Prescribed Metformin but wondering I can do this on diet alone

[Andydragon]

Look I hardly get above 6. I've now stopped insulin and my range is 4-5.4 now. I'm running close to hypo readings even after my meal. I've lost 10kg in 4 weeks on the only diet i'm telling you now works. 0 carbs, one small plate of food a day, stay hydrated with water. Here's what to eat. Large or Portobello Mushrooms, green beans, broccoli stems, greens, avocados, and salmon. I'm staying on this for the next 4 months to reach my ideal weight. You have to train your body to burn all your fat cells, my tummy is disappearing and it's visible, no exercise since the experiment and BG is getting lower and lower. sometimes to low for my liking. No snacks, no grazing nothing. just that one meal a day with all the nutrients you need, and your liver starts to produce glucose from burning your fat cells. These fat cells are excess carbs stored normally around your tummy.

Trust me this is working for me, and now i'm off insulin, everything is happening even more rapidly. My aim is total remission. I had 4 cocktails on Saturday, cake on sunday and on both occasions my bg was 4.7. This means my body is able to cope with carbs again, but i must stay focus on burning off the rest of tummy fat, i can see all the way down without my tummy blocking the view down to my feet.

If you can commit to focusing on remission, you can do this. I still go for long walks etc but from a diet perspective, you have to be absolutely commited to it. To the point where you don't feel hunger anymore.

Test, Test, Test. If I can do it then you all can too.

Congratulations on the weight loss but that is a very restrictive low carb not zero carb diet and not something that will be suitable for everyone. 2kg a week is not at all sustainable and at the very beginning can happen due to water loss etc but isn’t going to healthily continue

can that single meal really contain all the nutrients?

I am going to try and reduce my drugs. Hopefully even remission but if I don’t, that’s okay too. We are all different

my aim isn’t to be able to have carbs again. My aim is to have a lifelong sustainable diet and I may well have cake now and again bit only a treat and I don’t expect my body to handle carbs like a non diabetic

 

[type2_2020]

Congratulations on the weight loss but that is a very restrictive low carb not zero carb diet and not something that will be suitable for everyone. 2kg a week is not at all sustainable and at the very beginning can happen due to water loss etc but isn’t going to healthily continue

can that single meal really contain all the nutrients?

I am going to try and reduce my drugs. Hopefully even remission but if I don’t, that’s okay too. We are all different

my aim isn’t to be able to have carbs again. My aim is to have a lifelong sustainable diet and I may well have cake now and again bit only a treat and I don’t expect my body to handle carbs like a non diabetic

Yeah I do engage at parties with cake etc, body doesn't respond and sometimes it's very low, but this is recent, since i stopped the insulin, i'm running dangerously low these days, have to walk with sweets with me because i'm scared of hypos. But you are right everyone is different. I tried a lot of things before I got onto this diet. Took a while to figure out how to get my body to burn fat rather than carbs. But my aim is remission. I was very insulin resistant when i got my diagnosis in May with a full blown DKA at 32.8mmol, diabetic coma for 3 days, 4 nights. When I got discharged i went partially blind because my bg levels was high.

I listened to the professionals, did everything they ask me to do, but the dietician was full on tell me to eat carbs, and if i follow her advice i will also lose weight, the opposite happened. I put on 2 kg in a week, and my bg levels were still high. Something had to change.

I don't want to go blind, have heart problems, or lose my legs. That is my motivation. So I changed everything to low carb, then the fasting, DN was in shock about how aggressive i went about it, if you saw me then and see me now you wouldn't believe i'm the same person. I did it with no major exercise, just walks for 3/4 miles. But I am losing the weight, my pancreas is working normal again, my liver is now producing glucose from my stored fat reserves. I feel so energetic and with work and everything i can just keep going with no stress or worries.

All I was trying to say is, if you want to achieve complete control of your diabetes then do so, but set yourself some goals on where you want to be. My aim is remission, I know i can do it, I am doing it. I never use to drink water, but now i do, and i'm still losing the weight, especially around my tummy.

The doctors told me what I'm doing is not right and will lead to issues, 2 months on, even they are stunned with hba1c and bg history and how much more insulin sensative i am. I will succeed. I use to weigh a lot now just 10 more kg and i'm down to where i want to be.

On the mysugar app it shows an hba1c of 36.5, the results are remarkable, i just need to make sure I sleep well and I eat well, as well as some sort of activity even if it's the bare minimum. But in saying all of that I've had chocolates, cake, cocktails, fries etc this weekend and my high was 5.4. that was up from 4.7 2 hours before. So yes I do feel that anyone can do better if they commit to a plan, a sustainable plan, with the goals they have in mind.

I will certainly be doing things my way as it's proven to work and i'm seeing results daily. I believe ultra low carb is the way to go. If you can do it, you'll see the benefits, and in time you'll be healthier and stronger. (forgot to mention, i do weights as well as cycling, but not as much over the last 4 weeks)

 

[Rustytypin]

Personally I take the mySugar predictions with a large pinch of salt. A couple of years ago, I transferred my BG readings (about 4 a day) for a few months into the app, and it predicted an Hba1c of about 35. Actual blood test from Docs came in in the low 40s. I've not bothered with mySugar since. For me a waste of time. Have to add that my a1c is always higher than daily blood readings would indicate.

 

[Nicole T]

Call out of the blue from the hospital diabetes nurse. First contact (I've been dealing with my surgery's nurse so far) and the whole referral sounds a bit confused. She's got me down as "improperly controlled diabetes", and seemed to be expecting someone with a long standing diagnosis, rather than just a few weeks.

She asked if I was testing with a meter, and I told her I was. Contrary to some others' experiences, she was pleased that I was . She asked me how much Metformin I was taking, and I told her I wasn't and was trying low carb instead. Given my figures, she was perfectly happy with that, too.

She asked me when I was testing, and I told her "first thing in the morning, then before and after a meal with carbs", and she was happy with that, too. She had my BMI down as 36 for some reason (it hasn't been that for years, and was about 32 at diagnosis) so I corrected that to 30.2 (my Bluetooth scales tell me, every morning.)

She reckons I don't need to speak to her again, but will book me in for a follow up HbA1c in a couple of months (something I was going to ask my GP about anyway.) I should be 4 months into low carb by then, so it should give a fairly good indication of how well it's working.

She offered me a telephone consultation with a dietitian, and I've taken it. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say. If they try to steer me back onto 'good carbs', I'll be having none of it .

 

[bulkbiker]

i'm running dangerously low these days

What kind of levels are you currently seeing?

 

[Daphne917]

And I've always had breakfast and here I am lol

Same here - I very rarely go without breakfast.

 

[Mrs T 123]

Call out of the blue from the hospital diabetes nurse. First contact (I've been dealing with my surgery's nurse so far) and the whole referral sounds a bit confused. She's got me down as "improperly controlled diabetes", and seemed to be expecting someone with a long standing diagnosis, rather than just a few weeks.

She asked if I was testing with a meter, and I told her I was. Contrary to some others' experiences, she was pleased that I was . She asked me how much Metformin I was taking, and I told her I wasn't and was trying low carb instead. Given my figures, she was perfectly happy with that, too.

She asked me when I was testing, and I told her "first thing in the morning, then before and after a meal with carbs", and she was happy with that, too. She had my BMI down as 36 for some reason (it hasn't been that for years, and was about 32 at diagnosis) so I corrected that to 30.2 (my Bluetooth scales tell me, every morning.)

She reckons I don't need to speak to her again, but will book me in for a follow up HbA1c in a couple of months (something I was going to ask my GP about anyway.) I should be 4 months into low carb by then, so it should give a fairly good indication of how well it's working.

She offered me a telephone consultation with a dietitian, and I've taken it. It'll be interesting to see what they have to say. If they try to steer me back onto 'good carbs', I'll be having none of it .

Yes the telephone consultation with the dietitian will be interesting - please share once you have had it

 

[PatsyB]

always best to have some breakfast, I learn from my mistakes

 

[Nicole T]

Pre-diagnosis, the only times I tended to skip breakfast were if I slept in past around 11am, or if I was working away and staying in a hotel where the breakfast was a rip-off. Big bowl of Shreddies or Coco Pops, or 2 or 4 slices of toast most mornings.

I suppose research can draw whatever correlations it likes between skipping breakfast and increasing risk of diabetes. Most of us here are at the stage where the probability of us developing diabetes is zero, because we already have it. So it's now a matter of whether skipping breakfast is helpful or detrimental in managing the condition. And while not entirely unrelated, that's a very different question.

 

[bulkbiker]

So it's now a matter of whether skipping breakfast is helpful or detrimental in managing the condition.

I haven't had breakfast for almost 5 years.. results in sig.

 

[ianf0ster]

I can't claim that my numbers have improved by skipping breakfast or occasionally having just 1 meal in a day, but that certainly hasn't made them worse over the last year.

I just don't see the point in forcing myself to eat when I'm not hungry, and since getting fat-adapted I never feel hungry until after midday.
Having said that, I know that I may be able to achieve a quicker reduction in my BG levels if I had my no-carb breakfast instead of waiting until lunch to eat. But I consider that I may as well reduce the store of energy in my liver rather than adding to it by eating when I don't need to.

 

[type2_2020]

What kind of levels are you currently seeing?

low 4s.

 

[Krystyna23040]

low 4s.

Low 4s now you are not injecting insulin should be fine. They are only dangerous if you are injecting insulin.

I often am around 3.9 or 4.0 now. I must admit that it wasn't that comfortable for a long time because I was getting false hypo symptoms.

 

[bulkbiker]

low 4s.

That's perfect levels if unmedicated/metformin only .. a long way from "dangerously low" and where most of the population probably are most of the time. Just measured 4.1 myself.

 

[HSSS]

low 4s.

If you are on no meds that is normal and ideal not dangerous.

With diabetes alone (and no unusual hypoglycaemia inducing conditions) and no meds you’re highly unlikely go hypo.

Only if you are are on hypo inducing meds do you need to be more aware at these levels (still not dangerous yet) as a diabetic person.

 

[Krystyna23040]

Sorry, forgot that there were also other powerful blood sugar lowering meds apart from insulin. Thank goodness @HSSS and @bulkbiker mentioned that there were other meds, as well as injected insulin that could take bs dangerously low.

 

[Nicole T]

Awful day today, figures-wise. I went out to meet a friend and tested when I got back. Initially got an 8.5, and when I retested because I thought that must be an over-read, got a 9.0. I then washed my hands thoroughly, dried with a paper towel and tested again to get a 7.5. All of this before breakfast.

4 Atkins crispbreads for lunch (with butter and chorizo) for a total of less than 10g of carbs, and 2 hours later, I'm showing a 7.6. I haven't had figures anything like these since going low carb, unless I was experimenting to see what I could get away with.

I did have quite a few beers over the weekend, but I've had more on previous ones. The only other thing it might be is a bottle of no added sugar orange pop that I've been drinking, but even that only has 6g of carbs in the entire bottle.

I've also slept rather badly (going to bed around 10pm, waking up around 3am, and not being able to get back to sleep) so maybe that's related.

 

[copilost]

no added sugar orange pop

Some people spike on some sweeteners (I couldn't say because I can't stand any of them!). Lack of sleep, stress, also sickness will spike you. On the sleep issue try magnesium supplements, it's been an eye opener (or closer ) for me. Magnesium is mostly found in significant quantities in grains, seeds, nuts (dropping the refined grains can make quite a difference) - so up the nuts. Piddling out the water associated with hyperglycaemia will drop your magnesium and potassium. Alcohol will affect absorption of magnesium and potassium too. I was waking at 2am every night and not going back to sleep, it was killing me! I've been diagnosed with potassium deficiency but I'm beginning to think the magnesium deficiency is at the root of that. Fairly easy to get potassium in diet, magnesium is more difficult if you drop grains.

 

[Brunneria]

It would be the sleep disturbance/deprivation if it were me.
I no longer bother to test on those mornings. Just makes me stressed, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so might as well just keep doing what works, and wait for things to normalise.

 

[Nicole T]

Some people spike on some sweeteners (I couldn't say because I can't stand any of them!). Lack of sleep, stress, also sickness will spike you. On the sleep issue try magnesium supplements, it's been an eye opener (or closer ) for me. Magnesium is mostly found in significant quantities in grains, seeds, nuts (dropping the refined grains can make quite a difference) - so up the nuts. Piddling out the water associated with hyperglycaemia will drop your magnesium and potassium. Alcohol will affect absorption of magnesium and potassium too. I was waking at 2am every night and not going back to sleep, it was killing me! I've been diagnosed with potassium deficiency but I'm beginning to think the magnesium deficiency is at the root of that. Fairly easy to get potassium in diet, magnesium is more difficult if you drop grains.

I must admit, after drinking, I'm still finding myself up in the night for the toilet, and a little dehydrated in the morning. But I think that's normal even for a non-diabetic after 4 or 5 pints. The big diabetes clue should have been when it was happening without the alcohol, which it was pretty much every night/morning when my sugars were completely out of control.

The sleep issue is largely down to renewing my mortgage and realising I have 17 years left still to pay on it. I will be nearly 70 by the time I'm done. With a diabetes diagnosis 2 months ago, and my dad dying recently, leaving me the oldest survivor in my parents' family line, the mortgage thing has just forced me to project 20 years into the future and contemplate my own mortality. Precisely the sort of thing that kicks in at 3am.

My mum (diagnosed Type 2 around my age) had a mantra of "Diabetics don't live past 60." She made it to 76 and died from something completely unrelated.

New mortgage deal signed, and the forms are in the post. I've gone through some finances and looked at how my circumstances will change (for the better.) A significant monthly outgoing should end over the next few years, and I should be able to pay it off sooner, as long as I'm sensible with my money.

I slept from around 10:30pm until 6:30am, and I think I've caught up on some of what I've lost. Blood down to a fairly typical 6.3 this morning.

I'm on a calcium/magnesium/zinc/D3 supplement already, though looking at the bottle just now, apparently I'm supposed to have been taking 2 tablets a day.

Post edited by mod to remove personally identifiable details.

Re the mod edit: a good call, with hindsight, but I've edited in some less specific detail, since it lost something with the changes.