Hello for the first time

[Andy HB]

Hello everyone.

I was diagnosed with type 2 at the end of October, 2009. Like most people, it was very overwhelming at first. But, I've been on an Xpert course at St Mary's hospital in London and have loitered on various forums to get clued up on how to get on top of the condition.

I think that I've been making pretty good progress so far (lost nearly 18lbs since Dx). I was on gliclazide to start with (to get my BG under control) and then on to metformin (2x500mg) but am now off the meds completely. It seems that my change in diet and increased exercise has done the trick (walk for an hour after lunch and now doing 30mins non-stop on a rowing machine each evening).

The advice that I have seen on a couple of forums has been very useful. Especially the bit about testing, testing, testing to get a handle on what food does what and where the BG peaks were. I find that I don't need to test so much now as my readings are regularly <6 before and 2hrs after meals (even after breakfast when I don't exercise).

My diet generally consists of :-
Breakfast - porridge (3-4 dessert spoons of oats) & banana with a small glass of orange juice
MidDay Meal - Either
1) soup & 2 slices of granary bread or
2) Sardines/Mackerel in tomato sauce on 2 slices of granary bread
& 2 clementines
Evening Meal - Quorn Chilli (home-made with onion, chopped tomato, green pepper & spices) with new potatoes, carrots, peas & beans. 1 apple.

Of course, the evening meal does vary (but I do like my chilli!!).

My concentration is now on my liver and cholesterol. I've a fatty liver (not alcohol induced) and my total cholesterol was 6.2. I've another appointment in March, when I hope to see an improvement!

Andy

 

[am64]

welcome to the forum andy wow your doing very well ! have a good look around and any questions ask ......no question is silly here !

 

[Old Holborn]

Hi Andy and welcome 🙂

 

[Northerner]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum🙂 Sounds like you are doing an excellent job in getting your diabetes under control - well done! It really shows the value of testing, especially soon after diagnosis so that you can work out what changes you need to make. All that rowing must be making you very fit!🙂

 

[Cliff]

Hi Andy and welcome. I was diagnosed October 2009 with a TC of 7.0mmol/l. It's now 4.2mmol/l and the Dr no longer pushes for me to take statins. For me anyway, getting my blood glucose under control and cutting down on starchy carbs led to a significant improvement in my lipids without having to worry too much about fats in my diet. From your readings it's clear you've made a great start.

They're a good bunch on here and I've received plenty of invaluable advice along the way.

 

[Andy HB]

Well, I wouldn't say fit yet! I've been building up the exercise slowly but can now keep up a reasonable pace for the 30mins (my rowing machine says that I'm doing around 7.8km in that time, but I have managed a couple @ 8.1km too when I was feeling good!).

I've still quite a long way to go before my weight is where I want it. I've nominally set a target of 14st by November, so have another 35lbs or so to lose. This is still a BMI of 25 or so for me, but I'm going to see how I feel at that weight before deciding whether more has to come off.

 

[Andy HB]

Hi Andy and welcome. I was diagnosed October 2009 with a TC of 7.0mmol/l. It's now 4.2mmol/l and the Dr no longer pushes for me to take statins. For me anyway, getting my blood glucose under control and cutting down on starchy carbs led to a significant improvement in my lipids without having to worry too much about fats in my diet.

I think that it is the cholesterol that I'm mostly confused about at the moment. Hopefully, I'll get some answers in March at my next appointment with the hospital. If not, I'll be back here with loads of questions!

 

[scotty]

Hi and welcome andy, well done, i would love to go on on of them xpert courses

 

[Steff]

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum, i to completed the x-pert course just recently it was really good.

 

[Andy HB]

Hi and welcome andy, well done, i would love to go on on of them xpert courses

I was really 'lucky'. There happened to be one at the hospital that I was admitted to (St Mary's in London) just a month after I was released back into the community (so to speak!).

For the newly diagnosed it is really useful and can give a pretty good starting point. At the very least, it also provides an opportunity to ask questions in a relaxed atmosphere.

 

[Steff]

For the newly diagnosed it is really useful and can give a pretty good starting point. At the very least, it also provides an opportunity to ask questions in a relaxed atmosphere.

here here!!!!!

 

[Sugarbum]

Hi Andy!

Congratulations on your excellent work---that HbA1c drop is remarkable!!!! I expect you are sad to have developed diabetes, but I really do hope you are proud of yourself for what you have achieved.

Nice to meet you 🙂
Lou

 

[wallycorker]

Great stuff Andy! Keep it up!

I'm sure you will - you sound very focussed to me.

Best wishes - John

 

[C*5_Dodger]

I think that it is the cholesterol that I'm mostly confused about at the moment. Hopefully, I'll get some answers in March at my next appointment with the hospital. If not, I'll be back here with loads of questions!

Dear Andy,

Welcome to this forum, you will find everyone here is friendly and helpful. What is the confusion concerning cholesterol? It's almost certain that your health care professional willl tell you that if it is above 4mmol/L then you need to get it down. The way they will recommend is to take a statin. Having said all that, I refused to take statins although my cholesterol is 6.2mmol/L. I have studied the science behind the cholesterol recommendations and it doesn't stand up to close scutiny. Have a look at this site, it shows conclusively that high cholesterol is not correlated with Heart disease. The data used in the U Tube video is from the World Health Organisation so its veracity is above question:

It's not Cholesterol

Regards Dodger

 

[PhilT]

Hi Andy, welcome to the forum.

 

[hotchop]

WOW impressive hbA1c numbers!!! how jealous am i!!!

Go fella!

 

[Andy HB]

What is the confusion concerning cholesterol?[/

I'm confused for various reasons (perhaps confused is the wrong word though, more like "don't understand"). Partly it's down to the things that you mention and partly down to why my levels are considered to be high and what I can do about them (avoiding pills if at all possible).

I've just looked at that YouTube video. Whilst I agree that there is no obvious correlation between cholestorol and heart disease on the basis of that graph, I don't think that it tells the whole story. It mentions nothing about other factors affecting heart disease. On that basis, they cannot simply plot one thing against another. Disease isn't THAT simple (usually). It neither proves nor disproves the correlation. That was a poor video and whoever produced it needs to be lightly slapped!

 

[Andy HB]

---that HbA1c drop is remarkable!!!!

The 13.3 was at diagnosis (shortly after downing a 2L bottle of fizzy pop each day for a couple of weeks or so! 😱 --> My body was telling me something, I think!)

I haven't touched any sweet drinks since (apart from freshly squeezed orange juice - and that only in small quantities at breakfast). So, it wasn't difficult getting the HbA1c down from that dreadful start really!