Hi All.

[rob0023]

Hi All, this is my first time on here (Please excuse my bad grammar, lol) and I would like to tell my story.

I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes approximately 3.5 years ago, I never took it seriously, I did change my diet but I would still eat large meals and loads of sweats.

My wife passed 2 years later and I just gave up trying to control it and just ignored it.

6 months ago I decided I wanted to finally get it sorted out so I ask the doctor for Metformin, not knowing much about them, from day 1 I disliked them, I had a stomach ache for the first 24 hours, and the diarrhea was terrible, I got up to 2 tablets a day 1000MG and I got used to them, then the doctor said he wanted me to double the dose, the maximum I could take was 3, then I found out the hard way (or maybe not that hard) that they stripped your testosterone, I started feeling old, I was putting things off, or more so than usual, being lazy.
So I decided Last Monday (06/08/21) that I had had enough, I stopped all medication, I know, not good, lol, I decided to go on a low carb fasting diet, 18 hours of fasting and 6 where you can eat, under 1000 calories, all in all, I drink 1 protein shake 406 calories, and today I had a pasta salad 451 calories ( I didn't realize how much carbs was in Pasta, LOL). you also have days where you eat proper meals as you cannot survive well on 1000 calories a day.

I also gave up smoking.

I drank my shake at 00:00 and about 00:45 I tested my blood, it was 7.4 mmol/l I just tested it at 02:35 and got a reading of 6.7 mmol/l.

Please can anyone tell me if that is a good reading, according to a google search it is low enough to be considered pre-diabetic, I am hopeful that if I keep this up I will be able to reverse it all together?

Now for the good parts, I feel so much better, I feel 10 years younger, I am thinking clearer, my short term memory is getting better, I am getting my confidence and concentration back I'm not tired all the time, I'm getting up almost 2 hours earlier than I used to and not feeling tired at all until bedtime, even typing this out I am able to type twice as fast as I have been able to due to loss of concentration.

Now the bad bits...... sorry I cannot find any, although the fatty area across my stomach level with my belly button is a bit tender probably due to my body now living off my excess fat.
You do feel hungry but not how you think, it comes in waves, so you might feel hungry for 5 minutes every 30 minutes, but when I can feel the hunger coming on I distract myself, phone a friend or a family member, just find something to get your mind off of it, you also need to empty your cupboards so there is no temptation.

That's it, I hope my story can help someone, I will try to update here after I have spoken to my doctor and had a blood test to find out if my diet is as good as I feel it is.

Thank You for reading.

Rob

 

[EmmaL76]

Hi rob, you have been through a lot and it’s totally understandable that you felt no inclination to look after yourself for a while. I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I notice your only 42 so that really is awful. Have you had any conversations with your diabetes team regarding coming off the meds? Not that I’m critical I did exactly the same. So far it’s working ok for me but unlike you I am exhausted on the low carb diet but I don’t have any weight to lose. Even though I was put on insulin as it’s suspected I’m a type 1 as in my profile, I have been on metformin in the early days and my goodness it didn’t agree with me. So like you I’m going it alone. Yes those reading are pretty good, which protein shake do you have? there are a lot with very low carbs and sugar so hopefully it’s one of those. Morning readings are the highest for me, anything I eat then will spike me so I have half a peanut bar (kind) and a benecol which seems to stop the glucose dump I get when I get up. Pasta is a no no for me as is, all bread, cereal, obviously cakes and biscuits chips, crisps rice and pizza. Bananas are are lethal to me! I’d be interested to know what your recent Hba1c is because at certain levels it can be perfectly fine to give the diet chance to turn things around. Do you test your glucose at any other times of the day? At some point you will need to introduce more food into your life, do you have much weight to comfortably lose? It’s not easy doing it this way but you do find new things every day you can add to your diet. Hi low bread is the only one I have found that doesn’t spike me. I noticed you had your protein shake at midnight and tested a couple of hours after that. Do you have trouble sleeping? Only mention it because it can be a contributing factor to insulin resistance. One last thing, I take a very good amino acid in power form that you mix with water. This helps me massively. There is some scientific evidence to back this up. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss but so glad you joined the forum and have made the decision to put yourself first. I’d recommend speaking to the doctor as soon as you can (I know that can be difficult) regarding your medication withdrawal to get the green light. Keep in touch

 

[rob0023]

Hi Emma, thank you for your reply, I haven't had an hba1c test for a while, probably over 6 months, and only tested my blood last night to see if my tester still worked, lol, I work nights so my sleeping pattern is not good but I don't have trouble sleeping, yes I had a banana a couple of days ago as I thought it would be healthy but it was not so good my eyes started to lose focus.
I have noticed this morning that my eyesight is so much clearer, I can read things on the other side of the room that would normally be out of focus.
when I first wake up and for about 1.5 hours my eyes are a little out of focus, I thought that was down to just waking up, maybe it is down to my blood sugar spike?
I had some Peperami Chicken Bites this morning (a Large bag, I Know my bad) but only 400 Calories and 13.5 grams of carbs, mostly protein, I checked my blood sugar around 45 minutes later and it was 7.0 mmol/l.
I do have a little weight I can lose.
The protein powder I use is Optimum Nutrition Lean Meal Replacement Powder, 20g High Protein, 203 calories, 1.5g Low Sugar, 15g Carbs, these numbers are per serving, I have 2 servings per meal.
I have contacted the doctors and am weighting for them to call now.
I will check my blood sugar level when I get up to see if it spikes and I will let you know the results.

Thank you for your advice, have a nice day.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @rob0023

Sounds like you’ve found an approach that suits you. Sorry to hear about your wife.

Are you monitoring your own BG levels to see how they are reponding to the changes you have made?

Glad you have seen an increase in your energy levels, and feeli gs of well being 🙂

 

[rob0023]

Hi everydayupsanddowns, Thank you for your reply, I forgot I had the BG tester and only used it last night to see if it still worked, lol.
I just spoke to a doctor, and she didn't seem too concerned, she checked my medical records and previous HBA1C results and said I wasn't due for an HBA1C until November.

 

[EmmaL76]

Yes Hba1c usually done about twice a year but at the moment with the shortage of vials can be longer. Well the protein shake if you have 2 servings is 30g of carbs. Mine is only about 2g per serving and that would see me with similar numbers to you so yours are really good. So glad you have spoken to the doctors. Ahh I see you do night shift. I did wonder lol

 

[ianf0ster]

Hi @rob0023
There are 3 basic dietary approaches to Type 2 remission:
Either lose lots of weight by a crash diet c.f. 800 to 850 calories per day.
Or Intermittent/alternate day fasting.
Or Low Carb way of eating (no forced calorie reduction add in extra Protein and Fat to compensate for the calories missing due to cutting carbohydrates).

Of course some do a combination I'm in remission over 1yr on Low Carb and don't feel hungry in the mornings so eat 1 or 2 meals per day. I found how low to go on the carbs by testing before meals then 2 hrs after 1st bite. aiming for an increase of 2mmol or less. I didn't count calories at all and ate lots of cheese and fatty cuts of meat, but still lost weight (nearly 20% of my max body weight) without trying.

 

[rob0023]

Hi @rob0023
There are 3 basic dietary approaches to Type 2 remission:
Either lose lots of weight by a crash diet c.f. 800 to 850 calories per day.
Or Intermittent/alternate day fasting.
Or Low Carb way of eating (no forced calorie reduction add in extra Protein and Fat to compensate for the calories missing due to cutting carbohydrates).

Of course some do a combination I'm in remission over 1yr on Low Carb and don't feel hungry in the mornings so eat 1 or 2 meals per day. I found how low to go on the carbs by testing before meals then 2 hrs after 1st bite. aiming for an increase of 2mmol or less. I didn't count calories at all and ate lots of cheese and fatty cuts of meat, but still lost weight (nearly 20% of my max body weight) without trying.

Hi Ianf0ster, Thank you for your reply, I'm happy to hear that you are in remission, I haven't been testing properly as I only have 2 test strips left for my tester, I just did a test that come out at 5.5 mmol/l, things I have eaten today, I had 200G Chicken Bites this morning, I then had a large Coke Zero that a friend got me at around 18:00, and I won't make the mistake of drinking that rubbish again, then another friend offered me a small taste of his beef kofta, and as he maid it himself I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Google says...
For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows: Between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) when fasting. Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating.
I just hope I can keep this up.

 

[rob0023]

Hi rob, you have been through a lot and it’s totally understandable that you felt no inclination to look after yourself for a while. I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. I notice your only 42 so that really is awful. Have you had any conversations with your diabetes team regarding coming off the meds? Not that I’m critical I did exactly the same. So far it’s working ok for me but unlike you I am exhausted on the low carb diet but I don’t have any weight to lose. Even though I was put on insulin as it’s suspected I’m a type 1 as in my profile, I have been on metformin in the early days and my goodness it didn’t agree with me. So like you I’m going it alone. Yes those reading are pretty good, which protein shake do you have? there are a lot with very low carbs and sugar so hopefully it’s one of those. Morning readings are the highest for me, anything I eat then will spike me so I have half a peanut bar (kind) and a benecol which seems to stop the glucose dump I get when I get up. Pasta is a no no for me as is, all bread, cereal, obviously cakes and biscuits chips, crisps rice and pizza. Bananas are are lethal to me! I’d be interested to know what your recent Hba1c is because at certain levels it can be perfectly fine to give the diet chance to turn things around. Do you test your glucose at any other times of the day? At some point you will need to introduce more food into your life, do you have much weight to comfortably lose? It’s not easy doing it this way but you do find new things every day you can add to your diet. Hi low bread is the only one I have found that doesn’t spike me. I noticed you had your protein shake at midnight and tested a couple of hours after that. Do you have trouble sleeping? Only mention it because it can be a contributing factor to insulin resistance. One last thing, I take a very good amino acid in power form that you mix with water. This helps me massively. There is some scientific evidence to back this up. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss but so glad you joined the forum and have made the decision to put yourself first. I’d recommend speaking to the doctor as soon as you can (I know that can be difficult) regarding your medication withdrawal to get the green light. Keep in touch

Hi EmmaL76,

thank you for your replies, please can you tell me what amino acid powder supplement you take?

Thank you
Rob

 

[EmmaL76]

Yep sure it’s this one. It’s around £16 on Amazon

 

[rob0023]

Yep sure it’s this one. It’s around £16 on Amazon

Thank you for your help.

I tested my blood when I got up this morning, it was 4.9 mmol/l.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Ianf0ster, Thank you for your reply, I'm happy to hear that you are in remission, I haven't been testing properly as I only have 2 test strips left for my tester, I just did a test that come out at 5.5 mmol/l, things I have eaten today, I had 200G Chicken Bites this morning, I then had a large Coke Zero that a friend got me at around 18:00, and I won't make the mistake of drinking that rubbish again, then another friend offered me a small taste of his beef kofta, and as he maid it himself I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
Google says...
For the majority of healthy individuals, normal blood sugar levels are as follows: Between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) when fasting. Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after eating.
I just hope I can keep this up.

I think the information you have looked at there is what would be normal for a non diabetic but for Type 2 more like:
If you have Type 2 diabetes
before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmol/l
But people testing to see the effect of particular food/meals would look for no more than 2-3mmol/l increase after 2 hours.

 

[rob0023]

I think the information you have looked at there is what would be normal for a non diabetic but for Type 2 more like:
If you have Type 2 diabetes
before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmol/l
But people testing to see the effect of particular food/meals would look for no more than 2-3mmol/l increase after 2 hours.

Thank you for your reply, I think what I was trying to say was that every time I have tested my BG in the last 3 days, it has been in the nondiabetic range. I mean 4,9 mmol/l when I woke up this morning, I don't think my BG level has been that low since I was a child.

 

[Jenny105]

Hi All 2 little queries re testing. A.M I pop into the garden with my dog, then make a cup of tea (semi skim, no sugar) . Does the cup of tea affect the first reading, done 30 - 40mins after the cuppa. 8.4 today

2 x 500g Metformin slow release. I forgot the 2nd tablet yesterday. Would that have much effect on my readings today
Usually i only test once a day. BUT My readings have come down a lot,so I wanted to do an experiment , Maybe todays not the day......... early am after cuppa was 8.4 approx 2 hours post brekkie - 12.4 - 1/4 gfruit, 1/2 wholemeal toast+ 2 tbspn beans. 1 small wholemeal toast +Benecol lite spread - higher carb than usual. Thanks

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi All 2 little queries re testing. A.M I pop into the garden with my dog, then make a cup of tea (semi skim, no sugar) . Does the cup of tea affect the first reading, done 30 - 40mins after the cuppa. 8.4 today

2 x 500g Metformin slow release. I forgot the 2nd tablet yesterday. Would that have much effect on my readings today
Usually i only test once a day. BUT My readings have come down a lot,so I wanted to do an experiment , Maybe todays not the day......... early am after cuppa was 8.4 approx 2 hours post brekkie - 12.4 - 1/4 gfruit, 1/2 wholemeal toast+ 2 tbspn beans. 1 small wholemeal toast +Benecol lite spread - higher carb than usual. Thanks

Your morning test, if you have already been up and about (foot on the floor syndrome possibly) and had a cuppa which has milk which would release glucose into your blood stream so account for the 8.4 which I assume is then your pre brekkie level. So the 2 hours post breakfast of 12.4 is probably rather more than you want to see as it is an increase of 4mmol/l. As you say quite a high carb breakfast. But you haven't yet had a definitive diagnosis have you so hard to say if that is what you should be expecting to happen.
The missed metformin should not make a difference as it does not act directly on food.

 

[Jenny105]

6.30 am I go out into the garden with the dog . Then get his meal. Then pop the kettle on . So FOOT DOWN !!
Sorry the reading was 7.8 then 12.4. Tomorrow is a lower carb brekkie involving egg.
The last line above is interesting re metformin action....

 

[Lucyr]

as

Hi All 2 little queries re testing. A.M I pop into the garden with my dog, then make a cup of tea (semi skim, no sugar) . Does the cup of tea affect the first reading, done 30 - 40mins after the cuppa. 8.4 today

2 x 500g Metformin slow release. I forgot the 2nd tablet yesterday. Would that have much effect on my readings today
Usually i only test once a day. BUT My readings have come down a lot,so I wanted to do an experiment , Maybe todays not the day......... early am after cuppa was 8.4 approx 2 hours post brekkie - 12.4 - 1/4 gfruit, 1/2 wholemeal toast+ 2 tbspn beans. 1 small wholemeal toast +Benecol lite spread - higher carb than usual. Thanks

do you mean 8.4? I just replied on your other thread which said 4.8

 

[rebrascora]

@Jenny105 Most of us do our waking reading before we get out of bed because as soon as our feet touch the floor our liver starts to pump out glucose to give us energy for the day. If we want the best possible waking reading, taking it as soon as we wake up is the way to get it. Probably a bit of a cheat but I feel a lot better about the day and my diabetes, if I start it on a 4, 5 or 6 reading than the 8, 9 or 10 i would get if I delayed taking that reading whilst I pottered on feeding the cats and chickens or mucking out the horses or even just having a shower and a cup of coffee before i tested.

 

[Jenny105]

@Jenny105 Most of us do our waking reading before we get out of bed because as soon as our feet touch the floor our liver starts to pump out glucose to give us energy for the day. If we want the best possible waking reading, taking it as soon as we wake up is the way to get it. Probably a bit of a cheat but I feel a lot better about the day and my diabetes, if I start it on a 4, 5 or 6 reading than the 8, 9 or 10 i would get if I delayed taking that reading whilst I pottered on feeding the cats and chickens or mucking out the horses or even just having a shower and a cup of coffee before i tested.

@rebrascora I 'll give it a go...... if dog will wait.
Its not easy. The pen gives trouble & is getting enough red stuff. Maybe if I'm snug and warm it will flow better. Its good to know the reading will be a bit higher because I'm on my feet. This am it was 7.8 after doggy routine, cuppa, shower, dress and then setting up the metre etc. So may be not bad. 🙂
PS My dog is a Sound Support Dog, he shares my room as he has to wake me when the alarm sounds.

 

[EmmaL76]

Keep your meter by the bed you will defo see a difference. Plus blood always flows better then.