Diabetes Forum member Biohazard tells us his story about his diabetes.
I was diagnosed in May 2012, after feeling very tired in the afternoons, even falling asleep which was not great as I am a stay at home dad to my 4 year old boy.
I also developed thrush on my tounge. I did not have any other classic symptoms of diabetes like thirst or going to the toilet – I was just tired. My wife ordered me to the doctors and I was given some mouth drops and sent on my way.
This did not clear up so I went back, this time a full HbA1C blood test was arranged which came back as 11.1%. I was type 2 diabetic and given metformin to take daily.
I loved bread!
This was not a shock to me as my mum was also type 2 (on insulin) and my dad was type 2 on medication – both of who are no longer with us. I also had the most amazing sweet tooth and loved bread!
Without delay I found my way to Diabetes.co.uk after a quick Google search and joined up to the Diabetes Forum and was reading for hours. My decision was made to very low carb/high fat diet and I went to the shops and got a blood glucose meter , which very quickly became my best friend.
Cutting down on carbs
I decided on no more than 35g carbs per day and wrote everything I ate on my phone app for counting nutritional info. I don’t note what I eat now unless its new food. I also check my levels before and after every meal.
Within 1 week my levels were great and with my GPs acceptance I did not take the additional metformin he advised and stayed on just 1 a day.
I went to see the DN and she said no testing was needed – once a week will do and to eat starchy carbs with every meal. With what I read on the Diabetes Forum this seemed very bad advice so I ignored this and followed the information given to me by other diabetics for whom their diet was working for. And, for whom have been getting great results!
HbA1c of 5.5%
Just over 3 months later I visited the DN after another set of blood tests of which the results were an HbA1c of 5.5%. The nurse was amazed as she had never had a patient at her surgery with as good results in such a short time – if indeed under 6% (which was a little shocking and understandable as they keep saying eat carbs with every meal)!
My cholesterol also went from 4.5 to 3.5 which was great.
We agreed that I’d come back in another 3 months and discuss coming off meds altogether. I did, however, 2 days after seeing her, stop taking my meds and this has had no affect on my levels. I do take multivitamins, cinnamon and bitter melon tablets daily as these are found to stabilise blood glucose levels.
My levels are now pretty much in the region between 4.8 and 5.5 most of the time.
Scot’s findings
I’ve got a couple of rules I’d advise for other people with diabetes:
- Get a great blood glucose meter, I have a FreeStyle Lite meter which is small and reliable.
- Do exercise, I go to the gym at least twice a week and do low impact for at least an hour.
- Eat only whole foods and cook yourself, I also bake my own cakes using almond flour and sweeteners, it makes me feel like I am eating forbidden food with little or no impact on my blood glucose levels.
If you’ve found inspiration from Scot’s story – or would just like to speak to Scot – get in touch with him on the Diabetes Forum!
