Having another moan

[Karen999]

I read alot about type 2 and remission and Im very envious , in the 3 years since I've been diagnosed I've lost over 3 stone, I've always been quite active and have never had high blood pressure but I can't keep my sugars in normal range. My last hba1c was 52 and I'm on 1000 slow release Metformin. But since I've had my second COVID bought my Bg is regularly 11 , I'm thinking I'm likely to need to increase my does again.
There's so much stigma and I really struggle to keep my carbs in the 90-100 range , just fed up with it.☹️☹️

 

[rebrascora]

Well done with the weight loss. 3 stones is really impressive. Sorry to hear your BG levels are not playing ball though and can understand how demoralizing and frustrating that must be when you are trying your best. Unfortunately remission is not possible for everyone and it is not clear why but I suspect that if you are not having success despite your best efforts it is likely that you are not a straightforward Type 2. It might be that you could be a slow onset Type 1 and perhaps the Covid virus has stirred up your immune system and caused it to kill a few more of your insulin producing beta cells or perhaps there is an issue with your pancreas itself which may be inhibiting it from producing sufficient insulin. Or maybe you are one of the people who need to go lower carb to achieve remission. I find 70g carbs a day reasonably easy to maintain now, but it has taken me a year or two to find low carb foods/meals that I really enjoy and fill me up, in order to be happy at maintaining that level for life and occasionally I will treat myself to a dark chocolate ginger biscuit (about 12g carbs) I like to eat big plates of tasty food and I definitely do not feel deprived eating like this but I do have to put effort into planning and cooking, both of which can be challenging for me sometimes.

Sending (((HUGS))).

Maybe a change of medication might give you a bit more support in managing things. You should not feel like you have failed because you need more medication. It is not like you haven't tried hard and had some very considerable success with that weight loss, so perhaps you need to cut yourself a bit of slack and try something different. Finding the balance of diet, meds and exercise that works for your particular body is the important thing.

I should say that I totally understand where you are at because when I had to start on insulin I had very similar feelings and a few tears, like I had failed somehow, even though I had absolutely done my best and most of my family were amazed at how I had turned my diet around, but it just wasn't enough and my body needs insulin. It is so tempting to compare yourself to others and want to do as well or better than them but you just have to do the best you can with the body you have and none of us are starting from an even playing field. We are all different. It is like being upset that you are not a Wimbledon champion when you play club level tennis. We are not all given that level of talent and physical development to achieve top level success. It should not stop us from playing tennis though and hopefully enjoying it. Same with life living with diabetes. It is only one small part of who we are. We do the best we can and use whatever tools we need to keep it in it's place whilst we enjoy friends and family and living.

 

[Inka]

I read alot about type 2 and remission and Im very envious , in the 3 years since I've been diagnosed I've lost over 3 stone, I've always been quite active and have never had high blood pressure but I can't keep my sugars in normal range. My last hba1c was 52 and I'm on 1000 slow release Metformin. But since I've had my second COVID bought my Bg is regularly 11 , I'm thinking I'm likely to need to increase my does again.
There's so much stigma and I really struggle to keep my carbs in the 90-100 range , just fed up with it.☹️☹️

People are different @Karen999 Always remember that. There could be a number of factors affecting you that are simply beyond your control. If someone doesn’t achieve remission that could be through no fault of their own.

Well done on your 3 stone weight loss 😎

 

[Anji53]

I read alot about type 2 and remission and Im very envious , in the 3 years since I've been diagnosed I've lost over 3 stone, I've always been quite active and have never had high blood pressure but I can't keep my sugars in normal range. My last hba1c was 52 and I'm on 1000 slow release Metformin. But since I've had my second COVID bought my Bg is regularly 11 , I'm thinking I'm likely to need to increase my does again.
There's so much stigma and I really struggle to keep my carbs in the 90-100 range , just fed up with it.☹️☹️

That’s so hard

 

[Karen999]

Well done with the weight loss. 3 stones is really impressive. Sorry to hear your BG levels are not playing ball though and can understand how demoralizing and frustrating that must be when you are trying your best. Unfortunately remission is not possible for everyone and it is not clear why but I suspect that if you are not having success despite your best efforts it is likely that you are not a straightforward Type 2. It might be that you could be a slow onset Type 1 and perhaps the Covid virus has stirred up your immune system and caused it to kill a few more of your insulin producing beta cells or perhaps there is an issue with your pancreas itself which may be inhibiting it from producing sufficient insulin. Or maybe you are one of the people who need to go lower carb to achieve remission. I find 70g carbs a day reasonably easy to maintain now, but it has taken me a year or two to find low carb foods/meals that I really enjoy and fill me up, in order to be happy at maintaining that level for life and occasionally I will treat myself to a dark chocolate ginger biscuit (about 12g carbs) I like to eat big plates of tasty food and I definitely do not feel deprived eating like this but I do have to put effort into planning and cooking, both of which can be challenging for me sometimes.

Sending (((HUGS))).

Maybe a change of medication might give you a bit more support in managing things. You should not feel like you have failed because you need more medication. It is not like you haven't tried hard and had some very considerable success with that weight loss, so perhaps you need to cut yourself a bit of slack and try something different. Finding the balance of diet, meds and exercise that works for your particular body is the important thing.

I should say that I totally understand where you are at because when I had to start on insulin I had very similar feelings and a few tears, like I had failed somehow, even though I had absolutely done my best and most of my family were amazed at how I had turned my diet around, but it just wasn't enough and my body needs insulin. It is so tempting to compare yourself to others and want to do as well or better than them but you just have to do the best you can with the body you have and none of us are starting from an even playing field. We are all different. It is like being upset that you are not a Wimbledon champion when you play club level tennis. We are not all given that level of talent and physical development to achieve top level success. It should not stop us from playing tennis though and hopefully enjoying it. Same with life living with diabetes. It is only one small part of who we are. We do the best we can and use whatever tools we need to keep it in it's place whilst we enjoy friends and family and living.

Thankyou that's a great uplifting reply, peed off but a bit happier

 

[childofthesea43]

It may well be due to beta cells having become too compromised and you may be indeed, as suggested above, be not typical type 2. How long ago were you diagnosed? I have seen it claimed in several places that type-2 “cannot survive” in someone whose BMI is below 21 and I wonder whether yet more loss (if you still have some excess to lose) might do the trick. Still, your 52 is not much to worry about unduly. The average HbA1c for non-diabetics over 60 is 47.5. You’ve already done well, and may have scope to push it a bit further in the right direction.

 

[Karen999]

It may well be due to beta cells having become too compromised and you may be indeed, as suggested above, be not typical type 2. How long ago were you diagnosed? I have seen it claimed in several places that type-2 “cannot survive” in someone whose BMI is below 21 and I wonder whether yet more loss (if you still have some excess to lose) might do the trick. Still, your 52 is not much to worry about unduly. The average HbA1c for non-diabetics over 60 is 47.5. You’ve already done well, and may have scope to push it a bit further in the right direction.

Thanks I could probably do with loosing half a stone, i was diagnosed 3 years ago had two lots of COVID which pushed my numbers up both times☹️ and this time seems to have stayed there . If it keeps going up I will have to put my big girl pants on and increase my meds.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thanks I could probably do with loosing half a stone, i was diagnosed 3 years ago had two lots of COVID which pushed my numbers up both times☹️ and this time seems to have stayed there . If it keeps going up I will have to put my big girl pants on and increase my meds.

Or reduce your carbs a bit more.
It may be worth you keeping a food diary for a while with everything you eat and drink with a estimate of the carbs as it could be that small slippage upwards on what you are having has occurred. Weigh your portions as you may be under estimating.

 

[childofthesea43]

Although reducing carbs will probably pull the A1c down a bit (which is good) it will not in itself clear pancreatic fat unless it has promoted weight loss - which it is likely to do, in the general run of things, but not necessarily. So one needs to be sure the cals reduce alongside the carbs, as Dr Unwin has stressed so many times from his former practice experience. I could easily chop plenty of carbs from my own meals and have instead extra fat sufficient to make my weight and A1c rise again, if the net effect were not carefully assessed.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry you’ve been feeling frustrated @Karen999 - you‘ve done amazingly well, but I know how it feels to have not quite met your own expectations, and however positive your results are there’s always a lingering niggle.

Hope you can find a new balance between meds and menu that moves you towards your goals.