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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 13:23
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default It's Diabetes

So I got motivated to get back on track (after several years of... NOT being on-track) in July, when I had GERD so bad I had to go to the clinic.

This led to a long string of medical STUFF... There was a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist... Not that I was horribly sick, just that routine screening got screwed up time-wise (because I'm driving out of town for a week every 3 weeks to help a friend with chemo... which started up AFTER my medical stuff started. *sigh* )

I should note, here, that I haven't had a primary care physician in years. And that my gastroenterologist wanted to test me for Celiac, so I've been actively eating wheat & grains until Halloween week, when my testing got done.


Well, while I haven't gotten back to the gastroenterologist's office yet, the lab lets you see your test results online. My blood sugar was over 200.

Had a PCP appointment today, and she confirmed, "ANY reading over 200 -- even if you just ate -- means you have diabetes."

The good news?

She's totally on-board with letting me have a chance to get it under control with diet.

Just stopped off at the lab again, where the pulled 50 million vials of blood, for every metabolic/lipid panel there is. Going to have a FABULOUS base-line, medically speaking, of where I'm starting from....

I also have an "official" start-weight I'm willing to use. (My own scale isn't working... my prefered "good weigh in" is in the morning, naked, after potty and before anything by mouth. Well, I didn't have anything to eat or drink before going in, and I was weighed in JUST shorts & a lightweight top. I'd say less than a pound of fabric. I'll take that as my "real" weight for today.)

All the more motivation to STICK TO PLAN.
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 14:37
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,341
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

I am sorry to hear that, but that number is indeed Motivation!
And right here on this forum is a very good Diabetes sub-forum:
https://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=45

Read back through two pages of threads about all the newest dietary treatment for diabetes, for Reversal of T2 Diabetes.

Of course, Dr. Richard Bernstein, but also, Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Sarah Hallberg (Virta Health), Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. David Unwin in the UK, and so many more now using very low carb plans.
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 15:14
bevangel's Avatar
bevangel bevangel is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,312
 
Plan: modified adkins (sort of)
Stats: 265/176/167 Female 68.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 91%
Location: Austin, TX
Default

Quote:
It's Diabetes
That diabetes diagnosis COULD wind up being the best thing that's happened to you in ages!

I know that sounds odd but my DH was diagnosed with T2 diabetes almost 5 years ago now and he will readily tell you that it probably saved his life. And his diagnosis has definitely had a major positive impact on mine too.

He went to a minor emergency clinic with pain in his side (which turned out to be a splenic infarction) but while he was there they ran a blood glucose test and got a reading of over 350. And since he's basically not been eating for a couple of days due to the pain in his side, that was essentially a fasting blood glucose! So we're talking BADLY diabetic. When they ran his HbA1c is was 12.4.

The doctor wanted to put him on insulin immediately but DH is seriously needle phobic so they agreed to a 3 month trial with metformin and "controlling his diet"... but no explanation about how to do that except to follow a low fat diet which we'd been trying to do for years.

With zero guidance we decided to just pay attention to how his BG changed based on the foods we ate. (I decided to eat whatever he did just to be supportive.) Within less than a month, we'd figured out that the problem was CARBS, especially "starchy" carbs that turn into sugar almost immediately upon ingestion. Even true whole grains caused huge spikes. So, we cut out potatoes and bread and sweet fruits.

Then we were able to see the lower he kept his overall carbohydrate intake, the less his blood sugar rose and the quicker it returned to normal levels (which, for us, originally meant numbers under 140). Pretty soon we'd worked our way into eating very very much the exact same diet suggested by Dr. Bernstein... even tho, at that point neither of us had heard of Bernstein.

Fast forward 3 months and DH's HbA1c had fallen to below 6.0 and he was starting to see fasting BG numbers below 110. And, in that same 3 months, without even trying to lose weight, I managed to drop about 35 lbs!

By the one year mark, the doctor had cut DH's metformin dosage in half. DH had dropped about 30 unneeded pounds and I was down 90 some pounds and feeling better than I had in years! I had quit snoring and stopped having GERD issues. We both slept better. Our joint pains had diminished SIGNIFICANTLY. Because we felt better than we had in years, we had started being more active... walking, going dancing, just generally able to have fun again!

About 18 months after DH's diabetes diagnosis, he had to have a heart-valve replaced due to a congenital defect that we'd known about for 30 years and had known would eventually HAVE to be done. His cardiologist let us know that DH's weight loss and recent increase in activity level made the heart surgery much less risky than it would otherwise have been. Among other things, getting rid of the excess weight had resulted in lower blood pressure which meant less strain on the valve and fewer medications to take. And DH bounced back from the surgery much quicker than he likely would have otherwise! Within just a few months, he was back to being able to walk a couple of miles, go dancing again, etc.

Now, 4.5 years post T2 diagnosis, DH is off ALL diabetes medications and we've both managed to maintain the weight loss. We still eat low-carb although we're sometimes not quite as strict as we used to be. DH pretty much never even bothers to do a finger-stick test anymore. As long as he eats low-carb, he KNOWS his blood sugar is going to be fine. His doctor has even decided that he only needs his HbA1c to be measured annually... and every test comes back right at 5.4.... NORMAL!

We both feel years younger than our physical ages and are enjoying life so much more than we were able to do 10 years ago.

So yeah, accept that diagnosis as a GOOD THING and let it motivate you to stick with low-carb. Someday you too may look back and think "Thank heavens I got diagnosed with diabetes! Life is so much better now than it used to be."

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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 15:33
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,169
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

While hearing the word DIabetes is tough, your motivation to change is wonderful!!! I see a healthy life ahead of you!!


PS. Most of us are prediabetic or diabetic, and just dont know it yet. Lots of support here to control those blood sugars. ANd heal your body.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 18:37
nawchem's Avatar
nawchem nawchem is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 8,701
 
Plan: No gluten, CAD
Stats: 196.0/158.5/149.0 Female 62
BF:36/29.0/27.3
Progress: 80%
Default

see khrussva success story, motivating as heck. His journal goes into the details and he explains it well.
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 23:36
mojolissa's Avatar
mojolissa mojolissa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,494
 
Plan: DDF, Fung
Stats: 247/209/199 Female 66.5"
BF:kickin it
Progress: 79%
Location: Michigan
Default

Thank you so much for sharing your story Bev!
Very motivating indeed!
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, Nov-14-18, 23:39
mojolissa's Avatar
mojolissa mojolissa is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,494
 
Plan: DDF, Fung
Stats: 247/209/199 Female 66.5"
BF:kickin it
Progress: 79%
Location: Michigan
Default

Good for you Literate for choosing to control this affliction with diet and exercise, instead of insulin/disease progression.

Wonderful to have a doctor that will support you too!

Welcome to the forum
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Nov-15-18, 12:22
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,341
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Moderator moved your thread into the Diabetes sub-forum, so now the Dr. Jason Fung thread is right below. Wanted to mention his book on Fasting is only $3.15 on Kindle, as of now. Never know when Kindle will change a price but possibly because there is a global fasting week on-going, price seems to be holding this week.
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  #9   ^
Old Sun, Nov-18-18, 07:39
LiterateGr's Avatar
LiterateGr LiterateGr is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 163
 
Plan: Atkins/General LC
Stats: 240.0/167.2/155 Female 5 '9"
BF:36/29.5/25
Progress: 86%
Default

(Figured this thread would be moved to the Diabetes sub-forum... Would have posted there to start, but couldn't FIND it when I was posting. Wasn't looking for "Dr. Bernstein" in front of it. Now I know where to look. )

I'll have to look into Dr. Bernstein and some of the other resources mentioned.


I quit doing LC in 2014 when I ran into some pretty hard-core depression. And then 2015 was "the year of 5 funerals" (all for close family, all out of state).

The inner dialog on some of these funeral trips looked like:
Me, at Dunkin Donuts: Literate, if you eat that, it'll put you right back on the track to diabetes. And you know where that leads.

Me, replying to self and ordering: Great. Give me two.


(Suicide by sugar & carbs.)

I grew up in a diabetic household, living with my grandmother. This was in the old days, of urine testing, and an oral drug called Diabinese (which no one seems to have heard of, anymore). She was always out of control... her "normal running" level was around 300. There was zero sugar in our house, but plenty of potatoes, pasta, and bread, which she refused to give up, even understanding (which she did) how they were metabolized.

When the finger-sticks came out, she hated the very idea. She wouldn't stick herself -- she made me do it, and she had a hysterical fit each time.

So I am very intimately familiar with blood sugar levels, the changes they cause, and what foods cause them. And what a cascade uncontrolled diabetes causes in terms of failing health. On the other hand, I don't even know, really, what A1C IS.

On the other hand, when I'm NOT suicidally depressed or in a state of prolonged intense grief (Ah, 2015...) I FEEL better when I eat LC. When I start to be depressed about "depriving" myself, I make a cheesecake. (I have a great recipe, use stevia, and feel it utterly impossible to feel sorry for myself while eating cheesecake.)

Doc visit and lab tests were on Wednesday. Still waiting on results, so we can schedule the follow-up. Already eyeing blood sugar monitors. (I figure that, in the early stages, when I'm getting things under control, monitoring will be important.)

LC. Cut out the starches & sugars. I'll feel better. My BC will stay stable. My energy will increase. The weight will fall off. My pants will begin falling down (The "ugly" side of weight loss: when your clothes don't fit, but you "can't" buy new ones because you're not going to be this particular size for long). My blood pressure -- which has been WEIRD (sometimes high, sometimes my "normal" 90/60) for about a year now -- will probably stabilize.
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  #10   ^
Old Sun, Nov-18-18, 09:11
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 19,169
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

Do a search on blood glucose monitors. Walmart has a good one.
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  #11   ^
Old Sun, Nov-18-18, 10:04
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,341
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

also check an on-line diabetes supplier (there are many) they offer free meter with box of strips, lancet, lancet pen starter kits. Check the brands so you buy one where the strips are reasonable going forward. There are new brands not available a few years ago when I bought the True Metrix. https://www.adwdiabetes.com/category/free-meter-deals

A1c: https://www.healthline.com/health/t...abetes/ac1-test

The "No Sugar, No Starch Diet" basics: https://www.dietdoctor.com/se/wp-co...starch_diet.pdf

This is a helpful sub-forum to check out, here's a favorite 18 minute TEDtalk on Reversing Diabetes. 4 million people can't be wrong.
https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthr...26&page=1&pp=15

Last edited by JEY100 : Sun, Nov-18-18 at 10:42.
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