Not sure where to put this... 6 months of changes

[Gwynn]

I thought a quick summary of the main changes over the last 6 months might be interesting. This thought all started because I had a shower but afterwards, when I put on a clean shirt, the sleeves were longer than my arms and hands! No hands!!!

Anyway,

Fascinating new results ...

Original waist mesurement 48 inches ( at diagnosis)
Todays waist measurement 37 inches

Original neck measurement 22 inches
Todays neck measurement 15 1/2 inches

Fat under chin, gone. Jowls almost gone. Puffy face, now chiselled super hero... er no, just not puffy anymore.

Socks and shoes all now very loose. They were very tight before.

Odd one this (as mentioned above): shirt sleeves are now so much too long that my hands have vanished !
Shirt sleeves used to be so tight, now they ride up my arms losely whilst being fastened.

I used to have to wear a belt and braces to keep my trowsers up. Now I have moved back at least 2 gererations/wardrobes (ie smaller pairs from a long time ago) and I need neither belt nor braces.

Ok the weight bit, lost 32 Kg. Imagine carrying that around all day, every day. No wonder I was so exhausted. And my back and knees used to hurt constantly. Now, no pain at all.

All the diabetic symptoms (which really were quite severe) have completely gone. Which ones am I most pleased to be rid of? The thirst. The constant emergency trips to the loo. The itching. The tiredness. The craving for sweet stuff. The aching bones, You name it.

All this has done nothing to bring back my hair though !!

Do I look dishevelled? No. Do I look older (and wiser)? No, I look much younger, but no wiser sadly. Am I tired all the time? Quite the reverse.

To be honest and blunt, looking back I feel utterly ashamed and beyond stupid, however, not any more, looking forwards. The future is brighter, healthier, holds so much more... and all done with a well controlled low carb diet, which I only began to understand properly through this forum/web site. Ok, and a tiny bit of light exercise.

I would post before and after photos but I don't want to turn this into a horror show 🙂

 

[Deleted member 25429]

Congratulations massive achievement

 

[Lucyr]

Wow is all that in 6 months? That’s incredible well done

 

[Deleted member 21371]

Amazing result!!
Congratulations.

(I can explain the shirts, been there, so not being rude, you should be a lot narrower all over, neck, shoulders, arms, so the shoulders are probably hallway down your arms now, the elbows are chasing your wrists........)

Great going. 🙂

 

[goodybags]

Well done @Gwynn
reading your post was quite surprising just how well you’ve done in just 6 months !
Ive lost 28 KG but taken nine months so longer than you.
feeling good today as just one more KG to loose then my BMI will be under 30
then I’m officially no longer classified as obese.

like many of us this forum has helped so much, through the right advice
seeing others get diabetes into remission shows how it can be done.

we’re all different but generally a much lower carb diet (along with cutting out the obvious sugars as well as some of the less obvious ones) and a bit more exercise is the key, I’ve not done so much exercise due to arthritis in my ankle.

I’ve kept just one of my fat man suits, but most of my old oversized clothes
I have sold on ebay, gone to charity or been weighed in at the clothes buying cabin.
if I’ve got nothing to wear, I won’t be able to get fat again.

 

[Leadinglights]

Well done @Gwynn
reading your post was quite surprising just how well you’ve done in just 6 months !
Ive lost 28 KG but taken nine months so longer than you.
feeling good today as just one more KG to loose then my BMI will be under 30
then I’m officially no longer classified as obese.

like many of us this forum has helped so much, through the right advice
seeing others get diabetes into remission shows how it can be done.

we’re all different but generally a much lower carb diet (along with cutting out the obvious sugars as well as some of the less obvious ones) and a bit more exercise is the key, I’ve not done so much exercise due to arthritis in my ankle.

I’ve kept just one of my fat man suits, but most of my old oversized clothes
I have sold on ebay, gone to charity or been weighed in at the clothes buying cabin.
if I’ve got nothing to wear, I won’t be able to get fat again.

That was a tip somebody told me years ago, take the stuff that is now too big to the charity shop.
Buying new stuff is not as easy as it sounds without trying on as ones shape changes as well.
My OH has lost weight (not diabetic but wanted to loose some) and has gone down 2 sizes in trousers and all his shirts are now massive.
I still have more weight to loose so don't want to buy new stuff just yet so am moving buttons to stop things falling down. The problem is things are baggy on the legs.

 

[Grannylorraine]

Well done to you, that is a massive achievement, and you are quite right to be proud. This is such an inspiration for me, if you are comfortable posting before and after pics, then please do so.

 

[mage 1]

Well done

 

[Gwynn]

Actually I am hoping that others will share their success and surprises too.

 

[Gwynn]

Ohhh no. No pics. On the internet for all time? Aghhhh!!!!

Oh ok, just one reasonable one recently taken. The picture behind me is one I created for a competition. It got an award and was published somewhere too.

 

[Christy]

Lovely results @Gwynn and lovely photo of you too! You have a great attitude and sometimes that's half the battle....never give up...😉

 

[Gwynn]

Just to satisfy any curiosity here's a picture of me from a while back that I put up at work. The attention it received was incredible...

Ok, it wasn't real. Well, not in the real world, but in my imagination it was. My mind was always up in the stars. Still is.

The sad thing was people believed it was real and gave me kudos (?) Because of that. Sigh

Attitude: a very interesting point. I have always been a positive, can do, will do, sort of person. Sadly my other half can be equally negative. I think its called 'balance'. I have always believed that thinking 'I can do that' is half the battle. The rest is pure - slog learning how to actually do it and doing the hard work of doing it.

Diabetes is a good example and not guaranteed success for everyone, but without really really trying I would never know - for me. And the rewards, if the struggle and effort pay off, are definitely worth it. Of course, the trouble is, the body doesn't always do what we want, so disappointment can set in at any stage. As they say, 'no harm in trying'. And trying. And trying.

Never give up. Never surrender. Even in the face of overwhelming odds, critics all around us ( and we can be the worst ourselves), and complete confusion.

When I set out to learn to play the pipe organ I really did not know how to play one. The learning curve was very steep. The muscle memory and brain memory had to be built up. The initial stages were a bit of a mess. But the belief that 'I could surely do it' kept me going. Not the immediate utter failures or the intermediate faltering music/noise. The end result, in short order, was that I ended up playing at the church services. More importantly I spent many wonderful hours enjoying playing and composing.

I see my diabetes in a similar way. At the start I had no clue, only confusion and negative feed from those around me. In their eyes the game was already over and I had lost. But here on this forum I saw that remission could be possible. So I learned as much as I could and set about trying for some level of success. Tripped up many times. Saw gradual and then increasing success. Some blips along the way. Still 'driving'. I know I will be 'driving my diabetes' for life. So its not about having to put up with it, but learning to live with it as comfortably as I can and even enjoying any new health benefits along the way.

Ohhh, its easy for me...

No, its not. Its hard for every one and for some it is sadly very hard. But we can make things easier or harder. Trouble is, it IS, or appears to be, the hardest right at the start, or when we trip up along the way.

It could have been so different for me. I could have tried things and everything that I tried might have failed. So easy to become despairing, lost, angry even. I never became an astronaught. Life is not fair. Rats!

If you belive you can 'do it' then maybe, just maybe, you will be able to, or at least gain some measure of success. Even if no one else cares.

I aim for the stars. Somwehere in my mind I reach them.

Nearly breakfast time. Hmmm. Great. Then off to the beach. Hmmm. Great.

Then, who knows...

 

[eggyg]

Well done @Gwynn. That is some achievement. It just goes to show what you can do with the correct mindset.
I hope this will encourage others who may be struggling.
Fab photos BTW. 🙂

My achievements aren’t anything to do with weight loss or getting my Hba1c down, although I have done both, but on a smaller scale. For the last twenty years, in fact the 26th of this month is my “ anniversary” of when the whole sorry saga started, I’ve had, what I euphemistically call, health issues, starting with an acute pancreatitis attack on the above date. I was 41 with a young family. It came out of the blue. I had gall stones apparently and they caused the attack. I spent 6 weeks in hospital, very poorly, had an emergency gall bladder removal, pancreatic psudocysts drained and lost three stone. Was off work for four months. Returned on a phased return, got on with my life for another six years, and then I had another acute pancreatitis attack. Long story short, tumour on pancreas, spent Christmas and New Year in hospital after having most of it surgically removed along with my spleen. Not a pleasant time, but my tumour was pre cancerous and no chemo was required. Yet another four months off work. That was 13.5 years ago and the results of my surgery have produced other health issues. Diabetes of course, permanent partially obstruction of my small intestine, gastric dumping syndrome and I take a shedload of tablets as well as five shots ( min) of insulin everyday. But you know what? None of this has stopped me living my life. I travel, when able, all over the world. I climb fells and walk for miles. I look after my five grandchildren. Life isn’t as spontaneous as it was but I won’t let my “ health conditions” ever stop me trying to do what I want to do. At 61, I feel fitter than I ever did. I could have curled up and wallowed in my “misfortunes” but what good would that do? A can do attitude is the most important thing anyone can have in my opinion.

Hope I haven’t bored everyone! You asked for our success stories so I thought I would share as I hope our successes ultimately help people.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Amazing Gwynn! What an achievement!

 

[Gwynn]

Wow eggyg great inspiring stuff. Thanks

 

[Ditto]

I need to print that off and put it on my fridge! Wow. The neck measurement alone. Fabulous results.

Wonderful photographs. 🙂 Well done @Gwynn

 

[Gwynn]

One of the things I found difficult along the way was getting the diabetic nurse to understand my data. It wasn't her fault. The long list of numbers was hopeless. The line graph was better but still not brilliant. Her attention span was minimal and explanations were pointless. She had moments to decide if all was well or not so some sort of clearer representation of the data was needed. I felt this to be very important as the last thing I wanted was for her to make decisions based on any muddling data I may have presented.

Incidentally the health and meal contents graphs went down well.

So I have come up with the obvious. Obvious in hindsight. A scatter graph of the last 3 months early evening blood tests. It turns out that the scatter graph is clearer 5han the line graph.

These particular tests are very relevant because 2 hour prior to each test I eat some 'elemental' food. A test of my tolerance to the carb content of that food.

I have not yet shown the new scatter graph to the diabetic nurse but I find it so much clearer than anything else right now. I can focus right in on any annomalies (of which there seem to be none). Together with the line graph I should win through. The list of numbers gets ditched in the review !!!

So below is the new scatter graph. What do you think?

 

[Deleted member 21371]

One of the things I found difficult along the way was getting the diabetic nurse to understand my data. It wasn't her fault. The long list of numbers was hopeless. The line graph was better but still not brilliant. Her attention span was minimal and explanations were pointless. She had moments to decide if all was well or not so some sort of clearer representation of the data was needed. I felt this to be very important as the last thing I wanted was for her to make decisions based on any muddling data I may have presented.

Incidentally the health and meal contents graphs went down well.

So I have come up with the obvious. Obvious in hindsight. A scatter graph of the last 3 months early evening blood tests. It turns out that the scatter graph is clearer 5han the line graph.

These particular tests are very relevant because 2 hour prior to each test I eat some 'elemental' food. A test of my tolerance to the carb content of that food.

I have not yet shown the new scatter graph to the diabetic nurse but I find it so much clearer than anything else right now. I can focus right in on any annomalies (of which there seem to be none). Together with the line graph I should win through. The list of numbers gets ditched in the review !!!

So below is the new scatter graph. What do you think?

The nurse will listen to what you say, but she'll mostly make decisions based on how your blood tests are, and how you present, with no diabetic complications normally.
It's nothing personal, most diabetics aren't really that interested in themselves, many "misrepresent" themselves for various reasons, appointments are short, there are many reasons why the nurse will get you in and out, but having said that they are much more helpful if they think you are taking an interest in yourself.

 

[Welshie]

I was diagnosed late jan/early feb with a reading of 68, was given metformin and more or less told “take these and lose weight” so four months (meant to be three) reading is now 42 and I’ve shed just off 42k
Still suffering explosive diarrhoea, so giving me gentler ones. I was under the impression that once my readings reached a lower ( under 38) I could stop taking these damn tablets, apparently not, seems I’m stuck with them forever

 

[Loobyloo]

I was diagnosed late jan/early feb with a reading of 68, was given metformin and more or less told “take these and lose weight” so four months (meant to be three) reading is now 42 and I’ve shed just off 42k
Still suffering explosive diarrhoea, so giving me gentler ones. I was under the impression that once my readings reached a lower ( under 38) I could stop taking these damn tablets, apparently not, seems I’m stuck with them forever

I can't see you will be stuck on them forever especially if your Hba1c drops any further. I had same problems as you and went on Slow release metformin which was slightly better and eventually after maybe 6 months not so bad. But now my BG has dropped i have halved my meds and if i manage to keep low levels can cut again with view to eventually stopping.
Why do you think you will have to take forever? Has someone mentioned that to you?
Oh and well done on the weight loss. 42kg in 4 months is staggering!