New to being diabetic, but not surprised

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abwales4

abwales4

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Type 2
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Hello! Hope you’re all doing good.

My name is Andrew and I’ve just been diagnosed with Type 2. Frankly, I’m not surprised, my diet over the last few years has been shocking (way too much chocolate, biscuits, crisps and Greggs) whilst I’ve been study for a degree and a Masters. There’s a history of type 2 in the family too so it’s my own fault really. I’m cool with it (although I would, of course, prefer not to have it) but I’ve now made a vow to myself to get me into remission as fast as I can. Whether this is a foolish endeavour or something I can do, who knows, but I’m 60 this year and I’d like to get to a ripe old age if I can. Wish me luck!
 
Congratulations on doing a Degree and Masters as a mature student.
If you apply your ability to learn to your T2D then you stand a good chance of diabetes remission in about 1yr or less.
There are several (medication free) methods, but they need to be sustainable for you (and we are all different).

I chose low carb and was in remission by the anniversary of my diagnosis, though My HbA1C was at a pre-diabetic level within 3 months and my actual spot Blood Glucose levels were almost normal within a week.

Here's a link to the blog post which set me on my path 5 yrs ago (in med free remission for nearly 4yrs):
josekalsbeek.blogspot.com

The Nutritional Thingy

There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...
josekalsbeek.blogspot.com josekalsbeek.blogspot.com
 
Thanks Ian! I’ll have a good read of the blog and look into the low carb diet. I’m seeing the diabetic nurse at my surgery in a couple of weeks and I’ll see what good advice they give!
 
NHS still promotes the 'Eatwell plate' which is just the opposite of Low Carb, as does American Diabetes Association. However, times are changing and Australia is first major country to have the national diabetes association advocate Low Carb. I saw this announced on X (formerly Twitter) today.
So don't expect too much from your DN, a few do support low Carb (mostly very quietly so they can keep their jobs). The ones who do it openly are like gold dust. The majority of GPs, DN and Dieticians still say T2 Diabetes is a progressive disease and treat symptoms rather than fixing the underlying problem. Hence all the amputations and blindness from T2D.
 
Have a look at this link also for a low carb approach which may be suitable as long as you are just going to manage the condition with diet only or metformin which would be the first medication if your HbA1C is high, so it would be good to know what it is. Hopefully if it is not too high then you will be given the opportunity to try the diet only option and perhaps get more exercise if you can.
lowcarbfreshwell.com

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com lowcarbfreshwell.com
Reducing carbs to no more than 130g per day is a suggested starting point.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is also a good resource for giving carb values of a whole range of foods with different portion sizes which is also important to be mindful of.
 
I was diagnosed just before my 61st birthday @abwales4, with hba1c of 76, and am fast approaching 65 with hba1c of 39, so it's certainly achievable. Low carb was my way of doing it (and still is) but everyone is different and you need to find what works for you and what is sustainable.
Some good advice I read on this forum is to lower your carb intake gradually, to avoid causing nerve damage which can affect your eyes. I just went hell for leather to start with and feel exceptionally lucky that this didn't happen to me, or maybe I just found the forum in time! Best of luck! 🙂
 
Leadinglights said:
Have a look at this link also for a low carb approach which may be suitable as long as you are just going to manage the condition with diet only or metformin which would be the first medication if your HbA1C is high, so it would be good to know what it is. Hopefully if it is not too high then you will be given the opportunity to try the diet only option and perhaps get more exercise if you can.
lowcarbfreshwell.com

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com lowcarbfreshwell.com
Reducing carbs to no more than 130g per day is a suggested starting point.
The book or app Carbs and Cals is also a good resource for giving carb values of a whole range of foods with different portion sizes which is also important to be mindful of.
Click to expand...
Awesome! Thanks for the help 🙂
 
It’s going great thanks! I’ve found it easy to adjust my habits, even giving up chocolate (it would be nothing for me to eat a whole bar of Dairy Milk in an evening ). I log absolutely everything about my health now in either Apple Health or NutraCheck, it helps me and I like to form habits of doing things. I haven’t got as much exercise as I’d hoped but that’s a lot down to the weather but I go for walks as often as possible. They don’t need to be long (my knees are showing their age) but if I can walk rather than use the car I will now. I’m lucky that I can be quite single minded if I need to be! My mother in law is T1 and just gone on to a libre disk so I’ve nicked her glucose test machine and I’m coming around around 7 or 8 instead of the 12.2 my hba1c (or whatever letters it is) would have suggested so I’m hoping that’s good.

I know it’s only been 3 weeks for me but I would say to anyone newly diagnosed DONT PANIC! It’s easy to change your habits if you really want to!
 
abwales4 said:
My mother in law is T1 and just gone on to a libre disk so I’ve nicked her glucose test machine and I’m coming around around 7 or 8 instead of the 12.2 my hba1c (or whatever letters it is) would have suggested so I’m hoping that’s good.
Click to expand...
Great that you are seeing improvements.
However, I am concerned your MIL has no finger prick meter. Libre does NOT replace finger pricks. The advice is to double check highs and lows with finger pricks and any time you do not think the reading is what you are feelings.
CGMs like Libre have limitations and relying 100% on them can result in over treating a high or low.

It is recommended to purchase your own meter. Bear in mind that the most expensive part is the test strips.
 
abwales4 said:
It’s going great thanks! I’ve found it easy to adjust my habits, even giving up chocolate (it would be nothing for me to eat a whole bar of Dairy Milk in an evening ). I log absolutely everything about my health now in either Apple Health or NutraCheck, it helps me and I like to form habits of doing things. I haven’t got as much exercise as I’d hoped but that’s a lot down to the weather but I go for walks as often as possible. They don’t need to be long (my knees are showing their age) but if I can walk rather than use the car I will now. I’m lucky that I can be quite single minded if I need to be! My mother in law is T1 and just gone on to a libre disk so I’ve nicked her glucose test machine and I’m coming around around 7 or 8 instead of the 12.2 my hba1c (or whatever letters it is) would have suggested so I’m hoping that’s good.

I know it’s only been 3 weeks for me but I would say to anyone newly diagnosed DONT PANIC! It’s easy to change your habits if you really want to!
Click to expand...
Sounds like you have made a good start but I hope your M-in L has still got a monitor as she may need it, the Libre does not completely remove the need to check from a finger prick.
It would be better to buy your own, they are inexpensive from Amazon.
 
helli said:
Great that you are seeing improvements.
However, I am concerned your MIL has no finger prick meter. Libre does NOT replace finger pricks. The advice is to double check highs and lows with finger pricks and any time you do not think the reading is what you are feelings.
CGMs like Libre have limitations and relying 100% on them can result in over treating a high or low.

It is recommended to purchase your own meter. Bear in mind that the most expensive part is the test strips.
Click to expand...
Snap
 
She lives literally two doors away and I’m only using it for a few days. I just wanted to see how what my levels were for a few days. She’s been T1 for well over 50 years and is 86 now so we see her regularly. Perhaps I should have said temporarily borrowed rather than nicked!
 
welcome aboard ,
good luck on your journey , for me the thing that's helped me the most is reducing carb intake drinking lots of water and a bit of fasting between meals .Everyone is different so i'm sure that you will find what works best for you in managing your diabetes , personally i've found that testing my blood before and after meals has given me a better understanding of my blood sugars and how my body can cope with what i eat , blood glucose meters are a really valuable tool to have when trying to log everything down and make any changes,i too log everything now and its helped . Also u will find great meal suggestions on the forum definatly check out carbs n cals and freshwell carb s app for info too .
 
abwales4 said:
She lives literally two doors away and I’m only using it for a few days. I just wanted to see how what my levels were for a few days. She’s been T1 for well over 50 years and is 86 now so we see her regularly. Perhaps I should have said temporarily borrowed rather than nicked!
Click to expand...
As an tool in your ongoing management of your condition it would still be a good idea to have your own monitor.
Even if temporary it would be wiser for you you go to her house to use the monitor rather than her being without it.
 
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