T2 17 years. In the last 12 months got blood down from 10.6 to 6.5 doing low carb/intermittent fasting so thought I would stop the drugs (metformin/gliclazide & invokana) and see what happened. I noticed my blood creeping up a few weeks ago and have added back all the drugs but still have blood 9.4 so I am at a loss as I have virtually no carbs and am even now doing 42 hr fasting. I feel foolish for ever trying to reverse T2 now but with all the success stories it seemed a sensible thing to do at the time.
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Failed attempt to reverse diabetes T2
- Thread starter bachstrad
- Start date
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grovesy
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I believe the research that they did known as the Newcastle Diet that reversed some Type 2 Diabetes, did not include people who had been diagnosed over 5 or 10 years. This research is still in the early stages and they have not followed any one up longer than a few years yet.
There are other researchers who are suggesting that there are many different types of Diabetes that require different approaches. These are identified by genetics, again this is in the early stages too.
Bruce Stephens
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
I thought it was more like "it is sometimes possible..."? I don't think anyone's claimed that it's possible for everyone, have they?
Relationship with DN ended when I got my blood down to 6.5 and my GP knows less than me so I have to rely on Dr Google.
Right now I'd be happy getting my blood back to where it was before at 6.5 Am getting a C peptide test next week to see if I am LADA diabetic since I am struggling so much.
Right now I'd be happy getting my blood back to where it was before at 6.5 Am getting a C peptide test next week to see if I am LADA diabetic since I am struggling so much.
Ljc
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1.5 LADA
Well done for trying !
Just because it didn’t work for you certainly doesn’t mean you have failed , it’s just that for you it wasn’t possible perhaps because you have had diabetes for a long time. I too believe their are many variations of T2 , so that may be a factor as could you having LADA rather than T2 .
Some of us with T2 eventually need insulin. I have been on a long acting (basal) Insulin and a fast acting insulin for meal times for a few years now , for me it’s the best thing since sliced bread , what I am trying to say is, if insulin is mentioned to you don’t be scared of it.
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Thanks for the info "not low enough to go med free". I had no markers to use but on reflection I have to agree. Low carb/ 16:8 fasting helped the weight although I wasn't obese to start with. Went from around 185 to 160 now (38" waist to 34"). I look ok on the outside but I read about fatty liver etc that you can't see. Is there a test for that ?
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
The Hba1c of 6.5 is equivalent to 48 in UK terms which is still fully diabetic, though only just.
Perhaps if you can reduce it down further there might be a possibility of at least being free of medication.
My Hba1c is 6.0 or 42, and I am deemed to be in remission. I eat less than 40 gm of carbs a day in order to keep in that state though - although I don't get high blood glucose if I eat more carbs I do get weight gain - but I always did.
Perhaps if you can reduce it down further there might be a possibility of at least being free of medication.
My Hba1c is 6.0 or 42, and I am deemed to be in remission. I eat less than 40 gm of carbs a day in order to keep in that state though - although I don't get high blood glucose if I eat more carbs I do get weight gain - but I always did.
Eddy Edson
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I don't think it's foolish at all.
For me, the goal is to get to get to a point where I don't have to actively manage the big D, in the sense of doing something different, irksome, annoying, unpleasant, un-beneficial, whatever every day. If that involves taking meds which don't give me any side-effects, it's fine. I don't see any particularly benefit in not taking meds if they're doing me good & no harm, and I certainly wouldn't think of myself as a "better diabetic" or placed higher on some pathetic totem-pole if I could.
At the moment I'm doing a little experiment to see what happens if I drop the Metformin. I'm doing this because of research that suggests that sometimes and for some people it can interfere with various benefits of exercise, and perhaps also increase post-exercise fatigue from lactic acid etc. Balancing that, Met has numerous potential anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, beyond BG control. (I don't have any gastric probs with Metf.)
So it's a balancing act between different factors: what happens to my BG, whether I notice any exercise-related changes, and the potential side benefits. If the BG impact is small enough to keep things within generally "normal" levels and I notice some definite exercise improvement, I'll probably drop the Met long-term. If BG spirals out of "normal" orbits or if the exercise improvement doesn't seem significant, I'll go back on it. Either way would be just fine for me.
From my point of view, you've done your experiment and reached certain conclusions. Good on you for making the effort! There's no question of "failure".
For me, the goal is to get to get to a point where I don't have to actively manage the big D, in the sense of doing something different, irksome, annoying, unpleasant, un-beneficial, whatever every day. If that involves taking meds which don't give me any side-effects, it's fine. I don't see any particularly benefit in not taking meds if they're doing me good & no harm, and I certainly wouldn't think of myself as a "better diabetic" or placed higher on some pathetic totem-pole if I could.
At the moment I'm doing a little experiment to see what happens if I drop the Metformin. I'm doing this because of research that suggests that sometimes and for some people it can interfere with various benefits of exercise, and perhaps also increase post-exercise fatigue from lactic acid etc. Balancing that, Met has numerous potential anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, beyond BG control. (I don't have any gastric probs with Metf.)
So it's a balancing act between different factors: what happens to my BG, whether I notice any exercise-related changes, and the potential side benefits. If the BG impact is small enough to keep things within generally "normal" levels and I notice some definite exercise improvement, I'll probably drop the Met long-term. If BG spirals out of "normal" orbits or if the exercise improvement doesn't seem significant, I'll go back on it. Either way would be just fine for me.
From my point of view, you've done your experiment and reached certain conclusions. Good on you for making the effort! There's no question of "failure".
Reason for starting the thread is my blood sugar is now in the 9's (even after 42 hr fast) quite alot when a few weeks ago it was in the 6's. All that has changed is I came off the meds for a week. Diet / exercise is the same. GP is willing to do an HBA1C but that is no use surely as it is an average over 12 weeks so wont show the recent rise.
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