Will I die if I don't change?

[hadntbeen]

I'm a 30 year old female. Full disclosure - my eating is out of control. Full of carbs, sugar and I drink a lot, and I mean a lot of semi skimmed milk which is just full of sugar. I am 5 foot 4 and weigh around 15 stone.

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes around 2 years ago when I started to become very sleepy throughout the day.

My hba1c results in October were 8.0 so not too bad, however, I hadn't been taking the 2000 mg metformin that was prescribed to me. I was honest with my doctor about this and so she told me to just take 500 mg and we would do another test in January.

I didn't do that - I honestly don't have any other reason for it other than the tablets make me feel sick and I don't like swallowing them. I've noticed over the last month that I have been urinating a lot more. I just got my hba1c results back and they are now 9.6.

I'm quite worried by these results as my diet hasn't changed since my last results in October but still my sugar levels aren't even staying the same they are just rising.

I'm scared to talk to my doctor. My plan from today is to start taking my one tablet 500 mg of metformin and to cut out the milk. I literally drink about 2 litres a day.

Is it reversible still at this point? If I continue the way I am, what can I expect going forward?

Every part of my life is going so well, I just can't quite get a grip of this.

I guess I need some horror stories/cold, hard facts to shock me into action.

Yes, this looks good but be wary of the peanut butter as peanuts are quite high carb. I have some full fat (10%) Greek yoghurt with a 4-5 berries or 4 or 5 almonds or cashews when I need a snack. It's tasty and filling.

Are you serious?

OP has a BMI in the obese category and has problems with appetite/ overeating (/drinking too much milk). She's not going to be able to stick to this plan, it's way too restrictive. This adds up to like 100-1200 calories, if that. OP is going to be hungry and will then feel like a complete failure when she can't do it.

OP, just make small and sensible changes that you can stick to. Honestly, I started off around your weight and I have lost a lot of weight in the last few years just by cutting out a small amount of calories and exercising a bit more. You don't need to starve yourself or restrict yourself this much. You need something you can do for years, this isn't it.

Also, you don't need to miss breakfast. You can have eggs, spinach, mushroom, avocado etc and still see weight loss.

Yes, I'm serious, although as per my post, i think OP should have breakfast too, so 3 meals a day.

Those are two good meals in that plan, they would fill me up, especially as when you start low-carbing, and eat 3 proper low carb meals a day, you really don't feel like snacking.

I'd focus on cutting down the milk first before embarking on a strict diet. Start slow by replacing with skimmed milk, or a healthier plant based milk? Then gradually start watering it down until it's more water than milk.

She's weeing so much because her blood glucose levels are so high and it's her kidneys going into emergency mode and trying to flush it out. She'll be thirsty too losing all that fluid so will be drinking more. 2 litres of semi skimmed milk is around 1000 calories...that's piling on the weight and increasing insulin resistance

That's great if it's good for you (I agree about breakfast too definitely) - but I just think for someone who weighs 15 stone and is currently drinking about 600 calories a day in milk, this is not sustainable. I say that as someone who's been there. It's too few calories and too restrictive, too big of a transition for her to make in a short time. It is too hard.

OP, please don't feel bad if you try this and can't stick to it. Your body needs a gentler transition from where it is.

People are demonizing dairy products recently for the natural sugar they contain. But it really is nothing compared to the amount in sweet processed foods.

Get yourself a blood sugar monitor - that’ll show you daily what foods affect your levels. Seeing high levels every day should give you the boot up the bum you need. Good luck x

I agree with this. A lot of plant based milks are heavily processed too and contain sugars and additives. It's a decision between environmental/ animal welfare concerns and health, but I would not want to remove dairy milk from my diet completely.

However as an adult, I think it is a bit odd to be drinking glasses of pure milk to hydrate and will add a lot of calories as opposed to drinking water. I would just have it on cereal or in coffee/ tea.

Diagnosed type 2 exactly 1 month after my dad died - basically rotting from the outside in - due to not managing his diabetes.
Gangrene - that’s the smell that keeps on giving. As usual, I wasn’t taking care of myself at the time (and ignoring my own symptoms as stress, tiredness, age) because I was literally running around looking after my Dad & then arranging his funeral.

My handy hints. I’m not going to sugar coat it (as a fellow diabetic, I can’t take the sugar) because some of this is going to suck.

I live by my blood glucose monitor. You can’t dick about with your food intake if the figures are there, in real time, in black & white in front of you.

Carbs make me crave more carbs. So I can’t eat carbs. Stinks, but for me, it is what it is. I’ve been given the OK by my diabetes nurse to 20:4 intermittent fast. I don’t have to think about what I can eat if I’m not actually allowed to eat.

Metformin is still making me as sick as a pig (and don’t get me started on the Met shits). But I have to take it because…I’m diabetic! There’s not much getting around it. Ask your nurse for the extended release metformin, that should help. For me, thinking I’m going to spew at any given moment is horrible, but it helps with the fasting.

Drink lots of water. Although that could be applied to anyone.

It’s shit. I love cake & biscuits & sweets & fudge (god, I’d marry fudge if I could).

But I’m sure as hell not going to do fuck all like my Dad, expecting his kids to do everything for him because he couldn’t look after his own health. And then shrugging his shoulders when asked by his doctors why he wasn’t looking after himself or taking responsibility for his diabetes control.

Having seen the damage uncontrolled type 2 can do to the human body, and now being type 2 myself (an unfortunate genetic quirk), I have to be accountable to myself, to my own kids, and I sure as hell don’t want type 2 diabetes in black and white on my death certificate as it was on Dad’s last summer.

Diabetes.org.uk has loads of useful info. I know I sound old & bitter (because fuck it, it’s been a shit 12 months and I am) but this was my reality seeing dad killing himself with no control, and is my reality now I have my diagnosis. I’ve seen the horrors, smelled the horrors, and now see Dad on my sister’s sideboard in a cardboard tube - the diabetes equivalent of ‘got the t-shirt’.

For the record, my HbA1C was 72 on 21st June (my diagnosis date), 58 by August, and is now 46. Daily, my glucose is from 3.9mmol/l to 7.5mmol/l.

Milk is a carb

It is good to have breakfast- it's proven that those who eat it tend to be a healthier weight. Maybe because having it helps stop people eating excessively later in the day.

@hadntbeen Could you convert from milk to fat free greek yogurt? It's a great low calorie food and will be more satisfying than a drink. If you find it sour you could put some sweetener in it.

Well said @smooththecat . It's incorrect messages like this that heap guilt and shame on people trying hard to manage their condition. You might as well say you can beat cancer with a diet.
Life is like a game of cards. You're dealt your hand and can't just change it, whether that's your genes or other factors. You've just gotta play you hand as well as you can.

How did you give up alcohol? (Congratulations by the way!)

Could you apply the same technique?

If you did AA, there is Overeaters Anonymous, if 12 Step works for you?

You need to remove carbohydrates from your diet.

People don't have to not have carbs at all, even if they have diabetes.

I agree. The only diet plan id consider as the OP is the NHS 800 shake one which is only for a short while and heavily supported, even then I think she’d struggle.

@hadntbeen you will feel weird at first, you’re used to your BG running really high and you’re going to experience what we call false hypos because your body isn’t used to a normal level. But if you get a monitor and keep an eye on your levels you’ll find you very quickly start feeling a LOT better and the cravings for carbs will diminish greatly as your body will be running more normally. You’re thirsty and drinking loads of milk because your body is trying to flush out the sugar, if you can swap to water it’ll be a lot more efficient at that and it’ll taper off once you get your BG under control. You’ll also not feel as exhausted either.

2 lites of semi skimmed milk is a lot of calories, around 1000! That's 10 kitkats

She needs some milk

IDK if 'milk is a carb.' It is a protein source.

But in general it's better not to drink one's calories, as people tend to do that alongside the calories they eat from food, so they end up having more calories over all.

@hadntbeen Do you like diet coke etc? Virtually no calories in it and it's proven to help people lose weight. You would still get that sensation of drinking.

That looks delicious! What time can I come over?

What I would say is to also try to avoid processed foods where you can so watch things like keto sauces. They may be fine - I'm not familiar with them - but read the ingredients. If they're full of chemicals and E numbers they won't help your gut bacteria. Sour cream (cream + lemon juice) is an easy alternative.

For the same reason make sure peanut butter is whole nut or you could find that's full of sugar and junk too.

You need to suck it up and take your tablets @hadntbeen . I'm sure it's less unpleasant a sensation than a heart attack.

They need to refer you to a dietician really maybe, who would be a specialist in these things.

You are mistaken ifvyou believe you can always 'reverse' diabetes through diet. No, you can't. Almost half of those with T2 end up on insulin

Yes, we need some carbs. There are some carbs in nuts, vegetables, yoghurt, etc.

That’s why we do low carbing not no-carbing!

At your weight and with what you’re currently eating and drinking, you will really struggle to move to a diet like that OP.