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Positives and negatives.

J

jolid

Member
Messages
7
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I am a Brit, living in Laos in South East Asia and was fairly recently (February) diagnosed as Type 2. Living here means I miss out on some of the essential support I'd have back home (my doctor - probably the best one in the country) told me she had no idea what I should be eating and as there is no dietician here, she recommended I google it. I spoke to a midwife friend who has advised pregnant women who pointed me at a Low GI/GL diet and then I researched that. It means that I still feel I'm fumbling in the dark somewhat with what I'm doing.
On the plus side, I divide my time between teaching English and cooking, so I changed all my cooking classes to Low GI recipes, set up a blog of recipes and my experiences, and found my blood sugar dropped really well (as did the weight - I've lost an average of 1kg per week since the diagnosis, and haven't really tried to lose weight as the sugars at first seemed the immediate issue and the weight just took care of itself). Because I love cooking, I've found I'm eating amazing meals and the low GI diet is such a revelation as I am amazed at how full I am all the time and how I have to remind myself to eat (a problem I have never experienced before). I'm cross with myself for not having realised before that this is such an amazing way to eat. I have energy, I'm never hungry, and I just feel better about myself (21 kilo weight loss is probably a major factor in that too, of course!).
I was diagnosed because I was feeling terrible. When I had tests to ascertain what was wrong, I discovered I had extremely high blood pressure (187/132), type 2 diabetes, a hiatus hernia and bronchitus. It isn't a wonder really that I am now feeling so very much better.
My initial reaction was not to tell anyone, but I soon realised that, for me, the only way I could do this was with lots of help from everyone around me. I therefore was very open about it and have been amazed, not just at the support I've had but also at the number of people I know who have told me that they too are living with diabetes. The blog has been great too for both sharing the low GI recipes but also for having people reach out who are also diabetic.
The low GI cooking is working very well - within a week my blood went down from 130 (which I believe in UK measurements is about 7.21) to 83 (about 4.6). It slowly creeped up for a while - to a height of 110 (6.1) but is now down low again - this morning's reading was 77 (4.27).
I'm on Metformin, but not sure if it is really necessary. My doctor here is French and does seem much more keen on meds than a UK doctor would be. I don't have any medical specialist I can visit who really knows much about diabetes, beyond my midwife friend who is dealing with a different form of diabetes, and now contacts me for advice on low GI matters.
I'm feeling very confused about some things, however, without any proper medical support, and for such a serious condition, I'm left with what I can read on websites such as this, which is great, but I'm hoping I can ask some things on here that might seem daft to other people as maybe you will know from the support you get there - or maybe not - it's been a while since I've been back!
For example, I'm not exactly sure what I should do if my blood sugars get lower - go back to the doctors and ask to come off the medication??? Is this a realistc idea? In the UK would they normally prescribe pills at these ranges? Maybe it varies?
Any thoughts, ideas, and so on would be gratefully received.
Many thanks and lovely to be here.
 

If you are only on Metformin then you are unlikely to go hypo due to medication. You may have the odd low sugar reading, that's a possibility for everyone, even those without diabetes. You are unlikely to be in any danger. I don't often ask to come off medication, I stop taking pills if adverse side effects occur and tell the nurse when I see her.

There is a tendency in the UK to prescribe pills for everything at the earliest opportunity. They call it primary care. The debate continues as to whether that's a good idea or a bad one.
 
Thank you. I'm feeling very unclear about everything, except what to eat. For things like this, I wish I was back in the UK, with diabetes clinics, etc. I don't like taking pills if they aren't necessary, but obviously totally if they are.
No doubt it'll all become clearer as time goes by.
 
To be honest it sounds as if you are getting as much as most of us here in the UK get from our HCP's ... regular blood tests are good and it sounds like you are testing regularly which gives you great info on what your body can take in the way of food. Like the Squire above I stopped the pills because they didn't agree with me and only told the Diabetes Nurse afterwards. As my bloods were under control by diet alone by then she couldn't argue. Sounds like you have great control and are doing a brilliant job of controlling your diabetes. If you want to ask anything please do. Someone will always come along with an answer. We're a pretty friendly bunch so don't feel embarrassed about daft questions.. someone (probably me) has already asked it!
Best regards
Mark
 
From what you say about your BS levels and weight loss, whatever you are doing food-wise seems to be the best approach for you. Low GI suits some people and not others. Do you test before a meal and a couple of hours after first bite? This is the only way to tell you if your meals are suitable for you. The rise from before to after should be as little as possible. If it goes beyond 2mmol/l then there are too many carbs in that meal. It is preferable to keep any rise under 1.5mmol/l. An ideal scenario is to be back where you started after 2 to 3 hours. (most peaks occur between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the food eaten)

Diabetes care for type 2s in the UK varies, but the NICE guidelines are generally followed by the majority. That is blood test monitoring should be 3 monthly initially then 6 monthly. Once the meds and levels are stable, 12 monthly. The blood tests include an HbA1c, cholesterol and lipids, liver and kidney functions etc. If on Metformin the liver function tests are desirable. We tend to see a nurse rather than a GP for our reviews (I've never seen a GP for my diabetes) and get an annual retinal eye screening test, foot check, and the usual blood pressure and weight checks. Generally speaking only Type 1s go to specialist diabetic clinics. There may be exceptions to this. The dietary advice is, on the whole, incorrect and can be dangerous. The NHS still advocates plenty of carbs with every meal and low fat. On this forum we know this is bad for our glucose levels so we tend to ignore it.
 
Jolid, it sounds like you have more of a grip on your condition than you give yourself credit for! That's a magnificent weight loss, the Low GI/GL cooking sounds terrific, the BG levels look good also. As you say the question at present is meds or no meds. Perhaps you can consider summarising your numbers to your doc by markers of progress and see if they will support you with a trial reduction of your meds, but please get their support and oversight. Best wishes.


Sent from my iPad using DCUK Forum mobile app
 
This is great advice. Thank you. I have been testing 2 hours after meals, sometimes, to get a feel - mainly when I felt unclear about a particular food I'd eaten. It hadn't actually occurred to me to check before. It makes perfect sense. Thanks. The units of measurement in the UK are so small compared with the measurements here (presumably adopted from either France or USA or China - not sure which, but I'm slowly grasping the UK terminology as well as that here.
Tests here are easy and cheap to get so I can choose how often to go that route. Thank you so much for the breakdown on what tests you have and when. I'm very aware that my cholesterol might be taking a hit whilst I sort out the sugars, but with a lot of the fat items I previously ate also having flour or sugar, I'm hoping it'll balance out, or go in my favour.
I've been amazed at how much misinformation there is out there about the food to eat. Looking at Low GI books and websites where all the recipes seem to be with flour, or rice or potatoes, etc. GI ratings for some foods confuse me - peas seem to be high and low, for example. And when I've tried using chick pea flour, or other low gi flours I get a massive spike. Still there are some great sites that do provide great info. And cauliflower has become my new best friend - which is so sad!
I record all my readings, what time, what I'd eaten, my weight, my bp on a spreadsheet and I'll take that in to the doctor when I next visit, but she suggested I go to see her in August when all this diet, etc. has had a proper time to settle in and then we can discuss meds. She is very aware I'm keen to come off them.
I'm also very interested in any information people have about people 'curing' themselves of diabetes. How possible is it, and what is the signifier that this has happened. I know 2 people who are no longer diabetic - one just told me he did it through will power, the other was in a coma for 6 months and the feeding drip sorted him (of diabetes) but clearly neither of those experiences are particularly useful. Is it common? Is it practical? How?????

Thanks again for the support and help.

Jo
 
There are many threads on here about curing/reversing/being in remission if you do a search. There is one running at the moment.

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/u-s-doctors-wont-say-cured.101564/#post-1158894

My personal opinion is we can reach a stage where we are very well controlled, ie we have non-diabetic levels 24/7. I don't call it cured, reversed or in remission because I know what happens when I eat a plum or a bread roll. I hit double figures. So, I am well controlled providing I stick to my personal choice of eating, which is very low carb/high fat. If I digress it's a different story. There are some lucky people on the forum that can eat "normally" and retain good control, but my feeling is that most unmedicated people would struggle. That's just my opinion.
 

Thank you. I think that is what I assumed. But as it happens, loving this new way of eating, can't imagine wanting anything else - oh apart from occasional treats, but I intend to start working them in if all else is good.

I have a real advantage and a real disadvantage in the cooking - I thought this diet was so easy until I tried eating out, then realised that if people aren't used to cooking for themselves, it'd be really difficult. The hard part is all the delicious items I am surrounded with - I make desserts for restaurants here, and regularly teach classes such as baking, where I can no longer eat the items I cook. Making scones with cream and jam on the kids' cooking club last week was hard. It took all my effort not to try one. But knowing how hungry I get when I do eat high GI, and the very fact that I feel full all the time on low GI helps.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and comments. I'll do that search now.

Jo
 
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