Type 2 anyone?

As a very newly diagnosed type 2, I am really keen to catch up with other people who have it also.

I'd love to know what your FBG's are/were, how and if the weight loss is effecting you and any other info you are happy to share.

If the media is to be believed there must be loads of us on Minimins trying to lose weight and either avoid or battle type 2.

So please, share and help to help each other.

Type 2

Hi Barb glad to see another type 2 I joined recently in search of same but I think I posted in the wrong place! I have been living with diabetes for the past 8 yrs am 46 now, my fbg were in the high teens going to high 20's in the beginning, but I've always struggled with my weight so that hasn't helped I joined slimming world in Jan and since then they have improved to almost normal which is the first diet that has really made a difference however I take insulin twice a day and also glucophage and diamicron the weight loss is very slow but the diet certainly suits me I have so far lost a stone and five more to go but I'm ever hopeful! So all I can say to you is eat healthily and regularly exercise very important (have only started to take my own advice now lol!) I hope you will be feeling better soon once your bg levels decrease really does make a difference
Mary x

No, but my dad has type 2, which is another reason for me trying to lose weight... I know the risk is lower if you are a healthy bmi, and I have also read that many cases of type 2 resolve themselves when significant amounts of weight are lost!

Thanks for the replies, interesting that you are finding SW helpful Martcu, I wonder if over time you will be able to lower your drugs? I do hope so.

Yes Sonya, you are totally right, getting the weight down is key to avoiding/improving type 2.

My first FBG was 7.6, 3 weeks later, after losing 10lbs and having started exercising at the pool, it was down to 7.2. I am hoping that in 6 weeks when I have my next test it will be under 7! Fingers crossed!

That's fantastic Barb keep up the good work 10lbs in 2 weeks well done you! You'll be right down in no time! I probably had diabetes for quite some time before I was diagnosed so had very high blood sugars at least now they are reasonably good between 5.9 and 7.9 much improved from 10.0 to 17 as they were before slimming world!
Maryx

Thanks Mary, much appreciated. It takes some getting your head round, doesn't it? I feel lucky, that probably i have been 'caught' early as my FBG's were not too terrible, but even so, I know I have to stay out of the biccie tin if I am going to stay off meds.

Your improvement is really good and i guess as the weight drops you will feel better and better. I hope so.

Ive been type 2 for about 7 or 8 years now, and what I found initially was that the dietary advice given was confusing and basically downright wrong. Ive done a lot of research on it one way or another since and found that the advice being churned out is a good 30 years out of date now. Recent research into it says that a low carb diet is the best way of controlling blood sugars and thats certainly been my experience.

Basically in a nutshell what happens when you eat high carb food is that immediately the carbs turn into blood glucose, pushing your levels up. your body responds by producing insulin to bring the glucose levels down, and this in turn brings on feelings of hunger and cravings. As type 2 you are insulin resistant but you are still producing insulin, its just that your body cannot deal with it properly anymore.

I would suggest that you probably have a history of eating a lot of high carb foods (not neccesarily sugar laden, refined carbs come in all sorts of forms). Cutting out refined carbs to a greater degree will initially produce cravings as your body settles down to more stable glucose levels. Eating a diet high in protein and some unrefined carbs will give you much more stable levels, as the body responds to protein in a different way than it does with carbs.

I struggled for 6 or 7 years trying to get my blood sugars down following the general given advice and it just didnt work. My normal readings were coming in at 15 to 21. Since ive got to grips with what I eat, i now get readings of around 5.2, Ive also lost 7 stone into the bargain as well!

Wow Lynn, that is fantastic, you have done so well. Inspiring to think the improvements that can be made; are you on/have you been on any medication?

You are spot on with me - I love my carbs. Mainly sweet ones, biscuits, cakes, sweets, chocolate...... I have cut them out though, because as you say, the low carb seems to be the way forward. I've never been a big bread eater (1 slice a day at most) so I don't think that is a big problem. I am majoring on crispy salads with lean ham, cheese or egg and having prawn and veg stir fries cooked in spray oil.

Your story has really made me think, I am aiming at losing 5 stone 5 lbs which will bring me to my lowest weight since I had our 4 children. Then perhaps another stone or so after that.

Hi Barb, yes ive been on just about every medication my doctor could throw at me, and that has been a story in itself. A lot of diabetic medications make it hard to lose weight, and that is a medically accepted fact. In particular I had awful experience with pioglitizone which put 20lbs on me in the space of 3 months! Gliclazide is another drug that will cause weight gain although not as bad as pioglitizone. However, when it comes to medication most doctors will resort to metformin in the first instance and this is one of the few diabetic drugs, along with glucophage which is the slow release versionof metformin, that will actualy help lose a bit of weight.

The problem with Metformin is that it is exceedingly irritant to the gut, and causes a lot of diarrhea initially. It was so bad for me that I basically couldnt leave the house. I then went onto Glucophage as the slow release version is less irritant but I still had problems. I should have perservered with the glucophage though as after a few weeks things will settle down, but as I drive every day for work I just didnt have the luxury of giving it time. Looking back, I should have taken 3 weeks off work to get to grips with it, but I didnt know that then.

After that, my doctor tried just about every tablet going, and then finally I went onto the injectible Byetta. I think this was the last resort before insulin. Byetta was what turned everything around for me, not because it was good at getting my blood sugars down (which im not entirely convinced it did a better job of than anything else i had tried) but because it made me feel sick as dog all the time. I stuck it for 3 weeks and was going to call it quits, then realised I had lost 18lbs in that time. That spurred me on to stay with it and over 7 months I lost most of the 7 stone, but I was sick every day for about 3 -4 hours after each injection (2 a day). It ruled my life but got the weight and my eating under control. It was during that time when i was desperate to avoid the awful nausea as best i could that I discovered low carb made me feel less sick, so I went onto a low carb regime to keep the sickness under control and in doing so got my blood sugars right down and with it my weight.

Im no longer on the Byetta, ive had it with feeling sick every day, and im now back on the glucophage and doing ok with it in conjunction with keeping off the refined carbs. I cant say I never eat carbs, but im very very careful about it now and stick to high protein food with unrefined carbs (fruit veg brown rice, absolutely no pasta which is a killer and very very little bread).

Sugary stuff was never a great problem for me, I much prefer savoury food, but burgers and pasta were my favourite foods and my biggest downfall. I can eat a little dark chocolate every now and then and as it is a complex carb does not impact my bloods too much but i wouldnt go eating a bar of it.

At my last blood test results my doctor suggested that if my bloods remain at the normal levels they are now, and given that I continue with the way i eat, that i could come off even the glucophage, so that I will be totally drug free.

Also as a result of getting food under control my cholestrol which was always very high, is now very low, so another added benefit.

Wow, the thought of what you have been through ending up potentially drug free- it is just amazing.


I was quite horrified at the prospect of being put straight onto drugs. I was encouraged to have metformin immediately, but I was not happy to go along with it and after what you have said i think I may have been right. My Gp acted as though i was bit deranged not going on it but I just feel i am already making progress and to go straight onto drugs seems a bit trigger happy somehow.

You have really been through the mill and suffered a lot to get that weight off, but you sure are reaping the benefits. I take my hat off to you Lynn, what an absolute inspiration you are.

Hi Lynn that is fantastic that you are doing so well now! I feel like I could be reading my own story same years same meds same bad advice on foods etc.. I was on Byetta but apart from making me sick never worked nor did I lose any weight next came Victoza no success either then was on my first type of insulin no good either so finally I'm on Humilin M3 I take 35 units in the am and 20 in the evening (down from taking over a 100 units daily as well as 2000 mg of metformin and 60 mg of diamicron daily only since I started following the SW diet have I seen real difference in my blood sugars I am very insulin resistance they tell me so that doesn't help and it runs on both sides of my family, I desperately want to lose weight I've tried everything with no real success except Lipotrim a number of years ago but when I ate again my bloodsugars were through the roof and it took a year to get them under control ie under 16 and I put back on all the weight and more as you have lost so much weight you indeed are an inspiration that it can be done so I continue on my struggle and will lose it!!!!!!!!!! All my weight goes on my tummy so carrying an extra 5 stone there is hard going but I am determined to do it with allthe help and inspiration I get here so thank you for telling your story too
Mary X

It's really apt that I stumbled across this thread today. Both of my parents are type 2 diabetic and I mentioned something health related to them in the week and my mom suggested she should test me to see whether I was also diabetic.

Well she tested my blood today and all I had drank before the reading was 2 cups of coffee and my reading came in at 6.4 and this was just after an hour gym session.

I do not really know how bad this reading is, I've been calorie counting since February and have joined a gym within the last month. My dad told me that the doctors would just tell me to diet and exercise, which is exactly what I've been doing for the past 5 months and I don't really add sugar to my meals and dont eat carbs in the day, but most of my evening meals do contain some kind of carb, such as white bread, rice, potatoes etc. Do I need to cut these down, as there isn't much change I can make in the day, which mainly consist if porridge, salad and fruit and I only drink diet pop in moderation.

To be honest I was a little shocked to get that reading, bearing in mind I've been healthy eating, exercising and also have a BMI of 27.5 and just wondering if it's possible for me to achieve a normal reading at some point in the future.

Hi Martcu and Tol

Tol, I would suggest (baring in mind im no doctor!, but given my own personal experience) that a reading of 6.4 on its own is slightly high, but after a session in the gym I would really expect it to be lower, around 5 to 5.6. This may indicate that you are type 2 or type x, which is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Obviously you would have to see a doctor to confirm this, especially with a family history of type 2 diabetes. I believe readings above 7 indicate type 2 diabetes, so you need to test again, particularly first thing in the morning before you eat which will give you a baseline reading.

Martcu, it takes time to bring your blood glucose levels down, as you no doubt understand!. When I first went onto Byetta I expected miracles overnight with it, especially as I was eating so little due to the nausea. I got very frustrated that it took a good 3 months before I started to show acceptable readings, but I did get there in the end and now most days when i test im around the 5.2 to 5.6 mark.
You have obviously been through the mill with trying to get your blood glucose levels down, and I fully understand the frustration that must have caused you. So sorry too to hear that you had to go onto Insulin. Im so grateful that I never had to do that.
Martcu, I truley believe that you would benefit from going low carb, and I would suggest even going on a low carb total VLCD such as Exante, even if it was just for a week to give you a head start with it. Going low carb has really been the key factor for me in getting blood glucose down and under control. I see that you have already tried and succeeded with Lipotrim, and Exante is very similar (but cheaper!) but you made the classic mistake of going back to eating carbs after. Give it another go and this time work out how you can devise an ongoing low carb regime afterwards. If there is one thing you should avoid at all costs its pasta, absolutely the worst thing you could possibly eat, even the wholewheat forms, treat it like its poison.

Hi all, I'm actually a type one. I've been doing Atkins since March 1st and now I am taking under half the amount of insulin I was, in fact, the lowest amount I have ever taken. I am seeing great weight loss and feel fantastic. The way forward for diabetics of whatever type is definitely low carb. My bg is firmly in the 4's and 5's now. I am very happy!

The more i read the more i realise what a complicated thing diabetes is and that everyone's experience is different.

I am interested to see how many people test themselves to check their blood sugar. My GP said I was absolutely not to do that, that there was really no point. So she wants me to have meds but not understand my own limits? I wonder why. Do most type 2's test?

I'm feeling a bit cross today, my well meaning sister has taken it upon herself to bombard me with her views on my health and it has really ground my gears. She is a slim size 12, always has been, very health conscious and an avid googler of all things medical! She asked me if I have told my friends about my diagnosis and when I said no, she was seriously shocked, said basically they all needed to know. I don't see why, I am already so much better generally than I was a month ago, my FBG readings were only just over 7 and i just don't feel like going into 'i'm a diabetic' mode and making a big thing of it. I want to get my readings down and then see how I feel about it all. Am I bonkers?

Omg! Some doctors drive me mad. You should, in my very humble opinion, be testing. How else are you supposed to know how different foods affect you? For instance, my bg goes through the roof after banana. I only found that out by testing. Google accuchek for a free monitor.

Do you have type 2 or 1 Leanne? I just had a quick look at your diary on fitness pal and I see you are low carbing very carefully. Is it working for you and has it effected your bg's well?

Thank for the tip, I will look at the accucheck.

Barb said:

The more i read the more i realise what a complicated thing diabetes is and that everyone's experience is different.

I am interested to see how many people test themselves to check their blood sugar. My GP said I was absolutely not to do that, that there was really no point. So she wants me to have meds but not understand my own limits? I wonder why. Do most type 2's test?

I'm feeling a bit cross today, my well meaning sister has taken it upon herself to bombard me with her views on my health and it has really ground my gears. She is a slim size 12, always has been, very health conscious and an avid googler of all things medical! She asked me if I have told my friends about my diagnosis and when I said no, she was seriously shocked, said basically they all needed to know. I don't see why, I am already so much better generally than I was a month ago, my FBG readings were only just over 7 and i just don't feel like going into 'i'm a diabetic' mode and making a big thing of it. I want to get my readings down and then see how I feel about it all. Am I bonkers?

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Actually, your sister has a point. If you get very low blood glucose you will go into a hypo, and may not realise it. When it happens to me first I get very irritable and then I start to get confused (well, im normally confused so whats new lol). Initially when I really got my bloods under control I would start to go into a hypo if my bloods dropped down to around 4.4 or less, nowadays though its anything less than 3.8 although that really doesnt happen very much anymore since I stopped taking Gliclazide and moved onto Glucophage, but it does happen occasionally. If i start acting a bit 'odd' my husband insists i test there and then, and he is usually right.

My doctor advised me that chocolate is not a good thing to get out of a hypo as its a complex carb. I did actually try once and it didnt work, had to have a glucose tablet. I try not to take glucose though, as it will have the opposite effect very quickly and push my bloods up to 10 in a short space of time, so I usually have a bit of sweet fruit first or a slice of toast with maramlade and that usually does the trick without pushing my bloods too far the other way.

I cant understand why your doctor advised you against testing. My doctor always bangs onto me about testing regularly so I do it twice a day, first thing in the morning for a baseline figure and late in the evening which is when I am most likely to get a hypo which seems strange somehow considering Ive eaten dinner. As you say, you wont know whats going to work for you if you dont test regularly but dont fall into the habit of testing too much as bloods are up and down all day and you may get readings that scare you into thinking you are too high all the time. First thing in the morning before you eat is the key one for an overall result.

I cant understand why your doctor advised you against testing. My doctor always bangs onto me about testing regularly so I do it twice a day, first thing in the morning for a baseline figure and late in the evening which is when I am most likely to get a hypo which seems strange somehow considering Ive eaten dinner. As you say, you wont know whats going to work for you if you dont test regularly but dont fall into the habit of testing too much as bloods are up and down all day and you may get readings that scare you into thinking you are too high all the time. First thing in the morning before you eat is the key one for an overall result.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Lynn, I am glad you said that; I think it is like an asthmatic not having access to a peak flow meter; sometimes you need to see the numbers for safety.

Now that I am on this healthy eating plan am I likely to drop my sugar too low then and have a 'hypo'? I literally have had no diabetes symptoms, never noticed the irritability or confusion thing (well, no more than normal!) and haven't experienced the thirst/extra weeing etc.. that you recognise as key signs. I feel a bit confused tbh, so glad you are here to advise me.

Barb said:

Now that I am on this healthy eating plan am I likely to drop my sugar too low then and have a 'hypo'? I literally have had no diabetes symptoms, never noticed the irritability or confusion thing (well, no more than normal!) and haven't experienced the thirst/extra weeing etc.. that you recognise as key signs. I feel a bit confused tbh, so glad you are here to advise me.

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You are not on any medication yet are you? I forgot about that, its the meds that will cause a hypo, so no, you dont have to worry too much about telling people unless you are put on medication, as thats when you are in danger of having a hypo. Hope that helps!

Mind you, having said that, people are much less likely to push you into eating something you dont want to to eat if you tell them you are diabetic. Biscuits and cakes being pushed at me dissapear like magic lol.