Diabetes Reversal
 

I would like to know if anyone reading this thread was once dependent on diabetes medication and or insulin and now have diabetes BG under control and have reversed the symptoms without the use of medications or insulin.

If you reversed your diabetes symptoms, please share how you did it. What is the one thing or one combination of things that you changed that made a difference for you? How long have you been having this control and reversal?

Me~ a completely controlled LC diet and 5 day a week exercise. I controlled it that way for 7 years until I got Lymes and everything went nutso.

Posted by Rodmick:



Let's see if I understand you.... Before controlling diabetes with an LC diet, you were on meds, right? Then, you had success with control by diet and exercise for 7 years. I suppose I could look it up, but can you tell me about Lymes and what's up with that?

What are you currently doing?

Yep you got it right. I had advanced case of lymes and it made BG awful even with LC because it damaged the pancrease and caused meurological problems. Lymes is from a tick bite. I got to spend months on antibiotics to finally kill it off. I had to use metformin again for about 6 months. I'm recently off it again(not quite a month).
Hope that explains it a bit better. Oh what am I currently doing. Protein power(40 net carbs(after deducting fiber) and exercise. Exercise in my opinion is really important in controling BG. I don't think diabtes is ever reverse but controlled. If I have an all out carb fest it's bg's through the roof again.
I'm not sure why your not getting more replies but there are tons of diabetic on the board no longer on meds.

I added a link to your ?'s hoping to get more replies.

I have/had what I think is/was mild type 2 diabetes. My FG about the end of January was 128, and my 2 hour glucose test was 239.

On Eat to Live, I eat at >=1 lb raw veg, >=1 lb cooked nonstarchy veg, 4-5 low sugar fruits (tomatoes and red peppers count), >=1 cup of beans, =1 oz tree nuts, =1 tbsp ground flax seed, fish oil and 1000 units of vitamin D. When I am done with that, I only have room for about 200-300 kcal of other stuff. I am losing about 1.5 lbs per week.

My morning glucometer readings have been improving steadily, and for the past week, have ranged from 79 to 97, average 88. One night I ate a cup of starchy veg and two slices of bread, and readings were good the next morning. I am still on 250 mg metformin twice a day, but I will definitely talk to my doctor about discontinuing. Since I was about 80 lbs overweight, and barely met the classification of diabetic, I think there should be no problem coming off the metformin and Lipitor. My BP has remained normal with meds (115/70 these days), so I will likely be on ramipril for a while.

One thing about my eating habits. I generally have three closely spaced meals 4-5 hours apart, but don't eat in the evening. I think that gives my pancreas a nice break of about 12 hours or more.

Most of the time I was exercising 1/2 hour 4x per week or so, but I have increased that, trying to work it up to one hour daily.
*****
So what is diabetes reversal? Healthy FG, GTT and A1C? If you have all those are you cured?

Posted by NorthPeaced:



Your first question: reversal would be if you were once dependent on medications and or insulin and because of changes you made in your diet or exercise, you no longer require medications or insulin and you maintain normal BG readings.

Not sure what you 2nd question is :) To answer your 3rd question: A cure by definition: ........"successful remedial treatment; restoration to health"............. I would like to think I am cured at the moment. I don't know if it is temporary or if it will be permanent. I was hoping that this thread would attract many to share their experience and we could gain some insight...................

I was diagnosed as diabetic about a year and a half ago, because of one bad FGB (128) and one borderline GTT. My A1C has never been above 5.3, and frankly, I was never convinced of the diagnosis in the first place, as I was on a low carb diet at the time of the GTT. There was definitely something metabolic going on, and had been since I quit smoking a few months before that. I also had some dental issues (an infection) that I believe contributed to the weird FBG.

All that being said, I was first put on Starlix. That didn't do much that was positive for me, since I rarely ate carbohydrates. Gave me some funky lows, though. Then I was put on Metformin instead. That allowed me to take off the first 30 pounds or so (then stalled for 4 months until I went on strict M&E) Once I dropped a bit more, I stopped taking the Metformin, too. Now, my FBG is in the 80s, and I am not on any medication at all. I am due for another A1C. Am I cured? I don't know. I would argue I the diagnosis was never really right. Pre-diabetic, sure. Metabolic syndrome X, maybe. Maybe my next doctor will tell me. I've fired the first two.

I'm not "cured", but hope to be, and soon.

My fasting blood sugar was 83, and that was the doctor's office result; this came in March, and after a day and a half without any meds. My fbs in December was 339. A bit of a difference!

This morning, it was 84. It hasn't went over 100 (at test time) in a few months, but then again, I eat under 30 (sometimes 20) grams of carbs a day.

Thanks for the posts CNYMom and Daryl....

Isn't it funny how our bodies react differently than before, when we make changes in diet, exercise, weight loss, etc..?

Wow, this is interesting. This plan does not include any animal products, is it a vegan diet? Is it satisfying, meaning, are you allotted cheese, butter, olive oil or animal protein?
Thanks in advance.
C.

I am amazed! I feel excited at the control of diabetes I've gained without the use of medications, whereas I was so dependent on medications before and had out of control blood sugar numbers......

When I started this thread, I thought I would get many replies from successful diabetics who broke their medication and insulin dependence through changes in diet, exercise, supplements, weight loss, etc..... Those replies just didn't happen.

I surely don't think I'm the only success story, but I'm starting to believe there aren't too many that are excited about it as I am.

I would love to help every diabetic improve their health through motivation and encouragement. I thought that success stories posted in this thread could provide some motivation and encouragement to a disease that takes away motivation and discourages.

Still hoping for more replies................................................

Great thread Cajunboy. Yes, it is helping to encourage me. The possibility of reducing medication is quite alluring.

I agree with NorthPeace, it's a good thread, and the thought of no meds means a lot, but don't let a lack of responses get you down, Cajunboy. There just isn't a huge amount of diabetics that post, period, here.

Maybe folks are busy with kids now on summer vacation? ;) :)

While I don't count myself as 'cured', I was able to get off meds within 6 months of starting low carb (and have been off since that time) and while a high carb meal doesn't spike me as high as it would have before, it still shows me that my body does not handle a lot of carbs at one time well.
Still...I consider getting off meds and maintaining control a success and every time I see my doctor, he tells me to keep doing whatever I'm doing. :)