New Diagnosis

[DocL]

Hello everyone,

I was diagnosed with "probably" Type 2 at the end of April, GP was not 100% sure.
My HbA1c was 7.1% the diagnosis came as a bit of a shock to me (and my GP) as I hadn't had any blood tests for anything for over 10 years......and was pretty asymptomatic.
I am a doctor myself (in an unrelated speciality) and have pretty much been left to get on with it. I did lots of internet research, updated my own very outdated info from Med school days in 1980's and decided I needed to lose weight forthwith, embarked on a LCHF type diet and have shed 5kg so far. It's been a massive change in my life, I bought a glucometer and have been testing fasting and also pre and post meals to see how various foods affect me.
Hoping to "reverse" the beast and GP said I should give it max 3 months before deciding on whether to use meds or not.
I have a very stressful fulltime NHS post which doesn't help the BG levels I am sure, but have found a lot of support on various forums, hoping to contribute to them all as well.

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome from another relative newbie. I was diagnosed in Feb so I am a dew months ahead of you as regards getting my head around this whole lifestyle change. It sounds like you have made a great start with the dietary choice and weight loss. It is good to see an NHS health care professional adopting a LCHF diet as most seem to be so convinced that fat is the root of all evil.
I'm not sure what 7.1% equates to as mmol/mol is the more common unit of measure for HbA1c around here.... I know I have seen a conversion graph somewhere recently but hopefully it is not too high and it responds to your dietary efforts. I can vouch for the fact that stress definitely makes things more challenging. My readings will go up several points if I am feeling under pressure. Good luck and feel free to share your successes with us and seek support and motivation from the forum when things don't go as well as you hope. It can be a bit of a roller coaster in the first few months. Testing really is the only way to figure out which foods cause you problems and which you can get away with. Cutting the majority of carbs out of your diet takes some getting your head around, but once you find things that you can eat and enjoy it helps to motivate you to try new foods. I imagine your difficulty will be in finding the time to plan and cook healthy meals from scratch and there are not many convenience foods out there which cater for low carb. Things like Naked Noodles are useful to have in the cupboard and eggs are a staple of my diet because they are quick and easy. Mushroom omelette with salad is a regular feature for me, usually for breakfast but if I don't have time, then I have it for lunch instead. There is a thread here on the forum where we share "what we ate yesterday" to give each other meal ideas.
Best wishes
Barbara

 

[Docb]

7.1% equates to 54 mmol/mol, officially diabetic but only a bit diabetic. Diet changes and the weight loss ought to do the trick and I guess your GP will ask for another HBA1C in three months to see if it has. Again guessing, but your GP has given you a "probably" to avoid you being put on the diabetic register straight away and thereby saving the NHS a few quid.

 

[Drummer]

If you are in the UK Asda do a low carb bread which is just under 8 percent carbs - it looks like a brown brick and is fairly expensive as breads go, but it is great for a type two diet controlled.
If you are lucky, three months on a low carb diet could get you back to normal numbers.
I started off with a Hba1c of 91 and got to 41 at six months.
I eat lots of salads and stir fries with veges under 11 percent carbs - huge salads with coleslaw, walnuts, a bag of leaves, tomato cucumber celery radishes, beetroot - great on the long hot days of summer.
By the way - Dr Atkins was right.

 

[DocL]

GP was actually keen to start meds and also offered appointment with Diabetes Nurse, but I politely declined the metformin and atorvastatin offer and suggested we try the diet option first. He did sound a little unconvinced and asked me to have another set of bloods done "no later than August" which I said I would. my fasting levels have come done from 8-10 to a more reasonable 4.9-7 but still fluctuating quite a bit while I test the effects of various foods, but am trying to keep to LCHF. I am trying to educate all my colleagues about the LCHF lifestyle and the move away from the dreaded Eatwell plate.......🙂

I meant to add, he did say the DN "probably won't tell you a lot more than what you already know" but referred me anyway.

 

[Drummer]

I was prescribed Atorvastatin and Metformin - after a month I was staggering around with numerous aches and pains and was undecided if I should book a place in a care home or just end it all and not have the misery.
In the end I threw the tablets in the bin - it was all the more galling to discover that I did not need them.

 

[Ljc]

Welcome to the forum. That darned eatwell plate , we just live to hate it. We are very fortunate to have some innovative cooks on here so if you are looking for some low carb recipes
https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/forums/recipes.21/
It’s at the top of the food carb queries forum

 

[trophywench]

I'm still giggling from DocB's post above.

After 46 years of T1 - it's wonderful to hear I am only a bit diabetic …..

 

[Docb]

Glad it got your spirits up TW.

T1 and T2 are a bit different methinks. Unlike T1, T2 is something you creep into and if you have been picked up just over the limit, i.e. just just a bit diabetic, and creeping back out again is entirely possible. Maybe there should be a category corresponding to pre-diabetic to describe when you are just above the magic 48 where a bit of adjustment taken with care is all that is likely to be needed and that there is no need to panic.

 

[trophywench]

Yes but you STILL cannot have 'a touch of' diabetes - it's a lot like pregnancy - you either are pregnant or you ain't. You either have diabetes, or you don't!

Quite a few T2s can reverse their symptoms if they personally take enough action with their diet and lifestyle - but if they revert to their former ways - then wham the symptoms come back, because the diabetes hasn't really gone. OTOH other people can eat all the carbs imaginable with a jam doughnut for afters, not bother to take any exercise and never have any problem with their blood glucose whatsoever.

 

[Docb]

Absolutely agree with you TW.

My thoughts, a bit clumsily expressed, were aimed at differentiating between those first diagnosed with HBA1C in the 50's (a bit diabetic) and those first diagnosed with HBA1C's in treble figures (very diabetic). Both have diabetes and always will be diabetic but the way forward, and the urgency of need for action are different.

 

[DocL]

Never mind, I appreciate all the comments 🙂 I am doing as much as I can to try to "reverse" the trend with diet particularly but am under no illusion that it is a lifetime thing and that eating lots of carbs again will simply take me back to square one. Sigh. I miss my tiny can of coke (150ml) and small chocolate bar, but not had any since diagnosis. And the HUGE positive in all this is that my GERD has disappeared!!! Totally!!! Not needed any PPI's since a few days into the LCHF diet.

 

[TheClockworkDodo]

Hello @DocL and welcome from another person who's only a bit diabetic

It sounds as though you're doing really well so far - congratulations on the weight loss et al - I hope you manage to keep going without needing any meds.

Really dark chocolate (85% cocoa or higher) is fine for a low carb diet, if you can stick to a couple of squares a day, so you don't have to give up chocolate completely - unless you're the sort of person who can't have it in the house without feeling the need to eat all of it 🙂