10 days ago I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, high iron levels in my blood and a liver that isn’t functioning normally, plus cholesterol.

I was give tablets and a low fat diet. Nothing unusual I suppose but having read the BSD book I really want to do this, I’m obese, I’ve yo-yo dieted for as long as I can remember and I don’t want to be on tablets for life.

My problem is I live in Tenerife and the medical system here is good but it is also old fashioned. Does anybody know where I can get info in Spanish and also, since I have started the meds only a shirt time ago would it be safe to cut back to half a tablet and come off them in the same way as I started them?

I really can’t allow diabetes to become the source of more weight gain or I will end up so fat my only option will be insulin injections.

Any advice please before this gets to months and years rather than just days.

Hi,
None of us are able to give medical advice, but there are some people on the forum who have reversed T2 with this way of eating and I am sure they will be able to share their experience.

We tend to organise ourselves into a couple of regular threads, one for people who are setting themselves a monthly challenge / program and one thats normally a weekly one. (but this time its running for 2 weeks) you will find that there are lots of people on those threads and thats the best way of joining in with the forum. – There are a few of us who look at all the latest posts on all threads so we will spot a post like this, but most people don’t use the forum that way.

I would suggest going to the Take a look at this thread. – Its the place where we all post links to articles we come across which we find interesting. There are a number of doctors and researchers working in the field of low carb ways of eating who produce podcasts. I would especially recommend podcasts by Dr Fung and Dr Bikman. They explain clearly that our bodies don’t work on calories, they work on fat, protein and sugar.

Dr Fung runs a clinic specialising in treating T2 through low carb and fasting. – I know from their facebook group that there exists a network around the globe of doctors who follow his work and have their own clinics. Thats the best way I can think of locating professional medical help that doesn’t follow the route of tablets and injections.

Hi dotti1966,
I wasn’t on the forum last week so have only just seen your post. I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It’s a real shock I know, but it’s great that you’re doing the 8-week BSD because it does work. I was diagnosed with Type II in 2016, did the BSD, and my blood sugars (which were very high on diagnosis) were back in the normal range within 4 months. They’re still in the normal range. No meds. Lots of people have done the same both on here and on other forums.

Yes, the response from your healthcare team is like mine, both in 2016 and now. In the UK, standard advice for people with T2 is the general healthy eating advice (incl. low fat and carbs with each meal) which is not good. Sounds the same in Spain. Initially, I bought a copy of the BSD book and gave it to my GP. I don’t know if MM has produced the BSD 800 in Spanish, but it might be worth contacting him/his team and asking. If you scroll down to the green band at the bottom of the page there is a Contact Us where you can send a message. People don’t do it often, but when they do, they seem to have had a response. Also, at the top of the page (grey band this time) under Resources there is a section called Information for Professionals. It has a printable pdf which explains about the BSD, the evidence and managing coming off meds etc. It’s in English but it might be worth getting it translated into Spanish for your doctor/healthcare team.

For lots of different reasons I never took Metformin, but if you are on Metformin if you use the search box (top right) you can search for ‘reducing metformin’, or ‘coming off medication’ and read what people have said, it might help. But if you’re on a mix of drugs, best do it all with your GP.

Some other positives from my personal experience (but also link to what experts say).

If you stick to the BSD (800 cals and reduced carbs), your blood sugars start to come down quite quickly – mine started coming down within days/weeks. (I used a home meter so could see this happening)
You don’t need to have lost all your weight before your blood sugars get back into the normal range. I was back in the normal range long, long before I got anywhere near a healthy BMI.
It helped with lots of other health issues too. I had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, my cholesterol was higher than it should be (there was talk of statins at T2 diagnosis meeting) and my BP was getting up there. My fatty liver is now resolved, my BP is normal and my cholesterol is lower. Oh, and my joints don’t ache!

Some other (as well as MM) useful experts for starters:
Jason Fung – The Diabetes Code (book) – also lots of videos on YouTube.
Roy Taylor – Life Without Diabetes: The definitive guide to understanding and reversing type 2 diabetes (book) – also can find info at Newcastle University UK https://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal/#publicinformation
Also, as JGwen says, lots of other stuff on the Take A Look At This thread.

One site lots of people on here recommend (including me) is dietdoctor.com. They focus on low carbs and have some great information and visual guides e.g. carbs in different veg. (There is a subscribed bit but no need to do that, there’s lots of free info). I noticed they now have a Spanish version of their site. You can access it from here
https://www.dietdoctor.com/diet-doctor-launches-spanish

Apologies for this being so long, but I know what it’s like for you right now. Hope this helps.
Jennie xx

Edited: if you have any more questions I’m happy to help if I can. Also, keep posting and join in the threads, it really helps.