- What is your name? Andy
- How old are you? 56
- Are you male or female? male
- Which country are you from? UK
- Which city/area do you live in? West Mids
- Are you religious? No, I'm a scientist.
- Pick three words to describe your personality. argumentative, naughty, hungry
- Do you have any pets? 2 cats and a wife
- Microsoft or Apple? ICL system-4
- Which sport(s) (if any) do you like/play? cycling and running
- Do you get angry easily? no I bl**dy well don't, what a ridiculous question
- Do you have any tattoos or piercings? If so, where? er... no
- List your five favourite musicians/bands. there's not enough space but Bowie, the Stones, I am Kloot, Grapelli, DjangoR, Seassick Steve, Ali Fakr Toure, Paco Pena, etc etc
- What would you say your favourite music genre is? I wouldnt
- What is your favourite flag? the white surrender flag
- Ever gone camping? is that the sort of question I think it is?
- Ever been in love? I love beer (and my wife)
- Ever used fake tan? only when camping...
- Which countries have you visited? more than my personal carbon allowance
- Favourite city? Paris
- List your five favourite TV programmes. Red Dwarf I, II, III, IV, V
- List your five favourite films. Carry on... anything
- Are you wealthy? what is wealth?
- Do you work? If so, as what? I shout at small children
- List the subjects you study/have studied. Currently studying environmental/geosciences with the OU
- What do you like most about yourself? I have nice finger nails
- What do you like least about yourself? The fact that my beard grows back every night.
Now for my Diabetic history -
I was IGT in 1995 when aged 39 and told I had a model diet. I was an ex-racing cyclist and still very active although carrying 10kgs more than the 70kgs of 10 years earlier (too much beer!). In 2000 I was told I was not IGT after all and thus didn’t need an annual test.
In late 2004 (age 48), I changed career and had a health review. Two consecutive OGTTs of 7.0 and 7.1 gave me a diagnosis as a diabetic. Over the following year I lost 12kgs and did more exercise so that in early 2006 I was giving normal readings on the OGTT and told that I wasn’t diabetic after all – by this time I had not been offered a HBA1c and didn’t know the test was available.
In summer 2007, after my weight had crept up 6kgs (to74kg) I started to feel unwell. I was having dizzy spells, night sweats and one of my primary class said my breath smelled of sweets (ketones? after a mammoth weekend of endurance exercise). I asked the clinic for some tests including a HBA1c but they lost the results. I eventually got a repeat test a few months later which gave a HBA1c of 6.6. By March 2008 I had lost 4kg and got this down to 5.9. So the doctor again tried to say I should not have a diabetes diagnosis (but got overruled – hurrah sense at last!).
Since then, I have had a bad experience with statins (and don’t take them now) and my weight has fluctuated down and up by a few kgs and I have had sporadic HBA1c tests which have fluctuated along with my weight. After a naughty post xmas period my latest HBA1c is 6.5 (48 in new money). The clinic's response was to suggest tablets (Metformin?) rather than doing any sort of lifestyle/dietary review. I was a bit disappointed and desperate not to go on medication until I really need to. Hence I found this forum.
Now aged 56, I currently exercise 4-5 days a week which consists of 2-3 runs of 40-90minutes, a weights session and a walk. A typical days diet is porridge or Museli for breakfast with a Benecol drink (lowest sugar variety). A wholemeal sandwich (eg cheese and tomato) for lunch, 3 dried figs with yoghurt for a ‘keep me regular’ snack, and an evening meal of pasta or rice with vegetables/meat sauce and a salad with French dressing and a glass of red wine. I’ll also have a piece of fruit and a few nuts during the day.
I'm going to try a low(ish) carb diet to see if I can get that HBA1c down a bit.