Newly Diagnosed - goals and hopes

[tsmatt]

Hi there, 55 yr old male here newly diagnosed with an Hba1c of 57 on 12/12/23 which lowered to 53, 10 days later on 22/12/23 thanks to low carb diet and intermittent fasting, basically missing breakfast.

I've been finding it a bit scary and confusing as I take rispiridone for bipolar which can contribute to D. so would like to lower that. Also take sodium vaproate but not concerned about that.

Also my cholesterol is high and GP has started me on statins about 10 days ago although I understand that they can raise blood sugar. I have stopped the statins now due to nausea and diarrhoea and talking to the pharmacist on 2/1/24 where hopefully things can be joined up a bit and a plan agreed. Difficult to see anyone face to face which is frustrating and phone calls with the health team are often unscheduled so I can be out and about which isn't ideal.

I'm aiming to bring my hba1c down significantly within a couple of months, reduce my cholesterol naturally and cut my rispiridone. Hopefully the pharmacist will agree to an hba1c & cholesterol test every three months and let me get on with it without meds for the raised sugar.

I've been prediabetic for a while now but have been overdoing it with carbs for the last few months.

Would appreciate comments and support. I've been enjoying Dr David Unwin on YouTube, who seems sound.

 

[DiabloT2]

Hello @tsmatt - I think you've certainly made some good steps by low carbing and intermittent fasting - I did the same and reduced my HBA1c significantly over a period of months.

One thing I found very helpful was getting a blood glucose monitor and testing my BG both before and then 2 hrs after a meal (later I changed to 1.5 hrs, but mostly I think folks choose 2 hrs). This gives an indication of how much a meal affects your BG and ideally meals should not raise BG readings by too much more than 2.0-2.5. While the monitors are not overly precise (+/- 15% tolerance on readings) over time you get too see what impacts you. Also, I found it quite motivational as I could see the progress I was making. I funded my own BG monitor as my diabetes consultant said I don't need one because I was not at risk of hypos - while that is true for a type 2 who is not on BG lowering medication it ignored the purpose for which I was using the BG monitor. For me the investment was worth it - the monitors are relatively cheap but the testing strips are the greater cost over time.

 

[Leadinglights]

If getting a monitor is something you think would be useful to you as it is for many then Amazon have a good deal for the GlucoNavii where you get a monitor, 100 strips and 100 lancets (as many reuse then they would last a good while).

 

[Drummer]

I could not stand taking the tablets, Atorvastatin and Metformin, as they affected me quite badly. After 6 months of low carb I was at the top end of normal, which for me was a big reduction. My cholesterol was considered high, but as I was losing loads of weight that was normal - something which seems to be overlooked rather a lot.
These days, at an almost stable weight my cholesterol has reduced even though I eat fatty foods - but as I often point out to the nurses at the clinic, cholesterol is not a fat, it is a sterol and it is also an essential part not just of our diet but our bodies and the chemistry to run them.

 

[tsmatt]

Appreciate the responses @Drummer @Leadinglights @DiabloT2 - it seems that people find ways of personalising their management to stay in control and even make it a positive experience which is inspiring. I guess that's what I'm hoping to achieve with the 3 monthly blood test and I'm already planning a spreadsheet so I can monitor the results. I'll definitely consider the glucose reader by the way, and thanks for that tip; might be useful when I reintroduce carbs.

A couple of things I've been thinking about:

With carbs, I'm thinking that I should avoid them like a recovering alcoholic should avoid any alcohol. Avoid at all costs. A bit extreme, maybe, but I'm finding that a helpful way of thinking at the moment.

Also, is there any irreversible harm done once you go over the 48 hba1c reading and are put in the category of being diabetic. I find it a bit dramatic that you get this scary label when it is possible to reverse the readings back down to safe levels. I'm curious as to how other people view the label.

I'm not alcoholic, by the way, just find there are interesting comparisons.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Leadinglights]

It is virtually impossible to avoid all carbs and probably not a sensible or sustainable way of eating. But keeping at a low level of carbs with protein and healthy fats can become a new normal way of eating. Having a monitor will guide you on what that amount is for you. Otherwise you are driving 'blind' as people are very individual in their tolerance of carbs, some people can manage 20g carb portion of bread but not pasta or rice and others it will be the other way round.
*

 

[harbottle]

Sounds like a good start. My hba1c was 83 and I got it down to 36 in 3 months.
I used the advice by Dr Unwin (In the recipe books he wrote the preface for.)

I occasionally drink beer, wine and spirits. Beer is high in carbs, but it doesn't seem to affect me. (There is some other side effect from alcohol.)

As for harm: once into the diabetic range, possibly earlier, it's been seen that some of the pancreatic beta cells are either not working or have died. In some people they can recover and start working again with weight loss (As seen in the Newcastle study and a few others around the world.). If enough are working it's possible to keep levels within normal with diet and exercise. It's been seen there's a relationship with hba1c level and the amount of beta-cell dsyfunction.

I don't avoid all carbs, I still eat vegetables, legumes & small portions of potato, usually when I know I am going to be doing a lot of exercise. I totally avoid the usual suspects: rice, bread, oats, pasta, sugar, etc. As I have young kids all this stuff is around the house, but I don't have a problem ignoring it.

 

[Drummer]

Appreciate the responses @Drummer @Leadinglights @DiabloT2 - it seems that people find ways of personalising their management to stay in control and even make it a positive experience which is inspiring. I guess that's what I'm hoping to achieve with the 3 monthly blood test and I'm already planning a spreadsheet so I can monitor the results. I'll definitely consider the glucose reader by the way, and thanks for that tip; might be useful when I reintroduce carbs.

A couple of things I've been thinking about:

With carbs, I'm thinking that I should avoid them like a recovering alcoholic should avoid any alcohol. Avoid at all costs. A bit extreme, maybe, but I'm finding that a helpful way of thinking at the moment.

Also, is there any irreversible harm done once you go over the 48 hba1c reading and are put in the category of being diabetic. I find it a bit dramatic that you get this scary label when it is possible to reverse the readings back down to safe levels. I'm curious as to how other people view the label.

I'm not alcoholic, by the way, just find there are interesting comparisons.

Thanks for your time.

Personally I avoid the high carb foods simply so I have the option of having a stir fry, salad or whatever with a meal - for my first meal of the day I only have a few carbs as that is when I have most difficulty dealing with them, but if I eat something with no carbs my blood glucose goes on rising.
I started off eating no more than 50gm of carbs a day as I knew how to eat like that from my time doing Atkins. If I'd stuck to that I think I would never have gone into the diabetic range, but GPs and nurses were adamant that it was a bad thing to feel so well and healthy.
These days I am 7 years from diagnosis and I could eat more carbs, but I can't see any reason to do so on a regular basis. I did have two Yorkshire puddings on Christmas day, but I know that is not a problem after all the other days of eating low carb. What I didn't do was eat potatoes or anything else high carb.
I think that being diabetic is very different from being alcoholic, as carbs are not addictive in the same way - not to me, anyway, and many people discover their tolerance to carbs and manage them with little difficulty, even overindulging from time to time and next day they are eating steak and mushrooms and getting back on track.