scotcorradog60
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Afternoon all,
Following a recent UKOOA offshore medical where they picked-up my resting blood glucose levels were around 16 mmol/mol with (high LDL), high BMI at 29.2, I was subsequently told to lose 3.5 stone and to see my GP urgently. Following an appointment at my GP a few days later, he agreed there was obviously an issue and placed me immediately on 500 mg Metformin twice daily and 25 mg Simvastatin daily (surprising, at one of the well-documented side-effects of statins is to raise blood glucose levels....!), and carried out a FBPG test the next day which came out at just under 13.....I was then banned from going offshore by my GP. Apparently, my BMI is supposed to be <25 which,for my height, would have meant that at just under 6 ft 2 in, I should weigh 13.5 stone or 85 kg ( I haven't been that weight since I was 15; I am now nearly 36 years old).
I was then sent to a local clinic (NHS) who performed a few other specialised type-diagnosis blood -tests (C-peptide and GAD-antibodies; these results should be within 2 weeks I was told), had an appointment with a dietician and was told to wait and hear from the team, who were happy that I was taking all the steps to reduce my levels. I was then prescribed Glicazide, 2 x 20 mg daily (again surprising based on the UKOOA medical assessment, as one of the side-effects is to induce weight-gain, thanks guys !) in addition to the Metformin, with Glicazide then stepped up to 40 mg twice daily and with the Metformin stepped up to 2 x 500 mg twice daily, my levels had dropped to around 12 daily average. I was still banned from working offshore by my GP (even though the nursing team and consultants were all happy for me to go). I found the advice given by the dietician was completely contradictory to what I was reading in books/on the net compared to what I was being told by most healthcare professionals.
I then decided to try the LCHPF diet (plenty of protein and non-saturated fat, very low carb but still plenty green leafy veg etc., (no rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, starchy veg etc. all off the menu sadly) and telling no lies here, my levels dropped 35 % within 48 hours, and continued to drop so much that after my first meeting with the consultant (T2 diagnosis made 7 weeks later after initial samples sent for analysis), I was instructed to come off Glicazide completely over the course of the next two weeks but stay on the Metformin. He also told me to basically ignore what advice the dietician had given me and just to keep doing what I was doing diet-wise since it was clearly having such a massive effect on my levels.
Since diagnosis, mostly through changing my diet and to a limited extent, going back to the gym 3-4 times a week for the first time in over 10 years, at that meeting with the consultant my levels were C-peptide 2.52 ng/ml, negative for anti-GAD antibodies, TSH levels norm, HbA1c down from 11.2 to 6.9%, 7 day glucose plasma average down from 13.2 to 5.9 mmol/mol and a total of 27.5 lbs lost since starting the diet (to date).
My goal is now to lose more weight (been told that to reach BMI< 25 I need to lose another 7.5 kg; 16.5 lb), by which means I am unsure, as the weight-loss appears to have virtually dropped-off now, so I may think about asking to be prescribed Victoza or Byetta to help with this (Glicazide was definitely slowing down my weight loss, actually put some weight back on, but came off it and weight loss continued), but my levels remain stable at around 5.7 - 6.2 mmol/mol with the only symptoms I've noticed are some joint pain and tingling/numbness/loss of sensation in my fingers/hands and occasionally feet (but this could also be caused my statin use I believe what what I have read? Going to ask to come off the statin soon and just keep doing the Benecol thing daily).
Ultimately, I want to be able to come off the medication completely, and control my levels purely through diet and exercise alone, but whether this is possible remains to be seen.....
Following a recent UKOOA offshore medical where they picked-up my resting blood glucose levels were around 16 mmol/mol with (high LDL), high BMI at 29.2, I was subsequently told to lose 3.5 stone and to see my GP urgently. Following an appointment at my GP a few days later, he agreed there was obviously an issue and placed me immediately on 500 mg Metformin twice daily and 25 mg Simvastatin daily (surprising, at one of the well-documented side-effects of statins is to raise blood glucose levels....!), and carried out a FBPG test the next day which came out at just under 13.....I was then banned from going offshore by my GP. Apparently, my BMI is supposed to be <25 which,for my height, would have meant that at just under 6 ft 2 in, I should weigh 13.5 stone or 85 kg ( I haven't been that weight since I was 15; I am now nearly 36 years old).
I was then sent to a local clinic (NHS) who performed a few other specialised type-diagnosis blood -tests (C-peptide and GAD-antibodies; these results should be within 2 weeks I was told), had an appointment with a dietician and was told to wait and hear from the team, who were happy that I was taking all the steps to reduce my levels. I was then prescribed Glicazide, 2 x 20 mg daily (again surprising based on the UKOOA medical assessment, as one of the side-effects is to induce weight-gain, thanks guys !) in addition to the Metformin, with Glicazide then stepped up to 40 mg twice daily and with the Metformin stepped up to 2 x 500 mg twice daily, my levels had dropped to around 12 daily average. I was still banned from working offshore by my GP (even though the nursing team and consultants were all happy for me to go). I found the advice given by the dietician was completely contradictory to what I was reading in books/on the net compared to what I was being told by most healthcare professionals.
I then decided to try the LCHPF diet (plenty of protein and non-saturated fat, very low carb but still plenty green leafy veg etc., (no rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, starchy veg etc. all off the menu sadly) and telling no lies here, my levels dropped 35 % within 48 hours, and continued to drop so much that after my first meeting with the consultant (T2 diagnosis made 7 weeks later after initial samples sent for analysis), I was instructed to come off Glicazide completely over the course of the next two weeks but stay on the Metformin. He also told me to basically ignore what advice the dietician had given me and just to keep doing what I was doing diet-wise since it was clearly having such a massive effect on my levels.
Since diagnosis, mostly through changing my diet and to a limited extent, going back to the gym 3-4 times a week for the first time in over 10 years, at that meeting with the consultant my levels were C-peptide 2.52 ng/ml, negative for anti-GAD antibodies, TSH levels norm, HbA1c down from 11.2 to 6.9%, 7 day glucose plasma average down from 13.2 to 5.9 mmol/mol and a total of 27.5 lbs lost since starting the diet (to date).
My goal is now to lose more weight (been told that to reach BMI< 25 I need to lose another 7.5 kg; 16.5 lb), by which means I am unsure, as the weight-loss appears to have virtually dropped-off now, so I may think about asking to be prescribed Victoza or Byetta to help with this (Glicazide was definitely slowing down my weight loss, actually put some weight back on, but came off it and weight loss continued), but my levels remain stable at around 5.7 - 6.2 mmol/mol with the only symptoms I've noticed are some joint pain and tingling/numbness/loss of sensation in my fingers/hands and occasionally feet (but this could also be caused my statin use I believe what what I have read? Going to ask to come off the statin soon and just keep doing the Benecol thing daily).
Ultimately, I want to be able to come off the medication completely, and control my levels purely through diet and exercise alone, but whether this is possible remains to be seen.....
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