Just wanted to share...
I was diagnosed with T2 on the 11th June. However, my first HbA1c reading was 53 from March, and the second was 56 from April.
I couldn't get an appointment to see the nurse again until June as my practice has dropped from 4 Diabetes nurses to 1.
I apparently should have been told in the two years previous when I had my annual (over 40's + asthma) health checkups that I was pre-Diabetes, but that didn't happen. I then couldn't get an appointment for last years checkup that was due in November until March.
So all in all, I could have probably been dealing with this over two and a half years before I did. In all honesty, I didn't really heed the warning in March either, and until I got the diagnosis in June I thought "I haven't been told I have it yet" so didn't really reign in the bad diet.
But... As soon as I got that diagnosis, I was waiting for a referral to DESMOND - and I almost did the same again, but the day of the diagnosis I thought about it, I had a work event where I wasn't good (but wasn't terrible), and from the next day I decided it was time to make a difference. I'd decided to go with diet and lifestyle changes, instead of with the medication which was offered.
For three days, I didn't understand the importance of carbs. I thought I was being better by switching things like chips and potatoes for rice and pasta. However, I started a lot of research of my own (and it's a good job I did, because the DESMOND referral took about 7 weeks to arrive).
It's been an education, and I've actually enjoyed eating better - and after 15 years of struggling to lose weight, I have gone from 100.9kg (15st 12) to 81.7kg (13st 12), dropped my BMI from 33.3 to 27, and dropped my HbA1c from 56 in April (and likely higher by the time June came around), to 37 yesterday.
Now continues the work to get to a healthy BMI, and to maintain the HbA1c to get to remission in 3 months.
I've lurked here and read inspirational stories and ideas, and it formed a massive part of my research and motivation. So I just wanted to share my journey so far, in case it helps others in the future!
If you're where I found myself - it can be overwhelming. My nurse has been brilliant, when I got to see her - and the NHS first sprung this possibility on me with just a text back in March saying an appointment had been setup with a Diabetes nurse for me without any warning or context.... I know it can be scary and confusing, especially to begin with... But, to those of you in similar positions in the future... You've got this.
It might seem weird, and it's something I've read others on these forums say... But it's been liberating for me. I have struggled to lose weight, and I knew, at 44, that my diet wasn't sustainable and my health would only get worse in time. Whilst I thought Diabetes might be a problem in the future (my Dad was diagnosed when he was in his 60's), I never imagined it would happen so soon...
But it has enabled me to take control of my health and my weight - and I feel as good as I did 15-20 years ago again.
I was diagnosed with T2 on the 11th June. However, my first HbA1c reading was 53 from March, and the second was 56 from April.
I couldn't get an appointment to see the nurse again until June as my practice has dropped from 4 Diabetes nurses to 1.
I apparently should have been told in the two years previous when I had my annual (over 40's + asthma) health checkups that I was pre-Diabetes, but that didn't happen. I then couldn't get an appointment for last years checkup that was due in November until March.
So all in all, I could have probably been dealing with this over two and a half years before I did. In all honesty, I didn't really heed the warning in March either, and until I got the diagnosis in June I thought "I haven't been told I have it yet" so didn't really reign in the bad diet.
But... As soon as I got that diagnosis, I was waiting for a referral to DESMOND - and I almost did the same again, but the day of the diagnosis I thought about it, I had a work event where I wasn't good (but wasn't terrible), and from the next day I decided it was time to make a difference. I'd decided to go with diet and lifestyle changes, instead of with the medication which was offered.
For three days, I didn't understand the importance of carbs. I thought I was being better by switching things like chips and potatoes for rice and pasta. However, I started a lot of research of my own (and it's a good job I did, because the DESMOND referral took about 7 weeks to arrive).
It's been an education, and I've actually enjoyed eating better - and after 15 years of struggling to lose weight, I have gone from 100.9kg (15st 12) to 81.7kg (13st 12), dropped my BMI from 33.3 to 27, and dropped my HbA1c from 56 in April (and likely higher by the time June came around), to 37 yesterday.
Now continues the work to get to a healthy BMI, and to maintain the HbA1c to get to remission in 3 months.
I've lurked here and read inspirational stories and ideas, and it formed a massive part of my research and motivation. So I just wanted to share my journey so far, in case it helps others in the future!
If you're where I found myself - it can be overwhelming. My nurse has been brilliant, when I got to see her - and the NHS first sprung this possibility on me with just a text back in March saying an appointment had been setup with a Diabetes nurse for me without any warning or context.... I know it can be scary and confusing, especially to begin with... But, to those of you in similar positions in the future... You've got this.
It might seem weird, and it's something I've read others on these forums say... But it's been liberating for me. I have struggled to lose weight, and I knew, at 44, that my diet wasn't sustainable and my health would only get worse in time. Whilst I thought Diabetes might be a problem in the future (my Dad was diagnosed when he was in his 60's), I never imagined it would happen so soon...
But it has enabled me to take control of my health and my weight - and I feel as good as I did 15-20 years ago again.
