Type 2 path to remission

[julieashf]

Hi I've signed up with my Dr for this , I start on 5th Jan I'm not excited to start as I think its very hard but I'm very willing , as any one got any advice or anyone got any tips? ..I don't know much about it really.thank you for reading. Julie

 

[indio02]

What is it in practical terms that you've signed up for?

 

[Martin.A]

What is it in practical terms that you've signed up for?

Sounds like it's this............

NHS England » NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme

The NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme is a joint initiative between NHS England and Diabetes UK available to eligible people in England. This programme provides a low calorie, total diet replacement treatment for people who are living with type 2 diabetes and obesity or overweight...

www.england.nhs.uk

 

[childofthesea43]

Hi I've signed up with my Dr for this , I start on 5th Jan I'm not excited to start as I think its very hard but I'm very willing , as any one got any advice or anyone got any tips? ..I don't know much about it really.thank you for reading. Julie

It will be hard and many of us have taken gentler routes to remission, but give it your best shot and take heart from knowing that within just a week highly beneficial improvements will have taken place inside you, even if invisibly.

 

[Martin.A]

It will be hard and many of us have taken gentler routes to remission, but give it your best shot and take heart from knowing that within just a week highly beneficial improvements will have taken place inside you, even if invisibly.

I'll echo that.

We have a similar daily regime, although I also do 20 lengths of our local pool twice a week, and like you I tried pushing beyond 130g per day for a while. However, after my next HbA1c returned 41 (up from 38) I backed off. Next two were 40 and 41, so after three in a row at that level I seem to be settled there at the moment.

 

[julieashf]

Yes that's the one ... its from diabetes uk and the NHS I believe

 

[Drummer]

I went back from full blown diabetes to a HbA1c of 41 in 6 months without doing anything but eating low carb - it was so easy I was actually shocked by the result - I have gone up to 43 now - it is probably my age (first time I have agreed with that observation) even though I had had elevated blood glucose 10 years earlier and not told about it.
To my way of thinking the NHS does seem to try to do things the hard way when it comes to type 2.

 

[childofthesea43]

I went back from full blown diabetes to a HbA1c of 41 in 6 months without doing anything but eating low carb - it was so easy I was actually shocked by the result - I have gone up to 43 now - it is probably my age (first time I have agreed with that observation) even though I had had elevated blood glucose 10 years earlier and not told about it.
To my way of thinking the NHS does seem to try to do things the hard way when it comes to type 2.

The NHS approach here is to emulate the Direct trial in which remission was targeted by weight loss with no explicit consideration given to carbs. Low-Carbing Is not mentioned in that trial’s extensive literature and so the NHS has no incentive to factor it in.

 

[harbottle]

The NHS approach here is to emulate the Direct trial in which remission was targeted by weight loss with no explicit consideration given to carbs. Low-Carbing Is not mentioned in that trial’s extensive literature and so the NHS has no incentive to factor it in.

They may not mention it, but the diet they used is a pretty low carb shake based diet with advice to avoid a lot of high carb ingredients and use things like Konjac noodles and celeriac and to avoid fruit in the early stages - and focus more on good fats and protein plus non-starchy vegetables later on. They also recommend limiting milk as well.

 

[childofthesea43]

They may not mention it, but the diet they used is a pretty low carb shake based diet with advice to avoid a lot of high carb ingredients and use things like Konjac noodles and celeriac and to avoid fruit in the early stages - and focus more on good fats and protein plus non-starchy vegetables later on. They also recommend limiting milk as well.

The lowered carbs in the shakes would have played a role but lowered cals probably a bigger one. However that may be, the trial participants who attained remission and maintained that in the years after coming off the soups/shakes all did so by eating more modestly than before the trial and not a single one of them adopted a low carb regimen in that post-soups/skakes period - it was unnecessary because their first-phase response had fully recovered and their livers were no longer insulin-resistant.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Yes that's the one ... its from diabetes uk and the NHS I believe

Good luck with it @julieashf

We have had a few on the forum who have successfully used the Newcastle / Soup and Shake diet. Some have documented their experiences on various threads like this one:

NHS Low Calorie Diet - Type 2 Remission Programme - Oviva (aka Newcastle)

Hi All, 25/08/2021 - Link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/treatment-care/low-calorie-diets/ - Includes links at the bottom to DiRECT Year 1, DiRECT Year 2 & DROPLET Trials ;) 25/08/2021 - Link: https://oviva.com/uk/en/programme/diabetes-remission/#join - This explains the programme...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

There are others from other members, some of which have also been gathered into the remission section.

Let us know how you get on with it! We are rooting for you

 

[Deb_l]

My diabetes nurse offered me a soup and shake plan but it’s not for me. I like food way too much to restrict myself to that level.

Daft question but are you going to make any dietary changes between now and starting the course? You could make quite a few significant changes over the next couple of months.

Good luck.

 

[indio02]

To my way of thinking the NHS does seem to try to do things the hard way when it comes to type 2.

I suspect that part of this is that they send people the food rather than trusting them to eat the right things.

 

[Jackiejh]

Hi all, haven't been on here for a long time!! I followed low carb diet and was finally taken off my metformin 2 weeks ago. I was on 1 tablet a day (from 4 initially) and my levels have been below 40 for over a year. I have been told I have to instigate having bloods taken every 6 months and if they start rising, then they may have to put me back on tablets - but for now all good!! I do test every few days in the morning and range from 5.2 - 7.1. Will stick to low carb if it is working!!

 

[Drummer]

Hi all, haven't been on here for a long time!! I followed low carb diet and was finally taken off my metformin 2 weeks ago. I was on 1 tablet a day (from 4 initially) and my levels have been below 40 for over a year. I have been told I have to instigate having bloods taken every 6 months and if they start rising, then they may have to put me back on tablets - but for now all good!! I do test every few days in the morning and range from 5.2 - 7.1. Will stick to low carb if it is working!!

I have had just at the top end of normal HbA1c for some years now, without medication just using diet - but if I check it is after eating, as that is what is going to indicate how I can deal with carbs.
Your instructions to have blood tests every 6 months indicates how much reliance your CPs put on the tablets being the reason for your normal HbA1c, and disregard what many people have found out - it is the carbs.