Type 2 diabetes: losing weight the cure?

[Languagelearner]

Hi, I went to the GP today about a fungal growth on my toenail. The chemist's wouldn't sell me Curanail for £30 as they aren't allowed to sell it to diabetics, and so I got the GP to prescribe something similar, and so I will get it for free as I have an exemption card.

While I was there the doctor said "losing weight is the cure for diabetes - try walking 6 miles a day". I've read on many sites that the link between being overweight and having diabetes is not clear - it's an "association", but how the link works is not known. Is it really true that dropping a few stone will "cure" diabetes?

 

[HurricaneHippo]

I think a fair few people have lost weight on this forum and the put their diabetes into remission. It’s not that crazy to believe is it?

 

[Antje77]

Perhaps you'd like to change the title of your post to include 'type 2' to prevent T1/3C's falling over it and starting to complain your doctor can't have meant losing weight grows back dead beta cells.
[edit: Thanks for editing!]

On topic: losing weight when overweight can sometimes be enough to put T2 into remission. But it's also possible to not lose a significant amount of weight and get normal BG by cutting carbs.
And then there are those T2's who aren't overweight to start with, who can't afford to lose weight.

 

[zand]

Just to say that this doesn't apply to T1 or T1.5 diabetes.

T2 causes weight gain through insulin resistance. If you change your diet to a lower carb sugar then you will probably improve your HbA1c and may lose weight.

 

[Languagelearner]

I think a fair few people have lost weight on this forum and the put their diabetes into remission. It’s not that crazy to believe is it?

But what does "in remission" mean? If they've lost weight and have normal fasting blood glucose, then that's good, but can they start eating carbohydrates normally? If not, the thing isn't cured, as such, only the symptoms have gone as long as you eat Keto every day for the rest of your life.

On that basis, I was suspicious that the doctor's advice was a bit of an old wives' tale piece of advice. I think if your body can no longer respond well to insulin, losing weight doesn't turn that around??

 

[zand]

I was told that I couldn't buy athletes foot powder as I am T2. Trouble was the first GP appointment was 2 weeks away. I got my hubby to buy some and the problem had cleared up in 3 days. It seems crazy to make someone wait for treatment and thereby increase the risk of infection.

 

[zand]

But what does "in remission" mean? If they've lost weight and have normal fasting blood glucose, then that's good, but can they start eating carbohydrates normally? If not, the thing isn't cured, as such, only the symptoms have gone as long as you eat Keto every day for the rest of your life.

On that basis, I was suspicious that the doctor's advice was a bit of an old wives' tale piece of advice. I think if your body can no longer respond well to insulin, losing weight doesn't turn that around??

Losing weight can help reduce insulin resistance and therefore help your body use insulin more effectively

You don't have to be as strict as keto. You can simply low carb (less than 130g) to start with

 

[Languagelearner]

I was told that I couldn't buy athletes foot powder as I am T2. Trouble was the first GP appointment was 2 weeks away. I got my hubby to buy some and the problem had cleared up in 3 days. It seems crazy to make someone wait for treatment and thereby increase the risk of infection.

I went online and posted a ticket on askmygp, and sent a picture of my toenail, and the doctor didn't seem to think it a big deal, and wondered why I was contacting the doctor. I could just buy Curanail over the counter. And she closed the askmygap thread as if I had been dealt with. I went to the chemist's and they wouldn't sell it to me, and so I had to go to the surgery for an appointment today and got them to prescribe it to me. The whole thing has been more of a rigmarole, but I will get the medication for free.

 

[Languagelearner]

Losing weight can help reduce insulin resistance and therefore help your body use insulin more effectively

You don't have to be as strict as keto. You can simply low carb (less than 130g) to start with

Thank you. Maybe the doctor was essentially right.

 

[HurricaneHippo]

But what does "in remission" mean? If they've lost weight and have normal fasting blood glucose, then that's good, but can they start eating carbohydrates normally? If not, the thing isn't cured, as such, only the symptoms have gone as long as you eat Keto every day for the rest of your life.

On that basis, I was suspicious that the doctor's advice was a bit of an old wives' tale piece of advice. I think if your body can no longer respond well to insulin, losing weight doesn't turn that around??

Nope they probably can’t have at carbs like they used to. I can’t go back to eat cake, donuts and pizzas daily. I’m not sure that was good for me regardless of my diabetic diagnosis.

 

[zand]

Thank you. Maybe the doctor was essentially right.

Hmmmm, diet is most important though and how many people have the time to walk 6 miles a day?
Interestingly though I have discovered that if I walk 2 miles a day for 3 days I don't lose anything, but if I manage to walk 6 miles one day and rest for 2 days then Iose a pound. Hard to do with long covid now.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

losing weight is the cure for diabetes - try walking 6 miles a day

Mixed messages.

Exercise alone can make you fitter but to really lose weight you have to change what and how much you eat.
However walking 6 miles a day is generally a good thing for ones health, all things being equal.

As already suggested, it depends what is causing your diabetes.
If excess fat (especially around the belly) is preventing insulin from working properly, but you are still producing plenty of insulin, then getting rid of the fat can reduce the insulin resistance and reverse the symptoms of diabetes.
However being diagnosed is a big wake up call.
Whatever you did to trigger the symptoms (such as putting on weight and eating loads of carbs) will almost certainly do the same again if you revert to your old ways.
So you can potentially reverse the symptoms, and then eat most things without impact, but there is always that awareness that you have had diabetes symptoms once, and had to change your ways to reverse them.

Oh, and high blood sugar encourages fungal infections.

 

[Jayne1983]

Hi, I went to the GP today about a fungal growth on my toenail. The chemist's wouldn't sell me Curanail for £30 as they aren't allowed to sell it to diabetics, and so I got the GP to prescribe something similar, and so I will get it for free as I have an exemption card.

While I was there the doctor said "losing weight is the cure for diabetes - try walking 6 miles a day". I've read on many sites that the link between being overweight and having diabetes is not clear - it's an "association", but how the link works is not known. Is it really true that dropping a few stone will "cure" diabetes?

Hi my first hbc1a was 54 in March then June 36 I’ve lost 3 stone low carb and exercise walking and exercise bike when I got my results she said normal no further action but I’ve still stuck to the diet and lost another 10lb I’ve not tryed anything different food wise I dare not… Ive had no information what it means what I’d like to know what happens if you get a spike now your in the normal range

 

[Languagelearner]

Hi my first hbc1a was 54 in March then June 36 I’ve lost 3 stone low carb and exercise walking and exercise bike when I got my results she said normal no further action but I’ve still stuck to the diet and lost another 10lb I’ve not tryed anything different food wise I dare not… Ive had no information what it means what I’d like to know what happens if you get a spike now your in the normal range

Wow! that was quick - back to normal readings in 3 months!

 

[Riva_Roxaban]

Hi, I went to the GP today about a fungal growth on my toenail. The chemist's wouldn't sell me Curanail for £30 as they aren't allowed to sell it to diabetics

Tea tree oil does the same job, and it's a lot cheaper.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/tea-tree-oil/s?k=tea+tree+oil

 

[Jayne1983]

Wow! that was quick - back to normal readings in 3 months!

I know I went low carb and walked a lot i also had a liver problem that went from 159 to 24 in 12 weeks she said that’s now normal to I didn’t drink alcohol for the first 8 weeks but now I have a few vodka and diet mixers on a Wednesday and a Saturday lol

 

[Ronancastled]

Is it really true that dropping a few stone will "cure" diabetes?

Research the Direct Study, the work of Prof Roy Taylor & draw your own conclusions.

What I've learned is there is a subset of obese T2s who "may" be able reverse their insulin resistance. The factors which most likely determine the likelihood of success are:
(1) Duration since diagnosis
(2) Proximity to diagnostic level
(3) Removal of visceral fat from liver/pancreas
(4) Response to exercise
(5) No underlying genetic component

There are T2s who can gain remission, there are pre-diabetics who cannot prevent the slide to T2. It's not a one size fits all.

 

[SuNuman]

Hi. I think weight is key.
My Nan, mum were diabetic and I am the 5th sibling to have diabetes out of 6.
I was diagnosed type 2 2/3 years ago - I lost 3 stone and my A1c went from 48 to 35.
Then lockdown hit. I put on 3 stone and ate carelessly. Now my A1c is 50 and I’m on metformin.
I AM going to b a star pupil again (as my GP called me). X.

 

[OB87]

I do think weight loss is important as when I got to a healthy weight I could tolerate certain foods that I couldn't previously. However I don't think it's possible to go back to a very carb heavy sugary diet all the time. You know now your body cannot process that amount of excess so best not to get back to that place. Also, I don't think that kind of diet is good for anyone whether they have diabetes or not. I do have treats though as it keeps me on track the rest of the time but overall my mindset has changed and I see them as occasional treats rather than daily like I used too. My recent hb1ac is 31, I don't go really low carb but a lot lower than I used to be.

 

[Andydragon]

Hi. I think weight is key.
My Nan, mum were diabetic and I am the 5th sibling to have diabetes out of 6.
I was diagnosed type 2 2/3 years ago - I lost 3 stone and my A1c went from 48 to 35.
Then lockdown hit. I put on 3 stone and ate carelessly. Now my A1c is 50 and I’m on metformin.
I AM going to b a star pupil again (as my GP called me). X.

It might be part of it but isn’t something that can be applied generally

I have lost the weight, my hba1c is reading normal. However, eating too many carbs will cause my bloods to go to diabetic levels for an extended period. If it was purely weight then I would be able to eat anything I wanted without the impact but nope… lifelong need to eat differently