitagliptin. I stopped taking statins and then came off the Sitagliptin last August after my hba1c dropped back down to 42.

In answer to your questions, I don't know the data about who takes what. What worries me is that no one knows for certain because the numbers aren't being crunched.
When I was diagnosed first prediabetic and then Type 2 no one mentioned any drugs, let alone insulin, and I was given the NHS leaflet on healthy eating and exercise for weight loss. The fact that I was quite thin already didn't make any difference.
From new postings on here I conclude that it's a lottery how we all begin. But once here, we tend to go in the same direction.
Just enjoy your holiday, Jan.

When I was diagnosed in mid January at 53 I was advised to exercise and given the booklet 'Living with Type 2 Diabetes'. The DN said most people couldn't get their levels down using exercise and diet only but, if after 3 months, my levels were still high I would be put on medication. In the last 30 days my meter shows an average of 6.3 which I think converts to 37.4 in new money. My target, for my next check in April, is to avoid the tablets.

WeeFergus said:

When I was diagnosed in mid January at 53 I was advised to exercise and given the booklet 'Living with Type 2 Diabetes'. The DN said most people couldn't get their levels down using exercise and diet only but, if after 3 months, my levels were still high I would be put on medication. In the last 30 days my meter shows an average of 6.3 which I think converts to 37.4 in new money. My target, for my next check in April, is to avoid the tablets.

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That's good results. Lchf diet is it? But you will find your hbA1c will most likely be in the mid 40's because we can't get all the higher glucose levels when doing the pre & 2hr tests. I test pre & 1hr now, which in most cases will be a higher reading than the 2hr & if I get a reading above 3 I assume that food is not good & adjust of leave alone, just as a test really just to see if I can get a better estimated hbA1c. But still only averaging 6.2ish. Just have to see what my next hbA1c is now.

Paul59 said:

On the insulin it seems from posts on here that T2's that follow the Nhs way end up on insulin, very few if any following lchf stay off it.

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Paul, not quite sure what you're trying to say with that last bit. Can you clarify?

On the OP's question, well it depends on your HbA1c when diagnosed, how long they give you trying diet only to see what you can do etc. I had a three week gap between diagnosis and seeing the DN by which time I was well into LCHF and getting my weight down and BGs under control, so there was no need for any medication - and I intend keeping it that way.

But yes I agree that if you follow the NHS advice to eat carbs with every meal you are almost inevitably on a route to more drugs and/or poor control.

Yes I don't know either, but should have said the same as you last 2 lines. Lol. Basically Nhs guide lines make things worse, unless there is someone that has improved the & not increased meds etc.

Paul59 said:

That's good results. Lchf diet is it? But you will find your hbA1c will most likely be in the mid 40's because we can't get all the higher glucose levels when doing the pre & 2hr tests. I test pre & 1hr now, which in most cases will be a higher reading than the 2hr & if I get a reading above 3 I assume that food is not good & adjust of leave alone, just as a test really just to see if I can get a better estimated hbA1c. But still only averaging 6.2ish. Just have to see what my next hbA1c is now.

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Yes, I'm trying the LCHF diet but not really high fat. I tried that the first 2-3 weeks and found my gallbladder was complaining, so now I think I eat moderate fat but have exchanged all my 'low fat' yoghurts etc. for full fat ones. I still tend to limit the cheese and other very fatty foods.

Yes that's really all you need to do to increase the fat, full fat instead of low, cheese & cream cheese, leave fat on meat & butter not marg & of cause a good old fryup. no need for high fat just more than we use to do.

brottonmoores said:

Thanks for your replies,the main thing I've picked up from reading what other folk say about diet reinforces my thoughts about the NHS advice and dietary advice is take it with a pinch of salt (unless you have high blood pressure) even the advice given on the Desmond programme was more tailored to folk with heart conditions than diabetic.
being a member of this huge family gives me the strength to keep on with diet and tablets and not chuck my rattle out of my pram along with my test meter and strips into the nearest bin
Thanks again
Jan

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Lchf can reduce the chance of heart probs & high blood pressure. The eat fat book by Trudi Deakin at X-Pert health is full of info on how lchf can help many health issues.

Paul59 said:

That's good results. Lchf diet is it? But you will find your hbA1c will most likely be in the mid 40's because we can't get all the higher glucose levels when doing the pre & 2hr tests. I test pre & 1hr now, which in most cases will be a higher reading than the 2hr & if I get a reading above 3 I assume that food is not good & adjust of leave alone, just as a test really just to see if I can get a better estimated hbA1c. But still only averaging 6.2ish. Just have to see what my next hbA1c is now.

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Hi Paul59. I didn't answer you fully in my last post so here goes. I usually test at 1 hour and, again, at 2 hours. Sometimes, after 2 hours I'm down to the high 4's or low 5's. I've recorded all my readings in a spreadsheet and that shows a slightly higher average than my meter. My meter only gives me 7, 14 and 30 day averages (now sitting at 6.0 for all 3) but my spreadsheet gives me an average for the period between now and when I first started testing on February 1st (currently showing 6.4). My highest readings are frequently my fasting readings in the morning. As I'm quite new to all this, I've had to test a lot to see what foods really spike me and found, to my horror, that my morning porridge had to go (I really miss it). I've also had to stop eating my homemade broth which contained rather a lot of barley and, needless to say the bread, potatoes, pastas and rice have also gone by the wayside. However, I do live in hope that one day I'll be able to introduce small quantities of some of those again - I'll just have to wait and see. My second HbA1c is due soon as the DN said it would be sometime in April.