Hello it's me again with thoughts about remission...

[NotWorriedAtAll]

I am in an interesting place healthwise at the moment.
I have managed to keep my blood sugars 'normal' without meds since 2019.
Last year I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and had all my baby making equipment removed.
During the pre-op period I went very hard into keto and lost a few stone and did lots of exercise.
Post-op I was more lax and more low carb/keto-ish and I have noticed something interesting and I don't know if it is a good thing or something to worry about or nothing to be interested in really.

I have gone back to more how I ate in the first month or so after my diabetes diagnosis in 2019. Which means now and then having fish and chips or sneaking a piece of real pizza and eating a little bit of chocolate here and there and even having a chinese or indian takeaway once a week.

What I've noticed is that my blood sugars seem to be behaving according to what seems to be described as non-diabetic. In that they spike within the first hour after eating a high carb meal to around 9 absolute maximum but often just between 7 - 8.6 and then two hours later are back around the 5 - 6 mark and I've checked and they don't go back up again.

This has been my new normal for the last couple of months now. I am feeling fairly ok in myself. I am going to go back to a more strict control again soon as I want to lose some more inches/weight and do more exercise because I enjoy it now.

The last few months have been high stress as my mum is in her 90s and dementia has finally caught up with her and we had to give in to reality and find her residential care. We've had LPAs for ages so thankfully it hasn't been quite as difficult as it might have been but still upsetting and time consuming and so spending ages in my kitchen cooking perfectly sensible meals has not been a priority.

I had only just started to feel more like my old self (only less cancerous) when it all kicked off with Mum so the timing wasn't great but it could have been a lot worse.

She's now in a lovely care home after having been hospitalised from the emergency placement with water on the lungs and lymphoedema and cardiac failure and we are all beginning to breathe again - her in particular.

So I am wondering if my disordered hormones had been a major factor in my diabetic situation. Before the hysterectomy I could keep control of my blood sugar levels only if I was very strict with my diet and even then I was in the 6 - 7 range more than I liked. These days I am mostly around 5 - 5.5 apart from immediately after eating something carby.

My catastrophising brain won't be pleased about the new situation and is sneakily suspicious that it is because maybe I still have cancer cells and they are using up all the carbs and keeping my blood sugars low.

I am trying not to be deranged about things and just take the wins where I can and make the most of each day.

 

[rebrascora]

Really sorry to hear you have had to make difficult and upsetting decisions about your mother on top of your cancer recovery, but pleased that things are more resolved now and great that you can extend your menu to the occasional treat.
Hormones have a big impact on BG levels .... as any pregnant diabetic will tell you. I certainly see fluctuation when I have forgotten my next HRT patch. I imagine the cancer was also causing inflammation and that would also increase BG, so I think it is very likely that your body is now in a position to achieve remission as the aggravating factors have been removed. It sounds like you are in a good place mentally now, so try not to look a gift horse in the mouth. I know you will be sensible and continue to monitor your levels so you will have plenty of forewarning if things start to go astray, but in the mean time enjoy your occasional treat. Delighted for you.

 

[trophywench]

Years ago I had an elective hysterectomy because having been electively laparoscipally sterilised 10-ish years previously - so for the VERY first time ever since I was 11 then had to suddenly get used to having a period every single month but then suddenly although I knew when - I'd get out of bed that morning and whoosh, literally and had to literally run to the bathroom to sit on the loo and deposit the rest of the gathered whoosh and clots clean up me, get a sanitary towel out - and then go back and clean the damned carpet before being able to finish washing the rest of me, get dressed for work and be able to leave, get in the car and drive to work. The op took much longer than anyone including the gynae and anaesthetist, hospital or me had envisaged. Yes I'd opted for the full jobby with bilateral oopherectomy (cos my mom had had ovarian cancer which appeared in her 70s, so I thought lets get rid of em since her only outward symptom was suddenly bleeding from her vagina, and apparently without a womb it would have most likely killed her) but an hour and a half ish turned into 4+ hours for the simple reason that as well as the huge fibroids we all knew about she found shedloads of endometriosis so had to 'tidy that up' before she could sew me back together again.

I was bloody furious when she told me - I'd had terribly painful periods since I was 11, took the pill from age 18 ish (oops sorry mum, at least I married that bloke) and every single doctor male or female I'd ever asked about it insisted well, some women do!

OMG YES!!!! disordered hormones often have one helluva lot to answer for, all in all whether they're general or sexual, whatever your body happens to produce or doesn't - and of course what is insulin? A sodding hormone!!!

 

[NotWorriedAtAll]

Years ago I had an elective hysterectomy because having been electively laparoscipally sterilised 10-ish years previously - so for the VERY first time ever since I was 11 then had to suddenly get used to having a period every single month but then suddenly although I knew when - I'd get out of bed that morning and whoosh, literally and had to literally run to the bathroom to sit on the loo and deposit the rest of the gathered whoosh and clots clean up me, get a sanitary towel out - and then go back and clean the damned carpet before being able to finish washing the rest of me, get dressed for work and be able to leave, get in the car and drive to work. The op took much longer than anyone including the gynae and anaesthetist, hospital or me had envisaged. Yes I'd opted for the full jobby with bilateral oopherectomy (cos my mom had had ovarian cancer which appeared in her 70s, so I thought lets get rid of em since her only outward symptom was suddenly bleeding from her vagina, and apparently without a womb it would have most likely killed her) but an hour and a half ish turned into 4+ hours for the simple reason that as well as the huge fibroids we all knew about she found shedloads of endometriosis so had to 'tidy that up' before she could sew me back together again.

I was bloody furious when she told me - I'd had terribly painful periods since I was 11, took the pill from age 18 ish (oops sorry mum, at least I married that bloke) and every single doctor male or female I'd ever asked about it insisted well, some women do!

OMG YES!!!! disordered hormones often have one helluva lot to answer for, all in all whether they're general or sexual, whatever your body happens to produce or doesn't - and of course what is insulin? A sodding hormone!!!

Yes - I had a very similar history with periods but at least they only happened every five or six weeks so that was something until my last ten years when they happened much more frequently. My op was about four hours too - apparently my caesarian section thirty years previously had not been done as well as it could have been and I had adhesions all over the place which explained a lot. That said even before getting pregnant everything in that region was a law unto itself and I was in pain more often than I wasn't.

Ironically it was after the cancer diagnosis and they gave me a Mirena coil that I felt the least pain and the most healthy in all my life. If I hadn't been scared about the cancer I would have been the happiest ever.

I am hoping things might get back to the Mirena coil level of comfort. But I am much more comfortable than I was before the coil even with a few little issues and as i said if the dreaded nasties stay away I am hopeful for a much improved quality of life for a while at least.

I visited Mum today and she was in good form and having a great time so that put my mind at rest. Just sorting out the house now so we can ensure her security in care for however long it takes.

 

[mhtyler]

I am in an interesting place healthwise at the moment.
I have managed to keep my blood sugars 'normal' without meds since 2019.
Last year I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and had all my baby making equipment removed.
During the pre-op period I went very hard into keto and lost a few stone and did lots of exercise.
Post-op I was more lax and more low carb/keto-ish and I have noticed something interesting and I don't know if it is a good thing or something to worry about or nothing to be interested in really.

I have gone back to more how I ate in the first month or so after my diabetes diagnosis in 2019. Which means now and then having fish and chips or sneaking a piece of real pizza and eating a little bit of chocolate here and there and even having a chinese or indian takeaway once a week.

What I've noticed is that my blood sugars seem to be behaving according to what seems to be described as non-diabetic. In that they spike within the first hour after eating a high carb meal to around 9 absolute maximum but often just between 7 - 8.6 and then two hours later are back around the 5 - 6 mark and I've checked and they don't go back up again.

This has been my new normal for the last couple of months now. I am feeling fairly ok in myself. I am going to go back to a more strict control again soon as I want to lose some more inches/weight and do more exercise because I enjoy it now.

The last few months have been high stress as my mum is in her 90s and dementia has finally caught up with her and we had to give in to reality and find her residential care. We've had LPAs for ages so thankfully it hasn't been quite as difficult as it might have been but still upsetting and time consuming and so spending ages in my kitchen cooking perfectly sensible meals has not been a priority.

I had only just started to feel more like my old self (only less cancerous) when it all kicked off with Mum so the timing wasn't great but it could have been a lot worse.

She's now in a lovely care home after having been hospitalised from the emergency placement with water on the lungs and lymphoedema and cardiac failure and we are all beginning to breathe again - her in particular.

So I am wondering if my disordered hormones had been a major factor in my diabetic situation. Before the hysterectomy I could keep control of my blood sugar levels only if I was very strict with my diet and even then I was in the 6 - 7 range more than I liked. These days I am mostly around 5 - 5.5 apart from immediately after eating something carby.

My catastrophising brain won't be pleased about the new situation and is sneakily suspicious that it is because maybe I still have cancer cells and they are using up all the carbs and keeping my blood sugars low.

I am trying not to be deranged about things and just take the wins where I can and make the most of each day.

I think the weight loss has freed up liver and pancreas function, and you've reversed, at least partially. The 9 spike is not a good number as you know. Keep your spikes low and especially keep them short which you seem able to do, and you may well never need that care home yourself when you're 90.