Retired and New to Type 2

[PluckyPen]

Hello! I am newly diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I guess I am lucky to have got so far without having to restrict my sugar intake. I feel really daft that I had not thought of carbohydrates as sugar although I diligently avoided cake and biscuits. I have lost 3 stone over the past 18 months in an effort to control the blood sugar without medication but my blood sugar won't play along so it looks as though I shall have to take Metformin. I am a bit anxious about that.

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi @PluckyPen , welcome to the forum. How did you come to be diagnosed? Do you know what your HbA1c is?

 

[PluckyPen]

Hi Pine Marten! My diabetes diagnosis came as a surprise when I had a routine blood test regarding high blood pressure. In Feb 2020 my HbA1c was 82mmol but I managed to lower it to 50 with diet. My latest HbA1c showed blood sugar level to be 7.2%. My DN said that she would give me another 3 months to see if a regular aerobics class could make a difference but, sadly, COVID has made that impossible.

 

[PluckyPen]

I was much encouraged by you comments. I thought I'd be on Metformin for ever once I had started it but it looks as though that may not be the case.

 

[Vonny]

Hi @PluckyPen. Although you can't do aerobics due to lockdown, do you walk? I walk (very briskly) between 4 and 7 miles per day which has helped shift my weight as well as coming off the carbs. You are very lucky that your GP let you try to reduce your hba1c with diet alone. I started out at 76 and the doctor insisted I went straight onto metformin. Seems to be a bit of a lottery postcode how your diabetes is treated. I'm hopeful that my GP will now let me come off metformin if my latest bloods done last week are showing the same as last time, ie 37.

If you do have to go onto metformin, you may be fine. Many people on here can't tolerate them but after the first couple of weeks of "metformin tummy" it settled down for me. There is a slow releases version as well which some people find better.

You've done really well so far though, and I hope the GP gives credit for that and lets you keep managing it by diet for longer.

Best wishes

 

[Pine Marten]

Hi Pine Marten! My diabetes diagnosis came as a surprise when I had a routine blood test regarding high blood pressure. In Feb 2020 my HbA1c was 82mmol but I managed to lower it to 50 with diet. My latest HbA1c showed blood sugar level to be 7.2%. My DN said that she would give me another 3 months to see if a regular aerobics class could make a difference but, sadly, COVID has made that impossible.

Yes, mine was through a routine blood test too. Well done on getting the numbers down - it shows what can be achieved! Your DN sounds on the ball too, and that's very good as it makes all the difference to have support.

I was taking Metformin for a while before stopping on my GP's advice because my control was good. It's hard work but worth it in the end. I think you've made a good start 🙂

 

[PluckyPen]

Hi Vonny. Yes, I walk for at least an hour a day (4 - 5 miles) - well squelch is more like it at the moment! My husband comes with me and the walk is definitely brisk as he does nothing slowly! I also do Zoom yoga twice a week. I now weigh 9st 3lbs and was warned that I may lose more weight whilst on Metformin. Thank you for sharing your experience. I thought that if my blood sugar had not lowered, I would give it a try for a month so that I get through the "metformin tummy" effect. My diabetic nurse said that she would prescribe the slow release version so maybe it will be OK. She felt that I should take it to protect my heart. Your comments have been very helpful and encouraging.

You've done brilliantly though with your weight loss. Like you, I am resisting statins for cholesterol. I am, at long last, happy with my body shape and I am looking forward to shopping for something that fits me!

Best wishes.

 

[PluckyPen]

Yes, mine was through a routine blood test too. Well done on getting the numbers down - it shows what can be achieved! Your DN sounds on the ball too, and that's very good as it makes all the difference to have support.

I was taking Metformin for a while before stopping on my GP's advice because my control was good. It's hard work but worth it in the end. I think you've made a good start 🙂

Hi Pine Marten, I am very lucky that my DN comes from a diabetic family (type 2) and has a keen interest in diabetes. It is good to see that once you start taking Metformin, you are not doomed to have to take it forever.

Well done on getting into remission. You have done so well. I hope that I can follow your shining example!🙂

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Welcome to the forum @PluckyPen, and congratulations on your progress so far.

Hopefully with a little more moderation of starchy carbs as well as the sugary stuff you have cut out, your body will be able to cope better with your meals.

Hope ‘Metfartin’ works well for you if you are recommended to start on it. It provides valuable BG management support to many members here, and may be useful to you for a period of time or as a longer term part of your diabetes toolkit. I completely understand the desire to be able to do without, and in a sense I think T1s are lucky because we *have* to accept medication so there is never any suspicion or the vaguest hint of blame or stigma in taking it. Exactly the same should be the case for T2s. If your body needs support from medication, then it needs support - it’s not something you’ve done deliberately!

 

[PluckyPen]

You are so right, Mike! I do feel that I have brought this upon myself because of bad eating habits but my sluggish pancreas doesn't help. There are so many books which say that you can "reverse" T2 diabetes but it seems that I shall need a little help in doing that. The extra 3 months I have been given by my DN are helping me to accept the medication and to prepare myself for taking it.

I am so glad that I have joined this forum as members have been so encouraging and supportive. I have found the good advice and humour very helpful. Thank you.

 

[adrian1der]

Hi @PluckyPen
A combination of lower carbs, exercise and weight loss can help. I was started on Metformin at diagnosis and the GP recently agreed I could stop taking it

 

[PluckyPen]

Hi @PluckyPen
A combination of lower carbs, exercise and weight loss can help. I was started on Metformin at diagnosis and the GP recently agreed I could stop taking it

Thanks Adrian1der. I have cut refined sugar, bread, rice, pasta and potatoes from my diet and lost 3 stone. I do yoga twice a week and I take a brisk 4 mile+ walk every day. I also did aerobics until COVID put a stop to that. So that started off OK and did lower the blood sugar to a degree but not enough. I do feel a lot better for being fitter and for losing the weight. I shall continue with the diet and I hope that the Metformin will gee up my sluggish pancreas so that eventually I can stop taking it.

Well done on your spectacular weight loss.

 

[trophywench]

Err - Metformin doesn't do what you say - it works in a different way entirely!

Thing is, many T2s actually still produce shedloads of insulin themselves - but their body has built up a resistance to using it efficiently - and excess weight, esp the fat you can't see around internal organs, exacerbates this resistance. Metformin tries to reduce this resistance. Also the liver stores some excess glucose within itself which it can release into our bloodstream when the body needs it - and metformin dampens down this release action.

So it is helpful !

 

[PluckyPen]

Very helpful. Thank you. As you can see, I am relatively new to all this.