Newly diagnosed and a bit lost

[meds-or-movement]

Hi all. I have just recently been diagnosed Type 2 diabetic, purely incidental finding as had zero symptoms. I recently started training again with a PT and since I have an extensive family history of Type 2 diabetes I decided to have a test run on myself, purely out of curiosity. I work in the emergency services and generally do take good care of myself, I do however need to shift some weight. Which is why I started with an exceptional PT. We have regular "mini medicals" with work, urine is tested for glucose at least every year, mine has always been fine. I used a private company for my initial tests as GP refused to do them since I had no symptoms. Private company came back with levels of 91, second test came back with 86. I then went to my GP for further tests, confirmation etc. My GP was sadly very dismissive, I was told to come back when symptoms began. After insisting they carry out diagnostic tests I had to wait a further 5 weeks to see the practice nurse to have the bloods taken. That result was 73. I was told they needed to repeat the test again, I waited another 3 weeks to see nurse for bloods, that came back at 64. After a bit of a battle in a telephone consultation with same GP, I managed to get a face to face appointment. I was unfortunately spoken to like a child, belittled, offered weight loss jabs, offered weight loss surgery. All of this without her even confirming I was actually Type 2, she entirely focussed on weight. I explained I didn't feel they were an appropriate course of treatment for me at this time, I was told to "listen to the professionals, you won't lose the weight on your own". Needless to say I'm a tad angry, annoyed I've had to request minimal intervention meds wise since I have already made some really good headway with diet and exercise. Sorry for the very long ramble, have any of you managed to put your diabetes into remission and come off medication? Thanks all for listening, very much appreciated.

 

[shelley262]

Welcome to the forum - you've come to the right place with a fair few of us who have been able to put our Type 2 in remission mainly through diet. I was diagnosed at age of 60, 10 years ago, with a hba1c of 97. Initially I just took the Metformin and in effect starved myself as I was given very little advice apart from you need to lose weight (BMI was 30) and you'll be on increasing meds for life. I came across the low carb programme two years after diagnosis when after some reduction after weight loss my numbers were rising again! It was the best thing I did as I put myself firmly in remission, came off the Metformin and eight years later still have no diabetic meds, a bmi of 21, and hba1c in the 30s. I continue to eat low carb. I realise that with age this could change and I'm not anti medication if needed. But it's well worth a shot at diet and lifestyle
Take a look at the success stories on this forum for some inspiration and ask lots of questions - there is so much experience and support here. Good luck.
Edit to add link

Success Stories and Testimonials

Lowered your HbA1c? Lost some weight? Maybe you’re proud of something someone else has done. Whatever it may be, share it here!

www.diabetes.co.uk

 

[meds-or-movement]

Thank you so much for your reply, great to hear a success story. I think I was just unlucky in having dealt with a GP who was so dismissive sadly. I am fully in the mindset that I want to put off having medication for as long as possible and if I can help heal myself through diet/exercise, I'm 110% motivated to do so. I'm 51 years of age and have a crazy busy, often stressful job. I've started exercising properly again and despite this diagnosis I am back to feeling like the old me again, I'm loving my PT sessions, started running (ok,slowly jogging) again, longer and more intense hikes with my work friends/dogs. My diet has clicked back into place, my weight is going down rapidly. Admittedly I have a way to go but absolutely on course to be where I need to be within 3 months. I'm still just reeling at the suggestion that exercise/personal trainer is not going to work for me and that I should just straight in and have weight loss injections or even weight loss surgery. When I refused these I was told I HAD to have Metformin 3 x day and Gliclazide 80mg. Thankfully I have some professional experience with work and family history so felt this was too much too soon. I have been started on 1 x Metformin M/R 500mg and was told I'd never get off it. I was also told to forget about the information I was collating from CGM (using Dexcom One+) and told there was no need to monitor my own blood glucose. The only advice I was given was to drink less alcohol when I'd already told the GP I drank minimal amounts, told to give up smoking when I'd already said I've never smoked and to eat less sugary snacks. It's fortunate I have a good working knowledge of diet and nutrition in order to help myself. The information I've got from the CGM in how different foods affect me has been absolutely invaluable. Its also surprised me how exercise affects my readings too. I'm just hoping my next bloods will show my hard work has paid off and I can come off the medication for as long as possible.

 

[Antje77]

@meds-or-movement , it looks like you're making a running start.
However, you can't outrun a bad diet, and a good diet for diabetics isn't necessarily the same as for a non diabetic. What does a typical day of food look like for you?

You might like to have a read of this informative post: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/jos-nutritional-thingy.210026/

I'm a bit puzzled about this:

I managed to get a face to face appointment. I was unfortunately spoken to like a child, belittled, offered weight loss jabs, offered weight loss surgery. All of this without her even confirming I was actually Type 2, she entirely focussed on weight.

And this:

I should just straight in and have weight loss injections or even weight loss surgery. When I refused these I was told I HAD to have Metformin 3 x day and Gliclazide 80mg.

Metformin and gliclazide are diabetes meds, not weightloss meds, so you should have an official diabetes diagnosis on your record. Which makes sense with your hba1c. Do you have access to your records online?
Many of our members have hugely improved their numbers with dietary changes well before they lost weight.
You might like to have a browse through this sub forum as well: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/success-stories-and-testimonials.43/

 

[meds-or-movement]

I have indeed had a new diagnosis attached to my medical records, however this information has not been given to me face to face in my GP consultation. I just feel this has been handled extremely poorly by my GP and poor advice offered. I feel the suggestion of weight loss medication and weight loss surgery is not an appropriate first line treatment. Whilst I have nothing against these treatments, I just don't feel they are appropriate in my case. I'm pleased to see so many success stories here though, it has certainly helped strengthen my resolve in being able to do my level best to get this into remission as soon as I can.

 

[Outlier]

I'm sorry you've encountered such a lack of empathy and good advice. I sorted my blood glucose purely by cutting out "healthy" carbs and fruit. Not "healthy" for those of us whose bodies can't handle sugar - all carbs metabolise into sugars. I lost a shedload of weight without doing any more than that - I went down 5 clothes sizes and never went hungry, having spent most of my adult life on calorie control. I didn't take medication except a few weeks on Metformin to shut my GP up. I ditched the metformin as soon as the weight started coming down, and so did the blood glucose. You need to test to see what is happening in your body - here, we describe it as 'driving a car without a speedometer' if we try to do it without testing. Sadly, medics like yours are all too common - they don't know what they don't know, and we need them on-side. Mine was very complimentary after I lost the weight and brought my bloods down to non-diabetic levels, but he never asked how I'd done it.
If you bring your glucose levels down too quickly as I did - I go at everything like a bull at a gate - your eyesight may go blurry. Don't worry - it sorts itself out.

 

[meds-or-movement]

I'm sorry you've encountered such a lack of empathy and good advice. I sorted my blood glucose purely by cutting out "healthy" carbs and fruit. Not "healthy" for those of us whose bodies can't handle sugar - all carbs metabolise into sugars. I lost a shedload of weight without doing any more than that - I went down 5 clothes sizes and never went hungry, having spent most of my adult life on calorie control. I didn't take medication except a few weeks on Metformin to shut my GP up. I ditched the metformin as soon as the weight started coming down, and so did the blood glucose. You need to test to see what is happening in your body - here, we describe it as 'driving a car without a speedometer' if we try to do it without testing. Sadly, medics like yours are all too common - they don't know what they don't know, and we need them on-side. Mine was very complimentary after I lost the weight and brought my bloods down to non-diabetic levels, but he never asked how I'd done it.
If you bring your glucose levels down too quickly as I did - I go at everything like a bull at a gate - your eyesight may go blurry. Don't worry - it sorts itself out.

Good morning and thanks for your reply. I have thankfully made my own changes to nurtrition and exercise, my weight is down significantly and my exercise levels are back to my old "fit" days. I can only think I'm fortunate in that I am medically trained and know in the main what I should and shouldn't be doing. I think I have generally just been a little bit unlucky with the attitude I faced initially. I even had to request repeat bloods in 3 months to see how I'm doing, GP was all for leaving me 12 months and leave it at that. I'm obviously still a little bit angry at all this. On a good note my weight has reduced greatly, down 2 dress sizes already, feeling super strong and motivated. And we both sound very similar, I also go at things like a bull at a gate, I feel this is a positive in these kind of situations. I think restarting my fitness mission has come at just the right time. I think even the dismissive attitude when I said I had started with a personal trainer shocked me. This is a highly trained and qualified personal trainer who pushes me to be the best I can be and work as hard as I can work, who is also highly qualified in nutrition. I'm trying to be calm about it all, not succeeding particularly well at the minute. I guess I can just use that anger and frustration to focus my workouts a bit more. Its been a little breath of fresh air to find success stories on here I have to say. To be told I'll never be off meds greatly annoyed me, especially since I know that is absolutely wrong.

 

[KennyA]

Hi all. I have just recently been diagnosed Type 2 diabetic, purely incidental finding as had zero symptoms. I recently started training again with a PT and since I have an extensive family history of Type 2 diabetes I decided to have a test run on myself, purely out of curiosity. I work in the emergency services and generally do take good care of myself, I do however need to shift some weight. Which is why I started with an exceptional PT. We have regular "mini medicals" with work, urine is tested for glucose at least every year, mine has always been fine. I used a private company for my initial tests as GP refused to do them since I had no symptoms. Private company came back with levels of 91, second test came back with 86. I then went to my GP for further tests, confirmation etc. My GP was sadly very dismissive, I was told to come back when symptoms began. After insisting they carry out diagnostic tests I had to wait a further 5 weeks to see the practice nurse to have the bloods taken. That result was 73. I was told they needed to repeat the test again, I waited another 3 weeks to see nurse for bloods, that came back at 64. After a bit of a battle in a telephone consultation with same GP, I managed to get a face to face appointment. I was unfortunately spoken to like a child, belittled, offered weight loss jabs, offered weight loss surgery. All of this without her even confirming I was actually Type 2, she entirely focussed on weight. I explained I didn't feel they were an appropriate course of treatment for me at this time, I was told to "listen to the professionals, you won't lose the weight on your own". Needless to say I'm a tad angry, annoyed I've had to request minimal intervention meds wise since I have already made some really good headway with diet and exercise. Sorry for the very long ramble, have any of you managed to put your diabetes into remission and come off medication? Thanks all for listening, very much appreciated.

Yes, I've controlled my BG and have been at normal levels for six years, without ever using medication of any kind or any support and advice from the health service... main source of support and advice was this forum.

I also lost around 90lbs weight, but that happened in the years after I normalised BG, not before. No exercise at all until I'd lost the weight - I'd had to stop exercising when gaining diabetic weight because I was continually injuring myself.

As a contrast to your experience, I had a range of diabetic symptoms from 2010 onwards but was told firmly I wasn't diabetic as my BG wasn't high enough. It wasn't mentioned that it was already well out of normal range. Unfortunately for me I believed what I was told.

 

[meds-or-movement]

Yes, I've controlled my BG and have been at normal levels for six years, without ever using medication of any kind or any support and advice from the health service... main source of support and advice was this forum.

I also lost around 90lbs weight, but that happened in the years after I normalised BG, not before. No exercise at all until I'd lost the weight - I'd had to stop exercising when gaining diabetic weight because I was continually injuring myself.

As a contrast to your experience, I had a range of diabetic symptoms from 2010 onwards but was told firmly I wasn't diabetic as my BG wasn't high enough. It wasn't mentioned that it was already well out of normal range. Unfortunately for me I believed what I was told.

Hi, thats great to hear, I'm much more confident now that I can actually turn this around and sort myself out. I'm on the right track now I think. I'm genuinely shocked at the initial level of care I received from GP. I work in the NHS, all be it front line Ambulance Crew so do have a good knowledge and understanding of medications, nutrition etc. Good job really else I'd have ended up with who knows what level of surgery or medications. Its great to see so many people have managed to turn there diabetes round. I'm a person who likes to know all the details, especially regarding my health, so my GP has no chance of fobbing me off, I'm well and truly on guard now. Its just such a shame that this seems to happen so much now.

 

[peterb999]

That's really shocking treatment from your GP. I was diagnosed in 2023 with 110 - my feet felt a bit strange but I had no other symptoms. Fortunately, my GP was very nice about it and I had an appointment with a diabetic nurse which was great. However, as nice and touchly feely that they were, they did not give me great advice (in my opinion). I was told it was still fine eating grapes and chips etc. just in small amounts.

It wasn't until I joined this forum and began to understand that I should treat carbs as sugar and changed my diet did I get the figure down. I am currently 33 and had the last test in December which caused the diabetic nurse to phone me to ask just exactly what on earth I was doing (at this point I had halved my metformin intake). She was genuinely shocked that I could get it down so low.

There is one thing that I never picked up on and that is the effect on my eyesight. When I was first diagnosed, I had an eye test and it was affected to level 2 of 3. I had tests every 3 months and it seemed to be stablizing. However, when I dropped from about 60 to 40 quite quickly it seriously affected my eyesight and I have had to have three lots of laser surgery. Apparently, according to the eye specialist, dropping BG very quickly can have detrimental affects on the eyesight - I really wish someone had mentioned that to me but no-one did and I missed the threads on this forum where people have mentioned it. Saying that, my eyesight has improved incredibly since I've dropped the BG (things used to be a bit blurred and now it is pretty much like when I was 16) it's just these blasted blood vessels in the back of my eyes. I have an appointment next week and I'll really hoping that I won't need any more surgery.

It's great that you already know such a lot about nutrition etc. I had none of that knowledge and had to find it on this forum.

Also, don't listen to them about the BG monitors (I was told not to bother as well). I would say that apart from the forum, having the BG monitor for a few weeks was by far the most significant help I have had. I now know that I cannot eat potatoes at all (especially mashed potatos which see my BG rocket). I also know that chocolate, crisps and beer don't actually have much affect on me (obviously not having large amounts of them). Admittedly I don't have much of any of that anymore to keep my weight off (I lost 7 stone and for the first time in my life am not overweight, obese or morbidly obese - knowing that is enough to moderate everything).

I really hope everything works out for you and would be keen for you to keep us up to date on how you are doing as it's great knowing how other people are doing. I did used to feel hungry all the time when I first cut down, but after about 4 months the hungry seemed to disappear which made it a lot easier.

All the best.