Chemist tested me for diabetes - sent me to the Dr TODAY urgently...please come and talk to me...

[MyHeadWasInTheSandNowNot]

These are my questions

1: The reading the chemist got was 20 - can anyone tell me what this means (ie how 'serious' it is) and if they think it could be controlled and/or preferably gotten rid of through diet and exercise.

2: What will the Dr do today.

The rest is whittering background.

Also, I just wanted to say that I'll have to go in about an hour and wont be able to get back on line until tomorrow afternoon, but I haven't done a runner and will be grateful for any help/advice.

[I'm a regular - I've namechanged because I'm not sure yet if I want to tell anyone or not and I have a few RL friends on MN. It's not that I mind people knowing as such it's just that I don't want it to turn into A Big Deal]

I have been wondering for quite some time if I might have diabetes. A few things have made me wonder about it such as

• Excessive thirst (always having to have a bottle of water on me)

• Eyes a bit blurry at night (been blaming the overhead light and the small tv screen with tivo bright red background and only a problem at night and spending too much time looking at screens)

• Occasional 'shakes'

• I am overweight and struggle with feeling like my 'blood sugars' aren't right

...but what made me 'man up' to getting tested was that last week & yesterday I had a couple of episodes of light headedness/feeling faint when doing things such as changing a lightbulb, I had also been having them in the shower, but put that down to it being hot/steamy etc

I called the chemist about a year ago to see if they did the tests, but ended up not going

I also went to my Dr about 3-4 years ago with constant tiredness and no real reason for it.... he put it down to my weight (which although I'm overweight was not stopping me doing anything, being reasonably fit etc), he really wasn't interested in looking further. I haven't been back, but am and have been pretty much constantly tired since before then. I know I should have seen another Dr but it's hard when you are overweight and they don't seem interested in seeing past that and accept their might be something other excess weight causing the problem.

I wonder now how long I might have had it for and thus how much damage I might have done already to my body, especially my eyes, that's pretty scary.

I was already overweight, but I was pretty fit - then something quite lifechanging happened and I've put on more weight, stopped exercising and I am not unfit. I'm certainly not can't move off the couch unfit - I could still easily walk 4 miles, run for the bus (i'd be panting but I could do it and would recover pretty quickly) - but something else I've noticed (just yesterday I really 'thought' about it) is that I have been putting off doing stuff like walking places (now I take the car), running up the stairs (now only ever walk), kicking the ball about with the kids etc and I realised yesterday it's because when I do I feel awful - not just tired/worn out but light headed and a bit pukey - it's been a gradual thing.

I am totally committed to exercising - a minimum of 30 minutes every day without fail (have just been for an hours walk - about 3 miles) and to improving my diet (which I fully accept hasn't been great for a while, since this 'thing' happened and for a wee bit before then).

I'm not looking for any magic cure - I just want to know if I can get rid of the diabetes through diet and exercise.

Thank you if you made it this far - or even if you didn't wade through it all but can help.

OP, if you want to try something else then have a google about an asian veg called karela or bitter gourd might be the translation.

They make it into a drink which apparently tastes absolutely disgusting, and have some at least everyday, maybe more I am not sure?

It is used to control diabetes and I have read some googled stuff that says it is true.

If you want to try it you would find it in any indian/bangladeshi type greengrocers, looks like a warty cucumber - it might just tip your sugars a tiny bit lower for you

How much weight have you lost, MyHead, and over what period of time?

isithometime - I've heard of it before, but a long time ago and I'd forgotten about it. I'll have a look, anythings worth a shot - but I'm not good with things that taste terrible - so it might be a one off!

BIWI - Since the 22nd of January (so almost a month), I've said good-bye forever to 5.5kg/12lb (and I think quite possibly I'll have lost a stone by the time the full month is up I might have had a cheeky look at the scales today, which I know you are going to say is good... it's just that I have a lot to lose - so hoped the first bit would come off quickly and also, the scales haven't moved in a week until maybe this morning. I think it was about the 5th of Feb when I started low carbing to just above bootcamp level (ie with the odd latte - about 3 since then & 2 vodka & slim tonics when I went out to dinner - so between bootcamp & bootcamp light I guess) and I have been in ketosis since then, if not before (I bought sticks to check). I think part of my thing about the scales is that at first it went really well and I was hoping that would continue - now this plateau so early has knocked my confidence a bit and I'm worried it will be like other things I've tried and just not work :( Wanting to lose the weight is partly down to wanting all the nice things that come when you drop the stones pounds (nicer clothes, clothes that fit nicer, feeling more comfortable in social situations yadda yadda yadda) but mostly for me right now is that I am hoping against hope that a good drop in weight will make me less insulin resistant and drop my levels and I really want to do that before I go back for my next Hba1c.

I went to a function tonight - there were lots of lovely things - beautiful mini rolls with some lovely vegetarian fillings, wraps, crisps & dip, beautiful mini pastries/cakes - all so tiny & pretty ...and alcohol, all being constantly offered (so it wasn't even a case of just staying away from a buffet table) and I didn't even have one morsel or drink - I had water, black tea & a coffee. Any Gold Stars going spare??

Readings all in the 6's again today.

..... but I have to point out the bleedin' obvious - the first bit has come off quickly! That's a lot of weight to lose.

You're in around the third week of low carbing and it is very, very, very common for weight loss to slow/stop or even reverse at that point in time. Something to do with the body adapting to fat-burning from carb-burning - meaning that you are properly ketogenically-adapted.

It will work. It is working. But it isn't necessarily going to be half a stone a week - you do have to have reasonable expectations I'm afraid.

The weight you have lost will already be helping you, and your blood level readings are looking great - so something is obviously working.

The key thing, I find, speaking from my own experiences as well as observing those of others, is to try and step back a bit and look at the overall/longer term pattern. It's all too easy to get obsessed about yesterday/today/tomorrow (been there, done that, got the t-shirt!) and forget that the changes that we are making are working and are for the better.

You've done brilliantly well so far - especially as your key focus has to be your blood sugar levels, which you seem to have well under control, and without having to take the medication which you really didn't want to do.

You should be very proud of what you have achieved!

Just popping in to say Well Done myhead , hope you continue to see good results, both on the weight and the levels.

Sazpops - thanks :) Nice to 'see' you!

BIWI Thanks - looks lovely on my grey cardi Please feel free not to bother reading the next bit - just thinking out loud and it helps to get it down 'on paper' so I can read it back later on. I probably should do a private journal, but this is nicer with a bit of imput from you all :)

Looking at it again - this Monday gone was 4 weeks, not next Monday (as I thought) - so in 4 weeks I gave away 9lbs.

I know it sounds a lot, but I really do have masses to get rid of.

I think it's how it's gone that's been a bit grrr

First two weeks (cut out starchy veg, rice, pasta etc but still eating not bread bread & ryvita etc) - 5lb
Week 3 - started properly low carbing (but still with the odd latte, remaining in ketosis though - checked on sticks) - 4lb
Week 4 - STS

9lb in 4 weeks.

Week 5 - 2lb

So only 2lb in two weeks - doesn't feel like enough of a 'reward' for the effort/sacrifice/faff/amount I have to go, when I was doing that with more carbs :(

I feel like the harder I've tried & the lower I've gone in carbs - the less weight I've given away?! I know the first bit could have been water/glycogen etc

I wasn't expecting half a stone a week, but 3-4 lbs I think is reasonable for someone of my weight. Others are doing it & more.

I have just given away enough to put myself in the lower end of what they say will make a difference as far as weight loss/blood sugar goes.

The key thing, I find, speaking from my own experiences as well as observing those of others, is to try and step back a bit and look at the overall/longer term pattern. It's all too easy to get obsessed about yesterday/today/tomorrow (been there, done that, got the t-shirt!) and forget that the changes that we are making are working and are for the better

I know and I'd say exactly the same to someone else!! I just wanted things to move more like the first two weeks than the second two weeks for a little while before slowing down!

You've done brilliantly well so far - especially as your key focus has to be your blood sugar levels, which you seem to have well under control, and without having to take the medication which you really didn't want to do

The DN wont think those levels are low enough to not take metformin and she will say it's not sustainable (this WOE and certainly not good for me yadda yadday yadda) - I need to have lost the upper end of 'impact weight loss' & be in the 'normal' bloods range before I go back to her in about 7 weeks and that felt achievable before, whereas now that feels like it's slipping away from me a bit.

I have done other W'sOE before and been so sure they would be the answer - read the books, joined the forums, been a dedicated follower and have found they didn't work for me. I need this WOE to work for me and it did seem to be then stalled (which has happened before). I honestly believe that different things will work for different people, I don't think there is one WOE that works for everyone.

Also - the bgl's feel a bit 'fake' as they haven't been 'challenged'. 'Normal' people should be able to eat absolutely anything and have their bgls stay under 8.5 and return to the 5's a few hours later. I have no idea what mine would do. But still - I'm not planning on trying for a few weeks yet as I'm still hoping to shock my system into being less insulin resistant and by dropping the weight enabling the insulin I do produce be enough for my body. Fingers crossed.

You should be very proud of what you have achieved! Thanks :) Possibly I should, but I don't really feel that way though, I feel happy that 13lbs have gone (got on the scales this morning) - so almost a stone, but I can't feel 'proud' of fixing something that shouldn't have been so broken in the first place :( Does that make sense?

I don't think it's 'self confidence' I need but confidence that this WOE will a) work for MY weight to go and b) will keep the diabetes able to be controlled by diet alone and it would be amazing if it could 'reverse' the diagnosis as has happened with other people.

Everything BiWi said! Exactly!

Yes the first chunk of weight off would have been glycogen, you do NOT need to be losing 3 or 4 lbs a week, seriously, even 2 or 3 lbs a month is great, it all adds up and remember your focus needs to be on blood sugar first, weight loss second.

I think you need to look at your fasting bs, and look at what you were eating the day before you get a 6.2 fasting, and how that differs from what you eat the day before a 5.8 fasting bs - and tweak your diet.

I think this is going to be difficult due to your being a veggie but not impossible. But if you can't get it tweaked you are going to have to think about the medication otherwise you are putting your long term health at risk.

The veggie issue is simply that veggie protein sources have much more carbs and much less protein ( usually half the protein per serving than the meat equivalent), and this DOES make a difference for controlling bs.

If I eat a large meal of meat (0%carbs), with a good sized portion of salad leaves (as I often do!), my bs will barely move off my baseline bs of around 4.4 - in may reach 4.8 or 4.9 .

The same amount of calories from a slightly higher carb meal would have it go up to around 7.8 and fasting the next day would be around 5.6 to 5.8 rather than 4.4 maybe a small portion of rice for example, would do this.

I know from testing that different foods affect bs in different ways that seem to be down to the individual persons metabolism or biochemistry- yes, related to the gi of the food but it is more complex than that, which is why I think you need to look for patterns linking the foods you eat with your fasting bs a day (or even couple of days) later!

SCOTCH - Hi :)

There's no way I could keep this up and only be losing 2-3 lbs a month, I would have to try something different. I have a lot to go and 2-3 lbs a month would be a depressingly slow crawl to my 'healthy' weight and thus an affect on bgls'.

My focus IS on my blood sugar, or tbh I wouldn't be doing this at all - I hated being overweight, but it was not enough for me to try deal with it (again - too many depressing attempts).

5.8/6.2 etc I can test myself 3/4/5 times and get different readings. The other day I got these...

2am - 5.5 (I just thought I'd see what it was)

Fasting 7 - which was high for me and high only a few hours after a 5.5 so I retested

5.7 - seemed odd so I tried again...
8.2 - fecking weird!
6.7 - what on earth is going on?

9am 6.5/6.4/6.7

So I rang Aviva to see if the meter was faulty and she looked at her chart and said no, it's within the 15% range, so it's fine. I said I thought the range was mad, but what can I do? She said nothing really, just keep using your meter as a guide but she sent me some control solution and I tried that when it arrived - 2.2 & 17.5 both slap bang in the middle of the control allowance.

So, unfortunately I don't think anything other than a consistent drop means too much :( but I'm definitely looking for trends/patterns with bgl's & food/drink etc

Just had chillie & cheese for lunch :) Reasonably carby at 14g per serving, but homemade, so I know exactly what's in it.

I can't test too much at the moment as I've almost run out of strips, another lot I ordered haven't turned up, so I've ordered more. I'm not paying the nearly £30 they are at the chemist when it's not vital I do it.

Today so far though - fasting 5.7, before lunch 5.9

All I ate yesterday was avocado, cheese & nuts. Not brilliant on the nutrition front, but I didn't cave into any of the yummy things on offer (as per my post above). I was a little bit tempted to have a couple of things and see how they affected my readings, but decided I can wait a few more weeks and try with healthier options!

SCOTCH - you and I are going to have to stop agreeing with each other, or MNHQ will start accusing us of sockpuppeting

MyHead - how much weight were you hoping that you would shift in the 12 weeks?

I agree with everything scotch and BIWI have just said.

Myhead I don't want to burst your bubble but when you say about your levels not being challenged (eg normal people eating more carby meals and levels being fine) that is because you have type II diabetes. That is why your levels are as they are in this low carb diet, sadly out bodies don't work quite right in that area and therefore we need to be more careful with what we eat, and dare I say it use the medication. Taking metformin will not speed up the progression of your diabetes but it will probably get your levels just that tiny bit lower in the range you require.

Your weight loss is brilliant. Remember you didn't put on the weight in weeks, it will take time to come off. 2lbs a week is sustainable healthy weight loss and is lovely. 2 lbs a week is more than half a stone a month, more than 5 stone in a year. I completely understand your frustration with the weight loss - I have a lot to lose and find it frustrating too but know it is about the longer term. The nurse I should think will be please with your progress - having been in a similar position where my hab1c was 8.9 and went down to 6.1 in three months and I lost about a stone and a half in that time - they were really pleased with the progress.

Keep posting myhead.

BIWI at the start I didn't have an amount in mind. I have tried various diets and W'sOE and nothing has really worked very well. However, my diet had got pretty crappy, a lot worse than it had ever been, so I hoped some of it would go by just eating 'less badly'?!

After the first week of just cutting out crap & potatoes, bread and fruit etc I was pleased with the result. So then I hoped that if I continued on this path I might be able to rid myself of say 3lbs a week. The big difference this time to other times has been cutting out fruit.

I would really like to have rid myself of 12kg/26lb in 12 weeks - a percentage weight loss that is generally thought to help with insulin resistance and enabling the insulin produced to be enough for ones body.

This still leaves me with a lot to get rid of, it's the tip of the iceberg

I'm just wondering, therefore, why you think the DN might not be happy with the weight that you have lost?

And you have already lost half of that target, in 5 weeks!

MrsHP

I think that after reading quite a lot on diabetic forums I am hoping I can do what others have done & become less insulin resistant and reduce my body weight to a level where the insulin my body does produce, is enough for me... essentially becoming 'non diabetic'.

There are quite a few people around who have done that and although they keep their diet somewhat in check (ie wouldn't eat only carbs all day) they are eating a 'normal diet' I'm aware it may be a 'goal too far' - but hey, if I don't try, I'll never know will I?

I am not prepared to take this lying down and just take meds & more meds and More Meds to keep it within the guidelines if I can do it without.

I would be interested to see what a non NHS Doctor thinks is an acceptable level where it's not necessary or desirable to be on metformin. The difference between the 'normal range' and the 'DT2' range are marginal. The Doctors/DN's have 'targets to meet' and I'm not interested in just upping their numbers for them by merrily going along and taking metformin, statins and bp lowering meds - when I don't actually need to.

BIWI - because she is honestly the thinnest person I have seen alive (IRL) she looks like she should be in a clinic for eating disorders :( I am truely not being nasty or envious, she is painfully thin (I would rather be my size).

I can see that all she sees when she looks at me is someone obese who has mountains of weight to lose and just needs to take her medication as per the NHS guidelines. NHS guidelines says medication must be prescribed so that is that. She all but laughed at me when I said I wanted to try it with diet/weightloss/exercise first and just say 'No way, you need to take the metformin'. I have no faith in NHS dietary advice and very little in other aspects as they are far to 'budget/guidelines' driven and have stopped seeing 'people' :(

I just feel I have more of a leg to stand on if I have reached that target than if I don't. Of course, either way they can't make me take any medication, but it would be nice to have their support to do it without.

Yes - I am pretty much half way there, pretty much half way through, but I was most of that a fortnight ago, this past fortnight not much has happened - that is what worries me a bit and if you remember, I wasn't really complaining anyway - I said I was pleased my levels were looking 'OK' though I'd like them to go down further and I'd like the scales to co-operate :) and actually, they seem to have moved a tad since I said that, so it's all good :)

.... and, as I said, it's not uncommon at all for people to see little or no weight loss, or even a slight gain in weeks 3, 4 and or 5! Don't fret. Honestly, with the menus that you've been posting, your weight loss will start again/continue.

I feel for you, in the face of the kind of response I think you're going to get and it sounds like your DN has little or no empathy for the situation that you're in. You will just have to imagine that we are all in the consulting room with you, arrayed around you, giving her our best hard stares!

And I bet she is one of those awful people who eats whatever she wants without ever putting weight on ...

BIWI lol, I think MrsH will have to join us, we are all agreeing today!

Head, if you keep low carbing, you will to a certain extent be able to reset your insulin sensitivity so that an occasional very high carb meal will not send your blood sugar through the roof. BUT you need to accept you remain diabetic, but controlled by diet. I would expect that when you reach a normal bmi, you will be able to increase your daily carb intake a little but it is likely that you will have to remain on a low/ med carb diet for life... Even at normal weight I think 50-80g carbs a day is likely to be the most you can eat without your bs going over the limits of normal.

Sorry if this sounds harsh
Probably not what you want to hear but for most diabetics this woe is not a cure, it is control, or partial cure and control.

Certainly in my case I don't think I have cured myself of having insulin resistance and being in the almost diabetic range, I have controlled it and I don't think it will now progress. I know I would be diabetic within a year or two if I started eating a "normal" diet again. As someone who had gestational diabetes years ago, I am high risk and I know it!

As for levels, I get concerned if I get any fasting reading of 5.8 or more. The levels regarded as being "normal" are probably a bit on the high side, as when they were devised they were normed on a population which is fairly fat and insulin resistant! I prefer to follow the paleo safer blood sugar guidelines and keep my bs at towards the lower end of normal.

Variation in bs readings IME can be due to how deeply the lancet sticks in your finger! Try to press the Lance device to your finger at the same angle and pressure each time and you should find that helps

You are doing very very well, its early days yet, keep at it!

*that paleo safer blood sugar figure I mentioned - I meant to say I don't like my fasting bs to be above 4.8 not 5.8!

Thanks BIWI :) x

I actually think she's the miserable kind of person who eats one lettuce leaf a day and thinks that's overdoing things and if only the rest of us had her self control the world would be a better place

Briffa thinks soy milk, tofu, quorn should all be avoided too along with very limited lentils/beans etc. I'm going to be 'food free' again at this rate :/ Though he thinks tomatoes and something else non bootcamp are fine? It's all a puzzle and I'm still working my way through the 'BMR' stuff.

SCOTCH thank you too. I'm sure you are right on all counts. I'm just not sure I'm ready to accept it yet. Pretty much any other diagnosis wouldn't feel so 'personal' so 'brought on ones self' - I think I feel like people will say 'Well, it's not surprising is it?!' < if not say it, think it. I have read quite a few things that say the diabetes causes the weight gain, rather than the weight gain causing the diabetes - but it is certainly not viewed that way by people.

Quite a few people have said they got their weight down and their levels down and they now seem to be able to maintain good levels without meds and without counting every carb - which would be good. Not that I want to return to my old WOE - but it would be nice not to regard carrots as the enemy - especially when I don't seem to be left with many food friends!!

Sorry to hijack this thread. I've just posted my post on chat but saw this and thought you might have some answers for me. I hope you don't mind.

I am a little concerned I have pre diabetes or type 2 diabetes. I am very overweight (about 5-6 stone overweight) and did eat far too much sugary food. My urine is sometimes cloudy but I have no other symptoms.

I have ordered a testing kit from amazon but I'll go to the doctors if this shows anything up or if my urine remains cloudy on occasions.

I am losing weight but it's a slow process and it sounds daft but I don't want to go to the docs without having lost more weight as I'm sick of being berated for my weight by them. Obviously I'll go straight to docs if the numbers show any concern.

Anyway - when my kit arrives what kind of numbers should I be looking for. It's a blood testing kit. Do I need to do a fasting reading and one after eating? Thanks for any info.

That makes more sense, I thought that was quite high! :)

Ilove hijack away - or as we call it, join in :)

Honestly, I'd just go straight to the Drs and get them onto it. 2 testing strips isn't going to tell you very much at all. As you can see from my posts above it's quite possible to get a 5.8 and an 8.5 one after the other (one is OK the other is bad) down to which finger you use and as scotch has just said, how deep you go.

If it helps you any, I am more overweight than you and I avoided my Dr as well because he was an arse - I could have gone in with anything at all and he would blame it on my weight - I hadn't been for 5 years prior to this and only went then for the pill (which he stopped prescribing me because of my weight). I have now changed to a new Dr, the new Dr is nicer (and a woman) but the Diabetes Nurse is just as bad, unfortunately. However, it gets the bloods done and tells you where you are at.

Along with cloudy urine (mine can be too) do you have 'itching' - it's like thrush but without the gunk?! Feel free not to answer that, but if you do, it's another symptom as it's aggrivated by the sugars in your system.

When I read the list of 'symptoms' there were things there that I didn't even realise were symptoms of diabetes - so you might have more than you realise.

How are you approching your weight loss?

I'll hold your hand if you go to your Drs
x

Ilovethesun - the kit should come with a booklet that explains the level and how to test.

Wash and dry hands before testing to avoid false highs.

Test first thing in the morning, certainly see your gp if fasting is over 5.8 or if it goes over about 8 after meals... High but still normal readings mean act now to avoid diabetes in the future!

Head, yes I also think disordered insulin metabolism caused by our modern diets come FIRST and obesity then develops, which in turn tips pre diabetes into the full thing!

While we have personal responsibility over what we eat, it's a bit disingenuous to blame us all for getting fat and sick when actually following current "healthy eating" guidelines are likely to make people fat and sick!!!!

High grain, high carb low fat and low protein diets are not what humans evolved to eat

Scotch has said it brilliantly in her second paragraph in her post of 16:19:10.

That is what I was trying to say in my round about way. I know you are reluctant to do it without any medication, but agree that you are a diabetic, and horrible as it is to accept, that is for life. However you choose to manage it, you can't undo it. Losing weight and eating very low carb will help manage your condition, but it won't 'fix it'. I think that is why I find it difficult sometimes to see your reluctance to not take the Metformin. I accept it is your decision, but I can't see any rationale for it still! When I started in Metformin, it helped me to lose the weight AND control my blood sugar levels much more easily along with the lifestyle changes I have made/am making.

Despite your dn being stick thin, I am absolutely certain she will be pleased with your weight loss and your new hab1c reading that will reflect much better the blood sugar levels you are achieving now. I am sure she won't be pleased about you not taking the Metformin, but i haven't seen any NHS guidance that suggests you have to put patients on medication? Do you have a link to that, as that isn't what I have been led to believe by my diabetes team.

Thank you for your posts. I will test with my kit when it arrives but I will go to the docs regardless of the results as I have just done the test on the diabetes UK site and it says I have a moderate chance of having diabetes. 1 in 33 chance of having it now and 1 in 7 chance of having it within 10 years. I need to make big lifestyle changes. Well basically I need to lose the weight as I don't have any other things that make me at risk.

''Along with cloudy urine (mine can be too) do you have 'itching' - it's like thrush but without the gunk?! Feel free not to answer that, but if you do, it's another symptom as it's aggrivated by the sugars in your system.''
No I don't have this. I've just done research on the symptoms and I don't have any other symptoms.

''How are you approching your weight loss?'' low calorie diet and exercise. 1200-1500 calories a day and exercise twice a day.

''I'll hold your hand if you go to your Drs'' Thank you so much. I hate the doctors so might need that hand hold. I know they are only doing their job when they berate me for being fat but it prevents me going to the docs so that's not a good thing.

Thanks again everyone.

SCOTCH agreed :) It's just a shame the NHS can't catch up with that!

MrsHP - well, I suppose I'll see in a few weeks, but if she looks even remotely pleased for me, the celeriac mash is on me :)

Re the metformin - I don't know how else to explain it really. I will see what my results are like at my next Hba1c and take it from there. If I had got higher readings & had they stayed that way, I probably would have started taking them, but as they aren't that high (in the 6's) and seem to be coming down, I don't understand why it's necessary to take them?

I can't give you a 'link' - I can't remember which site I read it on, it was on one of the many diabetes sites I have read. It was a nurse saying what she 'had' to do, even though she didn't agree with it.

Also, my chemist said that she felt that controlling it through diet/exercise/weight loss was the Gold Standard & that the NHS was too quick to prescribe without trying that route first - then she said 'but I can't tell you what to do, you have a diabetes nurse for that - but it's what I'd do' (meaning diet & weightloss etc).

ILove - it's good you don't have any other 'risks' or 'symptoms' - you might be able to catch things before you get that far - fingers crossed.

How are you feeling on your diet?

Although I have done an enormous amount of whinging on this thread I am low carbing and >whispers< it does seem to be working. I've given away for good 13lbs in 5 weeks.

Once you get past the first few days you really do get into a much nicer 'place' where you can eat lovely food, not feel hungry and not really count calories.

BIWI has a 'Bootcamp' that's got a great following, with lots of lovely posters, there's a recipe thread and after the bootcamp there's a permanent chat thread. I'm sort of doing it, but being vegetarian I make a few changes to suit me. I'm still doing a ketogenic diet though. I bought the ketostix to ensure I was actually in ketosis and check if I think there's a remote chance I might have gone out of it but on the whole it's easy to stay in ketosis.

Find the threads or let me know if you want to talk about it anymore :)

Keep posting!