Kicking Diabetes To The Curb

Yes, it can be done, and yes, you can do it. I'm going to do a couple of write ups on what I have learned about how our bodies metabolize different foods, and why carbs begin their cycle as stubborn fat, but wanted to give a quick and dirty about how I have worked my A1C's doen to the high end of the normal range without insulin.

Yes, without a single unit is insulin for three months now. The only diabetic med I take is metformin, which acts by reducing insulin sensitivity.

The essential tool is a continuous glucose meter like the Freestyle Libra 3. This provides feedback so you can see the impact of various foods on your own blood sugar levels. These aren't cheap, and even at a discount will cost just north of $100USD per month. If you can't afford this on a constant basis, then I suggest you use them for one month, then periodically use them to keep on course.

What works for me may NOT be what works for you, so pay attention to your body and how it responds.

Phase 1 was giving my pancreas a freaking break with strict keto, The amount of carbs that get snuck into our diets is absolutely stupid. If we don't take steps to throttle that back we are basically asking our pancreas to work itself into a breakdown. Eventually it's ability to produce insulin will eventually become so impaired that it will be useless.

Another benefit of removing all possible carbs is to lower your body's resistance to insulin. It's not just the pancreas that gets burned out, it's our very cells as well. Give them a freaking break from insulin, artificial or natural, and let them heal. They eventually will.

Try as I might, even with Keto I was unable to fully break the cycle, so I looked into historic diabetic treatment. One of those was to simply cut down on food to a minimum. This insight was key to success.

At the end of the day I alternate between carnivore and Keto (mostly dinner salads) and practice intermittent fasting. I vary the time of day between mid day to early evening. I keep a close eye on my blood sugar levels, and the longer I go the more my body heals and I can occasionally be lest strict.

Your solution may be the same or it may be different for you. The point is that if you are a diabetic, there is a chance you can reverse much or all of damage. Things like neuropathy or micro circulatory damage will not heal, but you can at least stop the damage.

Example of a glucose sensor display on a smart phone. Keep your readings in the green zone and your A1C will be in the normal non diabetic range.

 

Keep up the good work...it requires discipline, but it is worth it. I take Metformin and keep the carb intake as low as practical, combined with intermittent fasting has been working for me. Have lost about a 10 litre bucket of lard in weight in the process, and have kept it off for a few years now. I have had to change some eating habits and some food preferences...but nothing too onerous.

 

My wife a retired nurse as long said diabetes in many cases can be controlled by diet, she has preached this to my brother law who is diabetic. Unfortunately he is pig headed result he is on insulin. I have no doubt you can control it without insulin ---keep up the good work

 

Overall, eating less than the usual "eating till the belly feels full" is a good starting point. Smaller portions of everything with a focus on reducing carbs (including those sugared carbonated drinks and supermarket sushi---sadly) can make one feel better, more alert even after a meal, and the waistline will soon need the belt to be tightened another notch.

Anyone who has had career work in fields that force little-to-no time for a meal usually develops the rapid eating habit of slamming down the chow to get back to duty. To counter that eating "style", we should all take time to enjoy a meal at a more leisurely pace whenever the conditions allow. Eating less is often the result. Consistency over time is key.

 

Great job! You give me hope. I got a full blood panel done and my A1C was just barely in the pre-diabetic range so I've been eating low carb / higher fat since February. My blood pressure was also elevated, but that's normal for me when I go to the doctor's office because it gives me anxiety. My DO said that when I get to a healthy weight my BP will probably also go down.
Thank you for sharing your experiences and what is working well for you!

 

My A1C was in the pre diabetic range (high) I was a big carbonated soda and sweet tea drinker with the high fructose corn sugar. Cut all that out drink mostly water --occasional orange juice. Brought my A1C down by 3 points to an acceptable level.

 

Thanks all for the support! My intent here is to let others know that you don't have to passively accept a medical situation. To a great extent Western medicine is about treating symptoms and not the underlying issue that causes them. Diabetic care is just such a case.

They certainly do tell you to avoid carbs, but in the next breath will preach a high carb plant based diet. Basically, you get a sliding scale that tells you to take more insulin if you eat more carbs. There is no thought given to reducing insulin resistance or for rehabbing your overworked blown out pancreas. Instead of working to heal the body you ger prepped for nephropathy, blindness, and the eventual loss of limbs. If you don't do something about the root cause that's exactly your future.

F*** THAT

Learn about your illness. Understand your body. Keep trying different angles of attack based on solid research and understanding. The key for me was using a systematic approach and a feedback system in the form of the Libra sensor. A few finger pricks a day will not give you enough information and frankly most people stop doing even that and no longer control their blood sugar.

Ride the horse or you will get trampled by it. Get mad, do something about it and kick it's arse.

I will always be a diabetic, but the longer I follow this path the less I will need to depend on medical care, and the healthier I will be. Over time it's likely that my insulin resistance will lessen enough that I can stop using metformin.

 

@3M-TA3 I feel super fired up now about getting healthy and Not settling for a diagnosis or test results. Especially after watching that video.

For a long time I thought that "maybe I'm meant to be big and unhealthy." I'm 4'11" so every lb and inch shows, but this year I decided to turn it around.

"We're not gonna take it!"

 

@3M-TA3 , great write up. As I mentioned in another thread, I just got the Freestyle Libre2 CGM from my Dr. I had no resistance from them, I suspect they are just happy to get the kickback for the Rx. It has been a real eye opener for me to see how my bodies blood sugar reacts to the food I eat. I did have to do some adjustments to the alerts for high/low glucose.
Here is a "typical" day for me:

Now this past sunday we celebrated my kids b-day's by having a pancake breakfast. Even though the pancakes were gluten free, they are still loaded with carbs:

I'm not sure why there is a double spike in blood sugar after eating breakfast, and it took forever for my sugar to drop so I may not be as insulin sensitive as I thought I have become.
I also think that when I drink alcohol it drops my BS fast, which is why when I drink I always want a snack.

I know for years I struggled to lose the weight my Dr wanted, he (they, as in multiple Dr's really) kept stressing the "low fat" diet. This is counter intuitive as going low fat means you are now high carb, high carb spikes your glucose and triglycerides. This caused my triglycerides to spike, like 800+ range. Following Dr Ken Berry on YT and going to a low carb keto/carnivore diet I have lost weight, feel better, sleep better and have a much better attitude.

T2D should NOT be considered chronic but reversable with a change in diet. No, diet is not the correct word, it's been used incorrectly for far to long as now 'diet' means a change that is temporary. Change of your food lifestyle, I will not be going back to 3 meals a day, eating lots of refined, pre-packaged crap that tastes like candy coated cardboard.

Enough rambling, looking forward to your continued progress on defeating diabetes.

 

Doctors are quick to prescribe medications and most are not well versed in pharmacology they rely on what drug reps tell them. You can take care of your health just do some research. Good Luck

 

Is it possible for this device to warn you(or loved one) via text or email if your glucose goes out of a certain range?

 

Yes, there are max and min glucose limits that can be set and adjusted as needed. It will only warn you, via an audible alert on your phone. I don't see way to send an alert to another individual. The grey area in my screen shots posted are my "normal" ranges and when my glucose is out of the range it will alert.

 

Same on the version 3. The benefit of 3 over 2 are 1) much smaller size and less likely to get snagged on something and 2) as long as it's in bluetooth range of your phone it sends readings real time instead of requiring you to take a manual reading. Both units are the same price and last the same amount of time.

 

Nice, I don't plan on using this long term. I could see at the next refill about changing to the 3 from 2 but for now this is giving me the data I need. I've only snagged the sensor once so far, but then it's only been about 2 weeks and I'm still very conscious of it.

 

Beware of the clothes washing machine! Over the last few years ut has eaten three sensors. Poor arm placement has cost me a couple more.

Even occasional use of them is incredibly useful, but I decided that instead of blowing my money on Starbucks or in a bar I would prioritize the sensors. Good luck on your journey!

 

Focus on health first. Health. interlligence and personality are what determines beauty, at least from a male perspective. I know women who are beautiful in photographs, but in person are quite ugly because of their personalities, and others who don't photograph well, but are captivating in person.

Be yourself, and be healthy. Most of your obstacles are based on the bad advice we have been given for decades. I urge you to watch everything Dr. Sten Ekberg has to say on his youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@drekberg

He practices holistic medicine and has a way of explaining things that few others can. I have made more progress using his information than from any other source.

 

@3M-TA3 Yes, I'm definitely focusing on health. Health, intelligence, inner beauty, depth. The kinds of qualities that age well.

Thank you for sharing Dr. Ekberg's channel with me. I'm still trying to find good reliable sources to learn from. There's So Much information out there and it can be tricky to figure out who to trust. I subscribed and am looking forward to learning more. Thanks again.

 

I think you jinxed me LOL. I managed to rip off my sensor yesterday after a workout and in a hurry to get showered. Fortunatly I was due to replace it tomorrow. I did notice that the sticky was getting less sticky. I may start putting a cover over the sensor during the last few days.

 

Been a while since I logged in!

Right now I'm 5'- 8" and 205lbs my BMI is: 31.2, obese! By the end of 2023 I want to weigh 175lbs.

My Homeostatic Insulin Resistance is:
HOMA-IR = (BloodGlucose * Insulin)/405. If 1.0 fine. Mine is 5.3.
(114 * 18.7)/405 = 5.3
Current Blood Glucose = 114
Current A1C = 5.9


I had a high A1C for quite a while, more than a decade. Always was "prediabetic." I take a lot of meds for mental health and cardiac related needs, so they tested my A1C, 2 to 4 times per year. Had open heart surgery in late 2017 for a new aortic valve and a 3-way bypass. Shortly thereafter they said my A1c readings made me a diabetic.

They put me on Jardiance and gave me a glucose monitor with strips. In 2022 I dropped 35lbs and started to watch my diet.

In 2023 (while still on Jardiance) I started taking quite a few supplements for maintaining low blood sugar levels, anti-alzheimers, and overall longevity related supplements. I still take 40 supplements in the morning and evening before bed. I take around 10 supplements before each large meal.

At the beginning of May I had blood work done so that I could start rapamycin, a longevity drug. I have not started rapa yet. But my test results were so good that they want to take me off of Jardiance and I had to "fight" with 2 Drs to keep me on it.

I am going to try a start on acarbose, aged garlic, Krill oil, and Zeaxanthin in June.

I am trying to walk 4.5 miles every other day, but I am a failure so far. I have been out 5x to walk and skipped the last 4 days. Trying to get motivated. I am planning on cutting back on half of the following, and adding a few. This is my current list of supplements:

- Centrum Silver(1/day)
- Zinc 50mg(1/day)
- Super B-vitamin Complex(1/day)
- Ginkgo Biloba 120mg(1/day)
- Hyaluronic Acid(1/2X/day)
- Spermidine(1/2x/day)
- Acetyl L Carnitine(2/2x/day)
- Alpha Lipoic Acid(1/2x/day)
- Ashwagandha(1/2x/day)
- Bacopa Monnieri 350mg(1/2x/day)
- Vit C 500mg(1/2x/day)
- Vit D3 50mg(1/2x/day)
- Vit K-2, MK-7 100mcg(1/2x/day)
- Fisetin (2/2x/day)
- N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC)(1/2x/day)
- Nattokinase Supplement(1/2x/day)
- Nicotinamide Riboside (NR)(2/2x/day)
- Qunol Tumeric 1000mg(1/3x/day)
- Ubiquinol CoQ10 100mg(1/3x/day)
- Berberine 500mg(1/3x/day)
- Green Tea Extract, EGCG(2/3x/day)
- Nature Made Cholest-Off Plus(2/3x/day)
- Metamucil Psyllium Husk (5/3x/day)
- Omega-3s 1065mg(2/3x/day)
- Odorless Garlic 3600mg(2/3x/day)
- Resveratrol 800mg, Quercetin 250mg, MCT 850mg (1/3x/day)

 

https://www.startpage.com/sp/search?query=acarbose&cat=web&pl=opensearch&language=english