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Newly diagnosed but changing lifestyle

Waspdog

Member
Hi folks,


Exactly a month ago I had a heart attack and had a stent fitted, which repaired the pump shall we say. I was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. (A1cC 6.7%, blood glucose 8.1 mmol/L) which was a huge surprise. I quickly realised that I had to tackle the diabetes, probably a major cause of the heart attack, by leading a healthier lifestyle. I had read the type two diabetes can be reversed through lifestyle changes, but thought that it didn’t apply to me. (I’ve just read the book by Jason Fung - The Diabetes Code, hugely informative.)


I have used intermittent fasting, with no carbs, over the last month I have reduced my BMI from 28 to 24. Which has meant a weight loss of about 8 kg in a month. (I do miss the bread and beer ) I am currently taking Jardiance 10mg daily and my fasting blood sugar down to about 6.2 mmol/L. I take a daily statin which I hope to stop soon as my Cholesterol levels are now all in the “good” ranges.


I am now swimming about 1km a day or cycling for 30+ mins.


My big question for the forum is that it took being diagnosed as type 2 to raise my awareness, why don’t more people know before they get diagnosed? This would be a massive health benefit and reduce the burden on global healthcare systems.
 
Hi, welcome, and well done. There's a few of us with the same experience. Nothing in the official advice would lead you to think that carbs might be the problem - surely they wouldn't advise us to base meals around the very thing that's causing the problem? We find out the hard way that they do exactly that. It seems that these days, the pattern is often to do nothing until the patient hits an A1c of 48, whereupon the practice collects the payment and starts a drug routine. I strongly agree with you. A sensible health system would be promoting information, but intervening early, as soon as levels left normal range, with dietary advice with the aim to avoid a diagnosis ever being made.
 
Waspdog said:
I take a daily statin which I hope to stop soon as my Cholesterol levels are now all in the “good” ranges.
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Please take your doctors advice before dropping a statin. Although many on here prefer not to take them, previous cardiac trouble is one of the exceptions when they probably should be taken.

And as to your other question, I was diagnosed in 2020 after a relatives diagnosis and my age catapulted me into a high risk category, however a quick check online showed I was prediabetic in 2006, yes 14 years earlier, but no one ever mentioned it to me, then or at any time in between. My theory is the NHS knows there is problem it can't cope with so doesn't want to go out seeking new diabetics .
 
More power to you.
 
Before diagnosis I was putting on weight and probably having really high glucose levels on a high carb diet, low in fat - 'healthy' and cholesterol reducing - exactly the opposite of what I need, but my GPs have been hammering on about eating that way for decades - it made me feel unwell, but that did not seem to matter.

Until the accepted way to eat is changed, there will be ongoing problems for many people just following their GPs or dieticians advice.
 

Thank you for your wisdom.
Email conversation with Doc (great guy) yesterday who told me to stick with the statins and told me in his Email - There are studies about reversal of high statin doses. I will check these out. Not in UK, but in Philippines where diabetes is rife and getting good medical treatment is difficult and expensive.
 

The Doc who fitted my stent recommended a low fat diet. Having read up on the issue I have not taken his advice but gone the low carb route.
 

Thanks for your encouragement, I will win or die in the attempt
.
After reading Jason Fung’s book I crunched some numbers to see just how much glucose there should be in healthy blood.

Blood glucose of 6.7 mmol/L = 120mg/dL = 1.2g/L with about 6L of blood in body that is 7.2g of glucose in blood.That ain’t much, a heaped teaspoon!
And it is purported that there are about 5 teaspoons in a can of soda. Holy moly!
I live in the Philippines and obesity/hypertension/diabetes are growing problems (just noticed the pun, sorry). The diet here is dreadful, boiled white rice being consumed 3 times a day.
 
This is so sad. I have a colleague whose husband just got his blood results back. She said the doctor told them everything is fine. Her husband's fasting glucose was 7 so they already didn't do the OGTT because it was too high for that. But the doc said it is fine because his FG is around 7 for years. No A1C was ordered.

I was shocked. He is clearly insulin-resistant maybe already diabetic and was told he is fine...

On the other hand, they are happy with this, and in denial.
 
Yes, it all turns on very small amounts. I think - can't recollect exactly - there are often a lot more than 5 teaspoon equivalents in a 330ml can. Dr David Unwin has a "sugar converter" table which you'll find here: https://phcuk.org/sugar/ together with a lot of other useful things. 150g of boiled white rice equals 10 x 4g teaspoons of sugar...
 
Great person to follow, Dr Jason Fung, you might wanna check Dr. Robert Lustigs videos also, Dr. Pradip Jamnadas, information is there, as to why we have to almost drop dead before being diagnosed is there in these videos also, your insulin is always triggered as many as 20 times a day, doing damage to your body for years, after the body cannot handle the abuse anymore the dam breaks and blood sugar rises and now its a bit late, first sign of insulin resistance is belly growing, from these videos I mentioned above excess of sugar intake damages cholesterol and protein in the body and gut microbiome, remove carbs get healthy, reach desired weight, get control of hunger with IF, now reintroduce some fruits as carbs and a slice of bread a week here and there. Mostly bread, rice, pasta, ice cream, sweets etc don't give your body any minerals or vitamins(maybe potato) bit its sugar spike is not worth it, I am not saying never have them, just dont have them 3 times a day everyday. Dr. Sten Ekberg and Dr. Eric Berg,(althou not "real doctors), give some pretty amazing tips, and knowledge), hope it helps.
 
Yes I am familiar with all of those that you mention, but Jason Fung‘s book lays it all out very clearly and can be ready at leisure. I’ve also watched a few of his YouTube videos. What I am particularly interested in and I would be very pleased to receive some advice is that once I have got everything under control, weight is nearly there, A1C in about six months I hope. How can I eat some of the things that I have missed yet still stave off another T2 situation. Dying for a beer as I am a reasonably competent home brewer.
 
my thought and I could be wrong, IF daily, and drink a bit just after your meals, or sacrifice a meal for drinking (moderately), a few beers with some snacks in place of a meal, and not everyday, just my guess tbh. And the days you eat be as nutritious as u can.
 
Waspdog said:
How can I eat some of the things that I have missed yet still stave off another T2 situation. Dying for a beer as I am a reasonably competent home brewer.
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There are beers that are lower in carbs than others, but which brand s are available in the Phillippines is another question. Maybe look into brewing low carb ones? For other foods there are good alternatives swaps, a fathead dough for a pizza base, cakes made with sweetners rather than sugar for example. Or swap beer for spirits with sparkling water. Moderation and infrequently can also be good tools.
Easter here is awash with choclate and sweet things. I'm going to have just 1 bun, split into half over 2 days. Enough to give me a taste and join in, but not enough to spike my bg too high.
Hope this helps
 
Hello and welcome @Waspdog

Why don't people know before they get diagnosed? Well a couple of reasons I guess but at the heart of it a real belief in much of the medical community that it is a progressive illness and nothing can really be done. That means that people like people put their heads in the sand- both parents were type 2 I was told I would develop it just a matter of when. So I didn't know about low carb and didn't stop it developing. My beloved husband can consume so many carbs but doesn't put on weight and does not have diabetes. so it is easy to see why people don't know earlier.

Well done on such a great start

Welcome
 
I've tried every low-carb beer I can find here in the UK and only one - Marston's Resolution - is anything like real beer. The rest are watery and don't taste like beer and not worth the trouble. My solution has been to ration myself - I aim for about 20-25g carbs/day, so if I have an otherwise carb-free day, I allow myself a beer, maybe two.
 
Brew your own. My latest brew an English Bitter, ABV 3.8%, has 12g carbs in 330ml I allow myself at most 4 220ml portions a week.
 
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