DIABETES

I never said my diet was brilliant, but it does happen to meet all the current recommendations because of medical problems I had as a child, a dislike of sweet things and having been brought up not to eat between meals. More happenstance than intention.

I provide meals but what is eaten and drunk between meals is not my remit, nor how much exercise is taken. DH's and his family seem to have a genetic predisposition to put on weight very easily.

monica I am confused, if your diet is so brilliant which it truly sounds how is your husband so over weight

Floradora please don't think that everyone thinks that because it just isn't so and there is often great misunderstanding of what reversing actually means . Neither is it possible to return to the old or normal way of eating for those who can control by diet which is why some people seesaw when they are tempted. If your body can't handle the carbs then you just can't have them without some kind of intervention. Anyway it certainly sounds as if you have got it sorted out for yourself so very well done!

Thanks for this important message. If caught early enough, a some people with acquired diabetes can get rid of it with lifestyle changes!

paddyann I also saw the program. I was shocked at how high the readings were and how they drastically cut them down...must admit it looked a pretty hard regime to follow(t.

Was it 600 or 800 calories in those liquid meals...(the shep pie one looked awful) but...! it certainly did the trick after 4 weeks.
I missed the second one with Colleen Nolan in.

It makes me so mad that people think everyone with type 2 can reverse it by diet . Only 2 out of five people can do this . Someone like me had no chance of reversing it and it was just bad luck and my genes which gave me this condition . My readings are always good because of how I manage my diet but can I reverse it ? No chance , do I let it rule my life , no .

Diet helps, but in his case, even at its 'worst' it was controlled by very low doses of metformin, so I suspect there is more to it than just diet. He is the same with cholesterol. He was diagnosed with high cholesterol, given, again, a low dose statin but after a while stopped taking them as he didn't like the side effects. He still hasn't told his GP and has regular cholesterol checks with no comment so presumably that too is now within normal limits. Now, I am not overweight, I am very active but my cholesterol is quite high, but that is another story.

Well done MOnica It is probably what you feed him, and therefore praise is due to you.

DH is very overweight. He was diagnosed with diabetes about 10 years ago. At first, even with a low dose of medication his condition was very unstable, but it gradually stabilised.

His medication was always at the lowest level and then last year all medication was stopped as being unnecessary.

During the time he has had diabetes he has made no changes to his life style. He is still overweight. Food choice and preparation has always been in my capable hands and has never been high in sugar or white carbohydrates. We have a healthy diet with lots of fruit and veg, mainly veg, and rarely eat between meals. If we do feel hungry the usual snack would be about 1 oz of cheese. So it has been for decades and so it remains.

I have no idea why, despite his weight, and with a family history of Type 2 diabetes, his diabetes, except for the first year or so, has been so stable and is now medication free.

Just to lighten the gloom. I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes just over 2 years ago. It was a dreadful shock. I was ,on reflection slightly over weight and my diet not good. I did a lot of research. I went on the 8 weeks to Reverse your Diabetes diet, and lost 2 and a half stone. There was also a great deal of good advice on the Diet Doctor website.
Since then I have restricted my carb intake and gone no sugar. Last week my glucose test results came in. I have completely reversed my diabetes and the doctor said ' no further action needed, as long as I monitor my diet.

It was hard to begin with but just a way of life now and of course I had to have a whole new wardrobe of clothes.
So give it a try. It can only be for the good ?

It's very important that once you are over 40-50 (depending on your individual risks) you check with your provider about having an annual fasting glucose done. As you say, many people with diabetes don't know they have it because Type 2 diabetes often presents with few or no symptoms.

Risk factors for diabetes include:
-family history of Type 2 diabetes
-being overweight
-lack of exercise
-schizophrenia (due to the medications, not the disease itself)
-having had gestational diabetes or having had a baby weighing over 9 pounds at birth (could be undiagnosed gestational diabetes)
-history of polycystic ovary syndrome or other insulin resistance syndrome

Not every heavy person develops diabetes, and it's possible to develop diabetes even if you're not overweight. For example, between 5-10% of women have a disorder called polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. PCOS is fundamentally an insulin resistance syndrome - your body needs more insulin than normal to lower your blood sugars. Approximately half of all women with PCOS are overweight or obese, and they often struggle greatly in trying to get the weight off, due to the insulin resistance. (Insulin makes your body store fat.) The other half of women with PCOS may be normal or even underweight, but they are still at risk for developing diabetes because of the insulin resistance.

Note: Some women may wonder if they have PCOS because they have a history of ovarian cysts. The answer is, not necessarily. It's possible to have ovarian cysts and not have PCOS, and it's possible to have PCOS and not have ovarian cysts. The cysts that are present in PCOS stem from the insulin resistance problem. Cysts can be caused by other issues that have nothing to do with insulin resistance, so if you're not sure, see your provider for blood testing.

Meant 'only when you are fat' but thinking further I also know many 'fat' people who are very fit and do not have T2.

I know several people who have succumbed to T2 after serious illness and/or the consequences of strong medication. None were overweight but when the body is 'broken' it is only too easy to pile on the pounds and the there is confusion between cause and effect.

Also as can be seen from what merlot has said it can be difficult for an inpatient to eat suitable foods unless you are focussed because when you are unwell you tend to go for the comfort food options or just those items you feel you can manage. In any case the nhs catering is not focussed on health but rather on economy which is understandable but not helpful in some cases.

It is a fallacy that you only get diabetes because you are fat because, as can be seen from other posts above, this is not so. It is extraordinarily difficult for some people to take off/keep off the weight once your body is 'broken' and cannot process your food as it was designed to do. Sadly many people have been sold the wrong message and can be very hard on those who are really struggling to do all the right things to no effect. It can cause much mental anguish.

B....y auto correct! I mean, I lost a few kg.

Thank you paddyann I try with the diet, being careful about carbs, and have lost a few of, so my last Hb1c came out at 42, which is good control. I would love to get it lower, even reverse it, but I don't think I could stick to 800 calories a day. Also my understanding is that the reversal is not permanent, it lasts around 3 months, and then the diabetes comes back. That aspect of it isn't much publicised. It would effectively mean doing 800 calories a day every three months, and I like my food!

Antonia re complications with controlled T2
See my post at 20.08 and 20.40 yesterday

KatyK its not about the fat you can see its the internal fat .Have a look at the TV programme it was very interesting.Two of the participants weren't ver overweight et had bad fatty liver and high glucose levels .After just 4 weeks on the diet there was a massive improvement.
My late mother was never more than 8 stone in her life and yet she had type 2 ...we changed her diet ...long term and she reversed the diagnosis

The general opinion seems to be "fat=diabetes risk." Yes, weight plays a part, but so does hereditary and ethnicity. I was about a stone overweight (who isn't) when I was diagnosed with type 2, and I take medication for it, but as my mother was diabetic, and I am mixed race, I was a prime candidate for it. Someone mentioned complications even when type 2 is controlled. Has anyone had any experience of this?

DH has recently spent a month in hospital with some serious health issues. He finds it hard to lose weight and has been borderline type 2 for two years. I cook everything from scratch, monitor calorie intake and without nagging (I hope) make sure he doesn't weaken because he has always had a sweet tooth.

During his stay in hospital the meals consisted of pies, puddings, rice, potatoes etc., etc., They were well cooked and DH is not one to deny himself!! I took in prepared fruit but as they'd removed all his teeth to try and find a mystery infection he found most of it difficult to eat. Fortunately his room had a fridge so I was able to provide low fat yoghurts.

One day he asked if he could have fruit instead of a pudding so they gave him tinned peaches in syrup.

When he finally came home the sugar laden diet and lack of exercise meant he'd put on well over half a stone. so I'm dreading his diabetic check next week.

However.... Thanks to the wonderful treatment he received he has thankfully recovered from dangerous and debilitating sepsis so I can now concentrate on getting his diet back on track but it does seem ironic that the very institution that is buckling under the strain of Type 2 diabetes fills you up with sugary foods the minute you get in there.

My DH has type 2 diabetes and has never been even slightly overweight.

Nelliemoser THIS diet is different in that it only takes 8 weeks to reverse diabetes ,sure they will hae to be careful with their diet aferwards but the main effects ,the high blood glucose,fatty liver etc will be gone

Synonymous, sorry my post was misleading. The urine test strips are just for use if I suspect I have an infection.

This way of "curing" type two diabetes was devised in Newcastle on Tyne university over the last few years.

It is still though a major task to get people to be able to change their lifestyle and diet but it's got to improve happen or we will be in a real mess.
The costs to to the NHS of type two diabetes is huge. Just look at the size of people today compared with 20 yrs ago.

I cannot help thinking that it will be very difficult to get enough people to change diet and lifestyle etc.

It's not just individuals who need to change but the food manufactures as well. Most supermarkets have several aisles selling soft drinks and advertise that they sell items for snacking etc .
I fear this Genie cannot be put back in the bottle.

I controlled and eventually got rid of my late mothers diabetes by diet many years ago.I've had friends ,good friends who frankly didn't believe me.Tonight I watched a programme on ITV about reversing type 2 in just 8 weeks by a low calorie diet.It would be worth watching for any of you who think you could stick to the quite harsh regime .It was called either Fast Fit or Fast Fix ...Diabetes
Maybe my friends will believe me now ...lol

Shysal I hope you are not relying on those testing strips to know if you have diabetic tendencies or diabetes itself. All they do is give a snapshot of what your level is at a particular time and they will not help you to understand how your body is coping with a meal unless you test before eating and then again two hours after you eat. Again it will depend on what your meal consisted of. The HBA1C is a full blood test which gives an average over the previous three month period which includes all the spikes or peaks and troughs which occur after eating and exercising. When you are tested for diagnostic purposes you are usually given a hefty amount of glucose first and tested after a set time to see how your body copes with it.
It is more complex than you would think to properly manage T2 on diet alone but it can be done when the patient is determined and organised. T1 is a totally different ballgame as are the other types too. Keeping control of the carbohydrate content of meals is key to all types whether by insulin, tablets or diet or combinations of same. It is denial which is deadliest and can cause severe problems .