Should have seen it coming!

[GBMAL]

Hi all. My grandmother and my mother both had what was once called "late onset type 2". So I should have taken more notice when they told me I was "pre". It came up in healthy heart tests a year ago, as I have had no symptoms to speak of.

So Hba1c is 54 taken after holiday summer! I was 12st 9lb, BMI 28 in mid October. I am now 12st 3lb after no particular diet, just eating less and no potatoes or white bread, beer or snacks.
I'm amazed how the weight has come off.

So I'm in the "processed" queue to see the diabetic nurse on 10th December. Like many I hope to manage this out of my life with diet and exercise. Perhaps a vane hope and I'll admit a reaction to the shock of yesterday's news which left me scared and believe it or not feeling ashamed.

Onward and upward.

Good luck to all of you dealing with this.
Graham.

 

[CathyB]

Hi Graham. Sounds like you are off to a good start so we’ll done on the weight loss so far 🙂 Remember that it is the carbohydrates that are the enemy so along with potatoes. Be careful with pasta, rice and bread, fruit also has a lot of natural sugar so limit how much you eat. All you need to know is here so do read back posts and ask any questions you might have.
Are you testing your bloods? This is a key part of the management as it tells you what foods work for you and what to avoid, ideally keep a food diary for a few weeks land track your meals to your blood results, you are looking at testing before your meal, then two hours later with a rise of no more than 2.

 

[Amigo]

Hi all. My grandmother and my mother both had what was once called "late onset type 2". So I should have taken more notice when they told me I was "pre". It came up in healthy heart tests a year ago, as I have had no symptoms to speak of.

So Hba1c is 54 taken after holiday summer! I was 12st 9lb, BMI 28 in mid October. I am now 12st 3lb after no particular diet, just eating less and no potatoes or white bread, beer or snacks.
I'm amazed how the weight has come off.

So I'm in the "processed" queue to see the diabetic nurse on 10th December. Like many I hope to manage this out of my life with diet and exercise. Perhaps a vane hope and I'll admit a reaction to the shock of yesterday's news which left me scared and believe it or not feeling ashamed.

Onward and upward.

Good luck to all of you dealing with this.
Graham.

I’d forget the feeling ashamed bit Graham although I fully understand what you mean. There’s clearly a familial disposition to type 2 as in my family and you’re hardly obese and sloth like! Don’t fall for the guilt trip but do keep doing what you are doing because it will pay dividends.
Sometimes we get a wake up call and it leads to positive health improvements.

I’ve never registered in diabetic range since dx in Feb ‘15. My Hba1c was 52 at diagnosis and I do it by diet alone. You’ll soon get into the swing of things and it can be done by diet and exercise alone. You show them! 😛

 

[GBMAL]

Hi Cathy,
Thanks for your encouraging reply.
Only got my diagnosis confirmed yesterday so no, I have not tested anything. I've just got round to thinking about testing but to be honest I'm still reeling a bit. I have been reading some of the posts and of course know about Tom Watson and Michael Moseley's stories. The latter of which I hope to emulate.
My simple first question is if I get down to 42 and hold it can/have I avoided lasting damage?
Am I worse of by having a hereditary element rather than a purely overweight cause?
I am classed as overweight but as a possible TOFI I'm wondering if the inner fat goes down at the same rate as the more visible stuff?
Cheers
Graham.

 

[GBMAL]

I’d forget the feeling ashamed bit Graham although I fully understand what you mean. There’s clearly a familial disposition to type 2 as in my family and you’re hardly obese and sloth like! Don’t fall for the guilt trip but do keep doing what you are doing because it will pay dividends.
Sometimes we get a wake up call and it leads to positive health improvements.

I’ve never registered in diabetic range since dx in Feb ‘15. My Hba1c was 52 at diagnosis and I do it by diet alone. You’ll soon get into the swing of things and it can be done by diet and exercise alone. You show them! 😛

Thanks also to you Amigo.
At only 2 below me I feel an end result like yours should be possible.
Another positive today, I bid on Moseley's diet books S/H on EBay! Must be worth reading.
Sadly I come from the meat and two veg era and losing potatoes will be a blow but one thing I do posess is determination fuelled by fear, hence my weight loss so far.
Luckily the support of a good wife is also to hand.
Thanks again. Feeling slightly less alone.
Graham.

 

[KARNAK]

Hi @GBMAL welcome to the forum 🙂.

Luckily the support of a good wife is also to hand.
Also the support of this forum, read and learn.

 

[GBMAL]

So here I am about 6 months down the line and am pleased to report some more progress.
Diagnosed: October 2018, HbA1c 54, BMI 28, 12st 9lb about 80kg

No medication. Controlled by diet. Eat less, drink less (no beer), minimise free sugars and minimise carbohydrate (potatoes, rice, pasta,white bread).

March 2019: HbA1c 47, BMI 26.7, 11st 7lb about 73kg
BP 120/80 (BP fallen as a consequence and 10pts off resting heart rate)
Total Cholesterol 4.0
HDL 1.8
LDL 1.8
Triglycerides 0.8

So am quite encouraged, not to say relieved as with a family history of Type 2 I was unsure of how much I could influence the future. I aim to get down to 70kg and now I better know (Excel geek) what I am doing I think i'll achieve that. The most obvious improvement I feel is a "levelling" of energy levels.

I posted this as an encouragement to others who have a family history and are wondering what the future might hold. Clearly then there is scope to moderate the condition if you can muster the determination.
I am continuing with no medication and will see the diabetic nurse again in August. I'll report back. Perhaps with an even lower Hb1Ac!

All the best,
Graham.

 

[Eddy Edson]

Well done!

Those cholesterol numbers look pretty nifty, as well as the good HbA1c.

 

[GBMAL]

Thanks Eddy, that's very kind.

A small correction to my previous statement to the house:

Although I don't take medication for Type 2, I do take 1 x 5mg Amlodipine and 1 x Atorvastatin a day which were previously prescribed for slightly high blood pressure and "because of my age" which at 66 the Doc reckoned was about all I could do about a previous cholesterol of 5.
I'm hoping to perhaps revisit these requirements as things progress.
Graham.

 

[Drummer]

Good going - you could see normal before long - which is distinctly pleasing, I can tell you.
I know quite a few people rebelling against statins as the more data collected, the less beneficial they appear to be, as cholesterol is looking like a case of mistaken identity.

 

[Eddy Edson]

I know quite a few people rebelling against statins as the more data collected, the less beneficial they appear to be, as cholesterol is looking like a case of mistaken identity.

Nonsense; that's just Internet woo. The number of studies confirming the links between LDL cholesterol and CV events continues to mount, with the most recent tending to confirm that there is no lower limit to the ideal LDL level; and the safety and effectiveness of statins in reducing LDL have been confirmed in multitudes of studies over the years.

 

[stephknits]

great results and thanks for posting your encouraging story. Good to see the effort and changes making a difference. 🙂

 

[GBMAL]

So here I now10 months down the line and am pleased to report a little more progress. HbA1c further lowered and some improvements in Cholesterol:
August 2019: HbA1c 45, BMI 25.8, 72kg
BP 125/75
Total Cholesterol 3.6
HDL 1.7
LDL 1.6
Triglycerides 0.7

My weight has stayed pretty much constant since March so I was interested that A1c has fallen still further. I am trying to operate within a reasonable lifestyle not a regime.
Interestingly, my brother who is 4yrs my junior has just stepped on to the graph with an Hb1Ac of 43, exactly where I was at his age. He has lost a stone and his weight has plateaued at 75kg, but he is 2" taller than me!🙂
So we are both following a near identical track which is proving to be a bit more predictable than I had thought. We've formed a family mutual support unit.😉

Again, I post this to encourage those "with it in the family" to believe that nothing is inevitable and you can still do something about it.

All the best.
Graham.

(Diagnosed: October 2018, HbA1c 54, BMI 28, 12st 9lb about 80kg
No medication. Controlled by diet. Eat less, drink less (no beer), minimise free sugars and minimise carbohydrate (potatoes, rice, pasta,white bread).
March 2019: HbA1c 47, BMI 26.7, 11st 7lb about 73kg
BP 120/80 (BP fallen as a consequence and 10pts off resting heart rate)
Total Cholesterol 4.0
HDL 1.8
LDL 1.8
Triglycerides 0.8)​

 

[Stan78]

Well done Graham. Thank you for posting on my thread and pointing me to yours.

You’re an inspiration and I now know I can reduce my levels without any medications.

Thanks again and keep up the good work.

 

[GBMAL]

Well done Graham. Thank you for posting on my thread and pointing me to yours.

You’re an inspiration and I now know I can reduce my levels without any medications.

Thanks again and keep up the good work.

Thanks Stan. I'm 66 and I think this is the first time I've ever been called an inspiration!
You have not given details of your weight or BMI as far as I can see but you'll find much good advice on this forum as to what to eat etc. I'd tend to agree with most things I read on it as they all seem to know more than me.
One thing I would say is (IMHO) if you are at 54 (and 50 or below used to be classified as excellent control) then you are not far on to the naughty step. As such I would not rush in to buying a meter for instantaneous tests at this early stage as the strips are expensive I believe and you might frighten yourself still further unnecessarily. Better to go through a couple of red cell cycles and see where you land. If you have been referred to a diabetic nurse this is what you may have been told anyway.
Good luck.
I look forward to seeing your results.
Graham.

 

[Stan78]

My weight was about 12st 3lb when diagnosed with 53 levels in July and have reduced to 11st 7lb since. Not sure about BMI but will be over I assume.

 

[GBMAL]

Snap....well nearly. I was 12st 9lb last October and am now 11st 6lb. At 5ft 6in that puts my BMI at about 26. 1 above NHS max.
I just need to be taller.
Anyway, whether or not you have a familial disposition to T2 or not you should be able to tame it given what you've achieved so far.
I see we need to get to HbA1c of 31 to ascend into heaven. (Well not literally of course).
See you there.
Graham.

 

[Stan78]

Must be short people thing...lol. I’m same height too. You’ve done great. I’m 41 and should be better.

Staying positive though and will keep going.

 

[Felinia]

Good going - you could see normal before long - which is distinctly pleasing, I can tell you.
I know quite a few people rebelling against statins as the more data collected, the less beneficial they appear to be, as cholesterol is looking like a case of mistaken identity.

Not sure when this posted but I have strong views on statins. At 60 with a total cholesterol of 5.4 I was put on simvastatin. At the time I was fit, newly retired and active. 9 months later my total cholesterol was 3.2, I was bloated, pain wracked, swollen feet, ankles, calves, creeping rash on my legs and middle, exhausted, depressed and worst of all totally faecally incontinent. I could just about stumble out with the rubbish, holding on to something, and was living in incontinence pads and constantly washing clothes and self. When I told the nurse I didn't want to live like this, and described my symptoms, I was immediately taken off them. It was one of the most severe reactions they had seen and took over a month before the symptoms started to subside. 6 months later I was "persuaded" to try a different statin "for my own good" and within 4 days the symptoms started to return. I stopped immediately and it was 9 months in total before I felt my normal self again. Mine was an extreme case but virtually everyone I have spoken to who have been given statins reported side effects. My friend suffered confusion, dizziness and memory loss within 48 hours of her first pill. She was scared, phoned the GP and told to stop taking them IMMEDIATELY. Now at 69 and newly diagnosed with Type 2 I am told I have to reduce my cholesterol, which is back up. A daily Benecol has reduced my total cholesterol a bit, and I am going to explore alternative medications with my GP. There were other cholesterol medications before statins, and I am hoping one will suit me. I am very much against people being given statins just "because of their age". Great for people who have medical problems and can take them without severe side effects. Sorry for the rant!

 

[Drummer]

I think that more publicity ought to be given to adverse statin reaction - I had memory lsos taking Metformin and Atorvastatin, and only because I had begun to make a record of all my songs was I able to recover them - at least, most of them, and I keep remembering more now, over two and a half years after stopping taking them. I doubt that I will ever get them exactly right ever again, but at least they are being sung again.