I was diagnosed with type II six months ago. I had just turned fifty and was feeling ever more lethargic but had initially put it down to just getting old. The brain fog gradually got worse and I was feeling increasingly more tired. I am a keen cyclist but was gradually doing less and less. I stopped drinking for about month as although I am not a heavy drinker, thought maybe I couldn't handle it anymore. I still had symptoms that felt vaguely like a hangover. I read something about gluten intolerance and thought that was the problem so cut all wheat, pastry and pasta out of my diet - I did used to eat a lot of that stuff. Within a few days I felt a whole lot better and was cycling 100 miles a week - 3 times what I had been doing. I was pleased that I would finally be able to lose weight and shifted half a stone in a fortnight. I had been nineteen stone - I am a six foot male but it was still too much. I had been struggling with it for ages and was confident about losing more as I was already feeling healthier than I had done for years. I had wanted to confirm the diagnosis with my doctor so he tested me for gluten intolerance. When I picked up the result he told me it was negative but I did have diabetes. Glucose, not gluten had been the problem. The positive side was that my reading was only 48, the lowest possible score to qualify as diabetes, so I was very glad I had had the test, found out at that stage and the doctor told me there was plenty I should do before he would consider any medication.
Understandably I felt a bit mixed but my priority was to keep losing weight, as now it was more important than ever. Six months on, I have lost two more stone. I am now sixteen and half stone but still want to lose more. I am a vegetarian and for three months I ate little more than vegetable soup and home made veggie burgers. I am varying my diet a bit more now, learning what I can and cannot cope with. So far it has been tough but manageable, I have had eye and feet tests that were OK, I have seen the doctor again and he is pleased with progress. I still feel lucky that I was diagnosed so early.
Understandably I felt a bit mixed but my priority was to keep losing weight, as now it was more important than ever. Six months on, I have lost two more stone. I am now sixteen and half stone but still want to lose more. I am a vegetarian and for three months I ate little more than vegetable soup and home made veggie burgers. I am varying my diet a bit more now, learning what I can and cannot cope with. So far it has been tough but manageable, I have had eye and feet tests that were OK, I have seen the doctor again and he is pleased with progress. I still feel lucky that I was diagnosed so early.