My Personal Journey

Last August my HbA1c was 99, and my GP was arranging for me to go onto Insulin. We eventually compromised and he agreed to support slf monitoring, and I agreed to take positive action to reduce bgl klevels. The chart I enclose shows how the battle went up to today. The graph is event driven, and each step represents the outcome following a change I made. It is in time order, but the steps are not representing time periods.

Step(1) shows what happened when I changed from Metformin to Metformin XR at same dose and time. Step(2) is me reverting back to standard Metformin. Steps (3 to 8) are me adjusting the timing of my metformin and gliclazide relative to my meals, and step(8) is where I was finally happy that further tweaking was unecessary. Note: I have not changed any actual dose or other med, just timings and splitting doses.
Step (9) was when my GP and DSN told me to take all 4 Metformin tabs at once in the morning. Step 10 shows recovery when I disagreed with that decision.
Steps (11 to 13) is when I started taking Bitter Melon supplement, Step (14) is what happened when I stopped.
Steps (14 to 16) is when I started taking Gymnema Sylvestre supplement. step (17) is when I stopped.
Step (18 to 19) show the effect Christmas had when I took a holiday, and although it was supposedly LC, it obviously wasn't too successful
Step (20) is when I started to take LCHF seriously. But I was not going into ketosis. My HbA1c was 44
Step (21) is when I dropped my carb input to around 30 g/day, and my ketostix changed colour. Reduced Gliclazide dose consistently now. Drop was quite dramatic Projected next HbA1c is around 36, which is my target. My GP target is 55, so he thinks I am too low. (????)(!!!!!)

You can see that my two meters in parallel track each other quite well, and apart from this last week the SD consistently reads higher than the NEO. However, this last week my NEO suddenly started reading higher than the SD. This was not due to a strip change, but was in fact the NEO battery going flat. Changed battery, and sanity has returned. The NEO rose by over 2mmol/l in the week, which is disturbing, considering I am still driving.

In conclusion, I found for myself, that changing meds and their timings and splitting doses has a significant but not major effect. I found that both Bitter Melon and Gymnema Sylvestre each had a beneficial effect on my bgl. Finally I have found that LCHF has had very significant effect especially once I had triggered keto mode.

walnut_face said:

Great results! Just goes to show what happens when you go from 'hobby' LCHF to 'full time'

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Thank you. As a result of this, I have now been oficially discharged from needing insulin, and am recommended for continued self monitoring support. Yipee!!

I have to ownup that my trendlines this week are rising, and may indicate PIR onset, But then again it could be due to the avoiding action I have sometimes had to take to make sure I meet DVLA guidelines (munching carbs again - including glucotabs that was a disaster!)

Brunneria said:

That is good going!
Very impressive.

What dose of bitter melon are/were you on? And how did you decide the dose and the timing?

And what made you decide on 30g carbs?

I am a lot less consistent, and a lot less organised and tend to bimble around in the 20-50g range, in the certain knowledge that 20 is best for me, but I do love my food... lol.

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Hi, B. The Bitter melon was from Swanson 500mg caps. I started on 1 per day for a week with breakfast, then went to 2/wk from then on. I did blog my BM journey under Alternate Therapies submenu. It is not actually up to date, since I was running out of tabs, and I seemed to be plateauing so wanted to change to Gymnema Sylvestre before Xmas.

So I stopped it without a clear result, but had showed some benefit from it. I was also starting to cut out high carb meals at this time, so I could not in all sincerity say which technique was actually working for me. The BM did have some gastric side effects too, so I was not wishing to go on too long in case this was something developing. I did note that bgl rose when I stopped it, which points to it having an effect despite the diet changes.

I have had better overall result from LCHF diet since, so am saving my pennies now. Maybe the BM helped reduce adipose tissue coz there was a sudden kick in effect, and this may have eased my entry into LCHF.

I do not religiously carb count, but did estimate my intake (no ketosis) to be around 50g / day. Then I dropped one of my morning toasts (19g) so ended up around 30g, and pink ketostix, and chemical smell in my litter tray. Also a sudden drop in average bgl that was welcome after the plateau I had reached. I was struggling with adjusting my Gliclazide dose, since I was going into hypoland, and having to increase carbs a bit to compensate. But I have now permanently dropped i Glic, and sometimes drop the second one depending on pre-meal reading. I am not getting purple rain, if you get my meaning, but pink stix will suffice for now. I am now at my target BMI and target projected HbA1c so I can stop paddling like fury.

I am on maintenance diet now. I am taking some supplements on occasions (chromium, zinc, magnesium, vit B) but think I am probably not dietary deficient. I adjust fat intake to control weight, and am currently back on the bulletproof coffee and Babybels. Next HbA1c in July.

Brunneria said:

Also, a herbalist once told me that consistent use of herbs over a long period (several months) often leads to a growing resistance to them.

Any herbalists around to confirm or deny this?

So it occurred to me that you may find the herbs to be more effective if you used them for 3 months, then rested for 3 months... maybe used them alternately... It would be a pity to get diminishing returns from them, when they seem to help so much.

Just a thought.

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Bitter Melom is still used extensively in the Indian continent for diabetes control, and there is no report I could see about resistance developing. there are few safety issues, but gastric side effects are noted. It is also used as a laxative too I believe. The kick in took about 2 weeks for me, and it was a sudden overnight change. Interestingly all 4 daily readings dropped in parallel by the same amount, but it was not due to any strip change. Both meters showed the same effect, so it was real. Personally I think your suggestion of alternating is sound advice.

STOP PRESS: GP update on my Personal Journey.

2 weeks ago, after my DSN discharged me from needing any further specialist care (i.e. insulin). Iwrote to my GP outlining what support I was now looking for from him. I discussed my chart as per my OP, and requested reduction in my Gliclazide scrip. I also laid out my projected HbA1c, and announced my new target o f 36. I asked him for a full lipid panel with my next bloodsm and requested continuing support for self monitoring.

Well he just rang me, and said he had originally set an Hba1c of 45 for me, since he did not think I had any chance in hell of reaching it. He is amazed at my progress, and agrees my new target. He has reduced my scrip, and is happy for me to delay my next checkup till October, and then have full bloods. He is also very happy to provide me with strips over this period. A very positive outcome all round, I think.

So I need to plan what I want to achieve over the next few months. I have a requirement to stabilise my bgl in the 4 - 5.5 mmol/l range on a regular basis without hypo. I am already reducing my Gliclazide further, and this too is an aim since it still causes the occasional hypo. i need to reduce my protein a bit, since I still get surprises, and this leads to needing the Gliclazide as a sort of oral bolus. I am taking chromuim again, and will start zinc and Magnesium soon to see if this helps stabilise my bgl. Don't think I will try any other supplements, but may consider a general Vit B complex. My big worry is Lipids, since I now have to wait till October.

Brunneria said:

That is brilliant.

How are you feeling? All these changes, meds, diet, blood glucose... How healthy do you feel now?

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Do you really want to know? As i said in another thread, I do not really react like other people. I can have very very high BGL but feel fine with no symptoms, and I cannot tell if I am in ketosis or not. My kitty tray smells chemical, but its not acetone (but could be acetic acid, I suppose) My ketostix turn slightly pink, but thats all.

I wish I could say I was brimming with new energy, but I'm not. I get sleepy midday, but then I don't go to bed much before 2 am, and I get woken up at 6 by the missus. (She is Bi-Polar, and currently high as a kite.)

I suffer reduced mobility after my strokes and heart attack, but still climb stairs and do the supermarket run on my own, but tend to use the mobility scooter more than the car. (I need to fit it with a roofrack or trailer!) I am generally sedentary, and have to be careful standing up due to BP issues.

I suffer either peripheral neuropathy or arthritis, but GP does not know which it is. Can still play guitar, and deal with lancets without impaling myself, so not too bad.

Hopefully, getting my levels down will help things along. I am now late sixties, so must expect some wear and tear at my age. At least I have gone down a couple of jean sizes (38 to 32) and that has to be good.

There are days when my Avatar and me cannot be seperated, but then it is definitely low sugars. Thanks

Oldvatr said:

UPDATE June 2016

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I have posted on other threads that i use the HF part of LCHF to control my weight, I am here going to share the latest graph showing how my weight dipped when I started LCHF diet, but then dipped dramatically when i went into keto mode,

I then upped the HF a bit, and dragged it back up to around 67 kg which is where I feel comfortable, and it is swinging up and down a bit as I play around with fat intake. I am currently upping my carbs to reduce the ketosis since I have lost several waistline inches