Am I in Remission?

[CMy]

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 in early July and told the month previous I very likely had Diabetes. Since then, I have worked hard to lose weight and have lost 14kg, going from 134kg to 120 kg, to try and avoid going on medication. My initial HbA1c was 53/7.0% based on my blood test in early July. My latest result is 38/5.6% based on my blood test at the end of October. I will be speaking to my doctor in a couple of weeks to discuss the result, but does this mean I am in remission, and what does that actually mean? Would I be diabetes free with a normal insulin sensitivity? Or am I just managing my blood sugar levels with diet but still insulin resistant? I have no plans to change my diet and still need to lose a significant amount of weight, but I would like to better understand what my new readings mean. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[harbottle]

You may have improved insulin sensitivity, but T2 diabetes also has beta-cell dysfunction which is where the cells that produce insulin are compromised and not enough is produced to deal with meals that are high in carbohydrates. Losing weight can make the cells recover for some people and return insulin production to normal, but not everyone. The only way to find out is to return to a 'normal' diet and see if levels remain out of the diabetic range, which is nothing you should do without professional advice.

Losing weight (Well done!) can help with insulin resistance.

The new readings is outside the pre-diabetic and diabetic range, so is an excellent result.

No, you are not free of diabetes, just have it under control.

 

[CMy]

You may have improved insulin sensitivity, but T2 diabetes also has beta-cell dysfunction which is where the cells that produce insulin are compromised and not enough is produced to deal with meals that are high in carbohydrates. Losing weight can make the cells recover for some people and return insulin production to normal, but not everyone. The only way to find out is to return to a 'normal' diet and see if levels remain out of the diabetic range, which is nothing you should do without professional advice.

Losing weight (Well done!) can help with insulin resistance.

The new readings is outside the pre-diabetic and diabetic range, so is an excellent result.

No, you are not free of diabetes, just have it under control.

Thank you for the information, that is what I thought but wasn't sure. I plan to stick to the new eating lifestyle until I get to and have maintained my target weight for some time. So long as I am managing my levels I am happy for now.

 

[Martin.A]

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 in early July and told the month previous I very likely had Diabetes. Since then, I have worked hard to lose weight and have lost 14kg, going from 134kg to 120 kg, to try and avoid going on medication. My initial HbA1c was 53/7.0% based on my blood test in early July. My latest result is 38/5.6% based on my blood test at the end of October. I will be speaking to my doctor in a couple of weeks to discuss the result, but does this mean I am in remission, and what does that actually mean? Would I be diabetes free with a normal insulin sensitivity? Or am I just managing my blood sugar levels with diet but still insulin resistant? I have no plans to change my diet and still need to lose a significant amount of weight, but I would like to better understand what my new readings mean. Any help would be appreciated.

Remission, in clinical terms, means no signs or symptoms. The current definition of remission, agreed by a team of international experts from Diabetes UK, the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, is when your HbA1c remains below 48mmol/mol for at least three months without diabetes medication. So no, you aren't in remission at this stage but remission is possible for T2s, although it's not a guarantee even if you do all the right things.

 

[harbottle]

Thank you for the information, that is what I thought but wasn't sure. I plan to stick to the new eating lifestyle until I get to and have maintained my target weight for some time. So long as I am managing my levels I am happy for now.

You've done really well so far!

 

[NeoUser]

Hi there,

I was diagnosed with Type 2 in early July and told the month previous I very likely had Diabetes. Since then, I have worked hard to lose weight and have lost 14kg, going from 134kg to 120 kg, to try and avoid going on medication. My initial HbA1c was 53/7.0% based on my blood test in early July. My latest result is 38/5.6% based on my blood test at the end of October. I will be speaking to my doctor in a couple of weeks to discuss the result, but does this mean I am in remission, and what does that actually mean? Would I be diabetes free with a normal insulin sensitivity? Or am I just managing my blood sugar levels with diet but still insulin resistant? I have no plans to change my diet and still need to lose a significant amount of weight, but I would like to better understand what my new readings mean. Any help would be appreciated.

Really pleased to hear of your weight loss. How have you lost the 14kg? Well done on the steps you've taken so far! 🙂