My diabetes is in remission!

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NineToTheSky

NineToTheSky

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Three months ago I was sedentary, obese, diabetic (type 2), an alcoholic and had depression and all my stats were in the danger zone. Three months ago, one evening, I thought 'I can't go on like this.' The next day I gave up alcohol, started restricting my calorie intake to 1400 a day, and signed up to a gym, which I go to daily. It obviously hasn't been easy, but once I got into the habit, it just rolls on day by day.

In three months I have lost 3 stone, and today I went for my quarterly diabetic check up. I have been told that all my stats are now of someone who does not have diabetes! I have been told if I return to my old sedentary lifestyle my diabetes will return - but, for the moment, I am in remission. I am over the moon. My doctor says that to do this is very rare, and to do it in this time span even rarer, but, as he says, the figures cannot lie. So, for the first time in a long time I can say that I am healthy. My mental state is also very much better.

So it can be done.
 
NineToTheSky said:
Three months ago I was sedentary, obese, diabetic (type 2), an alcoholic and had depression and all my stats were in the danger zone. Three months ago, one evening, I thought 'I can't go on like this.' The next day I gave up alcohol, started restricting my calorie intake to 1400 a day, and signed up to a gym, which I go to daily. It obviously hasn't been easy, but once I got into the habit, it just rolls on day by day.

In three months I have lost 3 stone, and today I went for my quarterly diabetic check up. I have been told that all my stats are now of someone who does not have diabetes! I have been told if I return to my old sedentary lifestyle my diabetes will return - but, for the moment, I am in remission. I am over the moon. My doctor says that to do this is very rare, and to do it in this time span even rarer, but, as he says, the figures cannot lie. So, for the first time in a long time I can say that I am healthy. My mental state is also very much better.

So it can be done.
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That's a brilliant achievement NTTS and very well done! In a way I did a similar thing (but not involving alcohol) in the same time frame without meds but with a lesser weight loss but mainly as a result of healthier eating. I'd probably consider my diabetes to be more 'controlled' than in remission because I know it wouldn't take much for it to escalate again.

Hope we both remain in this position and I'm delighted to hear of the positive difference this has made to your life. Onwards and downwards (with the BG's). Have a great 2016! Amigo
 
That's a wonderful piece of news to start the new year! I'm really chuffed, NineToTheSky (great name, by the way), and feel that it will spur me on too, to get back to good ways, after a few lazy days....

Well done :D !
 
NineToTheSky - You have joined a small, but thankfully, growing group of folks. Like you and Amigo, I am a member, although, like Amigo, I was fortunate enough not to have to deal with alcohol as well as diabetes.

My only comment would be that whilst your Doc is almost certainly correct in saying that of you return to your old ways your diabetes is likely to return, I would say your success is less likely to be a direct result of your more active lifestyle, but more likely to be related to your weight loss. Being active certainly helps, but the big secret appears to be keeping the visceral fat (the fat that clings to and is inside our internal organs) at bay. My weight loss wasn't as marked as yours, but I certainly trimmed right up and in fact have ended up very slight indeed.

Now you have achieved membership of the club, I hope you have a plan to keep that going. I am not doubting your fortitude in continuing with your lifestyle changes, but once you have reached a weight you want to maintain (as opposed to gain or lose more) that can be a bit tricky getting the balance right. I found when I reached that point I kept losing for a bit longer (who would have though that!?), and had to work out how to keep my weight up, but blood scores down.

Do you self test your bloods, and what sort of diet have you adopted? This sort of information can be so useful for new people looking for inspiration and motivation.

I really do wish you the very best for 2016 and beyond in your new, healthier life.
 
Brilliant news ! Very well done. I have a mate of mine who is off all meds for his T2. I know what he has had to go through but well worth it. You have made my day. Keep us posted. 😎😎
 
Welcome to the forum NineToTheSky and congratulations on your hard work. Keep up the healthy and happy lifestyle you have adopted.
 
NineToTheSky said:
Three months ago I was sedentary, obese, diabetic (type 2), an alcoholic and had depression and all my stats were in the danger zone. Three months ago, one evening, I thought 'I can't go on like this.' The next day I gave up alcohol, started restricting my calorie intake to 1400 a day, and signed up to a gym, which I go to daily. It obviously hasn't been easy, but once I got into the habit, it just rolls on day by day.

In three months I have lost 3 stone, and today I went for my quarterly diabetic check up. I have been told that all my stats are now of someone who does not have diabetes! I have been told if I return to my old sedentary lifestyle my diabetes will return - but, for the moment, I am in remission. I am over the moon. My doctor says that to do this is very rare, and to do it in this time span even rarer, but, as he says, the figures cannot lie. So, for the first time in a long time I can say that I am healthy. My mental state is also very much better.

So it can be done.
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I am so happy for you! All that hard work paid off, go you! 🙂
 
Thank you all for your kind words. I posted because I hope this will help people to do, or to continue to do, what I am doing. Believe me, if I can do it....!

AndBreathe - I appreciate that losing my diabetes is down to losing much of my fat (it hasn't all gone!), but I lost the fat due to the three factors: not drinking alcohol, eating (a lot) less, and exercising hard (it's all intertwined). I certainly am a man with a plan. Having lost three stone in three months, I now want to lose another two stone in another three months, and then maintain that weight, but without having to be so manic about it. I understand what you say about reining back at that point, but, to be honest, this whole thing has been a learning curve, so I will just have to see what happens then!

I am not actually on a diet as such - I just limit what I eat and try to ensure that what I eat is as healthy as possible: 200-300 calories for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch and 400-500 for supper. I have a fizzy fruit drink (absolutely wasted calories, I know) as a substitute for the alcohol I'm not having.

I self test my blood glucose and blood pressure, and have them confirmed with my doctor every so often. For example, my glucose is now 4-6, my cholesterol is 2.9 and my pressure is around 112/66. I leave it to your imagination what they used to be!
 
Blimey! - you have done well! Probably the weight loss will slow down a bit now whatever you do, cos this is what happens generally. But you are more likely to keep at it by losing a pound or two a week, however long it takes as long as you are on the 'right' side ie losing rather than gaining. Once you've dropped the first however much, it's actually considered healthier to do it gradually too.
 
NineToTheSky said:
Thank you all for your kind words. I posted because I hope this will help people to do, or to continue to do, what I am doing. Believe me, if I can do it....!

AndBreathe - I appreciate that losing my diabetes is down to losing much of my fat (it hasn't all gone!), but I lost the fat due to the three factors: not drinking alcohol, eating (a lot) less, and exercising hard (it's all intertwined). I certainly am a man with a plan. Having lost three stone in three months, I now want to lose another two stone in another three months, and then maintain that weight, but without having to be so manic about it. I understand what you say about reining back at that point, but, to be honest, this whole thing has been a learning curve, so I will just have to see what happens then!

I am not actually on a diet as such - I just limit what I eat and try to ensure that what I eat is as healthy as possible: 200-300 calories for breakfast, 300-400 for lunch and 400-500 for supper. I have a fizzy fruit drink (absolutely wasted calories, I know) as a substitute for the alcohol I'm not having.

I self test my blood glucose and blood pressure, and have them confirmed with my doctor every so often. For example, my glucose is now 4-6, my cholesterol is 2.9 and my pressure is around 112/66. I leave it to your imagination what they used to be!
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Please don't think I was being critical of your achievement, or how you achieved it. If anything, it shows there are many ways to skin the diabetes cat, when we have a bit of decent fortune on our sides. By decent fortune, I mean organs that support going back. For some, their pancreas or other organs may already have suffered damage making such improvements unlikely if not impossible.

I think I was trying to say it can be a bit of a balancing act, once you come to a point where you can't or no longer want to maintain a calorie deficit. At the point you have no more weight to lose, it's a bit of a challenge. I would ask you to trust me on that one, and maybe start to plan your stabilisation plan when you still have a few pounds to lose.

Have you tried any of the no sugar added fizzy drinks? Whilst it isn't ideal to ingest too many sweeteners, I find it better than the pure sugar these drinks contain. Personally, I wouldn't give a flying fidget about the calories, I wouldn't want that brutal sugar hit. But, if it's working for you, it isn't my place to be critical.

Keep going, you are making a massive, positive, difference to your life!
 
Wow, NTTS, that's amazing! Well done! 😱😛 Carry on skinning that cat (nicely put, AndBreathe😉). Welcome to the forum too.🙂
 
@AndBreathe - Your posts are interesting because the one thing I haven't thought about is what happens mentally when I have achieved my physical target. This has been reinforced today by the Daily Telegraph colour supplement which is all about exercise and health. One article is about the end game problem. It makes interesting reading, and is food for thought. I don't know how I will handle it. I hope well.
 
NineToTheSky said:
@AndBreathe - Your posts are interesting because the one thing I haven't thought about is what happens mentally when I have achieved my physical target. This has been reinforced today by the Daily Telegraph colour supplement which is all about exercise and health. One article is about the end game problem. It makes interesting reading, and is food for thought. I don't know how I will handle it. I hope well.
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I'd advise you to plan how you will handle it. With no plan, for many people, goal-less and pointless experiments take place, and some end up falling off the wagon and having to catch up again.

At least if you have a plan, you are less likely to feel rudderless and without goals. It is also worthwhile agreeing with yourself how you will get back on course should you meander off it,
 
When i reach my target weight, my plan is stay at that weight. Easy to say, maybe not so easy to do. I can't plan too precisely, because I don't know yet what it will take. I hope I won't have to count every calorie because I think that I've got quite good at either assessing or knowing the calorific values. I hope I will be able to be a bit more relaxed about my consumption. I also think that I will be able to reduce my gym attendance a bit. I do know that I will not fall off the wagon because I will remain aware of what I am doing.
 
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