Hi, never thought I would be joining a forum like this

DazNE said:

Hello all my name is Daz and I'm from NE England.

Well what can I say I just been diagnosed with type two diabetes on Wednesday but not sure if it's my fault or if it's something that would have happened anyway. I must admit I have been a pig over the last three years as we had the lockdown plus a bit of a health scare not mine but in my family. I was drinking to much if I'm honest and when I drink I can't stop eating crisps and Chocky, biscuits etc everything that's bad for you, I was like a man posesed lol.

Anyway I'm not sure if I can reverse this or not however the diabetes nurse tells me their is every chance that I can.

So I will be doing lots of reading and lurking in the background.

This all started because I had a terrible pain in my chest one night but I was belching alot so put it down to wind. The pain got really bad and everytime I moved it really hurt, my wife wanted me to go to hospital but I refused as I really thought it could be wind. Anyway it lasted 3hours and she convinced me to have a talk to a doctor a couple of days later. I was told my blood pressure was through the roof and if they didn't get it down then I won't be here in 10 years time.

From that meeting they had me having a few tests bloods was one of them that's how I found out.

Hope you are all still awake lol.

Anyway thanks in advance for allowing me to join this forum

Daz

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Welcome @DazNE You are in the perfect place to conquer this disease.
Read all you can on here and ask questions then before you know it you will be seeing results!

DazNE said:

That was a quick reply and thanks for the welcome.

Just to add Im strangely not worried about this, it's a wake-up call and maybe a warning. I will use it as a challenge and get fit again and look good for summer that's the goal I have made for myself it's no good getting down life is too short.

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ABSOLUTELY! If in the right mindset you can do this within a few short months. It's amazing how being 'in the company' of the folk on this forum can guide you. Have fun learning how to get healthy and knowledgeable as I did

Hi. Vis-à-vis blood pressure, my first recommendation is to buy your own testing unit and measure in the comfort of your home when fully relaxed. You may find the measurements markedly lower outside of a healthcare setting. Commonly referred to as white coat syndrome. And yes it’s definitely not impossible to reverse type 2, but the diet you use to do it will almost certainly need to be permanent. It’s not wise to expect you’ll ever be able to return to eating crisps and chocolate on a regular basis.

By the way, harmful eating patterns leading up to a T2DM diagnosis can often be a result of incoming metabolic disease rather than necessarily being the cause of it, so I wouldn’t waste time on ifs and buts. Anyway you’ve found us, so you’re already halfway there. Collectively, what we don’t know about living with diabetes and hopefully giving it a black eye probably isn’t worth knowing. Best of luck.

DazNE said:

Hello all my name is Daz and I'm from NE England.

Well what can I say I just been diagnosed with type two diabetes on Wednesday but not sure if it's my fault or if it's something that would have happened anyway. I must admit I have been a pig over the last three years as we had the lockdown plus a bit of a health scare not mine but in my family. I was drinking to much if I'm honest and when I drink I can't stop eating crisps and Chocky, biscuits etc everything that's bad for you, I was like a man posesed lol.

Anyway I'm not sure if I can reverse this or not however the diabetes nurse tells me their is every chance that I can.

So I will be doing lots of reading and lurking in the background.

This all started because I had a terrible pain in my chest one night but I was belching alot so put it down to wind. The pain got really bad and everytime I moved it really hurt, my wife wanted me to go to hospital but I refused as I really thought it could be wind. Anyway it lasted 3hours and she convinced me to have a talk to a doctor a couple of days later. I was told my blood pressure was through the roof and if they didn't get it down then I won't be here in 10 years time.

From that meeting they had me having a few tests bloods was one of them that's how I found out.

Hope you are all still awake lol.

Anyway thanks in advance for allowing me to join this forum

Daz

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Hi there

So yes, in many cases T2 can be reversed and put into remission. There are many in the forums who have found dietary changes can make a huge difference to that. To the point of non-diabetic blood levels and quite often added advantages such as improved BP and weight loss (I am one of those people who after 10+ years was able to go to no drugs so yeah, can work)

it’s not your fault. There seems a genetic disposition and issue with carbohydrate that some in the human race don’t tolerate. Eating the diet you mention won’t help but as a direct cause, probably not

however, cutting out sweets and such will help only in that it’s lowering carbs. Many recommended diets remain high in carbs and for us those carbs are just like eating sugar and cause blood sugar rises. Reducing carb intake has worked for many. Having a meter and testing before meals and 2 hours after and aiming for rise of less than 2 is a good aim. But of course we want to start at a lower level too.

do you know what your hba1c level was? Apart from the “bad” foods you talk of, what sort of food do you normally eat?

If you can control your diabetes by eating a ow carb diet then the good news is that often your blood pressure reduces too - though you need to be aware of it - on another low carb forum I am on, a non diabetic one, several people had bad falls as they continued to take medication to lower blood pressure when they did not need it any more. One fall was very bad, on concrete steps, so having your own tester so you can show the proof is a good idea.

I would say snap to your diet and alcohol, working shifts then binging finally caught up with me. On metformin and a low carb diet now, managed to lose over a stone in less than 2 months and home blood testing and blood pressure testing show both have come down. The hard bit is keeping it there! Good luck and this site is invaluable in my opinion.

DazNE said:

Hi folks and thanks for the replies.

I don't know what the hba1c level was, infact I never heard of a
hba1c level until you mentioned it. The nurse I had drew me a simple graph, showed me where I should have been and where I am now on it.

Food wise I eat anything and I know it's been wrong for a long time. Pizza and curry once a week but also proper cooked dinner at least once a week and everything else in-between and to be honest as I'm writing this I'm getting embarrassed about my eating habits.

I'm a taxi driver and me and the guys used to go for a big Mac meal at about 3am after work and chat, i then used to come home have a couple of beers and have a bag of crisps but McDonald's meet ups I stopped about four years ago but the couple of beers continued as did the crisps and Chocky discusting really so that's the first part sorted I've realised how stupid I've been.

Time for bed I've just finished work and oh only had water all night although I'm feeling rather hungry

Later folks again thanks for the replies

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Hi again,

don’t be embarrassed about your eating habits, maybe they aren’t the best but what you may well learn is even what is seen as good (fruit, “healthy” carbs) that are recommended also are not actually going to help. What many of us have found is that it’s all about carbs, in any form they cause issues. so a proper cooked meal that has, say, potatoes or rice or pasta could be as bad or worse than a chocolate bar

reduction in those, to low carb or almost zero / keto levels have worked wonders for many of us but is a dietary and lifelong change. For my personal situation I still sometimes have higher carbs, I try to have < 150g a day with that spaced through meals. They do mount up though so things like bread or the aforementioned rice/pasta is pretty much a no go now

hba1c is important to know. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/what-is-hba1c.html

I would strongly recommend getting access to your online medical records. Many surgeries can give access to a lot of the lab results.

What has your nurse suggested for now?

I haven't read you have a bg meter, or did I miss it? It might be worth getting one, with cheap strips (there are other posts on here with recommendations) then you can see just what foods cause too much of a bg spike (more than 2 above the level you started on 2 hours after your first bite). You might be surprised just what causes problems and what is fine. I can eat milk chocolate with no effect whatsoever! But porridge and peanut butter sandwiches are dreadful. Once you know your problematic foods you can avoid or minimise them.

DazNE said:

High and thanks again for the replies, I asked about checking my bloods but the nurse told me not to bother as they would check it a couple of times a year for me anyway, I also mentioned the highpo's sorry for the spelling but she said I wouldn't get them.

I have that simple graph she drew it has Hbalc on the top of the sheet and my rate which is 54 mmdls maybe someone can let me know how bad that is and if I need to buy a test machine or not.

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Health professionals often seem to discourage patients from getting a glucose meter (I think they like to feel 'in charge'!), whereas they should actually be encouraging people to take responsibility for their own health. Getting it checked twice a year is all very well, but as Sunspots said, testing after meals will actually show you which foods cause high glucose levels for YOU. Everyone reacts differently to certain foods. This will help you to plan your meals accordingly and actually control your blood sugar on a daily basis rather than wait 6 months to see - and then still not be sure what has caused any difference in your level. If your Hba1c is 54, that is encouraging as it is not hugely in the diabetic range and quite possible to lower it through diet.

DazNE said:

500mg stands out is that right

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500mg is a typical dose of Metformin per pill. The recommended maximum is usually 2g, or 4 pills. Three pills is quite common so 500mg is a small dose.

DazNE said:

I haven't taken any meds yet I haven't been to the chemist but they are having me on Metformin 500mg one a day.

500mg stands out is that right

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Hi Dazne in the new year I was hbca1 51 so similar to your readings and prescribed 1 x 500 metorformin. I was in a terrible state and thought i would never get my head around it all it was on my mind night and day and I cried for letting myself get to this point i nearly resigned from work and didnt want to go out or do anything other than read abiut diabetes but having found this site I read about reversal and remission with others on here so I decided to give it 3 months WITHOUT meds and try to be another success story I have been following low carb out went everything in freezer and larder and in came pulses and nuts and seeds and poultry n fruit and veg ans ordered 6 recipe books I can only say that it was the best thing did I have already lost 20 pounds already but more importantly I feel so much better in myself and energy levels My weight loss has slowed up a bit in the past 2 weeks but not put any on but I did buy a meter and strips just to see what was goung on well from 4th Jan the records show that numbers are lowering in fact i dont do the fasting one now as for past 2 weeks it has been around 4to 5.5 so I do the pre eating and 2 hours after and that is now settling down to what had been first 3 weeks Jan I am so hoping that when I get my Hbca1 test done end April there has been an inprovement but if not then I am in a better place and will concede to meds in the knowlege that I have done everythung i can do to try and not get worse but as i understand it i dont think remission works for all The worse thing i did was follow a weight watchers diet last summer stupidly thinking it was just about losing weight and very naive about everything else and never explained about type 2 diabetes and pre diabetes just told lose a bit of weight I am sure you can do it! But i now know I was poisiining myself with all the sugary n carb treats a nonbdiabetic person can enjoy and worked for me 10 years ago but you are in the right frame of mind of realising mistakes and wanting to reverse Do you intend to take meds I told my nurse I had put them on hold and she just said yes you dont need them!! but it was her that had given to me 2 weeks earlier and i had gone up to see about something else so I decided there and then I doing this myself and taking charge and did research night and day Wishing you best of luck on your journey......

@DazNE The diet is usually described as low carb high fat not high protein, and it is rather difficult to eat a vegan diet which is low carb - though it must be possible as some do manage it.