Hi, I have just joined this forum so am looking forward to sharing my experience to date on diabetes, and learning from fellow sufferers. I turned 70 last year and asked my local surgery if I could have a medical MOT to celebrate this milestone. This drew a bit of a blank, (don’t get me wrong I have a lot of time and respect for the people there but they are incredibly overworked) and so in the end we compromised on a blood test. When I got the results a few weeks later my Doctor rang me and said I was basically in good shape other than the fact that I seemed to be type 2 diabetic, and that he would put some pills called metformin aside for me, and one of the nurses would be in touch. This duly happened, and the advice I then got was to take the pills and that I shouldn’t worry too much and would receive regular quarterly reviews. I then decided that Google would be a better source of slightly more detailed information! Enough said, I just wanted to say hello but have rambled on for too long, and will finish by saying I look forward to learning from all the other forum member’s experiences.
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Good morning all
- Thread starter JST Bloke
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Inka
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- Type 1
Welcome @JST Bloke 🙂 Do you know what your HBA1C was (the blood test that diagnosed you with diabetes)? If you do, that will give you an idea of how far into the diabetes zone you are, and thus what kind of changes you might need to make to your diet.
I had a similar experience, start taking the tablets at once. Better advice from Michael Mosley whose book introduced me to Professor Roy Taylor's Counterpoint study. Also Google for "Dr David Unwin Nuts and Bolts". My tablets are still in the pharmacy bag, I got my blood glucose down to normal in 7 days and got rid of the excess fat in my liver and my T2D in 3 months, all thanks to Roy Taylor.
Leadinglights
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- Type 2
Metformin is a medication that just helps the body use the insulin it produces and reduces the glucose released by the liver into the blood stream however it is also important to make dietary changes which are just as powerful if not more so than the medication. It is no good still eating the foods which are raising your blood glucose which often results in people needing to take more and more medication. Some people will need help from meds but many do manage to reduce their blood glucose by making those dietary changes without the medication.
Have a look at this link for some ideas for modifying your diet.
https://lowcarbfreshwell.com/
It is a low carb approach which many have found successful.
Hi, great to get feedback from you! My google search a year ago did result in my taking the decision to lose weight in the hope this might help. My HBA1C was 63 last May, and since then I have managed to lose 13kg which is 15% of my weight when I started. My latest HBA1C is 45. I did this with the help of the fast 800 recipe book which was given to me by a friend, and is written largely by Michael Mosley’s wife, and both my wife and I have really enjoyed the recipes. So we are now low carb consumers, lots of fish and vegetables, plain nuts and fruit. I have also stopped drinking wine, and my usual tipple which was whisky has been reduced to less than half a measure in a tumbler of water! (That was the hardest bit )
The surgery have not told me to stop taking metformin, so I am not sure whether I could get into remission without them, but would be interested if anyone else has had a similar experience, and I also think that maybe if I lost another couple of kg that might also help. Any thoughts would be most welcome!
The surgery have not told me to stop taking metformin, so I am not sure whether I could get into remission without them, but would be interested if anyone else has had a similar experience, and I also think that maybe if I lost another couple of kg that might also help. Any thoughts would be most welcome!
Martin.A
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- Type 2
Good to see that you've tackled things head on and that it's paying off. Remission is 3 months with an HbA1c under 48 without taking any diabetes meds, so with an HbA1c of 45 you're right on track. I was also on Metformin at the beginning but only stopped taking it when my DN said I could. But she also said that I should keep an eye on my BG through finger prick testing and if it looked like it was going into reverse I should start taking it again. Do you self test? It's a good way of getting an idea on which way your BG is trending, once you have enough results.
Martin.A
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Random testing won't tell you anything meaningful - you need a testing regime and stick to it, ie
Test on waking (not literally, although some have done so) - this is a fasting test as you won't have eaten or drunk anything overnight. Test as soon as possible after getting up, and don't eat or drink anything until you've tested. The target range is to be between 4 and 7.
Test just before eating and then again 2 hours later. The target range for pre-meal is also to be between 4 and 7, and the target for post-meal is to be below 8.5 and no more than 3 higher than pre-meal. This will tell you how well your body coped with what you had to eat. Above 8.5, or more than 3 higher, indicates that whatever you ate was too high in carbs and a cut in portion size might be in order, or in a worst-case scenario don't have it again.
You would need a few weeks' readings before being to see any trend via a 7-day moving average.
It also pays to keep a food diary and record what you've eaten and what your pre- and post-meal readings were. This is how we sort out our diets. My food diary has so many entries in it that I no longer test after some meals as it would be a waste of lancets and test strips.
I'm using a Gluco Rx Q meter but that was given to me by my DN. Others on the forum often suggest the Gluco Navil or Spirit TEE 2, both of which are available on Amazon I believe.
Hope you find this helpful.
Leadinglights
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Well done on your achievement given you have been flying blind without testing.
About diet and bg testing. My diagnosis hba1c was 105. It was obvious that an 800 calorie Newcastle Diet was likely to be far more effective than Metformin so I did not start taking it. I checked my FBG was down to normal level after 7 days, as predicted. It was so I carried on with the diet for three months (HbA1c 39) and then for another three months to reach my target weight (HbA1c 32). All done with a single finger prick, thanks to Professor Taylor and his team.
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Welcome to the forum @JST Bloke
And huge congratulations on your progress so far.
In terms of metformin, some people are encouraged to stop taking it because of the gastric upset that if can bring, but if you aren’t getting that - then I guess it depends on you. It’s a medication that works gently in the background, so the weight you have lost, and the changes you have made to your menu are most likely doing all the heavy lifting.
Perhaps have a chat with your nurse and see what they suggest?
Reducing alcohol intake is a healthier choice for anyone, and there can be a lot of extra calories bundled up in those tipples. However, from a BG perspective, red wine and whisk(e)y are pretty good choices - so once your weight is stable and at a level you are happy with, you may still be able to drink in moderation.
And huge congratulations on your progress so far.
In terms of metformin, some people are encouraged to stop taking it because of the gastric upset that if can bring, but if you aren’t getting that - then I guess it depends on you. It’s a medication that works gently in the background, so the weight you have lost, and the changes you have made to your menu are most likely doing all the heavy lifting.
Perhaps have a chat with your nurse and see what they suggest?
Reducing alcohol intake is a healthier choice for anyone, and there can be a lot of extra calories bundled up in those tipples. However, from a BG perspective, red wine and whisk(e)y are pretty good choices - so once your weight is stable and at a level you are happy with, you may still be able to drink in moderation.
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