Am I too old

[medidia]

You don't need to be on an official programme, you can try on your own that's what I'm doing. I'm young, just 58 lol. I've reduced carbs a lot.
The only thing to be carful is hypos if you are at risk of falls, after 50 in particular.

 

[Winifreds child]

I think you are too old for the NHS Pathway to Remission programme. That's probably a blessing. Just start with one of the low carb / nutritious food diets I mentioned and let things evolve step by step from there,

Maybe from Prof Taylor's video of Information for Doctors, directly or indirectly.

The fat he is talking about is the fat your body stores after digestion when you eat a bit too much food (carbs, fat) while prediabetic. That is as HbAic rises from under 40 to 48 before the onset of T2D.

It is better to get rid of the excess fat affecting your liver and pancreas, by diet, while you are still prediabetic. Or as soon as you can after your T2D diagnosis.

Dr David Oliver, Freshwell Low Carb Project, has two videos with good graphics about prediabetes and diet (also relevant to T2D): Part-1 and Part-2

Maybe from Prof Taylor's video of Information for Doctors, directly or indirectly.

The fat he is talking about is the fat your body stores after digestion when you eat a bit too much food (carbs, fat) while prediabetic. That is as HbAic rises from under 40 to 48 before the onset of T2D.

It is better to get rid of the excess fat affecting your liver and pancreas, by diet, while you are still prediabetic. Or as soon as you can after your T2D diagnosis.

Dr David Oliver, Freshwell Low Carb Project, has two videos with good graphics about prediabetes and diet (also relevant to T2D): Part-1 and Part-2

Thank you I’ll look at that still finding it all a bit confusing but I hope it sinks in soon

 

[JITR]

If it helps: after eating carbs and fat are both digested then used for energy or stored as fat for later use. The body breaks carbs down into sugars and uses them first. When there is more sugar than the body needs it converts the excess to fat. for storage. Fat burning happens when the body needs more sugar to keep going until the next meal.

 

[Winifreds child]

You don't need to be on an official programme, you can try on your own that's what I'm doing. I'm young, just 58 lol. I've reduced carbs a lot.
The only thing to be carful is hypos if you are at risk of falls, after 50 in particular.

Hi I see you were prescribed metformin so have I but have not taken any can I ask did you tell your doctor that you had decided not to start it and did he agree …I’ve decided to go low carb and lose a bit of weight I was diagnosed before Christmas but the doctor told me not to start medication until after new year so not to contribute to overwhelming the nhs if that medication didn’t agree with me …I started to do a bit of research and found so many people had successfully reversing their t2 by Boxing Day I had winter flu although I had the vaccine by New Year’s Eve it turned to pneumonia so my dietitian appointment had to be rescheduled and is this week I’m nearly 68 I do a lot of walking and physio daily to build leg muscle I thought I was pretty fit it was a bit of a shock and from diagnosis day I feel I went down a big hole this diabetes uk has been my saving grace and people have been so generous with useful advice I feel I’m learning a lot talking with people in the same situation is calming …I feel I will get myself better …I hope you get to where you want to be did you get advice from the dietitian or have you worked out your own plan ….onward and upwards as they say

 

[JITR]

Butting in again. My HbA1c was in three figures. The GP prescribed metformin to get it down as soon as possible. I downloaded Roy Taylor's 'Life without Diabetes, Type 2'. It said the Newcastle Diet would get it down to normal in seven days. That's soemthing metformin would never do in a month of Sundays. When I told the GP that was my plan she advised taking metformin but acquiesced and gave me an Accuchek to test. After 7 days my finger prick was back to normal so I carried on to lose the15-22 kg it would take to get my body back to normal too.

I am not recommending the Newcastle diet but I'd suggest you choose another one, set you targets, be 100% determined and then discuss with the GP. Nice guidelines allow for diet and and exercise programmes before medication.

 

[Winifreds child]

Butting in again. My HbA1c was in three figures. The GP prescribed metformin to get it down as soon as possible. I downloaded Roy Taylor's 'Life without Diabetes, Type 2'. It said the Newcastle Diet would get it down to normal in seven days. That's soemthing metformin would never do in a month of Sundays. When I told the GP that was my plan she advised taking metformin but acquiesced and gave me an Accuchek to test. After 7 days my finger prick was back to normal so I carried on to lose the15-22 kg it would take to get my body back to normal too.

I am not recommending the Newcastle diet but I'd suggest you choose another one, set you targets, be 100% determined and then discuss with the GP. Nice guidelines allow for diet and and exercise programmes before medication.

Thank you for that information…I am determined to do it without medication although looking at the information about the rapid weight loss seems to be recommended up to the age 65 I’m that bit older my main worry is the doctor will not agree I’ve never really not done what the doctor has recommended before but I feel I must try first to put it right myself and have started low carbs and low calorie and never done this before…I’ve seen so many people have gone 5 years after reversing and still medication free …I watched the Roy Taylor and David unwin information and found it very interesting…I have already lost some weight but need to go down another stone at least I hate getting on those scales when two days in a row no weight loss or worse 2 lb increase but I won’t give in I’m grateful for your help it’s very inspiring and gives me hope

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you for that information…I am determined to do it without medication although looking at the information about the rapid weight loss seems to be recommended up to the age 65 I’m that bit older my main worry is the doctor will not agree I’ve never really not done what the doctor has recommended before but I feel I must try first to put it right myself and have started low carbs and low calorie and never done this before…I’ve seen so many people have gone 5 years after reversing and still medication free …I watched the Roy Taylor and David unwin information and found it very interesting…I have already lost some weight but need to go down another stone at least I hate getting on those scales when two days in a row no weight loss or worse 2 lb increase but I won’t give in I’m grateful for your help it’s very inspiring and gives me hope

There is no good reason to be prescribed medication when your diagnostic HbA1C is only just over the diagnostic threshold and even if you were higher then you should be given an opportunity to bring it down by making some dietary changes for at least 3 months.
If somebody is not prepared to engage with making changes or they have tried to no avail and they have other risk factors then maybe medication is their only option.
But having said that even with medication dietary changes are still needed as meds can only do so much, it is a bit like having an overflowing sink =glucose level too high, when you can bail out the water = taking meds, but it will still overflow unless you turn the tap off = reducing carbs in your diet.

 

[Alan44]

Hi @Winifreds child (see my previous post)
Just to pick up on a couple of points:

1) Rapid weight loss is never a good idea (NHS recommend 2lb per week as safe)
2) Weight loss is never linear, it will go up and down
3) Your doctor doesn't have to agree with you, it's your body and your decision (he/she will just advise)
4) Learn to "love" your scales and be proud of your successes
5) Be determined (I can see you are) and don't be afraid to ask for help or advice
6) Take baby steps at first, "by the inch it's a cinch, by the yard it's hard".
7) Finally, trust in yourself.

 

[medidia]

Hi I see you were prescribed metformin so have I but have not taken any can I ask did you tell your doctor that you had decided not to start it and did he agree …I’ve decided to go low carb and lose a bit of weight I was diagnosed before Christmas but the doctor told me not to start medication until after new year so not to contribute to overwhelming the nhs if that medication didn’t agree with me …I started to do a bit of research and found so many people had successfully reversing their t2 by Boxing Day I had winter flu although I had the vaccine by New Year’s Eve it turned to pneumonia so my dietitian appointment had to be rescheduled and is this week I’m nearly 68 I do a lot of walking and physio daily to build leg muscle I thought I was pretty fit it was a bit of a shock and from diagnosis day I feel I went down a big hole this diabetes uk has been my saving grace and people have been so generous with useful advice I feel I’m learning a lot talking with people in the same situation is calming …I feel I will get myself better …I hope you get to where you want to be did you get advice from the dietitian or have you worked out your own plan ….onward and upwards as they say

I haven't told my GP yet, I'll tell whoever I meet at my review at the beginning of February. I wanted to give it a shot first, it seems to be working so hopefully I won't ont need to take it, but I will if necessary.
I agreed to take Metformin, the GP said it would help me get the blood sugar down to start with, but to be honest I don't think she really believed I would be able to do it myself which I totally understand, not everyone can or is able to lower the blood sugar. But then I decided to give low carb a go first.
I have qualifications in nutrition so I actually have enough knowledge to work out a nutrition plan, although I've never wanted to go low carb so this has been a new experience for me. I always thought diabetes was just about the only case it might be worth giving it a go, and it's working.
Good luck to you too

 

[Burylancs]

Can anyone tell me if at the age of 68 I can be given the chance to reverse my diabetes with weight loss and diet although my doctor prescribed metformin I was 49 on the blood test but I wanted to try do it myself then saw something that said it was only offered to under 65s eek…im worried now does anyone know please

Factcheck : in the current state of knowledge it is not possible to 'reverse' a secure dx of Type 2 Diabetes. The causes are not known and so no treatment is possible. The best that is on offer is Good Control and that's a continuous process not an end-state to be arrived at. But you can certainly achieve that by diet, exercise and moderating carbs ( the traditional mantra). And your progress is looking good so far. It was shown in 1955 that losing just 10% of weight significantly improved bg control in Type 2.
ADA has banned the use of the word 'reverse' in relation to Type 2 and Diabetes UK say it doesn't use the word.

 

[beating_my_betes]

Whether you can reverse of put T2D into remission depends on various things that are dependent on you alone. But age itself is not a barrier.

Here're a few videos to offer some age-related perspective. The plan itself is more in line with the ADA and what many doctors will generally prescribe, but its not necessary to follow this plan.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Factcheck : in the current state of knowledge it is not possible to 'reverse' a secure dx of Type 2 Diabetes.

For clarity, putting diabetes into remission is a widely accepted term, with significant research evidence to back it up. Enough for the NHS to offer a “Pathway to Remission” programme. Several forum members have successfully put their diabetes into remission using variants of the Newcastle diet (either soup/shake or real food), or a sustainable low carb way of eating, plus weight loss.

The causes are not known and so no treatment is possible.

I think that’s rather a pessimistic statement, and many healthcare professionals would take issue with it. To say ‘no treatment is possible’ could be extremely de-motivating for newbies. There are proven dietary and pharmaceutical interventions which improve BG outcomes. I think the vast majority of forum members would consider those to be treatments.

The best that is on offer is Good Control and that's a continuous process not an end-state to be arrived at. But you can certainly achieve that by diet, exercise and moderating carbs ( the traditional mantra). And your progress is looking good so far. It was shown in 1955 that losing just 10% of weight significantly improved bg control in Type 2.

I think of diabetes management rather than control. Because there are many factors which affect my glucose levels which are completely outside my control. All I can do is manage them with treatments like insulin or glucose.

ADA has banned the use of the word 'reverse' in relation to Type 2 and Diabetes UK say it doesn't use the word.

Both ADA and Diabetes UK recommend the term ‘remission’ rather than ‘reversal’, because there’s no guarantee for someone who achieves remission, that their diabetes will stay like that forever. Remission isn’t a cure, it’s a steady state with few or no diabetes symptoms.

There are details on using remission vs reversal here

Can you reverse type 2 diabetes?

We don’t call it type 2 diabetes reversal, because this might sound like it's permanent, and there’s no guarantee that your diabetes has gone forever. But yes, it may be possible to put your type 2 diabetes into remission.

www.diabetes.org.uk

But of course The Internet uses remission and reversal almost interchangeably, so DUK need to include it on pages as a search term for people who are looking to aim for remission, but use a different search term.