Type 2s: How long did it take to get HbA1C below 42

Art Of Flowers

Well-Known Member
Messages
956
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
So far we have not heard from anyone who has got their blood sugars back to normal levels purely by taking drugs. This clearly is not the way to do it, but most in the medical profession are pushing drugs as the only solution.

The answer to lowering blood sugars down to non-diabetic levels does seem to be a combination of a low carbohydrate diet, low calorie diet and intermediate fasting. It looks like many people with type 2 can achieve normal blood sugar levels within 9 months with a low carb diet. With the help of intermittent fasting, this can be reduced by three months.

Intermittent fasting or the 800 calorie/8 week diet (e.g. BSD Fast 800 Diet - see https://thebloodsugardiet.com/the-bsd-options/) has the objective of burning off the visceral fat clogging the liver and pancreas. Whilst losing weight is beneficial, fasting initiates the process of cell repair in the body through the process of autophagy which may help repair faulty Beta cells. So fasting is far more beneficial then just calorie reduction and may be of interest for those looking for a cure for, rather than just coping with type 2 diabetes.

It would be interested to find out what impact fasting had on those who reduced their HbA1C to below 42. Did is give them a greater tolerance to carbohydrates?
 

douglas99

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,572
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Other
So far we have not heard from anyone who has got their blood sugars back to normal levels purely by taking drugs. This clearly is not the way to do it, but most in the medical profession are pushing drugs as the only solution.

The answer to lowering blood sugars down to non-diabetic levels does seem to be a combination of a low carbohydrate diet, low calorie diet and intermediate fasting. It looks like many people with type 2 can achieve normal blood sugar levels within 9 months with a low carb diet. With the help of intermittent fasting, this can be reduced by three months.

Intermittent fasting or the 800 calorie/8 week diet (e.g. BSD Fast 800 Diet - see https://thebloodsugardiet.com/the-bsd-options/) has the objective of burning off the visceral fat clogging the liver and pancreas. Whilst losing weight is beneficial, fasting initiates the process of cell repair in the body through the process of autophagy which may help repair faulty Beta cells. So fasting is far more beneficial then just calorie reduction and may be of interest for those looking for a cure for, rather than just coping with type 2 diabetes.

It would be interested to find out what impact fasting had on those who reduced their HbA1C to below 42. Did is give them a greater tolerance to carbohydrates?

Now mid thirties.
Never fasted.
Type 2 reversed by the Newcastle Diet.
 
A

Avocado Sevenfold

Guest
So far we have not heard from anyone who has got their blood sugars back to normal levels purely by taking drugs. This clearly is not the way to do it, but most in the medical profession are pushing drugs as the only solution.

Really? Doubt it. I have not seen anyone here post that they have been told to take drugs only without any lifestyle changes. Even the Eatwell Plate is a lifestyle intervention, for better or worse. I was handed a photocopied A4 sheet which contained the wisdom "eat less pies". But drugs only? Nah.
 
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Robbity

Expert
Messages
6,683
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I see similar to @Brunneria and @Bluetit1802 :

Mu HbA1c resuits are slighlty and consistently higher than my finger prick tests would indicate, but my Libre sensor
results are lower and would put me well into normal levels :wideyed:, though finger prick tests with my Libre meter are much closer to those from my Contour Next. But importantly they're all fairly consistent in the patterns they show me.

Fun isn't it!!

Robbity
 
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nomoredonuts

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,848
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Current American Presidents.
So far we have not heard from anyone who has got their blood sugars back to normal levels purely by taking drugs. This clearly is not the way to do it, but most in the medical profession are pushing drugs as the only solution.

The answer to lowering blood sugars down to non-diabetic levels does seem to be a combination of a low carbohydrate diet, low calorie diet and intermediate fasting. It looks like many people with type 2 can achieve normal blood sugar levels within 9 months with a low carb diet. With the help of intermittent fasting, this can be reduced by three months.

Intermittent fasting or the 800 calorie/8 week diet (e.g. BSD Fast 800 Diet - see https://thebloodsugardiet.com/the-bsd-options/) has the objective of burning off the visceral fat clogging the liver and pancreas. Whilst losing weight is beneficial, fasting initiates the process of cell repair in the body through the process of autophagy which may help repair faulty Beta cells. So fasting is far more beneficial then just calorie reduction and may be of interest for those looking for a cure for, rather than just coping with type 2 diabetes.

It would be interested to find out what impact fasting had on those who reduced their HbA1C to below 42. Did is give them a greater tolerance to carbohydrates?

I'd like to know that too. ( I had risotto with hake yesterday - I misordered- with red wine. Something worked as I was 5.3 when I tested. My lowest reading this month). A one-off? Or am I now able to tolerate a small amount of carbs?
Also, to be clear, have those of us who have lowered our levels, now becoming less insulin-resistant? And have we "fixed" our system?
 

TooManyCrisps

Well-Known Member
Messages
535
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I have reduced my HbA1c to 37 without drugs but I haven't tried fasting.

However, since last week I am trying to eat 16:8 each day and aiming at one day a week of a 24 hour fast. I'm hoping that will kick-start my metabolism and allow me to lose the final stone I need to get down to my target weight/BMI. I'm also hoping it will eventually bring down my FBG although so far if I skip breakfast my FBG just climbs and climbs so I don't know if I really should be doing this! I'm going to trial it for another week and then review
 

Brunneria

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
21,889
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
It would be interested to find out what impact fasting had on those who reduced their HbA1C to below 42. Did is give them a greater tolerance to carbohydrates?

For me, fasting only impacts my blood glucose numbers after 20 hours or so. Shorter fasts (such as 16/8) have no effect on my Libre graphs at all.

So I went for 24 hr fasts, which meant that I was eating once a day, and seeing reduced blood glucose numbers for the afternoons (I tended to fast from 7pm til 6 or 7 the next day, and my bgs would bounce about as normal, until afternoons, when they would drift downwards until I ate between 6 or 7 pm).

However, after a while I noticed a few things that didn't please me.
- weight loss was insignificant, even on 1 meal a day, and I wasn't eating huge evening meals.
- so I suspect that by fasting too regularly, and too consistently, I had effectively been low calorieing AND fasting, and my metabolism had slowed down to match the lower calorie intake. This had happened before with lc diets, so it came as disappointing, but not surprising.

Since stopping fasting I have switched to less than 20g carbs a day and am eating more regularly, using the dietdoctor recipes. Metabolism seems to have speeded up again (thankfully without weight gain!) and I feel much better. My blood glucose is also better on dietdoctor than it was on the fasting.

But then, for me, carbs are key. I was eating 20-40 g carbs a day on the fasting, whereas I am eating less than 20g carbs a day on the dietdoctor - which seems to suit me better.

So no, fasting did NOT increase my tolerance to carbs.

@Art Of Flowers I can appreciate that you are trying to work out generalised indications of what works for people, but I just don't think you are going to get anywhere. We are all so different. There are so many factors at work - age, sex, activity levels, levels of carb intake, protein intake, other health conditions, hormones... it is like comparing chalk and cheese.

I do however, wish you every success in finding out what works for YOU.
 

britishpub

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,722
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Are you laughing at my post?

Or was it Douglas and his concerns about exacerbating retinopathy? Yeah, that must be it. Blindness is a hoot.

No.

In fact I hadn't read either when I posted.

P.S. Although my Retinography exams have all been clear, I was told that I have signs of Glaucoma in both eyes, so I certainly have no intention of making light of eyesight issues.
 
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A

Avocado Sevenfold

Guest
No.

In fact I hadn't read either when I posted.

P.S. Although my Retinography exams have all been clear, I was told that I have signs of Glaucoma in both eyes, so I certainly have no intention of making light of eyesight issues.
Sorry to hear that. Stay healthy :)
 

Clackdish

Member
Messages
15
Since July 24 2018 had unexpected result of 94 ,4 and a bit weeks later after change in meds and diet ( slimming world ) was down to 68 , my prediction now is 32 at my next test, am getting one done this week and hope to be in high 40s ,i know the predictors are not an accurate reading but as a guide they ok ) Just sort of drifted along before the high test and wake up call But is this a realistic hope ?
 

Holster

Newbie
Messages
1
I had a hba1c of 45 in August, I cut out sugar and started extreme exercise. I lost 10lb and my hypo symptoms stopped. My gp thought that I might have managed to reverse it so retested. In October my hba1c was 44. I feel disheartened with this minor drop. Looking at all your post you all seem to be cutting out carbs. I don’t feel able to cut out carbs at least not in a sustainable way as they are the only things that make me feel full/satisfied. Protein doesn’t seem to work as I hate meat and eggs never give me the full/satisfied feeling. I have been told to eat complex carbs every 4 hours to avoid hypos. Has anyone any advice?
 

Bluetit1802

Legend
Messages
25,216
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
I had a hba1c of 45 in August, I cut out sugar and started extreme exercise. I lost 10lb and my hypo symptoms stopped. My gp thought that I might have managed to reverse it so retested. In October my hba1c was 44. I feel disheartened with this minor drop. Looking at all your post you all seem to be cutting out carbs. I don’t feel able to cut out carbs at least not in a sustainable way as they are the only things that make me feel full/satisfied. Protein doesn’t seem to work as I hate meat and eggs never give me the full/satisfied feeling. I have been told to eat complex carbs every 4 hours to avoid hypos. Has anyone any advice?

Hi and welcome to the forum,

It would help you receive appropriate replies if you start your own thread. Otherwise your above post is likely to get lost and not be seen by many people. I will tag @DCUKMod who can move your post for you if you wish.
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,937
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I had a hba1c of 45 in August, I cut out sugar and started extreme exercise. I lost 10lb and my hypo symptoms stopped. My gp thought that I might have managed to reverse it so retested. In October my hba1c was 44. I feel disheartened with this minor drop. Looking at all your post you all seem to be cutting out carbs. I don’t feel able to cut out carbs at least not in a sustainable way as they are the only things that make me feel full/satisfied. Protein doesn’t seem to work as I hate meat and eggs never give me the full/satisfied feeling. I have been told to eat complex carbs every 4 hours to avoid hypos. Has anyone any advice?
You'll get a thread of your own soon, but just so you know: the reason we drop carbs is because practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested. And we can't process that back out again properly. Carbs are one of the 3 macro nutrients... Drop one, up the others! You mention protein, but you skipped over fat! And that's where there's a lot to be gained. Satiety for instance. You hate meat, but do you hate fatty fish too? (Salmon, tuna?). Avocado? Olives? Nuts? Butter? Full fat greek yoghurt with nuts, a smattering of berries, and coconutshavings? Double cream with a couple of berries? Bulletproof coffee? (Google it, it's weirdly good! I was a sceptic too, but YUM!). Extra dark chocolate? Check dietdoctor.com for ideas, there's more to life than meat, and you don't have to go hungry at all. It's the carbs that push your bloodsugars up. If you want to tackle them, and don't want to up the protein... It's called the Low Carb, High Fat Diet for a reason. ;)
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
5,937
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
I had a hba1c of 45 in August, I cut out sugar and started extreme exercise. I lost 10lb and my hypo symptoms stopped. My gp thought that I might have managed to reverse it so retested. In October my hba1c was 44. I feel disheartened with this minor drop. Looking at all your post you all seem to be cutting out carbs. I don’t feel able to cut out carbs at least not in a sustainable way as they are the only things that make me feel full/satisfied. Protein doesn’t seem to work as I hate meat and eggs never give me the full/satisfied feeling. I have been told to eat complex carbs every 4 hours to avoid hypos. Has anyone any advice?
One more thing: Why do you need to avoid hypo's? Are you on meds that can cause them, because if you're on BG lowering medication a low carb diet will cause hypo's. It's one or the other, both won't work. (Not all T2 meds cause hypo's, mind you, and using thos in tandem with a diet is no problem). T2's aren't supposed to get hypo's. I did, but that's due to my wonky thyroid according to my GP. If you eat every 4 hours when there's no medication that makes it absolutely nessesary, you're basically giving your pancreas not a single moment's rest. And it does need a break every now and again. Just checking. Because at the moment I may be advising a low carb diet to someone who isn't capable of being on one due to their meds...
 
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lessci

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,024
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Still trying after 5 year, but I will get there
 

Zastro

Well-Known Member
Messages
53
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Apart from a blip earlier this year (almost ended up in coma ^^) my last HBA1c came out at 46 and I am actually quite happy to maintain that level. Of course I would like it lower but I don't intend on going too extreme with my diet
 

Resurgam

Expert
Messages
9,849
Type of diabetes
Type 2 (in remission!)
Treatment type
Diet only
It would help to have more information at the bottom of messages - such as the medication someone is taking - in many cases it is impossible to give advice and know that it is safe.
It is easy to put this in the signature information.
 
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