New to Type 2 at 32, tips and success stories needed !!

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ScotsWarrior15

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Type 2
Just that really…

Went to the doctors just before Christmas for an unrelated issue and got diagnosed with diabetes with hba1c level of 75 I’ve had gestational diabetes in 2 out of 3 pregnancies, one was diet controlled and the last I was on insulin injections but this was 4 years ago.

I am overweight and had no real restriction on my diet either but I’ve been feeling very down and stressed out about it all. It’s been almost a month and I’ve cut out junk food completely and started a low carb high protein diet this week. I will weigh myself next week to get an update on that front.

I guess I’m just looking for some advice from people who have gotten type 2 at such a young age and how you managed to turn it around? It just seems so overwhelming

Thank you!
 
Welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis but as you have had some experience of diabetes before hopefully it will enable you to make those changes that will be needed. Starting a low carb regime is good and can successfully work for many people. in losing weight and reducing blood glucose. This link may give you some more ideas for meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
I am a bit surprised that with an HbA1C of 75mmol/mol that you haven't been prescribed any medication but if you are determined and focussed with your diet then it is possible without. Some GPs will give people the opportunity for 3 months which is good as dietary changes are needed anyway.
Whatever dietary regime you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable long term, it really has to become a new way of eating.
Increasing exercise if you can also helps, that can just be brisk walking, it doesn't have to be going to the gym unless that is your thing.
There are many success stories here where people have reduced their blood glucose into normal range and have kept it there.
Following the principals in the link I reduced my HbA1C from 50mmol/mol to 42 in three months and then down to 36 over a period of a year. I am quite strict on my carb intake and aim at about 70g per day.
 
I’ve had t2 since age 21, now 35. Not convinced that I’m a standard t2, but haven’t had tests so more of an unknown type. Not sure what you are defining as ‘turning it around’ but although I’ve not always had ideal control I have no real complications over 14 years later. I do have background retinopathy but it’s fairly standard to have that and doesn’t affect your eyesight. I’ve been on insulin for about 13 of those years and that’s my preferred medication as it’s flexible to a normal diet.
 
Leadinglights said:
Welcome to the forum
Sorry to hear of your diagnosis but as you have had some experience of diabetes before hopefully it will enable you to make those changes that will be needed. Starting a low carb regime is good and can successfully work for many people. in losing weight and reducing blood glucose. This link may give you some more ideas for meals. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/
I am a bit surprised that with an HbA1C of 75mmol/mol that you haven't been prescribed any medication but if you are determined and focussed with your diet then it is possible without. Some GPs will give people the opportunity for 3 months which is good as dietary changes are needed anyway.
Whatever dietary regime you choose has to be enjoyable otherwise it will not be sustainable long term, it really has to become a new way of eating.
Increasing exercise if you can also helps, that can just be brisk walking, it doesn't have to be going to the gym unless that is your thing.
There are many success stories here where people have reduced their blood glucose into normal range and have kept it there.
Following the principals in the link I reduced my HbA1C from 50mmol/mol to 42 in three months and then down to 36 over a period of a year. I am quite strict on my carb intake and aim at about 70g per day.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the link, I’ll have a read for ideas. The doctor did suggest starting metformin straight away but I was against that as I wanted to at least try to bring it down with dietary changes. My next blood test is in March to evaluate how well it’s worked.
I’m not a gym person but I do have a fairly active routine anyway as I have 3 young kids but I’m adding 20 minute home workouts too to add that extra physical activity.
Wow, your levels and progress are amazing! That’s what I want, to keep an extremely low carb diet overall and make it more interesting with my fat and protein options. But this is what confuses me, I’m only including my carb options in my dinner meal so does that mean that whatever carb I have, needs to be 70g? Or can I split the amount during the day in other things which will prevent spikes?

Another thing I wanted to ask is that the nurse said I don’t need to check my sugar levels because I’m not at risk or low sugar but then how can I track how I’m doing?
 
Lucyr said:
I’ve had t2 since age 21, now 35. Not convinced that I’m a standard t2, but haven’t had tests so more of an unknown type. Not sure what you are defining as ‘turning it around’ but although I’ve not always had ideal control I have no real complications over 14 years later. I do have background retinopathy but it’s fairly standard to have that and doesn’t affect your eyesight. I’ve been on insulin for about 13 of those years and that’s my preferred medication as it’s flexible to a normal diet.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, so have you been on insulin from the start? What I mean by turning it around is that I’ve heard of people of reversing their t2 with diet and coming off meds, which I would want to be my end goal.
 
ScotsWarrior15 said:
Thanks for the reply, so have you been on insulin from the start? What I mean by turning it around is that I’ve heard of people of reversing their t2 with diet and coming off meds, which I would want to be my end goal.
Click to expand...
No I didn’t start insulin for about a year after diagnosis, though my blood sugars were uncontrolled before starting it as the tablets didn’t work.

There’s no shame in using medication to help control your blood sugars. The main thing is to get your a1c to a safe level to minimise the risk of complications.
 
ScotsWarrior15 said:
Thank you for the link, I’ll have a read for ideas. The doctor did suggest starting metformin straight away but I was against that as I wanted to at least try to bring it down with dietary changes. My next blood test is in March to evaluate how well it’s worked.
I’m not a gym person but I do have a fairly active routine anyway as I have 3 young kids but I’m adding 20 minute home workouts too to add that extra physical activity.
Wow, your levels and progress are amazing! That’s what I want, to keep an extremely low carb diet overall and make it more interesting with my fat and protein options. But this is what confuses me, I’m only including my carb options in my dinner meal so does that mean that whatever carb I have, needs to be 70g? Or can I split the amount during the day in other things which will prevent spikes?

Another thing I wanted to ask is that the nurse said I don’t need to check my sugar levels because I’m not at risk or low sugar but then how can I track how I’m doing?
Click to expand...
You should be counting all the carbs you have in the day, and that is total carbs not just sugar.
The total I have in the day is about 70g so maybe 15g for breakfast, 15- 20 for lunch and 20-25 for dinner and a few are accounted for in drinks. Many people settle on around a 100g, the suggested no more than 130g per day can be too much for some people. But they will determine what suits them by testing with a home blood glucose monitor to see what meals and food they can tolerate and adjust their meals accordingly. The aim is for a meal to give no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase in blood glucose after 2hours or when your levels come down then no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l. You would be aiming at 4-7 mmol/l before meals or fasting (morning reading).
If I had all the 70g of carbs in one meal then that would push my blood glucose way above the 8.5 mmol/l 2 hour post meal so I found by testing my limit seemed to be about 30g.
Good on you for giving it a go without meds.
 
Leadinglights said:
You should be counting all the carbs you have in the day, and that is total carbs not just sugar.
The total I have in the day is about 70g so maybe 15g for breakfast, 15- 20 for lunch and 20-25 for dinner and a few are accounted for in drinks. Many people settle on around a 100g, the suggested no more than 130g per day can be too much for some people. But they will determine what suits them by testing with a home blood glucose monitor to see what meals and food they can tolerate and adjust their meals accordingly. The aim is for a meal to give no more than a 2-3mmol/l increase in blood glucose after 2hours or when your levels come down then no more than 8-8.5 mmol/l. You would be aiming at 4-7 mmol/l before meals or fasting (morning reading).
If I had all the 70g of carbs in one meal then that would push my blood glucose way above the 8.5 mmol/l 2 hour post meal so I found by testing my limit seemed to be about 30g.
Good on you for giving it a go without meds.
Click to expand...
Okay that makes sense. Thank you so much for explaining it me, and I think I’ll stick with 70g too just to give it the best shot. I have another question, and I’m sorry I’m advance if it seems obvious but on the labelling of certain snacks, it says for example in 100g portion of that item, it has 50g carbohydrates (of which 10g sugars) … what does that mean? Previously I would have thought that this meant it was okay to have but I get so unsure as 10g sugar sounds a lot? If I’m only having 70g carbs in a day?
 
Lucyr said:
No I didn’t start insulin for about a year after diagnosis, though my blood sugars were uncontrolled before starting it as the tablets didn’t work.

There’s no shame in using medication to help control your blood sugars. The main thing is to get your a1c to a safe level to minimise the risk of complications.
Click to expand...
Ahh okay. Of course there’s no shame and everyone is entitled to do what works for them. I want to attempt no meds for myself at the start because I’ve been on both tablets and insulin in my last pregnancy and I found it so so difficult. I want to delay that as long as possible but I also understand that even after dietary changes, if I need it to keep levels low then so be it. I guess I want to exhaust every option first.
 
ScotsWarrior15 said:
Thanks for the reply, so have you been on insulin from the start? What I mean by turning it around is that I’ve heard of people of reversing their t2 with diet and coming off meds, which I would want to be my end goal.
Click to expand...

I did, but I took all the meds on offer first, I gave myself some breathing room while I decided the best way to achieve that.

In the end I did a low fat diet with the NHS dietician, then the 800 calorie shake based Newcastle diet to lose 5 stones, I didn't overly fuss over carbs.
 
Diagnosed at 39 in July/Aug 22. I decided to go low carb and test my blood 4+ times per day to make sure I know what I was eating didn't cause high BG.

Lower than my normal carb intake but not really low carb and I also increased walking and exercise by doing another 15 min walk everyday, 15-45 at the weekend.

My blood test in Nov 22 had dropped from 80s to 40s.

1x 500mg Metformin and lower carb diet plus at least 1 mile walk per day is what I did.

Dec has been difficult to keep up with all the extra food and bad weather so less exercise but I'm getting back in to my new routine.

food. I didn't stop eating anything I still have crisps and cake but now I just have them less frequently. I went from crisps everyday to 2-4 per week. Stopped eating 2x toast for breakfast and switched to just 1 or most of the time 1 Weetabix which is still high in carbs but about half what I was normally having. That's what I did for all my meals. Still eat the same thing just reduced the carb part of it.
 
Hi, yes you are right to take personal responsibility and control whilst assessing what will work for you.

I am not happy that doctors can sometimes just throw meds at you and then leave you to fend for yourself with little or no information. Utter nonsense.

Me, type 2, HbA1c 140 or 150 at diagnosis (can't remember right now) after being rushed to hospital two years ago. Way overweight, eating tons of utter rubbish, no exercise... Initially diagnosed as a T1 and shoved on to Insulin. Everything went haywire (from a blood glucose point of view) until I decided (with GP agreement) to remove myself from meds and take personal responsibility for my own health. Started a strict diet regime...low carb, high protein, high fat. Started (eventually, exercise) Lost a huge amount of weight. HbA1c plummetted. Now it 37 and has been around that for the last 2 years.

But I am careful with my diet every single day, allowing myself treats IF I cover with additional exercise and the carbs are not too heavy (typical 130g of carbs a day with worst case excesses of 200g carbs in any day). Exercise, every day (except yesterday as it was so incredibly wet), walking on the beach which I enjoy whilst listening to my favourite classical music.

I have written an App to track pretty much every aspect of everything (keeps me amused) which I have found to be essential.

The most important lessons I have learned are:-

1. Not to get worked up about an odd blood glucose reading as long as it is not rediculously crazy, and even then to recheck (wash and warm hands thoroughly before any test). I learned (from this forum) that there is a technique to getting blood out of the finger more easily and painlessly (I now stab on the sides near the top). And I learned that blood glucose meters are not that accurate!!!

2. Have treats in my diet and to vary the diet whilst eating what I enjoy and not restricting myself too strictly. The diet has to be sustainable long term

3. Exercise is good but it has to be enjoyable and sustainable

4. Listen to those with knowlege and learn from them (people on this forum) whilst being careful with stuff on the internet and even more careful with doctors and nurses advice and meds

5. Acknowlede that the diabetes is not going away and own it, manage it as best possible. Don't hate it but force it as best you can to come under your control.

6. Celebrate successes (improved HbA1c, an HS, reduced weight)

7. Recognise that this is a journey and not a destination. A journey to possible success, your choice, your mindset, your responsibility.

Success may be possible for you. It was/is for me and for many others. Good luck and let us know how you get on and what choices you make.
 
ScotsWarrior15 said:
Okay that makes sense. Thank you so much for explaining it me, and I think I’ll stick with 70g too just to give it the best shot. I have another question, and I’m sorry I’m advance if it seems obvious but on the labelling of certain snacks, it says for example in 100g portion of that item, it has 50g carbohydrates (of which 10g sugars) … what does that mean? Previously I would have thought that this meant it was okay to have but I get so unsure as 10g sugar sounds a lot? If I’m only having 70g carbs in a day?
Click to expand...
You can ignore the of which sugars. If you’re having 100g of that food then you count it as 50g carbohydrates
 
One of the easiest ways to keep control of your carbs is to get an app, like NutraCheck (there are others), and enter everything. It keeps me on the straight and narrow.
 
Gwynn said:
Hi, yes you are right to take personal responsibility and control whilst assessing what will work for you.

I am not happy that doctors can sometimes just throw meds at you and then leave you to fend for yourself with little or no information. Utter nonsense.

Me, type 2, HbA1c 140 or 150 at diagnosis (can't remember right now) after being rushed to hospital two years ago. Way overweight, eating tons of utter rubbish, no exercise... Initially diagnosed as a T1 and shoved on to Insulin. Everything went haywire (from a blood glucose point of view) until I decided (with GP agreement) to remove myself from meds and take personal responsibility for my own health. Started a strict diet regime...low carb, high protein, high fat. Started (eventually, exercise) Lost a huge amount of weight. HbA1c plummetted. Now it 37 and has been around that for the last 2 years.

But I am careful with my diet every single day, allowing myself treats IF I cover with additional exercise and the carbs are not too heavy (typical 130g of carbs a day with worst case excesses of 200g carbs in any day). Exercise, every day (except yesterday as it was so incredibly wet), walking on the beach which I enjoy whilst listening to my favourite classical music.

I have written an App to track pretty much every aspect of everything (keeps me amused) which I have found to be essential.

The most important lessons I have learned are:-

1. Not to get worked up about an odd blood glucose reading as long as it is not rediculously crazy, and even then to recheck (wash and warm hands thoroughly before any test). I learned (from this forum) that there is a technique to getting blood out of the finger more easily and painlessly (I now stab on the sides near the top). And I learned that blood glucose meters are not that accurate!!!

2. Have treats in my diet and to vary the diet whilst eating what I enjoy and not restricting myself too strictly. The diet has to be sustainable long term

3. Exercise is good but it has to be enjoyable and sustainable

4. Listen to those with knowlege and learn from them (people on this forum) whilst being careful with stuff on the internet and even more careful with doctors and nurses advice and meds

5. Acknowlede that the diabetes is not going away and own it, manage it as best possible. Don't hate it but force it as best you can to come under your control.

6. Celebrate successes (improved HbA1c, an HS, reduced weight)

7. Recognise that this is a journey and not a destination. A journey to possible success, your choice, your mindset, your responsibility.

Success may be possible for you. It was/is for me and for many others. Good luck and let us know how you get on and what choices you make.
Click to expand...
This is all amazing advice, thank you so much. Yes I agree, I know that my lifestyle choices are also key in bringing about this diagnosis so taking that responsibility and taking back control over how I want to change is very important to me. I’ll be sure to update this thread after my next round of tests.
 
Lucyr said:
You can ignore the of which sugars. If you’re having 100g of that food then you count it as 50g carbohydrates
Click to expand...
Ahh okay .. I’m so glad I got that cleared up early on in my dietary changes, otherwise I was only counting the of which sugars part as I thought that was the part of the carbs that would spike my blood sugar. Thanks for all the help, I feel so motivated after reading all the stories and getting all the correct information.
 
notmez said:
Diagnosed at 39 in July/Aug 22. I decided to go low carb and test my blood 4+ times per day to make sure I know what I was eating didn't cause high BG.

Lower than my normal carb intake but not really low carb and I also increased walking and exercise by doing another 15 min walk everyday, 15-45 at the weekend.

My blood test in Nov 22 had dropped from 80s to 40s.

1x 500mg Metformin and lower carb diet plus at least 1 mile walk per day is what I did.

Dec has been difficult to keep up with all the extra food and bad weather so less exercise but I'm getting back in to my new routine.

food. I didn't stop eating anything I still have crisps and cake but now I just have them less frequently. I went from crisps everyday to 2-4 per week. Stopped eating 2x toast for breakfast and switched to just 1 or most of the time 1 Weetabix which is still high in carbs but about half what I was normally having. That's what I did for all my meals. Still eat the same thing just reduced the carb part of it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information, it’s good to know that even smaller changes make such a difference as well. I used to have a can of full sugar coke every day which I stopped straightaway, and also a bar of chocolate or a handful of biscuits with my tea in the evening, on a daily basis. I’ve completely stopped this too as well as limiting my crisps to a couple a week like yourself. I’m now having low carb high protein options for my meals to help keep everything low. I’m planning to start exercising more from this week but it’s just difficult to find time with kids and their routine as well. I am hopeful that these changes will lower the hba1c level when i next get tested in March.
 
travellor said:
I did, but I took all the meds on offer first, I gave myself some breathing room while I decided the best way to achieve that.

In the end I did a low fat diet with the NHS dietician, then the 800 calorie shake based Newcastle diet to lose 5 stones, I didn't overly fuss over carbs.
Click to expand...
So you were on insulin and tablets while you decided? And what was your diet like while you were on meds? Was it normal or adjusted for sugar levels?
 
I didn't have insulin.
I was prescribed Metformin and sitagliptin initially.
I didn't count carbs, I went onto a low fat diet, we did make some changes to low GI foods though.
I tested with a meter, and found when I cut calories by default I was eating less of everything anyway.
Fat is twice as calorific as carbs and proteins, so it made sense it was to be limited the most.

My main focus was overall health, not solely BG control and I wanted to reverse my diabetes ultimately, low carb diet control for life wasn't going to work for my lifestyle.
 
If you previously had a high carb diet then is is kinder to reduce carbs gradually over a number of weeks rather than all at once as it is kinder on your eyes and nerves, it allows your body to adjust.
I had some problems with my eyes, everything close up out of focus and only by reading here did I realise it could happen if blood glucose dropped quickly. It does not happen to everyone so you may be fine but if it does then you know the possible reason.
 
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