I wish I had listened to the people in this forum...

Phoenix55 · Jan 22, 2017

memememeiii said:
Yes, I had my skin go flabby the last time I lost fast. It's definitely a real concern. Thanks for this. I agree. We do run this annually, every Jan. It's my 4th time.

Then make this the last time you do it. Cut out the carbs, lose weight at a pound a week, no more. Find a method of keeping your body toned, I used a bodyblade but I am sure there are other things on the market. 20 min walks at lunchtime keep temptation at bay. By six weeks people were noticing the difference, by the summer I had an excuse for buying some new clothes and by Christmas I could let myself enjoy moderation for a couple of days before getting back on the LCHF horse. The weight has stayed off, I look and feel good. It requires thought every day, planning and sheer b..mindedness. It can be done if you are determined, use the support that is available and commit to it.

Freema · Jan 22, 2017

memememeiii said:
A couple of years ago already, people in this group recommended that I start testing my own blood sugar. The NHS doctor told me not to do so, as they didn't want me to become obsessed with my numbers, etc. unnecessarily. I didn't do it, and in fact, I was pretty careless all around about my glucose control.

I realize it has been 5 years now since my diagnosis of pre-diabetes/diabetes (Type 2) and at 90 lbs overweight I haven't made progress. I had an allergy attack that scared me quite badly recently, a new low as I couldn't breathe, and that just pushed to run a full battery of tests.

This follows me getting 'resolved' to reverse Type 2 Diabetes in the summer, but also to 'see where my numbers were' if I went completely off Metformin, which I did for about 4 months. My numbers went from 5-ish to 7.

Two months ago, I saw another endocrine specialist, and he told me I needed to increase my metformin from 2x/500 mg/day to 2x/750 mg/day - as it was not enough to be on the minimum amount. I read about this, and it seems about right. Secondly, I refused to do a statin, as I felt I was getting leg cramps from it. Since coming off, the leg cramps have gone away. He said women who are not menopausal can come off the statin because it's proven still not to be effective for them. For men at that age point, yes, very effective. For women who are perimenopausal, no. So, he agreed to this. I refuse to be overmedicated!!!

I also suffer from rosacea and have been doing an antibiotic (Doxycycline) for at least 2 years now, on and off, or Lymecycline, or something. Alternating. I'm now coming off that, as a Scottish nurse friend said it's vile, while yet another foreign doctor has said, no, it's not. (I'm so confused, but coming off it to try and see if my body can stabilize).

Last summer, I started getting severe abdominal pain over the liver and basically had ultrasounds which revealed a fatty liver, and after being tested fully the Spire doctor in the UK ruled out anything serious but Irritable Bowel Syndrome - or the precursor to it. A little DulcoEase prescribed, and mostly I've not done much but watch that I don't eat raw veggies too much on their own. This problem comes and goes.

All this to say, I'm trying to sort this out. It's been a reality check to realize that my numbers on the Fasting Glucose testing have been averaging 120-125 for the past three or four days. Now, this is while cutting calories. Eggs in the morning. Konjac (these are the noodles that are high fibre, low calories) noodles and a tin of tomatoes boiled down into a sauce for lunch. A yoghurt fruit salad combo - pure yoghurt and, yes, fruit in the afternoon at break, and I had quinoa pasta again yesterday with a ratatouille. The last night before this last result of 123, at about 10 PM, I had some chicken, steak and pasta salad and corn at a BBQ. My daytime meals were smallish.

I know I have read that people who go full on paleo seem to be turning around their numbers and losing weight. My question is, as I continue to battle with this bulge, and NEED to get it off (it's making me so uncomfortable and fed up): can you reverse Type II Diabetes after 5 years in?

If you can't do that, can you stabilize for life to the point of coming off Metformin?

And what of the heart risks? I have high cholesterol, too, right now...

Cholesterol Total: 239* (140-200)
HBA1C: 6.7* (4.5-6.4)
HDL: 47 (40-59)
LDL: 140* (0-100)
SGPT (ALT): 150* (9-52)
Triglycerides: 256* (35-150)
Glucose (RBS/Random
Blood Sugar): 229* (75-140)

White Blood Count: 11 (3.5-11)
Hemoglobin (HB, HGB): 15.8 (12-16)
Platelet Count: 368 (150-450)

Current Weight: 225 lbs
Height: 5'5"
Female
Age: 49

So, the other question is this: am I being stupid by coming off the statins, etc.?

Any thoughts before I continue to review this with doctors and continue to pursue dietary/exercise approaches to fixing this?

I have lost 8 lbs in a week, and now things will slow down but I got a good start. My colleagues and I are starting a fitness challenge for the new year. Slow and steady. I bought a fitness band. Here we go.

I wish I had followed this group's advice, because I feel I have been set back 2-3 years in my progress by my own stupidity and this may be completely detrimental to reversing T2D.

Thank you for your kind thoughts.

MM

my suggestion :

you seriously need to count your carbs , try not to eat more than 80 grams of carbs a day , and maybe even less, and try not to have more than 10 grams of carbs at a meal... so you avoid the spikes... if you go really low carbwise and also not eat more than like 1600-1800 calories all in all a day, then you will start loosing weight... and move every day like go for a long walk if you can´t do other sports... you´ll be so happy for the results if you stick to a plan and focus ... it is worth while even though it can be hard especially in the beginning...

Brewers23 · Jan 25, 2017

Back in May 2014 I had an HbA1c that was high ,approaching 8.4 mmol/mol, the nurse at my GP surgery started talking about starting insulin therapy. At that point I vowed to do anything that I possibly could to ensure I didn't need insulin. I started to use recipes from the Hairy Bikers dieting books and lost 1kg per week, resulting in a weight change from 94kg to 75kg. Over the next two years or so my weight went up slightly to 77 or 78 kg, but never did it go over 80kg, my HbA1c dropped sufficiently for me to come off one of the medications (pioglitazone). I had an HbA1c the middle of last year and it was starting to creep up, my GP increased my Metformin. When I went back in the autumn of last year my GP advocated a LCHF diet, basically rewriting the NHS recommended eat well plate. Since then we have substantially reduced our potato/bread/rice/pasta intake, but I won't know the effect it has on my HbA1c for another few months, I don't take my own BM as, for me, it is not meaningful. I have subsequently reduced my weight further to 74.6kg. I am very sceptical about statins, but I haven't got round to discussing that aspect with my GP yet!

kokhongw · Jan 26, 2017

Brewers23 said:
autumn of last year my GP advocated a LCHF die

three cheers for your GP!

bulkbiker · Jan 26, 2017

Brewers23 said:
Back in May 2014 I had an HbA1c that was high ,approaching 8.4 mmol/mol, the nurse at my GP surgery started talking about starting insulin therapy. At that point I vowed to do anything that I possibly could to ensure I didn't need insulin. I started to use recipes from the Hairy Bikers dieting books and lost 1kg per week, resulting in a weight change from 94kg to 75kg. Over the next two years or so my weight went up slightly to 77 or 78 kg, but never did it go over 80kg, my HbA1c dropped sufficiently for me to come off one of the medications (pioglitazone). I had an HbA1c the middle of last year and it was starting to creep up, my GP increased my Metformin. When I went back in the autumn of last year my GP advocated a LCHF diet, basically rewriting the NHS recommended eat well plate. Since then we have substantially reduced our potato/bread/rice/pasta intake, but I won't know the effect it has on my HbA1c for another few months, I don't take my own BM as, for me, it is not meaningful. I have subsequently reduced my weight further to 74.6kg. I am very sceptical about statins, but I haven't got round to discussing that aspect with my GP yet!

Why do you say your blood glucose readings are not meaningful for you?
They are the way that most of us monitor which foods are better for us than others.. I find it a bit hard to understand why someone with a medical background which I believe you have wouldn't want some data to see how they are doing between HbA1c results.

Brewers23 · Jan 29, 2017

bulkbiker said:
Why do you say your blood glucose readings are not meaningful for you?
They are the way that most of us monitor which foods are better for us than others.. I find it a bit hard to understand why someone with a medical background which I believe you have wouldn't want some data to see how they are doing between HbA1c results.

I have chosen, with the agreement of my GP, that this is the way that I want to manage my condition at the moment, partly because I don't want to get hung up or obsess over the numbers, which I could easily do, its for my own peace of mind.

Freema · Jan 29, 2017

well I am glad to obsess over my numbers they are what in the daily life keep me motivated as I can see what a few changes actually make of a difference

bulkbiker · Jan 29, 2017

Brewers23 said:
I have chosen, with the agreement of my GP, that this is the way that I want to manage my condition at the moment, partly because I don't want to get hung up or obsess over the numbers, which I could easily do, its for my own peace of mind.

Interesting.. each to their own.. it was obsessing over my numbers that helped me lower my blood sugar and seeing what caused me to spike.

JohnEGreen · Jan 29, 2017

Yes they do say ignorance is bliss, that's why I cross the road with my eyes closed.

Prem51 · Jan 30, 2017

@Brewers23 After my initial diagnosis I didn't think I needed to self test, for three reasons, I had cut my food intake dramatically after the shock of being diagnosed to one meal a day, so I knew I would be losing weight (I did buy some scales which confirmed I was losing 1-1.5 lbs a week) and lowering my bs levels. Secondly I had a needle phobia and didn't want to prick myself regularly. And like you I didn't want to become obsessed with testing.

After my 3 month retest I realised that I would have no idea how I was doing until my next HbA1c in 12 months unless I tested. So I got a meter. I haven't done the testing before and after meals like many on this forum. I feel I have a good idea of what would spike me. I do a fbg test every morning which gives me an idea of my progress. The monthly average has corresponded quite closely to my HbA1c result - see my signature below.

When I reintroduced something high in carbohydrates, like having a pizza or biriani, I did test 2 hours later and they came in at about 5.5, so I now can eat them from time to time.
The morning testing does give me peace of mind that I am controlling my condition. If I didn't I would be more worried about how I am doing. I am not obsessed with my numbers. As long as they are generally under 7 that's ok, I am pleased when I get them lower as I have done this month, and will try to keep them lower than my previous 6.3 average until my next HbA1c test in March.

memememeiii · Jun 2, 2017

ckneppel said:
You are eating a LOT of carbs and driving up your blood glucose. Get a test kit and learn to eat to your meter. Lower your carbs until your blood sugar stays below 140/7.8 at all times. Blood glucose above 140/7.8 begins to kill pancreatic bata cells that you need to make insulin. If a person is pre-diabetic they have already lost more than 60% of their beta cells (www.bloodsugar101.com), so you need to do whatever you can to stop losing more and becoming full-on diabetic (you are already with FBG over 125/7.0) You need Metformin as your liver is blind to the insulin you do make and is confused and is making more glucose and driving up your levels - Metformin helps with that. Dr. Ralph DeFronzo is an expert on diabetes and has treatment protocols that can help you if you can get the old-school doctors (most of them) to go along with it! Good luck and cut those carbs. (Dr. Ralph DeFronzo ). If you eat low-carb and take Metformin, the weight should start coming off.

For some reason I'm getting no sound on that but this was a sobering post. 60% of beta cells lost??? Omg. I have managed to drop 20 lbs from my high this year from 232 to 212 lbs and have plateaued as I figure out diet going forward. And exercise with two injured feet - metatarsalgia. This post will make me start reading and like refocus on a low carb diet again. I got sick of it. Repeatedly. Now I'm enjoying the season of watermelon here in the desert and it's hot. I'm eating a lot more fruit thinking: bad bad bad. I always eat it with a protein or fat. Ie nuts. Cheese. My waking glucose level was higher than the usual 110 as it was 118 today. What should these numbers look like all day?

Thank you.

Ps. This is on 2 x 750 mg Metformin a day.

memememeiii · Jun 2, 2017

johnw26 said:
Stay off statins, research statins or join some of the facebook statin user groups. There are very strong food and pharmaceutical lobbies that are exploiting our health. My gp who put me on the regular Simvastatin dose told me they were "perfectly safe" when I complained that I struggled to walk 4 miles and climb stairs whereas previously a 12 mile hike was my norm. Spotted I was limping and long series of test with consultant saying I would need a knee replacement as the pain increased. I was on 8 Tramadol (opiod) a day when I quit statins and had a quick recovery That was 6 years ago. I can now walk 12 miles again, I changed surgery and finally got a decent gp who found I was prediabetic. I have lost a stone with a minimum dose of Metformin and following Jason Fung's fasting advice and the advice on reducing inflamation in Giulia Enders book Gut

This is helpful. Did your cholesterol go down???

Phoenix55 · Jun 2, 2017

Use your meter to test after eating and keep a food diary recording everything that you eat, measured in units that are easy for you. Personally I count the number of berries I eat and know roughly how many of each sort I can eat. It is not so much the fresh food that you crave but the carbs, try more salads during the summer and on cooler days mediterranean vegetables, courgettes, sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes. Lots of fresh food there but fewer carbs. You will find that you have at least as much energy as you have now, your body may complain about the reduction for a few days but stick with it and you will shake the craving. Aim to lose about a pound a week but exercise more to keep all areas of your body toned. If you don't win the challenge this year so be it you will be laughing next January!

memememeiii · May 28, 2019

RE: WEIGHT LOSS AND POSSIBLY BEING OVERMEDICATED NOW AS I'M COMING DOWN IN WEIGHT/GLUCOSE

Hello, beautiful people at Diabetes.co.uk.

I think it's time I checked in - I have made progress since last posting here, and in between that time and now - many times I have thought about this group, occasionally checked the site for information and advice on specific issues, and now am dealing with a new one, but it's probably a sign of progress.

I have lost more weight and am in total down 55 lbs since starting my weight loss journey. I started at 233 lbs, and am now 177.8. Probably 177, as last night I attended a staff dinner, and it was a curry meal full of carbs...I didn't restrain myself too much, really. So, we'll say...I'm down 56 lbs. I was yo-yo-ing considerably until about two weeks ago when I decided to get it together and re-focus myself, back to keto eating and intermittent fasting with long stretches between mainly one meal and a smaller meal about the size of a good snack. So, I eat daily, but go long into midday before eating again and then I do dinner. That's it. Maybe a coffee with cream, maybe not.

I have been ramping up my exercise hard, as I'm seeing results and want to bodybuild/train. I've noticed now after 3 hours of dancing, one day, and then a 50 lap swim (1000m?) followed by upper body bodybuilding the next day (my normal routine is 2-3 workouts a day on the days that I workout - a workout is a minimum of about 40 min, more typically 1 hour each) that my glucose readings which have been falling all the past two weeks since dropping below 180 lbs again (my goal is to get to 130 lbs or close to). So, I'm seeing my morning fasting readings go from 138 in the morning to 118, where they sat stubbornly until I got serious two weeks ago, and now the readings have been 107, 105, and then dropped right to 98, 95 and stayed that way all day long for days this week.

Reading up on exercise and hypoglycemia, because yesterday afternoon I had a reading of 85 midday by 3 PM, after fasting much of the day but...I had an egg in the morning and coffee/cream midday...I was caught off guard by this reading, and decided to study up on hypoglycemia. It seems there is the 24-hour-effect after strenuous exercise for diabetics. Who knew? I sure didn't.

I am starting to wonder if I should be coming off Metformin and Victoza. Or off Metformin, particularly. Thoughts, folks?

Thanks,
MM

Freema · May 28, 2019

memememeiii said:
RE: WEIGHT LOSS AND POSSIBLY BEING OVERMEDICATED NOW AS I'M COMING DOWN IN WEIGHT/GLUCOSE

Hello, beautiful people at Diabetes.co.uk.

I think it's time I checked in - I have made progress since last posting here, and in between that time and now - many times I have thought about this group, occasionally checked the site for information and advice on specific issues, and now am dealing with a new one, but it's probably a sign of progress.

I have lost more weight and am in total down 55 lbs since starting my weight loss journey. I started at 233 lbs, and am now 177.8. Probably 177, as last night I attended a staff dinner, and it was a curry meal full of carbs...I didn't restrain myself too much, really. So, we'll say...I'm down 56 lbs. I was yo-yo-ing considerably until about two weeks ago when I decided to get it together and re-focus myself, back to keto eating and intermittent fasting with long stretches between mainly one meal and a smaller meal about the size of a good snack. So, I eat daily, but go long into midday before eating again and then I do dinner. That's it. Maybe a coffee with cream, maybe not.

I have been ramping up my exercise hard, as I'm seeing results and want to bodybuild/train. I've noticed now after 3 hours of dancing, one day, and then a 50 lap swim (1000m?) followed by upper body bodybuilding the next day (my normal routine is 2-3 workouts a day on the days that I workout - a workout is a minimum of about 40 min, more typically 1 hour each) that my glucose readings which have been falling all the past two weeks since dropping below 180 lbs again (my goal is to get to 130 lbs or close to). So, I'm seeing my morning fasting readings go from 138 in the morning to 118, where they sat stubbornly until I got serious two weeks ago, and now the readings have been 107, 105, and then dropped right to 98, 95 and stayed that way all day long for days this week.

Reading up on exercise and hypoglycemia, because yesterday afternoon I had a reading of 85 midday by 3 PM, after fasting much of the day but...I had an egg in the morning and coffee/cream midday...I was caught off guard by this reading, and decided to study up on hypoglycemia. It seems there is the 24-hour-effect after strenuous exercise for diabetics. Who knew? I sure didn't.

I am starting to wonder if I should be coming off Metformin and Victoza. Or off Metformin, particularly. Thoughts, folks?

Thanks,
MM

wow well done... it is not normally dangerous when a type 2 diabetic on no medication get a bit too low...unless of cause you would feel bad and faint or alike.... you are really doiug fine...wow and congratulations

Resurgam · May 28, 2019

One of the effects of metformin is to prevent the liver releasing glucose - you might have a valid reason for stopping it.

ianf0ster · May 28, 2019

Hi MM, You are doing great. This is a marathon, not a sprint so the most difficult part is in learning about what your body likes and what your body can manage in the long term.
It has been quite a while since your first post in this thread, so you diet and your body's tolerance of carbs may well have changed.

I can and did change from an old style eating regime like my parents and grandparents ate, to a 'healthy high carb and 5 a day ' one without too much pain, and even though I knew that Atkins could take weight off (I was not overweight) I still fell for the hype. - Result, 3x Bypass, and Type 2 Diabetes!
I am not on medication for the Diabetes, but would like to reduce my meds for the coronary artery disease. After a struggle I got my GP to allow me to cut my statin dose from 40mg per day to 20mg per day. But my aim is to manage my lipid ratios so well that I can ditch them altogether.

I love cheese , eggs , full fat greek style yoghurt, nuts and fatty fish. So find a LCHF diet to be no problem at all for me. The only problem is that people who know about my triple bypass keep saying that I will kill myself by eating so much fat and so little Carbs!

memememeiii · May 31, 2019

Freema said:
wow well done... it is not normally dangerous when a type 2 diabetic on no medication get a bit too low...unless of cause you would feel bad and faint or alike.... you are really doiug fine...wow and congratulations

Thanks, Freema. This is still very volatile, depending upon my 'adherence' to this way of eating/living, so I guess I'm going to have to monitor how I feel when exercising. It's rare that I push myself as hard as I have as of late, but I want to get the next 20 lbs off. Thanks for weighing in, and for the encouragement.

memememeiii · May 31, 2019

ianf0ster said:
Hi MM, You are doing great. This is a marathon, not a sprint so the most difficult part is in learning about what your body likes and what your body can manage in the long term.
It has been quite a while since your first post in this thread, so you diet and your body's tolerance of carbs may well have changed.

I can and did change from an old style eating regime like my parents and grandparents ate, to a 'healthy high carb and 5 a day ' one without too much pain, and even though I knew that Atkins could take weight off (I was not overweight) I still fell for the hype. - Result, 3x Bypass, and Type 2 Diabetes!
I am not on medication for the Diabetes, but would like to reduce my meds for the coronary artery disease. After a struggle I got my GP to allow me to cut my statin dose from 40mg per day to 20mg per day. But my aim is to manage my lipid ratios so well that I can ditch them altogether.

I love cheese , eggs , full fat greek style yoghurt, nuts and fatty fish. So find a LCHF diet to be no problem at all for me. The only problem is that people who know about my triple bypass keep saying that I will kill myself by eating so much fat and so little Carbs!

I literally have been battling my specialist on this point, and went to Australia at Christmas to see a friend, then saw a Keto specialist who is an endocrine specialist. He blew me away with his answers to everything, and we followed up with tests there and in the country where I live now. I also did a whole heart battery of tests. The cardiologist said I was not anywhere near at risk of a stroke or anything, but it remains something I continue to wonder about. My ratio of LDL/HDL is not good. But because I am losing weight, my regular specialist is impressed with that and we're waiting another 3 months before I do a lipid profile, because I flat out do NOT want to go on to a statin.

I understand your challenge.

MM.

memememeiii · May 31, 2019

Resurgam said:
One of the effects of metformin is to prevent the liver releasing glucose - you might have a valid reason for stopping it.

Ah! This is good to know. I'll discuss it and watch this over the summer. Thank you for that info.

MM

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