Over the moon thanks to you guys

[Drakey]

Morning everyone, Drakey here. I'm so chuffed cause got blood results yesterday. Got shock diagnosis of diabetes 2 with Hba1c 110! In early Dec. Yesterday it was 41, officially non diabetic. I was so despondent and got some really good low carb advice from this forum. After 6 weeks I found luckily I could eat up to 130g of carbs without spiking blood sugar. Used meter and some foods are still a no no, especially wholewheat cereal, pasta and rice. This is all contrary to the NHS advice I was given about the Eastwell plate, to eat wholegrain pasta, rice etc. I've lost nearly 2 stone easily and my BMI has gone down to 24. Of course I realise I will still have to watch carbs and weight otherwise it will come back. Thanks ever so much, this whole site has been responsible for such a good result. Drakey

 

[rebrascora]

Wow! Absolutely fantastic result! HUGE well done to you for being prepared to embrace change and putting in al the hard work necessary. I hope you have found new foods to enjoy as part of the journey because as you realise this needs to be sustainable for the long term. You might look at increasing your fat intake now that you are down to a healthy BMI, to stabilize at that level. Best of luck in maintaining your HbA1c in the normal range, but if it does creep up a bit at some point in the future, you know what you need to do to bring it back down, so don't panic. Finding balance in managing diabetes is the important thing.
Many congratulations and I hope you feel so much better/fitter and healthier for the changes you have made.

 

[Drakey]

Wow! Absolutely fantastic result! HUGE well done to you for being prepared to embrace change and putting in al the hard work necessary. I hope you have found new foods to enjoy as part of the journey because as you realise this needs to be sustainable for the long term. You might look at increasing your fat intake now that you are down to a healthy BMI, to stabilize at that level. Best of luck in maintaining your HbA1c in the normal range, but if it does creep up a bit at some point in the future, you know what you need to do to bring it back down, so don't panic. Finding balance in managing diabetes is the important thing.
Many congratulations and I hope you feel so much better/fitter and healthier for the changes you have made.

Thanks Barbara, you were one of the people who helped me in the beginning. If it helps anyone else, some foods that are my staples are Warburton multi grain and seed bread, 11.5g carbs per slice, I like slightly more than Burgen, sugar free greek yoghurt, 60g frozen berries defrosted, I have dairy allergy so for treats have Happy Snack chocolate covered chickpeas, gluten and dairy free, 10.6g carbs, 3g sugar per 20g bag, marmite peanuts, handful of walnuts or brazils, 20g sugar salt and sugar free peanut butter. Of course fish, veg, cauliflower rice, meat, homemade curries, chilli with cauliflower rice. Swopped pasta to roasted cauliflower in first month, now have red lentil or edaname bean pasta. Big salads with avocado, few sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, olive oil. Potato and cereals spike my blood sugar but no longer miss them. Hope this helps. 4 months on I feel slimmer and fitter and although I'm 68 my skin is looking better. Mentally not all plain sailing, felt upset, scared in beginning, then cross and embarrassed I had diabetes 2, cross I couldn't continue to eat exactly what I wanted. However, now I actually like eating this way as have loads more energy. If you're a newbie, take heart, there is a way forward. X

 

[richardmillar11]

thats really good news! What kind of readings do you get throughout the day i.e. is your fasting levels low. I am trying to experiment with some food but have found my fasting levels have went up and concerned it will affect the Hba1c due again at the end of this month.

 

[Drakey]

thats really good news! What kind of readings do you get throughout the day i.e. is your fasting levels low. I am trying to experiment with some food but have found my fasting levels have went up and concerned it will affect the Hba1c due again at the end of this month.

Hi Richard, I use my meter when I first wake up and for last month they have been around 4.5/5.2. After a breakfast of say 2 poached eggs on seeded bread an hour and a half later they will be 6.5 or 6.8. I am still taking 2 500 mg metformin daily but no other diabetic meds. I religiously took meter readings before meals and around 1.5 hrs after meals to see which foods did what. I still do readings now and then to keep an eye but not as much. The first week or so after diagnosis my fasting blood sugars were around 14! and then stayed at 6.5 for about six weeks, then dropped to 5ish and it was only a few weeks ago it dropped to 4.5. I find if I eat something like say cereal my blood sugar shoots up to 9 from those low fasting numbers so obviously I don't eat cereal now. However a 20 min brisk walk brings my levels back to normal range if I experimented and sugars shoot up. I also find if I eat a bit of the protein element of a meal first, say eggs before a cheeky hash brown, it stops me spiking. Experiment and test a lot would be my advice. Hope this helps.

 

[Drakey]

That's a great success story @Drakey - well done. Having followed a similar path (actually, near identical) I know exactly how it feels. Keep doing what you're doing and maybe the meds can go, if your DN agrees.

Martin

Thanks Martin. It's good to chat with people who know what it's like to be hit with the diabetes bombshell. Yes my diabetic nurse is gonna retest my HBa1c in 6 months and then said I may come off metformin. I don't like taking meds but have to say luckily 2x500mg per day have given me no gastric problems whatsoever. Hope you keep well. Have a retinopathy appt on 15th and feel really nervous as my eyes were very blurry and even went longsighted instead of shortsighted which I've been for years for a few weeks. Had to get supermarket reading glasses.
All back to normal now though.

 

[richardmillar11]

Hi Richard, I use my meter when I first wake up and for last month they have been around 4.5/5.2. After a breakfast of say 2 poached eggs on seeded bread an hour and a half later they will be 6.5 or 6.8. I am still taking 2 500 mg metformin daily but no other diabetic meds. I religiously took meter readings before meals and around 1.5 hrs after meals to see which foods did what. I still do readings now and then to keep an eye but not as much. The first week or so after diagnosis my fasting blood sugars were around 14! and then stayed at 6.5 for about six weeks, then dropped to 5ish and it was only a few weeks ago it dropped to 4.5. I find if I eat something like say cereal my blood sugar shoots up to 9 from those low fasting numbers so obviously I don't eat cereal now. However a 20 min brisk walk brings my levels back to normal range if I experimented and sugars shoot up. I also find if I eat a bit of the protein element of a meal first, say eggs before a cheeky hash brown, it stops me spiking. Experiment and test a lot would be my advice. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the info much appreciated. My Hba1c was 55 in January so i'd say with my current readings there is no chance it has reduced if anything it will have gone up

 

[Drakey]

Thanks for the info much appreciated. My Hba1c was 55 in January so i'd say with my current readings there is no chance it has reduced if anything it will have gone up

Well I am sure if you watch your carb intake it will come down. 55 isn't so bad, literally half of what I started with. I used my fitness pal to track my carbs, it's free and quick to use. I foolishly reduced my daily carbs to 50g when diagnosed and my vision was badly affected. People on this forum explained why and that I should reduce carbs gradually. I readjusted to 130g per day gradually reducing to 50g for a month. I did find that tough but now can eat 130g a day with stable blood sugars. Hope this helps Richard, I am still new to all this too but what people advise on this forum worked for me. My diabetic nurse was a bit sniffy as she said I should eat at least 80g of carbs three times a day but my gut feeling was low carb was the way to go. I do value the NHS and usually take their advice. Really hope you see your numbers reducing.

 

[richardmillar11]

Yes I was 115 on diagnosis in October and down to 85 4 weeks later and by December 55 and stayed the same in January. How is your vision now. Like you I reduced everything immediately on diagnosis and my vision is fine just I see light floaters and hoping that this will disappear soon. Some days I don't have any carbs at all and then after a week there are days where I really feel I need them for energy and to feel better. I am not on any medication at the min but due to be reviewed again at the end of March so just have to wait and see what happens I suppose. Thanks for the information and sharing your experience really appreciate it.

 

[Northerner]

Ah, so9 fabulous to read posts like these 🙂 Well done on all your hard work turning things around! 🙂 I always thought this forum might be helpful to some people! 😉 Still bugs me enormously after nearly 14 years though that some people are still getting unhelpful and inappropriate advice from their healthcare teams

 

[Drakey]

Thanks Northerner. Just to say Richard you have done great getting your numbers down with no meds. Maybe me taking 2x500mg metformin daily is why my numbers are a little ahead of yours but completely get your desire to go diet only route so know you will get there. In answer to your question my eyes are back to normal now but still a bit fearful of retinopathy appt results. All the best all.

 

[Sulfate]

Morning everyone, Drakey here. I'm so chuffed cause got blood results yesterday. Got shock diagnosis of diabetes 2 with Hba1c 110! In early Dec. Yesterday it was 41, officially non diabetic. I was so despondent and got some really good low carb advice from this forum. After 6 weeks I found luckily I could eat up to 130g of carbs without spiking blood sugar. Used meter and some foods are still a no no, especially wholewheat cereal, pasta and rice. This is all contrary to the NHS advice I was given about the Eastwell plate, to eat wholegrain pasta, rice etc. I've lost nearly 2 stone easily and my BMI has gone down to 24. Of course I realise I will still have to watch carbs and weight otherwise it will come back. Thanks ever so much, this whole site has been responsible for such a good result. Drakey

That's so good to hear. I totally agree about this forum. I was enrolled on the NHS diabetes prevention programme by my GP and like you was guided towards the Eatwell plate, after 3 months of cutting down on sugary foods and losing some weight my HbA1c was still 44. I felt so disappointed. On this forum someone commented that my usual daily carb intake for a pre diabetic person was quite high! So I looked at my carbs intake and try mostly to stick to 130g or less sometimes. 3 months later my HbA1c had dropped to 43. I was diagnosed a year ago as prediabetic so I have another HbA1c and cholesterol blood test at the end if March. I have lost another 7lbs since July so I'm really hoping I will be back to 41 which us what I was in 2018.

 

[Bloden]

Wow, and double wow! That’s amazing @Drakey - well done, that’s brilliant!!!

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Well done @Drakey that is great news. Good for you and long may it continue.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Such an inspiring story @Drakey - so pleased you have found the shared experiences on the forum helpful in you finding your own path, and your experiments and perseverance have paid off so brilliantly well.

Congratulations!

Hope your eyes have settled, and your screening results come back clear.

 

[Drakey]

Thanks everyone for your supportive messages. Drakey