Hi Mark,
Mine was in three figures too, out of the blue. I was scared of Metformin side effects so I simply went on my own real food version of this
rapid weight loss diet. I used an app called Cronometer (free version) to check my nutrient levels day by day as I was a total ignoramus in health and dietary matters. This did the trick in 3 months. I lost 15 kg and my HbA1c came down to normal (less than 40). This was based on advice from Professor Roy Taylor who knows a bit more about T2D than some GPs/DNs - see
Roy Taylor, Achieving T2D remission (May 2023) and/or his
Information for Doctors (short video).
If I had to do it again, I would take a bit more time and adopt a less extreme diet such as
Dr David Unwin's or the principles described in
this article 'What should we eat?' (which I follow for weight maintenance; many people have reported losing 15 kg and more on it in a few months). I found a
food list like this useful too.
As you will find, there are 101 ways of achieving the same end depending on your lifestyle and profiency in cooking (mine was zero). It is very wise to monitor your blood glucose levels several times a day but, as I can't abide pricking my fingers, I had my wife do it only once to check my FBG level had come down to normal in 7 days as Roy Taylor said it would if I were a 'responder'.
As you did not mention any other complications, I am assuming you a straightforward case of T2D - putting on some weight over the years. Now is the time to do something about that and get yourself back to normal if you can.
In any case all the above is merely FYI. It should go without saying that you should discuss your targets and plans with your GP/DN. As you say they were not much help, you could have look at what Dr David Unwin, a GP who has mentored over 200 patients into remission/back to normal had to say to an audience of GPs in this talk,
The nuts & bolts of drug free T2 diabetes remission by Dr David Unwin
Good luck.
