FutureLearn diabetes course.

For anyone else following the course. I’ve just started week 2 and have watched the ‘blood glucose target range’ video. It’s interesting to see that the average finger prick tests have a higher target range than HbA1c. That was encouraging. BUT I am really confused.

The target ranges appear to be different in different countries …. fine… but the ideal ranges seem quite a bit higher than I had understood them to be.

My question is ….. if the test for diabetes is ‘loose’, unless you have obviously high BG levels, how do you know if, in fact, you have diabetes ? Also what constitutes being a non-diabetic or a ‘reversed ‘ diabetic? (Sorry about the use of that word!!)

Maybe I’ve just misunderstood the whole thing!

Weigh-in day today afforded me a 0.5lb loss – I’ll take that thank you. Quite relieved really as my hormones, who think they are Christmas elves, are running amok at the moment in a frenzied state of panic! That alongside Major Munchy parading around, this week could have been a disaster. This sleigh ride is great for keeping us on track so thanks to Verano for leading the way. I can just see the glorious lights of Christmas Day up ahead so let’s be joyful, gleeful and kale-full in our collective push towards continued successes.

Verano I don’t think there is a magic number for diabetes/non-diabetes really. It’s all a spectrum. Doctors or researchers choose a cut-off for pre-diabetes and for diabetes so they can give a diagnosis, but in reality it’s not yes/no. Imagine a ribbon that is blue at one end and gradually changes to green at the other. Different people will have different ideas about where blue becomes bluey-green becomes green. Sorry if that is a weird analogy.

Thanks Natalie. You’re analogy is fine but it still leaves me with the question of when a person has/hasn’t got diabetes. I wonder if when you have insulin resistance it gradually deteriorates without some form of intervention. I must admit, as a person who has been diagnosed with diabetes, but never had any symptoms and have never had a BG over 7.2ish do I really have the disease!!! Seven months ago my HbA1c was 43 and a month ago it was 37, that’s with taking metformin. So I’m so confused I don’t know whether I have diabetes or not according to the present ‘loose’ measures.

Am I blue, bluey-green or green!!! Maybe I should just keep taking the pills!!!

Well I have put on a little weight after my dreadful meal, although I didn’t eat anything off plan, just so much and a couple of glasses of red wine. Happily my BG is still way down at 75 (4.1) so I will be reducing the insulin tonight. The weight should be gone by my weigh in tomorrow.

Verano, It is interesting what you say about different measures of BG and whether or not you are diabetic. I googled a BMI calculator and when I put my weight, height etc it asked if I was American or Other. I put Other and came out at 32.7 Obese. Just for the heck of it I did it again saying I was American and it came out at 32.7 Overweight. Someone is having the Americans on here leading them to think their weight is okay.

I am going to finish week 1 of The Diabetes Epidemic course this afternoon. So will start on week 2 tomorrow as French classes have finished until January so I have a spare afternoon.

Sunshine-girl
That’s great that the blood sugars are going down.

Verano
The figures that I have been working on i.e. UK NHS are:
Diabetes diagnosed 48 (mmol/mol) (6.5%) or higher
predibetes 42 to 47 (6.0% to 6.4%)
normal below 42 (below 6.0%). This figure is for diabetes diagnosis but a truly ‘non-diabetic’ person would be around 36/37mmol/mol.

In my view – to be diagnosed as non-diabetic the figures would be for someone not on metformin or other drugs or insulin. I am supposed to be ‘in remission’ but I am only achieving the 37 figure by keeping carbs low and walking more. So actually – ‘in remission’ describes exactly what I am. Diabetes isn’t reversed because if I go back on the refined carbs I will be straight back to square one. So I think of myself as someone who still has issues with diabetes but it is under control and I won’t get the horried health issues from it.

I am reading with interest the comments about what is a measure of diabetic/pre-diabetic/non-diabetic. I agree Verano I would like to aim to be in remission as I know without accepting this lifestyle is a forever change i will end up where I started.

This was clearly demonstrated to me over the past week. That’s why I see any slip ups as positive, as you can see the effect it can have. I had higher carbs and cals on my birthday although I didn’t go crazy. After that my Fasting BS was 8.0 for 2 mornings pretty much what I was when I started the BSD. However this morning I am back at 6 which is my new normal, well it has been for about the past 3-4 weeks.

The scale has been kind and after a small rise I am back on what I was this time last week, which in the circumstances I am happy with.

Has anyone else seen positive blood pressure changes? As I am lucky enough to work in an environment with a nurse and BP machine I can check quite regularly. I have over recent years been at about 120/80 never lower than that, so acceptable but at top end. checked BP this morning after a 4 week gap and it came in at 112/71 feeling very pleased with that, so it must be another bonus of weightloss/improved BSs. Bring on the Blood tests and diabetic clinic in January, I am ready!

Have a wonderful week fellow sleigh riders.

Cleverblonde73
It is scary just how much the carbs affect our blood sugars.
I think the reason I have to be so vigilant is that I must have had totally symptomless diabetes for a long time. When diagnosed I had a massively high hb1ac (I think it was over 100). What I hope is that my poor pancreas will slowly recover it’s ability to cope with the carbs. Until then I am so grateful for the BSD that I am no longer on insulin , don’t need any diabetes drugs and my retinopathy has been reversed. Basically my pancreas will be in ‘intensive care’ for a lot longer than someone who had a much lower hb1ac on diagnosis.

Cleverblond, my BP is now similar to yours at around 115/75, previously around 135/85. I’m on BP meds so hoping for at least a dosage reduction when I see my GP in Jan.

My health in general has improved so much it’s almost unbelievable. I think it’s due to not eating sugar or gluten as well as weight/visceral fat loss. I haven’t particularly increased my (moderate) exercise, but I’m feeling so fit I’m probably moving more without realising!

CLEVERBLONDE & DAISIESMUM
My BP has improved over the last 22 weeks… I too am hoping to soon get a reduction in meds,or even come off it completely ..one or two people on this forum have been able to do so!
Onwards and downwards…so good to see all the improvements in weight,inches,bp and blood sugar results!
Honestly, i think a TV crew shd come along and make a documentary about our stories…it wd spread the word!

It’s so great to read about all this falling BS and BP – this is what it’s really about – when I think of sugar as poisoning our bodies I have absolutely no desire to eat it. There are so many things in this life that can derail you, I refuse to let sugar (of ALL things) be one of them.

My anti sugar shields have taken a battering today already – having to bat away an entire tin of All butter cookies and Quality Street from an agency that I use – onwards everyone!!

Topcac – great that your anti sugar shields are working so well. Mine are on high alert also. Was speaking with both daughters today (who incidentally don’t have weight issues) and they were both saying that they have put on a lot weight in the run up to Christmas.

I know what to get them for Christmas now – bespoke sugar shields.

I am so happy today – I don’t have to go to London tomorrow. Was going by bus and train and it would have taken most of the day to get there and back. For the last year I have been having APOS therapy for my dodgy knee which was injured in a RTA eleven years ago. I couldn’t get the therapy up here when I first started it a year ago, but have just found out that I can now in a city only 20 miles away.

Spoke to a really nice and very well qualified physio who is arranging for my appointment tomorrow to be cancelled and I now have a local appointment for next week. That will save me at least 4 trips to London next year. Have just sorted the refund for my train ticket.

So will be able to get stuck into some admin tomorrow. Haven’t done very well today on the admin front but food has been positively saintly and have done loads of dog walking.

Some random thoughts. I was originally told in 2007 that I was diabetic. That was after a routine blood test followed by a Glucose Tolerance Test. One year later, after the GP checked my records, I was told that the GTT had been performed incorrectly and that I was not diabetic!

In 2009, after moving to a different area, a blood test needed repeating (no GTT) and I was told I was diabetic. At that time, diagnosis appears to have been on two consecutive blood tests over 7%. I was approx 7.2%.

It seems that, as in other medical areas, the line drawn for diagnosis moves – meaning more people are diagnosed with diabetes, high bp, etc. And who profits?

Although medical professionals given ‘normal’ blood sugars as under 6%, many diabetics aim for theirs to be under 5% to further reduce any possible risks.

Also, there was the change from diagnostic test from Glucose Tolerance Test to two consecutive blood tests.

Verano – hoping not to state the obvious – the finger prick gives the result at that point in time, whether fasting or after food while the HbA1c gives a three-month average covering both food and fasting. Hope I’ve not misread your post.

Perhaps as long as medical professionals (and politicians) are influenced by drug companies (and perhaps food companies) this bizarre situation will continue – more people being diagnosed and given faulty advice.

Thank you for your responses to my BG scales querie. I think , for me, the best way is to continue with metformin until my next check up in April/May and if my figures are still around 37 I’m going to ask to reduce the tablets for three months as a trial.

Glad your blood sugars are settling again sunshine-girl.

There is another course on FutureLearn called The Science of Nutrition starting January 9th. It looks quite interesting. It’s run by the OU so I think the standard of the videos will be better than the diabetes course.

See you tomorrow for this weeks weigh in.

Hi Lynne

Just read your post, Yes I had realised the difference between finger prick and HbA1c tests. I’d just not appreciated that when we think of BG we tend to use HbA1c as our guide. But we monitor using finger pricks. According to the chart an HbA1c of 6 to 7 would produce an average, over a week, of figures between 6.9 and 8.5. I think what I’m saying really is that finger prick bloods can be much higher than HbA1c. I hadn’t realised that so when I had a reading even in the low sixes I felt that my BG was too high but in fact it probably was ok.

As you can see I’m totally confused here !!!!

How the average BS translates into an HBA1C figure has confused me too but I feel this must have dropped quite significantly for me over the past couple of months.

On another note my boyfriend who always claimed not to like dark chocolate has suddenly been thieving my 70% from the cupboard ! So we are sitting here with Nespresso with cream and 2 squares of 70% chocolate each. It feels rather decadent and is delicious!

This is an interesting article
http://www.diabetes-book.com/laws-small-numbers/
It was posted on the diabetes course.

I have assumed that HbA1c would be an average of our finger pricks over 3 months. Never being bothered to add them all up and divide etc, I just count the last 10 days and divide by 10. That being the case my last HbA1c should have been around 5.0 but it was 5.9, but not too far out. We can only go by our HbA1c test results.

I was never given a GTT but my first HbA1c was 14.2 as was my second to recheck. So pretty conclusive that I have diabetes. I will consider myself in remission when I am around 5.5 with no medication.

BG this morning 4.1 and this evening is 3.6 so will be reducing insulin by one unit tonight.

Sunshine-girl if you haven’t read the article I’ve posted above please do. I think it may be of special interest to you, in part, and to anybody else using insulin.

Hi guys..posting a little early for tomorrow’s weigh in coz i got weighed at DDs house today..wont be there tomorrow. Ive lost three pounds this week…so a total of four stone and five pounds in 22 weeks ..a very happy bunny indeed ..this thread has kept me on my toes! X

Verano – and anyone else

Dr Bernstein’s book ‘Diabetes Solution’ that is inVerano’s link above is well worth a read.

I had the (big) book, now got it on iPad.

Verano – what a super article. It makes so much sense and as someone who injected insulin with each meal this information would have been so helpful. Why oh why wasn’t I taught it.

I have bookmarked it so that I can pass it on. Dr Bernstein is obviously not a fan of the high carb low fat brigade. No wonder I ended up with diabetic complications.

Cleverblonde73 – I am considering putting my cream, Lindt 90% chocolate and Fage yoghurt under lock and key as my husband has now discovered that they are his favourite things also.

Yowzer49 – what a wonderful weight loss. 4st and 5lbs in 22 2 weeks is phenomenal.

Verano I think that the article (and the book – thanks for that info Captainlynne) is of special interest to all of us with diabetes whether on insulin or not. I am just off to see if I can order it from Amazon.

The diabetes.co.uk website has a converter for average blood sugars to HbA1c.

Verano it doesn’t sound to me like you have diabetes and I’m surprised you’re on Metformin. You could consider a check-up before April to talk about it and maybe get off the drugs or at least reduce. Now you are on this diet you are looking after your pancreas so even if you were borderline before, you’ve stopped doing damage now and should be improving. “Never over 7.2” for a fingerprick is within normal range, not even prediabetic, but I don’t understand the HbA1c numbers since they changed the way they do it (and I don’t have diabetes) so that might show something else.

That article is fascinating! Doesn’t years of bad advice make you angry.

Natalie
That is just how reading the article made me feel. Its heartbreaking that we have been given so much bad advice – thank goodness though that Professor Taylor did his research and Michael Mosley wrote his book and that we all found it and this super forum. I would not have found MMs book if a client hadn’t lent it to me – so I count myself as very lucky.

Hi Cleverblonde73
Before losing my weight, my blood pressure was always around 110-125 over 65-75 so not particularly high to start with, but now it’s down to around 90-100 over 50-55, quite low I know, but my doctor is happy. I regularly walk up to 20km in a session and only occasionally so I have to be careful if I stand up too quickly!
I’m over 33kg down and maintaining well. Keep going, this really works!
Cheers
Linda

Good morning, I woke early today… I don’t think it was entirely due to it being weigh in day, but I was oddly full of hopeful anticipation as I stepped on the scale. I wasn’t disappointed, I have lost 1.8lb this week. I am now 2lb away from my pre Christmas goal of 9st!

I probably sound like a broken record constantly repeating the health benefits of the BSD way of life, it has been a real eye opener and I hope food fat-phobia soon becomes history and society looks upon it in horror like we do the 60s suggestions that smoking was good for you!

I was trying to think of some BSD friendly Christmas food indulgences, but truly I’m finding every meal an indulgence already!

No time now to comment on the diabetes/non-diabetes debate, but I’m fascinated. I’ll try and come back later today for that.

Meanwhile, congrats to everyone hanging on or well and truly on the sleigh, with or without cushions down their trousers. My results are better this week than I have any right to: 79.9 kg, so down 500 g over the week. No more celebrations or other events between now and Christmas. Might not hit my target (79.2 kg) for Tuesday next week, but I’m determined to reach it by Christmas and still be at it on 1 January.

Good luck everyone.

Morning everyone.

Happy to report I’m still maintaining, as I wanted to for this 4 weeks, varying within a pound or so. I still weigh daily just to keep an eye on what’s happening. Today I weigh 8st 8lbs.

Good to see so many on the sleigh.

Anybody else hear the report that Santa may need new animals to pull his sleigh? Apparently reindeer are losing weight, becoming smaller and weaker! Luckily for them we’re all lighter than we were – making their job easier.

Happy weigh-in morning everyone, 11 stone 0.4 for me today, so almost exactly where I was when I finished the 8 weeks. The 3 pound rebound has gone again, so either I am currently a maintenance loser or it was a temporary blip caused by the change in my diet and I have re-adapted to it. Average carbs are currently 78, but almost no white stuff, some extra fruit and veg and healthy carbs. It is wellbeing week at work this week so I get to finish early and exercise most days in specially put on classes, and have a weeks free gym pass for the gym literally next door to work. Spinning yesterday, today tai chi in my lunch hour, followed by the gym before badminton, and tomorrow a sorely needed bums and tums toning session. Friday is a boot camp session though, I will probably be absolutely wrecked after that!

DAY 1 … WEEK 4 !!!! 7 days to go and counting…

Good morning everyone

Thanks to those who have already posted. I can’t believe we have so many ‘originals’ still posting and of course we have new recruits as well. It just convinces me that shorter challenges are easier to stick with, after the first 8, than further chunks of 8, or maybe it’s ‘horses for courses’.

This last week for me will still be a ‘standing still’ week but to those of you who are close , one last push and you CAN, WILL make you goal by next Tuesday. What a great achievement at this time of the year. For those just clinging on, like me, can you imagine how much worse it could have been if we had been just carried on with gay abandon!!!

So for all of us this last 7 really counts. We are all successful … whether it be losing, standing still or putting on a smidgeon …. we are all winners because we’re all still here being counted!

Have a good day!

Quarter of a pound on but I am happy as not a good week. In fact very pleased that I have pulled it back!! And it was easy to get over the bad days. Cutting carbs certainly makes good days easier. Thanks fellow sleighers!!

Happy weigh in day everyone xx. Does anyone else get mixed up with days? I spent my first ten mins this morning thinking it was Saturday! Am sure it only happens to retirees,coz weekdays and weekends arent so different.

OIMADAM you made me laugh soooo much about Major Munchy! X

Good luck with the last week of the Big Push folks! X

Ps yes VERANO!very well said! X

Working from home today so I did a cheeky, unplanned weigh-in.

Weight is now 18-11, which means:

* Christmas target met
* Total loss of 30KG
* Total loss of 20% of my starting weight
* 66lbs off means I’m almost two-thirds of my way to my overall target weight

Well chuffed – might celebrate later with a square of 99% Lindt that I bought in Waitrose yesterday.

Happy sleighing!

Well done to everyone on your losses. I am down 0.75lb from last Tuesday. In the week I was 1.25lb but I forgot to drink water which has caused a transit issue. Have filled a 2ltr bottle with filtered water so I can monitor what I am drinking. So am now 9 stone 7.75lbs. My goal for this challenge was to get anywhere in the 9 stone 7s so need to keep focused next week.

Yesterday – because we couldn’t work out how to use our new scanner I had to resort to a low tech solution in order to get a document to London urgently (race down to our local post office just in time to catch the last post). What I noticed was how light I felt and how easy it was to walk really really fast. My dodgy knee is so happy with the weight loss.

We did work out in the end how to use the scanner but now have written down my own instructions as the scanners instructions made no sense.

Good morning !
There are some brilliant losses again, well done !
I am still clinging on but have gained another pound, 3 lb gain in 10 days which is not good. All family birthdays and parties now over so no excuses.
Today I start over and have a nice pan of cauli soup to look forward to. Weigh in and blood test next Monday so need to get the 3 lbs off.

J MAIGRET how fab to meet yr crimbo target with several days to spare! Deffo deserves a square of good chocco xx

Yowzer49 – Amazing weight loss!! 4st and 5lbs in 22 2 weeks!!.

LindaA – 33kg is a fabulous amount down!!

JulesMaigret – 66lbs off!! Wow!!!

You guys are an inspiration to me! I’ve lost 19.4 lbs in 6weeks 4days and still feeling very pleased but have a long way to go. Currently 12st 10.4 lbs but would like to get to 9st 7lbs.
I never thought losing so much was possible for me before because over time my resolve weakens. But with the BSD I’m not finding it at all difficult to stick to 800 cals so I totally believe I can keep this up right to the finish line

I guess that sugar and carbs must make you crave more and make you hungry because since I started the BSD I just don’t get hungry. Can easily get right to bedtime on 450/500 but not sure that’s a good idea so do put in the odd bowl of (NOT low-fat) natural yogurt and blueberries. Yum!

Well done CAROLE thats a brilliant loss! Youre an inspiration too!
I am like you …used to lose my resolve..wd start off well then wd get disheartened / lose patience with weekly losses of one or two pounds. The initial faster weight loss of BSD and seeing the health benefits of lowered bloodsugars/ bp is so encouraging. Easy to stay on board too as the full fat foods put a stop to the awful gnawing hunger of most diets! X

Hi All , Im really impressed with all your wonderful losses.Well Done, I wish that I had your resolve . I’m still trying to stay on track.Ive had a couple of meals out which I did not expect and it was lovely to eat in a nice restaurant at someone else expense.I did have 1 glass of wine and an odd chip from hubby’s plate. I was able to order teriyaki salmon with greens and wild rice,decided not to order anything special just moved the rice around the plate and had a taste but not impressed.I’m still eating the wrong thing at least once a day and as I’m now on leave till mid January, my activity level is very low, so my weight is static 84.5 kg and my BGL is a bit higher than usual .I reviewed my weight over 3 months and I have gained and lost the same 2kg several times.I still enjoy a few carbs but my sugar addiction is very strong for cakes , pastries and desserts.At this time of the year ,I’m finding it very tough with all the food gifts .On the plus side I went shopping for new pants as my old ones are a bit loose, was pleased to find I have gone down a size and my tops are also smaller.
Ive decided to focus on mindful eating,when I’m really ‘hungry’ I have green tea, check my BGL so I can see that I don’t need food then slowly eat some nuts .I have also moved all sweet treats to a spare bedroom so its too much effort to get .A new goal is to reach 80 kg by Jan 1.I know exactly what I should be doing and why but some how I don’t follow through .Im determined to keep trying.thanks for all your positive posts .keep up the good work. Merry Christmas

Congratulations on all your weight losses and success stories. I have lost 1 lb this week making a total of 7.5 since starting the 8 weeks to Christmas challenge (although not that thread but started with Veranos earlier 4 week challenge). I set myself a goal of 10 lbs in 8 weeks and we have just finish week 7, so just a week to go. 2.5 lbs in one week, probably not but when I think back to all the times my daughter and I have vowed to lose half a stone before meeting again (i.e. between Xmas and Easter), and only ever managing a pound or two, this is really successful for me. My total loss over the time I have been following BSD is 18.5 lbs.

I reduced my insulin to 22 units last night(down from 38 units 5 months ago) and my BG this morning is 91 (5.05) so I am well pleased. I think it will stay at 22 until after Christmas.

I have read the article by Dr Bernstein and can see sense in what he says. I know that if I go out and eat high carb and my BG goes up quite a bit it can take up to a week of increasing insulin to get it back to where it was. I can also see the argument that little mistakes make little damage but based on that argument I would be giving myself 6 injections x 7 units when I started this diet and even now would be injecting 3.1 times daily. All well and good but not when you are the one holding that needle to your stomach and have to stick it in, knowing that either the needle or the insulin is going to sting like hell. I am willing to have the large errors to save my stomach from bruising and bleeding more than I have to. I think the answer for me (and us on this diet) is to not put ourselves in a position of having big errors (high carb blow out) or secondly not have to take any insulin and stop the injections when our bodies allow us to do so. I for one am doing all I can to get to that place.

On that note, I wish you all a good day and a good final week of the challenge.

Hello to everyone hanging on here,

I’m impressed by two things in these posts i.e. 1. the success stories and 2. the fact that, like me, those finding it a struggle are STILL ON THE SLEIGH instead of falling off and staying off as we would have done in the past. Thank you for the inspiration.

I’m on the computer after dinner as usual, but did weigh in this morning. 62.8kg which is the same as last Tuesday. I’m not too dismayed as there have been a couple of upward spikes during the week due to our intensified social calendar. I tell you, catching up with as many friends as possible before Christmas is a tad more expensive than sending Christmas cards :)…….similar to come – x5 restaurant meals between now and Christmas Day, plus a couple of afternoon teas. If I can hold the line I will be thrilled (and exhausted.)

Good wishes everyone for our week 4.

See you tomorrow morning at the Dome, Butterlover.

Verano, have you got to the lesson on HbA1c. It was fascinating but has confused the hell out of me as to what the finger prick actually shows. I wont say more in case you are not there yet but you were steaming on ahead. To those not knowing what on earth I am talking about, it is a course with FutureLearn called The Diabetes Epidemic. Absolutely eye opening.

Hi sunshine-girl I guess that’s the target range sector??? If it is I posted a series of question here yesterday if you want to check back. Yes totally confusing and it was from the comments in that section that I posted the laws and small numbers article. Glad it’s not just me!!!

What’s your opinion??

Verano, for me it was just so many different measurements mmol/L, % etc but what is the finger prick, is it percentage or mmol/L, will have to look out my booklet. I assumed the finger prick had some alignment with HbA1c. I also thought the figure (for me this time) of 5.9 was my HbA1c but it is in fact my percentage, my HbA1c is 6.85 mmol/L. I am very happy with that as it is in the first band of Excellent readings. But I guess now when I do my finger prick BG and it reads 65 or 70 (3.6 or 3.8 reached by dividing the 65 or 70 by 18) I should not be thinking I am having a hypo because it is probably nearer to 5.9 or 6.5 on the HbA1c scale. Maybe it is designed to try to keep our BG artificially higher than we think it is so we don’t drop into hypo. If you understand any of that then you are a better man than I am Gunger Din.

I’ve checked my blood glucose meter and low and behold, to confuse matters it measures in milligrams of glucose per decilitre of blood. I am correct in dividing my 18 to get to a mmol/L equivalent which is in line with HbA1c. Problem solved so I am going to put my head down the toilet and flush it, see if I can clear my brain….

Sunshine-girl

Thank goodness!!!! I though it was just me!!!

What it has done for me is made me wonder if I do in fact have diabetes!!! I have access to my medical records but my test results aren’t there. When I get home I’m going to ask the secretary for access to those results. When I was first diagnosed I thought my HbA1c was about 7.2, only just over the 7 limit, but if the guidelines are so loose, as suggested in the course, maybe I don’t have diabetes at all !!!

Certainly room for thought. If I don’t get to the bottom of it I think my head will be with yours …. flushed down the loo!!!!

Of course there’s the old saying as well …’ a little knowledge!!!!