I got the sad news early this month, my blood level was 21 and I was asked to go for another test. After the test the nurse confirmed to me that I have diabetes but not sure type 1 or 2. So I was referred to specialist. I was put on tablet
I have had leg pen for a very long time, I’m 31 and was told my BMI was not that bad.
Any idea or useful guide please
Leg pain* it’s really paining me seriously. Done lots of x-rays eventually I guess it’s because of my high sugar level. I hope it will come down to normal
My only sin I think i have took too much sugar in my life but my weight is not that bad.
Have you been told to take insulin shots along with your pills for tighter blood sugars? Do you count carbs. for each meal and snack?
No insulin yet, it’s only the tab.
21mmol/l? If that's instantaneous blood sugar, it doesn't tell you much. They should have done HbA1c also. Do you have that number?
Anyway, if you've been given tablets then it's Type 2. Type 1 is insulin-dependent (and pretty rare in adults anyway). That means you can fix it. It's pretty simple to do - there are certain foods you can't eat, and others you have to eat more of. Would you like to give it a try? Curing T2D is now becoming quite routine in other countries, but if you're in the UK, you will most likely get terrible advice (and powerful drugs) that will make your condition worse.
Yes I’m in the UK, I don’t have idea about what to do, and how to go about that. I was put on 1 tab of Metformin for a week and after a week to take 2 tabs
Furthermore I’ll be seeing a specialist for further confirmations.
But the leg pain has subsided since I took the tab last week. I have stop taking anything sugary and I thought of totally taking off cabs but the nurse said no I can take but very low because Emmy body need them. What’s your candid advice please
Your gut instinct to stop eating carbs is correct, and the nurse is wrong.
Any medical textbook will tell you that the human requirement for carbohydrates is zero. I know from experience that this is true because I've been eating a low-carb diet for 15 years, and I ain't dead yet. In fact I look and feel healthier than I did when I was 20.
I'm afraid the nurse is simply repeating official policy: tell diabetics to eat carbs, and then give them pills to mask the damage. Then, when their pancreas finally gives up in despair, give them insulin. When they get heart disease, dose them up with more pills. I don't know about you, but I think that's absolutely disgraceful. Nobody "needs" carbs. Diabetes is a failure of carbohydrate metabolism, so why any medically-qualified person would advise a diabetic to keep eating carbs is just beyond my comprehension.
You don't need to eliminate carbs entirely - that makes meal planning too difficult! - but you do need to reduce them drastically. Bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals/porridge, potatoes ... they all need to go. If you do this, you will be essentially "cured" within a few months, and you will most likely be able to reintroduce some of them ... cautiously.
Your body has two main energy pathways: carbs or fat, so when you reduce carbs, you have to eat more fat instead. The fat pathway is actually more capable than the carbs pathway - that is, your body can do more things with fat, more efficiently, than it can with carbs. In fact one-quarter of a fat (triglyceride) molecule is easily transformed into a molecule of glucose; therefore, if you're eating adequate fat, carbs are completely unnecessary.
Because fat is so energy-dense, you don't need to eat loads of it. In fact if you base your meals around vegetables, and add meat/eggs/dairy as a "topping", you'll naturally find that you're getting enough fat. The vegetables carry the fat, so your meals don't look like they're swimming in grease.
Example: if you're having a steak, don't add chips: instead, leave the fat from the meat in the pan and fry some green beans and cauliflower in it. Set the beans and cauliflower aside, crush some garlic into the pan, and fry some mushrooms and sliced onion. Add a slug of cream and cook to reduce. Pour the mushroom cream sauce over the steak and enjoy. It's not heavy and cloying because you've got all those veg on the side.
If you're serious about this, I can recommend joining the LCHF forum (low-carb high-fat):
Also have a look at dietdoctor.com for recipes and advice about what to eat, and what to avoid. They have loads of recipes and visual guides to low-carb food. It's a pay site, but all the recipes and whatnot are free.
Oh ... if you do this, I hope you can get some support from your doctor regarding the medication. Obviously, I can't tell you what to do with that, but it does need to be reduced or you'll be at risk of hypoglycemia (a low-carb high-fat diet will correct your blood sugar within a matter of days, and taking metformin under those circumstances is dangerous). If he/she won't help you, find another doctor. There are plenty of them now who are knowledgeable about low-carb treatments for T2D.
Thank you for the advice
I’m just confused in a way. I got a mail to rebook for another blood sugar test
Well, while you're there, do discuss with them about a low-carb treatment protocol. If you tell them you're going to do it regardless, they'll be duty-bound to assist you.
This is curable, and the cure is extremely straightforward. Don't let them railroad you into a lifetime of pills, needles, obesity and chronic disease. It doesn't have to be that way.
The Nurse was/is right. Everyone needs carbs. for the brain and the rest of the body to function correctly and that way you don't get sick. You don't want to have hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) all the time. That can cause issues no one needs/wants. I'm a type 1 Diabetic and I have to be very careful with the amount of carbs. I eat. Too many can raise the blood sugars and too few can lower them, as well.
I must respectfully disagree, Activity2004. Your situation is completely different. You are injecting insulin, which must be balanced by dietary carbs. In other words, you must eat carbs because you inject insulin.
Unless we get some information to the contrary, suba1 is Type 2, which is almost the exact opposite situation of type 1: too much insulin, but a systemic failure to respond to it.
Type 2 diabetics actually have more-or-less normal metabolism that's been temporarily disrupted by an overload of carbs. Remove that overload and insulin response normally corrects itself very quickly.
Your brain does not need dietary carbs. There are people on VLC diets who are living completely normal lives. Reason being, your brain can operate from ketones (up to a point) and your liver can synthesize glucose for those few systems that need it.
Some type 2 Diabetics need medication along with insulin ( if diet and exercise don't work on their own). For them, they can't go completely with no carbs.. That isn't safe. The Nurse was right about saying that the body needs some carbs..
No, they don't need insulin. Insulin is prescribed after pancreatic failure ... which is caused by a combination of drug therapy and ongoing carb overload. The last thing a Type 2 diabetic needs is insulin (at first diagnosis at least). His/her body is already drowning in it.
If suba1 was prescribed 1pc (1000mg?) metformin, then most likely he/she is early-stage, ie., still has more-or-less-normal pancreatic function.
If "the body needs some carbs", then why are millions of people living quite happily without them? Your argument makes no sense in the context of practical experience and known biochemistry.
I won't argue that a diabetic should attempt a zero-carb ("keto") diet, but that's because (a) it's boring and (b) it's unnecessary. Most Type-2 diabetics have some limited ability to handle carbs ... but not a lot.
Some nurses are not very good in giving advise on T2 diet or any other diets option. I wish I hadn't followed what she told me which I ended being T2. May be nurses are not allowed to tell you these things about proper options available. Also How will pharmaceutical industries sell their drugs if they are not given to patients? thank God for this forum and I wish I found it sooner.
I was diagnosed with type 1 l/2 borderline diabetes about 6 weeks ago and I thought it was the end of the world, and it was for about a week as I tried to come to terms with injecting myself twice a day plus taking Metformin. Now, in some perverse way I welcome it as it has been a reality check. For the first time in years I am eating healthily and slowly losing weight. I was told by the hospital that they would be happy if I kept my blood sugar levels to below 20 and as it stands I am keeping it between 6 and 9. I managed to reverse diabetes once and I keep that in mind as I hope that at the least I will be able to stop needing the injections.
I know it’s new to you but don’t despair and don’t let it define you.
Well done for beating their expectations. I really hope your experience can encourage suba1 and other posters, who come here thinking they have a disease for life. They don't. As you've discovered, it's either completely or partially controllable with diet, depending on how early you catch it.
What frustrates me about the official treatment regime is this: they know it doesn't work. That's why they set such a low bar for themselves. I don't know what's going on there, but it needs to stop. Thankfully, there's a new generation of practitioners in the UK who have had enough of this, and are keen to get diabetics off the drugs and back to a healthy lifestyle. The Diabetes Prevention Programme in particular seems to have done an about-face and is now much more science-based. Let's hope it continues along the right path.
Many thanks for your response and I agree with what you say. My limited experience in dealing with the medics is that they are excellent at prescribing the correct medication and monitoring progress but limited in advising diet and lifestyle changes required. Whilst I was in hospital I asked if I could talk to a dietician but was told that it would only be possible if I was not eating. It’s as if they limit their involvement to the insulin. When I recently went to see the diabetes nurse and told her that I was aiming to reverse it I was told that it was highly unlikely that I would be able to do so. Very bad for morale but good for me as it made me more determined to do my best.
I’m still experimenting with food and even though I have removed quite a few things from my diet I still experimenting by introduce tasty foods not necessarily good for diabetics but if eaten in moderation have not adversely affect my blood sugar level.
Like many people, I knew nothing about diabetes so I did a lot of research to understand what it means and bought recipe books for diabetes. I also bought an excellent little pocket book which is a GI & GL counter and this is a big help.
Diabetic or not I feel healthier now than I have for many years.
I apologise for the length of this email, I’m a newbie zealot.
I really appreciate your support through comments here. Although I am yet to understand what I am in. I got a mail that I should go for another test in coming days.
Can I just buy the meter to be monitoring my sugar level.
Since when I got the news I have cut on many things, no more sugar, no more carb. But what I am finding difficult is food that is zero carbs. Can anyone recommend some please.
Hi Suba, in the early days your doctor will be wanting to monitor you to ensure the medication dosage is correct. I’m surprised they haven’t given you a monitor but in answer to your question yes you can purchase a monitor and test strips plus finger pricked and needles from Amazon.
With regards to zero carbs, have you been told to cut out carbs totally? obviously most vegetables are carb free one exception is potatoes but there will be more.
On my last visit to the diabetes nurse she suggested I read up and follow a GI/GL diet so I would recommend you buy GI & GL Counter by Dr Wynnie Chan. I got mine from Amazon and it cost me £3.99. It gives lists of foods including takeaways and state whether the food has low, medium or high GL and GI ratings. I find this invaluable. By following this little book I am keeping my BS levels between 6 and 8 and that includes experimenting by introducing different foods like granary bread and peanut butter. I’m having more delicious food now than I did before I was diagnosed with diabetes.
The hospital told me that they would be happy for me to keep my BS level below 20 so are over the moon that I am maintaining such a fantastic BS level.
I hope this helps you bearing in mind I’m still new to this and still finding my way.
Please has anyone tried “Natural Diabetic Patch”
I come across it on a Facebook page that it has really worked very well for many. Any idea please
I didn’t get what you mean by your last statement.
As at today without any form of medication I’m maintaining 4.6-5.8
Hope this is a reasonable range.
What I do is carefully watching what I eat and doing some walk every day at least 1hr.
Thanks for the feedback
Thank you dear
I’m in need of help from this I got a mail to see my Dr after meeting consultant.
One Dr told me that I’m type 2 but specialist sent a mail to my GP that the suspect I’m type 1 even though they cannot establish that. However what they said is that I’m not a type 2 person.
Based on the measurement I took at home I maintained between 4-6 mostly 4-5mml without any medication. But the Dr today insists that my hb1c is high and they won’t consider the measurements at home.
Please do assist me don’t even know what to do with my life. The last thing the GP told me was there’s a debate as to which type I belong to. Anyone with such Horrible experience
I was diagnosed with Diabetis on 31st December 2012, so i started the new year with Diabetis.
Pre diabetic or diabetic 
High reading which GP ignores
How long have I had diabetes?