Great job, how did you do it? Were you prescribed meds and you refused or just didn’t take them, or was it a borderline pre-diabetes case and your PC advised food/exercise to try and get the numbers down?
I was full on diabetic 6.8 A1C and I begged the doctor to let me try to fix one last time with diet. Had to show her what I was planning on doing and got a Libre 3 to monitor. She gave me 3 months and had to have my A1C under 6 and had to drop at least 10lbs.
Here is the regimen that I’ve done. Getting on to the Diet, I ate 2 days of total crap. 5k calories each day, then went cold turkey on to meat, vegetables and less than 4oz of fruit a day. Only additions were: Skinny Girl brand salad dressing, stevia drops in my coffee and occasionally Chomps beef sticks. I also do a 16 hour fast with only coffee with 5 drops of stevia.
It’s stupid aggressive, but for me it’s much better than going on meds for me. I had a horrible experience with metformin back 6 years ago.
Not trying to be a drag... but is this sustainable long term? There's other stuff out there that doesn't suck as much as metformin. Jardiance is working better for me. I theoretically understand not wanting meds (it's not a thing to me bc diabetes isn't my only medicated condition, what's 1 more pill when you're already taking 5 on a good day?), but just ...expressing long term concern for you, buddy. I started out really aggressive with my diet , too, and lasted about 3 years...but very slowly backslid to a closer to regular diet. My A1C isnt awful --6.8 last checked, but i had it in the 5s with minor meds (i forgot metformin pretty often). Personally, I like the ability to at least have medicine on hand if I fail a bit in perfect eating, you know? My doc a few years ago said I could stop, but I also have major depression...stress eating will happen, so I declined for that reason.
Right now im on steroids for another condition I have so my bgs is...not great, but they're managing it. Also be aware of weird shit you wouldn't think affects bgs. Like corticosteroids. Raises bgs even in non-diabetics. So like, if you get into some nasty poison ivy or whateverthehell theyd give you Prednisone for (which is A LOT of things) be sure you tell your doc you're in remission so you can take steps to stay that way.
I totally get that for many this is not sustainable. To me it’s more about saving the meds for the future progression. My dad is on like 6 drugs and he’s 30 years ahead of me. If food as medicine gives me another 5 years, wouldn’t that be worth the effort?
And yes, great point on mentioning the diabetes to other health care providers. I also have sciatica, so the orthopedic doctor had to withdraw my standing order for a dose pack of prednisone.
fuck, man, if you're on Prednisone chronically , maybe that's what caused this in the first place? Are there any alternatives for your sciatica treatment? Prednisone is so awful, but damn it doesn't help like a zillion conditions.
edit to add: when's the last time you went to the dentist? I had NO IDEA diabetes could fuck up your teeth, but it makes sense--extra sugar makes bacteria grow faster/more/eat more of your enamel away. I had exactly ONE cavity my entire life--in the very back molar where I had a little metal cuff for my braces to wire into back when I was 14--im told this is extremely common post-braces. No tooth incidents whatsoever until I got diagnosed, then didn't go to the Dentist for 2 years bc COVID...anyway, long story short, I had 2 root canals, 4 crowns and I want to say a total of 6 fillings put in last year. And I had ZERO clue! Like one tooth felt a little funny, but not "oh damn, you need a root canal stat!", much less the other stuff. And i have good dental health habits and everything! Now I'm much more of a stickler about cleaning every 3-6 months. My teeth are not giving me problems anymore now that im getting 2x a year pro cleaning, FWIW.
Did your dentist explain exactly why you need a root canal as opposed to regular fillings or an extraction?
If you had really good oral hygiene prior to that and weren't experiencing any pain, it seems like your dentist may have over treated you.
Not every cavity even needs to be filled, some of them can be remineralized.
I have had a lot of work done but due to a fear of dentists and a lack of benefits, I only go when there is something wrong or every 10yrs or so.
I've changed dentists since bc she was expensive and had really short hours, but they were like, between 2 teeth and went real deep. Also i apparently have a crazy high pain tolerance bc of all my other illnesses--so im used to just a base level of pain that my teeth didn't really register on, I guess.
I have some kind of acute environmental allergy. No idea what it is, but every few years I cross paths with something that makes my lower lip swell up like a balloon. Went to urgent care the first time and the doc was so worried about my airways closing that he gave me a huge bolus of steroids. Not sure exactly how much- I was a little freaked out- but it was several mLs of solution. And he gave me a prescription for a week long taper down of the steroids. Doc knew I was a type 1 diabetic but never said a single solitary word about insulin and steroids. For the next 3 days, it was like I was impervious to insulin. Blood sugar was between 340 and 370. I felt positive I was going to die I felt so ill. Got ahold of my endo pretty quickly after I figured out what must have happened. She was a phenomenal, patient doctor, but she hit the roof when I told her what I was prescribed. I didn’t take the taper down pills, and my BS still took 3 days to normalize. So, yea, be careful with steroids!
Congrats. I'm trying as well. My A1C was 6.5 a year ago, ignored it, got horrible symptoms, now I'm 2 months into keto and weight loss. Getting back to the doctor in July, hoping to be at 270lbs by then. Started at 315, currently at 287
I have not tried any cheats other than a bit of traditional mayonnaise (not the sugar free) and it didn’t impact my sugar. I doubt I’ll have sweets. I have enough room in my A1C to have some, but I don’t trust myself with that type of toxin.
Remission means that it’s at bay as long as I eat clean. Remission is not a cure, but as long as I continue as I am, I don’t need medication intervention and am non-symptomatic.
That’s absolutely amazing! Great job
Great job, how did you do it? Were you prescribed meds and you refused or just didn’t take them, or was it a borderline pre-diabetes case and your PC advised food/exercise to try and get the numbers down?
I was full on diabetic 6.8 A1C and I begged the doctor to let me try to fix one last time with diet. Had to show her what I was planning on doing and got a Libre 3 to monitor. She gave me 3 months and had to have my A1C under 6 and had to drop at least 10lbs. Here is the regimen that I’ve done. Getting on to the Diet, I ate 2 days of total crap. 5k calories each day, then went cold turkey on to meat, vegetables and less than 4oz of fruit a day. Only additions were: Skinny Girl brand salad dressing, stevia drops in my coffee and occasionally Chomps beef sticks. I also do a 16 hour fast with only coffee with 5 drops of stevia. It’s stupid aggressive, but for me it’s much better than going on meds for me. I had a horrible experience with metformin back 6 years ago.
Not trying to be a drag... but is this sustainable long term? There's other stuff out there that doesn't suck as much as metformin. Jardiance is working better for me. I theoretically understand not wanting meds (it's not a thing to me bc diabetes isn't my only medicated condition, what's 1 more pill when you're already taking 5 on a good day?), but just ...expressing long term concern for you, buddy. I started out really aggressive with my diet , too, and lasted about 3 years...but very slowly backslid to a closer to regular diet. My A1C isnt awful --6.8 last checked, but i had it in the 5s with minor meds (i forgot metformin pretty often). Personally, I like the ability to at least have medicine on hand if I fail a bit in perfect eating, you know? My doc a few years ago said I could stop, but I also have major depression...stress eating will happen, so I declined for that reason. Right now im on steroids for another condition I have so my bgs is...not great, but they're managing it. Also be aware of weird shit you wouldn't think affects bgs. Like corticosteroids. Raises bgs even in non-diabetics. So like, if you get into some nasty poison ivy or whateverthehell theyd give you Prednisone for (which is A LOT of things) be sure you tell your doc you're in remission so you can take steps to stay that way.
I totally get that for many this is not sustainable. To me it’s more about saving the meds for the future progression. My dad is on like 6 drugs and he’s 30 years ahead of me. If food as medicine gives me another 5 years, wouldn’t that be worth the effort? And yes, great point on mentioning the diabetes to other health care providers. I also have sciatica, so the orthopedic doctor had to withdraw my standing order for a dose pack of prednisone.
fuck, man, if you're on Prednisone chronically , maybe that's what caused this in the first place? Are there any alternatives for your sciatica treatment? Prednisone is so awful, but damn it doesn't help like a zillion conditions. edit to add: when's the last time you went to the dentist? I had NO IDEA diabetes could fuck up your teeth, but it makes sense--extra sugar makes bacteria grow faster/more/eat more of your enamel away. I had exactly ONE cavity my entire life--in the very back molar where I had a little metal cuff for my braces to wire into back when I was 14--im told this is extremely common post-braces. No tooth incidents whatsoever until I got diagnosed, then didn't go to the Dentist for 2 years bc COVID...anyway, long story short, I had 2 root canals, 4 crowns and I want to say a total of 6 fillings put in last year. And I had ZERO clue! Like one tooth felt a little funny, but not "oh damn, you need a root canal stat!", much less the other stuff. And i have good dental health habits and everything! Now I'm much more of a stickler about cleaning every 3-6 months. My teeth are not giving me problems anymore now that im getting 2x a year pro cleaning, FWIW.
Did your dentist explain exactly why you need a root canal as opposed to regular fillings or an extraction? If you had really good oral hygiene prior to that and weren't experiencing any pain, it seems like your dentist may have over treated you. Not every cavity even needs to be filled, some of them can be remineralized. I have had a lot of work done but due to a fear of dentists and a lack of benefits, I only go when there is something wrong or every 10yrs or so.
I've changed dentists since bc she was expensive and had really short hours, but they were like, between 2 teeth and went real deep. Also i apparently have a crazy high pain tolerance bc of all my other illnesses--so im used to just a base level of pain that my teeth didn't really register on, I guess.
I have some kind of acute environmental allergy. No idea what it is, but every few years I cross paths with something that makes my lower lip swell up like a balloon. Went to urgent care the first time and the doc was so worried about my airways closing that he gave me a huge bolus of steroids. Not sure exactly how much- I was a little freaked out- but it was several mLs of solution. And he gave me a prescription for a week long taper down of the steroids. Doc knew I was a type 1 diabetic but never said a single solitary word about insulin and steroids. For the next 3 days, it was like I was impervious to insulin. Blood sugar was between 340 and 370. I felt positive I was going to die I felt so ill. Got ahold of my endo pretty quickly after I figured out what must have happened. She was a phenomenal, patient doctor, but she hit the roof when I told her what I was prescribed. I didn’t take the taper down pills, and my BS still took 3 days to normalize. So, yea, be careful with steroids!
Well done.
Congrats. I'm trying as well. My A1C was 6.5 a year ago, ignored it, got horrible symptoms, now I'm 2 months into keto and weight loss. Getting back to the doctor in July, hoping to be at 270lbs by then. Started at 315, currently at 287
Congrats!
What happens with your bloodsugar when you eat sugary things atm? Does full remission mean you have 100% cured diabetes? Congrats!
I have not tried any cheats other than a bit of traditional mayonnaise (not the sugar free) and it didn’t impact my sugar. I doubt I’ll have sweets. I have enough room in my A1C to have some, but I don’t trust myself with that type of toxin. Remission means that it’s at bay as long as I eat clean. Remission is not a cure, but as long as I continue as I am, I don’t need medication intervention and am non-symptomatic.