EllisB said:
NHS /NICE guidelines are predicated with the assumption that most diabetics:
- Do not have the resolve to lose weight (if they need to)
- Will not get enough exercise, whether due to laziness or other medical issues
- Will be unable to successfully manage their BG in the long term.
- Are not able to understand the complex mechanisms going on in their own bodies
- Will not follow the advice anyway
I know that is patronising but, unfortunately, the truth is that there is a large body of evidence that this is the case and that those of us who can take control and keep our BG at close to normal levels are in the minority.
There is a much smaller body of evidence that the secret of successful management of DM is for the patient to be empowered and supported in learning how different foods and treatments affect their BG.
So your Dr and other HCPs are used to dealing with people who are not in control and getting them to improve bit by bit.
So trust in your evidence : energy, general well being, HbA1c, Blood Lipids, BMI and, if you are self monitoring, your BG measurements. If it is working for you brilliant! If not, then it is time to listen to the HCPs.
Brilliant post Ellis. I was going to reiterate this. I have a number of friends who are GP's and they say that the majority of diabetic patients have poor motivation and as such they do not follow advice given. Even my friend, who knows how motivated I am,
still said to me "yeah, but you have to live a bit!" meaning I should be eating at least a square of 70% dark chocolate per day...
It seems from what I've heard that many dieticians/members of the medical fraternity are not used to meeting highly motivated individuals like us.
I've just joined the forum as I'm newly diagnosed pre-diabetic with Fasting BG of 7.1mmol/l and an HbA1c of 40.
Just 2 years ago my Fasting BG was 5.4 which was reasonable.
My father had diabetes as did a number of relatives on his mother's side.
I was gutted to receive the diagnosis 4 weeks ago but am now
not eating/drinking:
1) Alcohol
2) Refined sugars of any type
3) High GI carbs - in fact only eating very low GI carbs
4) Upping my intake of walnuts, almonds, pistachios, red grapes, cinnamon and the usual suspects.
My Fasting BG has gone down to 5.9 mmol/l in just 12 days and I'm intending to run as fast and as far as possible away from diabetes as I can, knowing that my dad was insulin dependent despite dropping the weight.
Congrats as well to you for your motivation and results. And forget what they say about loading with carbs - it's a crock, in my humble opinion. It may work for some, but for many it doesn't. And right now, where I am in no man's land, I'm avoiding them as much as I can.
Good luck on your continuing journey.
Suzi