- Messages
- 107
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
Hi Folks
Well I've just joined today although I have been dipping into the forum for a few weeks. So here's my route to arrival in the diabetes forum...
Late last may I went to the doctor and mentioned the strange tingling sensation I was getting in my fingers. He barely gave a glance but said it was nothing, just poor peripheral circulation and he prescribed hand cream. I wasn't convinced because I've lived a long enough with this condition to know this was something different. Fast forward to early October and I started to peel a little on my fingers following a summer holiday. Nothing unusual I thought. However the new skin underneath was noticable more wrinkled. Well old people have wrinkled skin and you have to get it sometime. The speed of the switch did seem a bit strange though. By the end of November I was getting ever more concerned and went back to the doctor. I deliberately mentioned diabetes and he then said that perhaps I had better have a blood test which I did a few day's later. A few days after that I went back for the results. Blood glucose @ 253 ng/dl. "Madre mia" said the nurse who works with the doctor, before she stuck a needle into my finger. Probably the first of many (I live in Spain as you may have twigged).
Triglycerides over twice the normal max and cholesterol 10% over max. So he ordered me to have another blood test urgently the next day. This time the test included HbA1c which came out at 12.1% (which I believe translates to 109). I believe that's pretty darned high. He certainly thought so and told me to go the same day up to outpatients at the local hopital. By then however my self-imposed low carb diet has started to show some results and my blood glucose was closer to normal at about 116 ng/dl.
The hospital did lots of tests including x-rays. Everyting seems to be in reasonable working order and they gave the impression that they didn't seem to think there was anything too serious. So back to the doctors a bit later. He seemed surprised that thay hadn't given me any medication. I said to him that I'd take it if it was necessary but I'd prefer not to unless and until it is.
That all took place from just before Christmas until the New Year.
I had started myself on a low carb diet right from receiving the the first set of results, partly from a bit of quick research. I'd already heard about the benefits of low carb for diabetics from Dr Michael Mosley and his books, amongst others.
At the end of January just over a month from the start of my little odyssey, I had another test which showed some pretty encouraging results. HbA1c had gone from 12.1% down to 7.0% (a.k.a. 53), within sight of the normal maximum of 5.9% (a.k.a. 41), My triglycerides had gone from over twice maximum to below the midpoint between min and max.My overall cholesterol was now within normal range for the first time in years. Previously my doctor had told me not to even smell cheese, which is a shame when on a low carb diet. Finally I had lost 7kg.
Now my doctor has told me to go back for another blood test in three months and I'm hoping that by then my HbA1c and everything else will be within normal bounds. If they are, then I will start experimenting to try to see how far I can diverge from my low carb diet. That is going to mean a lot of trial and error and I think I'll try a FreeStyle Libre for that.
Although things have been looking better blood test and weight wise, my skin and the tingling hasn't really improved and I'm wondering whether it has the potential to improve or not. I wish I had been given a blood test back in May which might have avoided six months of extra damage, but it can't be helped.
So, nice to meet you all and look forward to sharing experiences, chatting and learning.
Well I've just joined today although I have been dipping into the forum for a few weeks. So here's my route to arrival in the diabetes forum...
Late last may I went to the doctor and mentioned the strange tingling sensation I was getting in my fingers. He barely gave a glance but said it was nothing, just poor peripheral circulation and he prescribed hand cream. I wasn't convinced because I've lived a long enough with this condition to know this was something different. Fast forward to early October and I started to peel a little on my fingers following a summer holiday. Nothing unusual I thought. However the new skin underneath was noticable more wrinkled. Well old people have wrinkled skin and you have to get it sometime. The speed of the switch did seem a bit strange though. By the end of November I was getting ever more concerned and went back to the doctor. I deliberately mentioned diabetes and he then said that perhaps I had better have a blood test which I did a few day's later. A few days after that I went back for the results. Blood glucose @ 253 ng/dl. "Madre mia" said the nurse who works with the doctor, before she stuck a needle into my finger. Probably the first of many (I live in Spain as you may have twigged).
Triglycerides over twice the normal max and cholesterol 10% over max. So he ordered me to have another blood test urgently the next day. This time the test included HbA1c which came out at 12.1% (which I believe translates to 109). I believe that's pretty darned high. He certainly thought so and told me to go the same day up to outpatients at the local hopital. By then however my self-imposed low carb diet has started to show some results and my blood glucose was closer to normal at about 116 ng/dl.
The hospital did lots of tests including x-rays. Everyting seems to be in reasonable working order and they gave the impression that they didn't seem to think there was anything too serious. So back to the doctors a bit later. He seemed surprised that thay hadn't given me any medication. I said to him that I'd take it if it was necessary but I'd prefer not to unless and until it is.
That all took place from just before Christmas until the New Year.
I had started myself on a low carb diet right from receiving the the first set of results, partly from a bit of quick research. I'd already heard about the benefits of low carb for diabetics from Dr Michael Mosley and his books, amongst others.
At the end of January just over a month from the start of my little odyssey, I had another test which showed some pretty encouraging results. HbA1c had gone from 12.1% down to 7.0% (a.k.a. 53), within sight of the normal maximum of 5.9% (a.k.a. 41), My triglycerides had gone from over twice maximum to below the midpoint between min and max.My overall cholesterol was now within normal range for the first time in years. Previously my doctor had told me not to even smell cheese, which is a shame when on a low carb diet. Finally I had lost 7kg.
Now my doctor has told me to go back for another blood test in three months and I'm hoping that by then my HbA1c and everything else will be within normal bounds. If they are, then I will start experimenting to try to see how far I can diverge from my low carb diet. That is going to mean a lot of trial and error and I think I'll try a FreeStyle Libre for that.
Although things have been looking better blood test and weight wise, my skin and the tingling hasn't really improved and I'm wondering whether it has the potential to improve or not. I wish I had been given a blood test back in May which might have avoided six months of extra damage, but it can't be helped.
So, nice to meet you all and look forward to sharing experiences, chatting and learning.
