About two years ago I had an accident under water while scuba diving and while in hospital I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and put immediately on insulin. It was a shocker... Fortunately most of the doctors, nurses, dietitians were great. All of them apart from one... I don't even want to remember her name, but she she is a specialist. But I need to tell you the whole story from the beginning - apologies...
I was overweight at the time of the accident and if I'm honest some injections (especially the slow release) were painful from time to time. I absolutely hated it. I knew I had to lose some weight and maybe exercise a bit more. One magical day after the dinner I went on a bike ride with my wife - nothing spectacular, just a few miles at snail's pace. When I tested the sugar levels it was under 5mmol. That was right after I had dinner with carbs (slow release alright, still at the time I was between 8-12mmol).
This is how my journey to fight the diabetes started...
I thought OK, I can have the breakfast and go for a swim... one less injection. Then I can have lunch and go to the gym, that's another injection gone. I also bought a stationary bike to sweat the sugar off after dinner in case it was raining...
Guess what - it turned out I needed less and less insulin for night injections... and the sugar levels were the same, going gradually down... I actually have all that in my diary somewhere
So I went to see the specialist and that was say 2 months into being diagnosed. She immediately said it wasn't type 1, it was type 2, but I am MOST DEFINITELY diabetic (done the hba tests and whatnot). She has put me on metformin. At the time I already lost around 10kg of body weight and quit smoking at the same time.
She said that maybe I can come off metformin if I lose another 10kg but I wouldn't. And she knows that. She actually had family members who were like me and even more motivated. It all goes. It doesn't last. It WOULD get worse. I am diabetic and there's nothing I could do. I had to learn to live with it...
Well dear Docor! It's been two years or so now... I am still waiting for the getting worse part. I have been taking your prescribed metformin for a week. It made no difference in insulin response around exercise. Since then I had the hba's within norm. I am eating clean - but it's not a diet anymore - it's a habit. It's a diet only for some time, trust me on that, I was real pig lol And it doesn't mean you have to give up everything.
My sugar levels in the morning are between 5-6mmol (more often near 6). After 6 months of exercise my GP told me to start eating more carbs! I am diabetic alright but life has never been more beautiful. I am fit and slim and I have no need for any medication. I was 100kg, now down to 70-73kg (depending on day lol), an ambitious triathlete with great plans for next 2 years. I am doing my first Iron Man race next year in Copenhagen (3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon), planning to break 12 hours on that.
Dear good diabetic people! Never give up. I am not saying this will work for everyone. But if it worked for me chances are there are a lot of you out there that it just might also work and change your life. Don't let anyone tell you it's a sentence. It isn't!
Dear Doctor! If you're reading this then I hope it forces reflection upon you. Bite your lip next time you're negative to a patient instead of loading him/her with positive energy.
Good luck!
I was overweight at the time of the accident and if I'm honest some injections (especially the slow release) were painful from time to time. I absolutely hated it. I knew I had to lose some weight and maybe exercise a bit more. One magical day after the dinner I went on a bike ride with my wife - nothing spectacular, just a few miles at snail's pace. When I tested the sugar levels it was under 5mmol. That was right after I had dinner with carbs (slow release alright, still at the time I was between 8-12mmol).
This is how my journey to fight the diabetes started...
I thought OK, I can have the breakfast and go for a swim... one less injection. Then I can have lunch and go to the gym, that's another injection gone. I also bought a stationary bike to sweat the sugar off after dinner in case it was raining...
Guess what - it turned out I needed less and less insulin for night injections... and the sugar levels were the same, going gradually down... I actually have all that in my diary somewhere
So I went to see the specialist and that was say 2 months into being diagnosed. She immediately said it wasn't type 1, it was type 2, but I am MOST DEFINITELY diabetic (done the hba tests and whatnot). She has put me on metformin. At the time I already lost around 10kg of body weight and quit smoking at the same time.
She said that maybe I can come off metformin if I lose another 10kg but I wouldn't. And she knows that. She actually had family members who were like me and even more motivated. It all goes. It doesn't last. It WOULD get worse. I am diabetic and there's nothing I could do. I had to learn to live with it...
Well dear Docor! It's been two years or so now... I am still waiting for the getting worse part. I have been taking your prescribed metformin for a week. It made no difference in insulin response around exercise. Since then I had the hba's within norm. I am eating clean - but it's not a diet anymore - it's a habit. It's a diet only for some time, trust me on that, I was real pig lol And it doesn't mean you have to give up everything.
My sugar levels in the morning are between 5-6mmol (more often near 6). After 6 months of exercise my GP told me to start eating more carbs! I am diabetic alright but life has never been more beautiful. I am fit and slim and I have no need for any medication. I was 100kg, now down to 70-73kg (depending on day lol), an ambitious triathlete with great plans for next 2 years. I am doing my first Iron Man race next year in Copenhagen (3.8km swim, 180km bike and a marathon), planning to break 12 hours on that.
Dear good diabetic people! Never give up. I am not saying this will work for everyone. But if it worked for me chances are there are a lot of you out there that it just might also work and change your life. Don't let anyone tell you it's a sentence. It isn't!
Dear Doctor! If you're reading this then I hope it forces reflection upon you. Bite your lip next time you're negative to a patient instead of loading him/her with positive energy.
Good luck!
Last edited by a moderator:
Been there and back with it.