anyone diabetic type 2? Need advice please Help!

1lexisva

My Dr said my blood sugar is high and that I may be diabetic. I went to the lab for blood work and it was high 186. She wants me to start medication but I don't want to. Has anyone worked out to the point where they do not need to take medication? My Dr said it would HELP a lot if I lost weight.

I really want to start a family but she wants me to get my blood sugar levels down first. I told her I really will try this time because I am 33 and getting on the old(er) side. If anyone can help me or guide me in the right direction please send me a message or comment.

Thank you!

bambione

Have you had any other tests done? Like the Hemoglobin A1C? I think that's also done to give you an indication of your average blood sugar over a few months. Has the Dr put you on an suggested eating plan? I'm not an expert on this, I'm not diabetic. Is your doctor a specialist or a GP? I would definitely seek nutritional guidance even if you go the medication route.

jgnatca

Did your doctor recommend Metformin? Not only does it help control blood sugar, it can also help you lose weight.

Yes, even losing 10-20 pounds can really help control your blood sugar.

You can start eating like a type 2 now and you will start feeling better.

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/create-your-plate/

jgnatca

My blood sugars normalized after I lost about forty pounds and I am on no meds now. But some people end up type 2 regardless.

Tinawood40

You can do this. I started in June because my A1C number came in high. I've lost 22.4 lbs since then with MFP. I just had my blood re tested and saw my Dr yesterday for a 3 month check in. My A1C number is now within the normal range. No diabetes and no medication for me !!! I was so ecstatic. This was the catalyst that helped me change my lifestyle. I'm 52 and there was no way I was going to accept diabetes if I could do something about it.

Tinawood40

Btw - I didn't eat any special foods or eliminate anything. I definitely reduced some foods to lose weight but I eat everything - just in moderation and smaller portions. I stay within my calorie goal.

lindsey1979

I've got IR, but only at prediabetic levels. For me, what helped was really tracking my food intake and greatly reducing my "added sugar" items and fast-acting carbs (pasta, bread, etc.). I have quite a sweet tooth, but it's so much better these days. I eat more protein, I get most of my carbs from non-starchy veggies and eat starchy veggies and fruit in moderate amounts.

This way of eating greatly reduced my carb intake -- most days I'm at 100-150 g (150g on lifting days). And without all the added sugar stuff in there, my tolerance/taste for those sugary/carby things has greatly reduced. Now, fresh fruit tastes amazing, whereas it only used to taste so-so to me. And most of the old sweets just aren't appealing anymore. I can still go for really high end/high quality things from time to time, but the junk food sort of sweets just don't taste good anymore. My taste buds reset for the most part.

I found that restricting carbs was essential for me to maintain a deficit and lose effectively. I know that there is evidence out there that the amount of carbs one eats can greatly affect weight loss results. Insulin sensitive women lost more weight with more carbs. Insulin resistant women (like you and me) lost more weight with less carbs. So, I'm fairly certain that just creating a deficit alone wouldn't have worked as well for me personally. It was about creating a deficit but also restricting my carbs. That's what worked for me.

BarneyRubbleMD

Yep! I've been a type 2 diabetic for probably 20 years but didn't know it for 10 of those years and ignored it for another 8 years until my toes became numb--then I got serious about fixing it. First I was put on Metformin (a pill, 2x/day) but that didn't do much for me, then the doctor added a slow-acting insulin (Levemir) injection at night, which helped a little but not enough, then he added fast-acting insulin (Humalog) injections with each meal (breakfast, lunch & dinner) and that really did the trick for getting my blood sugars down (from 300 in February2015, down to about 95 now).

I avoided doing anything about my diabetes for years because I just didn't think I could deal with giving myself injections but eventually I realized I had to go that route for the time being or risk even more complications than numb toes. Now, with MyFitnessPal and really watching my intake of food (& tracking) along with monitoring my blood sugars before & after meals, I've just about eliminated my insulin injections (from 25 units/meal in February2015 down to about 3-4 units/meal now) and hope to get to the point of needing no insulin in a few months. A pleasant "side effect" of getting my blood sugars under control was a decrease in cravings for carbs which always seemed to derail my dieting efforts.

Your 186 number is from a fasting glucose test which isn't really a good indicator for diabetes (my fasting glucose was fine for years because I typically ate one very big meal per day at lunch time and by the following morning my fasting glucose numbers were fine but my after-meal blood sugar numbers were awful {250-400 or more depending on the meal}). Like others here have recommended, I'd ask your doctor to order a hemoglobin A1C test (another blood test for the lab) as it's a much better indicator of diabetes and just how bad (or not so bad) it really is.

Yes, losing weight helps with improving blood sugar numbers so whatever you can do to make that happen would go a long way to getting your blood sugar numbers down. Exercise may help somewhat but you can't really out-exercise a bad diet so monitoring your food intake (amounts & types) can be far more helpful (& powerful) than exercise alone.

jules6669mfp

Losing weight definitely will help you. I was on several meds plus insulin. After losing only 30 lbs, I was and still off the insulin!!! My diabetic meds were lowered also. I am now on metformin 500mg once a day and Jardiance 10mg daily. I am hoping to get off of them too. I go back to doctor on the 29th. I've been experiencing low blood sugars pretty frequently. Hate that. So hoping for getting rid of one or both. Also, walking is very helpful as is keeping hydrated. You can stop this but have to start now. Good luck. You can do it!!

RodaRose

Get the A1C. It is a better test. If you are diagnosed as diabetic, you should be on the medication. Then lower your calories and lose weight.

cmoni2

I'm pre-diabetic so I'm now abstaining completely from refined carbohydrates, fatty meats and dairy products. I am eating whole wheat pasta & bread, along with healthy whole grains, such as quinoa, brown rice and all the incredible variety of beans, plus vegetables. Please watch the movie "Forks Over Knives" and "PlantPure Nation" for many fascinating health guidelines. Also, you might want to read Dr. John McDougall's book, The Starch Solution which promises that you can "eat the foods you love, regain your health and lose the weight for good." Especially read a book by Dr. Neal Barnard who has a Program for Reversing Diabetes. Good luck to you!!

cmoni2

Oh, and I didn't mention this because it's pretty much a "given" for anyone who is Insulin Resistant (IR) -- I stay away from SUGAR! This means no soda -- water is a much better beverage! Also, no sugar in my coffee and desserts only on occasion (such as a birthday & even then, only a "sliver" of the cake). I even switch out the very "sweet" or high-glycemic fruits for the lower-glycemic ones, such as instead of oranges, I'll have grapefruit and instead of regular apples, I'll have the green apples, etc. It takes a little getting used to, but it's really not a very big deal. It's automatic for me now and I don't even think about it. I just stay away from SUGAR.

cafeaulait7

Lose weight, avoid high glucose by avoiding high glycemic load carbs, and make sure to do some light exercise at least every day. It can be a 15-min walk after your big meal. Daily exercise definitely helps levels. Don't do too strenuous exercise until you know that doesn't raise your BG levels (temporarily, but still). It can!

I still have to take my medicine, but it's my overnight BG that gets so high I could probably get off it if I went super-low carb and did more sessions of exercise a day, though. People do that and often have success. I take Metformin only, and not a high dose. I don't mind it. It really helped me lose some pounds very quickly, too, lol. I have about 9-12 lbs to thank the medicine for, because I ate the same amount of calories once the early gastro side effects went away. My trend line shows it had a huge effect for a while on my weight!

1lexisva

Thank you so much everyone!!

1lexisva

A1C is 11% I'll be on this healthy journey a long time