T2 since 2016. On the BSD 5 weeks & levels down from 7.5 to avg 5.5. BUT GP fasting HbA1c test is 51 mmol/moIHb. Do I go on Metformin & Statins as ‘suggested’ (cholesterol is 5.4), or carry on with BSD?
I did reverse my diabetes in 2017, but I think because life / work threw a spanner in the works, I did fall off the waggon, but I’ve been so determined to do it again & the GP call has really hit me hard. I have a family history of T2 & heart disease & my doc scared the daylights out of me today 🙁

Hi Hardybhere, Im not familiar with the HbA1c of 51 but think it in the within normal range but just. cholesterol of 5.4 is also okay but just and add the two together rings a warning bell for your doctor. As you have only been back on diet for 5 weeks could you ask your doctor for a retest in 3 months to give you the chance to continue with the progress you have already made.

Just a comparison with the daily finger pricks and the HbA1c. I was well cheesed off when my morning test showed around 4.5 to 5.0 but my HbA1c was 6.3 (which is normal but I am on meds). I thought the two testing regimes would be similar until I did a test later in the day which came out at around 6.8 then 7.5 – did a calculation for the average for the day and it was 6.3. I had only been counting my lowest result. For the future and you know this now. there is no falling off the wagon when you are diabetic. You have to stick with this for life. My only advice re meds is they dont stop and the small dose you start on, they eventually go up. Also can give you the impression you dont have to do anything as the tablets are doing it all for you. Give this your best shot.

Hi Hardybere
Sorry to hear about the conversation with the GP. I’ve had a few of them with my GP and diabetic nurse, including the one you mention above. They can be a bit of a shock and not pleasant so take care xx
Like you, I was diagnosed with Type 2 in 2016, did the BSD, and got my blood glucose levels back into the normal range. There are a few things that strike me in relation to your question about BSD or meds for T2.
You’ve been successful in reversing your diabetes once with BSD so you know you can do it again – and are!.
As you say yourself, your average finger prick levels are trending downwards – from 7.5 at beginning to now avg 5.5 – so something’s working.
Also, don’t forget that the Hba1c test is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months so it will include some weeks before you started BSD where your blood glucose levels will have been running higher.
You’re determined to give it a go which is great and you’ve been doing really well. I agree with sunshine-girl. I’d continue on BSD and ask for another Hba1c in 3 months and see where you are then.
Let us known how it all goes.
Jennie xx

Hi Hardybere
I can only agree with sunshine-girl and Jennie. You know this works but it is a way of life and those of us with T2, even in remission, know we can’t go back to eating high carb foods, especially processed carbs.
HbA1c of 42 or less is not in the diabetic range, 42-48(I think) is pre-diabetic, above 48 is classed as T2.
I guess the choice is pretty stark …. dump processed and high carb foods for 98% of the time or take meds. Problem with medication is that it’s like a ‘hamster’s wheel’ once you get on you can’t get off! Because the tablets don’t really work it’s the pathway to ever increasing medication!
I’ve been completely off medication for coming up to five years …. can be done … choice may be yours.
P.S. My OH was just into the T2 range and he went low carb and got back to a normal HbA1c and now he just avoids bread, potatoes, processed foods generally. But, he does have a couple of pieces of fruit a day, rice once a week (precooked), the odd pack of crisps and a few slices of seeded low carb bread a week. I think once you get your BS back into the normal range you have to find your own ‘set point’. Just need to go low carb to get back to where you know you can be.

Thank you. 5 years is incredible! There is hope, thank you. And yes, I am determined to get my T2 under control without medication, by the Doc isn’t as optimistic as I am. I think that my ethnicity is a concern (Indian), as I’m predisposed to diabetes, with a family history of both T1 & T2. But that’s not to say I can’t do it. Just need to knuckle down and prove him wrong. I think his word “you’ve had T2 for a few years now and what you’re doing isn’t working”, knocked me for 6. I do believe that a stressful job from 2017-19 really didn’t help. But each day has a new dawn so I will do this.
Really appreciate your reply. It does help.
Thank you.

Thank you Jennie, I do think that GPs find it easier to prescribe meds rather than look at lifestyle changes. Additionally, the really do give us the time to get under the hood and really explore diet & exercise in a supportive & encouraging way, which could save them time & money in the long run. My GP seems to have given up on me, but I’m not giving up so easily! I know it’ll be hard, and I’m allowing myself time to get back in to this way of life. I’m just grateful to have proven them wrong in the past, and I will do so again. I do think the suggestion to retest after 3 months is a good idea and I’ll ask my doc to allow me that grace period.
Thank you for sharing your journey too, it really helps to hear success stories.
Onwards…

Thank Verano. You’re absolutely right. There is no choice now & I’ve been throwing the carbs overboard for the past few weeks. I will confess that I’ve had 2 occasions (birthday & anniversary), when I did loosen the grip, but noticed that I felt awful afterwards (guilt didn’t help) and it’s not been hard making the switch. I enjoy cooking & have always cooked from scratch, so now I just ditch the carbs and weigh my food. I don’t want to be medicated, that’s my driving force. I’ve seen that those who rely on it end up eating badly & seems to get worse. For me, it has to work & I’m the only one that can make that happen. Your success, along with others, is proof that success in lifestyle change and T2 remission is an achievable goal. Thank you for replying to me.

Hardybehere, you have done it before so you know it works. The trouble is, like the rest of us T2’s, you have to keep it up for life. Okay, a little treat now and then but if you let that slip into your daily life it will all go backwards – as you know. Funny, your doctor saying whatever you have done isnt working, I think he needs reminding that you did and can again, get a handle on this. What do doctors tell us – oh yes, keep your carbs high so you dont have hypo, avoid fatty foods and cakes and take more exercise. This diet shows that the obvious pies and cakes are just the tip of the iceberg. They forget other carbs are also sugars just in another form. My doctor also gave up on me but that was because I was having HbA1cs of around 6.5 to 7.0 and he just kept saying that was normal for a diabetic, so I thought I was doing okay. Then I found that if I didnt eat so many carbs (not cut out completely) my numbers got better and he then said ‘I didnt think you would ever get a grip’ They really dont have much of an idea and probably find it frustrating when a patient keeps coming back with bad numbers and they blame the patient not the advice. Give it the 3 months and prove him wrong.

Hi Sunshine-girl, you’re right. It is a struggle at the best of times to get a doc to listen, we know our bodies best and to be open; I knew back in 2016 that there was something wrong with me and insisted on blood tests, which then came back with my T2 diagnosis. It has been difficult this week to actually see a GP face to face, but perseverance has paid off with an in-person appointment rather than a phone consultation and I hope to relay my desire to do this by diet and exercise.
I found that their information is lacking and they do still recommend carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes etc), as part of the diet, which we all know spikes sugars. It is a lifestyle choice now and there really is no going back!
I really don’t understand the constant push to meds when changing eating habits is far healthier for us and cost effective for them as a whole.
The thing with T2 is that is so silent in its approach and symptoms are attributed to other things and so many people don’t know they are pre or full diabetics. Case in point is that I tested my brother’s sugars on my monitor last week (he looked tired and I saw my old symptoms reflected in him), and it turns out his sugars were very high. The positive is that it’s been detected, he’s had his doc take his bloods and told them he is now doing the BSD. AND I will have my brother around a lot longer now that we have the tools to reverse this. So, quite simply, knowledge is power and that is all we need to make the right changes.
I am grateful to this forum for listening and for you and others for replying. It is often a dark time when receiving this news, but so uplifting to hear the changes others have made to get back to health and to control their diabetes.
Onwards…

Glad to be of help. The good thing about this is there are diabetics on this forum and we know exactly what you are going through. On the subject of meds I am still on insulin but a much lower dose than 6 years ago. There are times when I stand there with the needle in my hand and cry. No it doesnt hurt, it just reminds me every day that I have a life limiting illness. I have just put my tablet boxes on the dining room table to refill for a week along with aroun 10 sleeves of tablets and that too makes me want to cry.

In support of doctor. When I was nursing we had about 5 lessons in nutrition in 3 years of training. When we went into the classroom the sister (nursing sister) said we were going to study something really boring and most of us would fail the module. She was right, most of us did but passed on a re-sit. Doctors dont even get that much training – just a very basic, calories, food nutrients etc but no training at all on food for health. That is why they push the drugs, they simply dont know or dont have the time to go into all your dietary needs and just go by the book. Unfortunately, nutritionists, though fully trained for years, have been taught certain things and we are telling them they are wrong. Until the NHS, NICE or whatever approves our diet they are not allowed to push this new information. Some do, like Dr Unwin – google him. I still have my nutrition sheet which I cherish as an example of poor practice. It recommends a total of 300g of carbs per day which must be eaten at every meal.

Anyway, we now know better. Stay with us and join in other threads, the weekly one is a good place to meet a mix of journeys and how long people have been doing this. Not all diabetics, not all on BSD but all there to support each other. I do hate to sound like an evangelist but this diet really did save my life.

It’s great to hear that you’ve made progress in managing your type 2 diabetes (T2D) through dietary changes, like the BSD (Blood Sugar Diet). Making lifestyle changes can have a positive impact on diabetes management, and it’s important to continue working closely with your healthcare team.

Hi mark, thank you for your encouragement but the thread is rather out of date. Join in with current threads if you are looking for support. We tend to get more support and factual information here than from our healthcare teams.

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