Let's Talk Type 2 Diabetes

I already take 2000...

I guess you could always take 1000mg of Met, that has a side effect of diarrhea … LOL

The only side effect I have us some minor constipation.

Even at a grand a month, it would take 41 years to break even if I had another open heart surgery...

TBR - googled this drug and the weight loss is ridiculous. The side effects are a little scary. I already get pancreatitis and the idea of more attacks doesn’t make me excited.

I am ~184 and the idea of getting down into the 140s, hell even into the 150s, would make me look pretty bad even on my 5’ 8” frame.

I will bring this drug up with my endo and see what they say.

The medication I have been taking since September was approved last month.

They named it Mounjaro.

It has made a huge difference in my diabetes care.

A1C from 8.9 to 6.5. eight from 190 to 143.

It is expensive, on the order of a grand a month.

But if your health plan covers it, do your best to get on it.

Latest A1C is in, and...

6.5! I have never seen a 6.5 in all the time I have been diabetic.

My weight is down from about 185-190 to 146.

If you can get on Trulicity (since what I am taking is not FDA approved yet). I would highly recommend that you do so...

LOL.

I'll tell T that to let her know I'm not the only one...

@tbr Mrs. G found out about my heart attack when I sent her a selfie from my hospital bed- about 8PM by the time they got done with everything and I got a room.

I texted her that I had a heart attack, wasn't coming home for a while and asked her to make me a sandwich; I hadn't eaten all day and it was too late to get room service.

I was diagnosed on Valentines Day 2005. I have been on most meds. Met works the best for me but most doctors are reluctant to just do that. I find that exercise is the best way to control my a1c along with the meds and protein dominant diet.

Yeah, I consider myself lucky.

I started feeling symptoms about 1:30 pm.

I finished the work day and went over to the ER about 4:30. Didn't even tell my wife where I was going, just told her I needed to make a stop before I came home.

I called her about 5:30 and told her what was going on. She's still butt hurt about that.

They told me I would get a stent or two and be out in a couple of days.

I ended up in the hospital for 12 days. Cool half a million for that hospital stay...

I had the heart attack deal 6 years ago. 1 stent, no open chest stuff though. While in the hospital I said something like it must have been minor. They told me that statistically, I was lucky to have made it to the hospital and then leave- alive. But you know what liars statistics are...

That said, my brother, 16 months younger than me, had the same blocked artery/heart attack 18 months after I had mine. That was a Saturday- his funeral was the following Friday.

6.1 is right where you are supposed to be.

I'm on Metformin and insulin. I have been on other medications in the past, but now on the Tirzepatide, which is Trulicity and another similar medication combined.

My A1C has been around 9 since I can remember. My last was 7.1. I need to get down a bit lower, but am pretty sure I will be below 7 on my next one.

I was first diagnosed as diabetic when I was 30, so I have been doing this for a while. Not too bad on the complications yet. Eyes, feet, and dick work like they are supposed to.

I did have the heart attack, with quad bypass, but that's more of a conversation piece now.

When people ask about my scar, I tell them that's where the alien came out...

What's your goal?

I found out I was a Type 2 when I took a DOT physical like 13 years ago- not sure exactly. Doctor prescribed Metformin- and I lost like 12 pounds the 1st month. Doctor congratulated me, said keep up the good work and diet change...

I changed nothing except took Metformin. I couldn't cut out what he told me to because I didn't eat (much) of what he told me to stop eating/drinking. I lost a lot more weight since then- doing nothing different.

My last A1C was 6.1. I still take Metformin. Maybe if I did everything a diabetic is supposed to I could get lower...

Just an update on my study medication.

My last A1C is down 2 points from prior. I am almost at goal.

My weight is down from 185 before I started the medication to 148 this morning.

I'm in a research study for Tirzepatide. It is the same company that make Trulicity. They are saying it is the next generation drug.

Once a week shot in the abdomen.

Wow, what a difference. My fasting sugars are almost always around 100, regardless of the food I eat.

And my weight is down 15 pounds in 5 weeks.

Can't wait until this stuff is actually on the market...

*Note-I haven't read all the posts.
I wondered about something for quite a while since it seems some people (generally on the more slender side) don't get as much satisfaction from food as larger people. I did some research and it turns out that weight has a direct connection to taste buds: the more you weigh, the more you need higher-calorie foods to be satisfied. Sugars, fats, all those things that make it hard to quit eating-- even when I know I'm full and shouldn't keep eating-- make my mouth happy.
I hadn't changed my diet much, trying to exercise my weight away and it wasn't working. So I started spicing my food more. Plus, now I have a side job 3 nights a week that didn't allow time for much food. Now that I'm not sitting and eating for several hours each evening, I'm more conscious when I AM home about what goes down my gullet.

My maternal grandfather had Type 1, and I don't want to eat myself into Type 2! My husband's dad developed Type 2 shortly before we met, so we're both trying to behave-- with food and alcohol anyway! -- since we love doing stuff outdoors and want to keep being able to. Hubby lost 100 lbs about 4 years ago, but found a little over half. He quit drinking and we've started working out again, so it should be better soon.

Why is there no talk of the KETO diet here. It's been used by the MAYO clinic since the 20's and has been proven to reverse type-2 diabetes. I know people that were diabetic, went keto and 6 months later they are off of insulin. I've been in the gym my whole life and was 300lbs for the last 20 years. A large 300. I started the KETO diet in Sept of 2019 and by Feb 202 I'd lost 50 lbs. Today, I am still 250 and I am enjoying a mostly (90%) keto diet. If you want to know more in great detail, inbox me. There is a podcast channel but I don't want to appear a spammer. There is no money and they aren't selling anything. They simply are sharing their knowledge and experience.

Was over 300 pounds, on pills, lantis for 10 plus years, had gastric sleeve surgery. Down to 190, off all meds. feel like I'm 40 again. Getting around more doing more still losing. Don't think I'll die from it now, hope to shot by jealous husband at 96.

I've been type 2 for 30 years.

I have progressed from metformin to adding glipizide to adding insulin, with a couple of other medications along the way.

My doctor recently took me off glipizide and put me on Jardiance. Made a world of difference for me.

I used to wake up from low blood sugars a couple of times a week. Have had one episode since going on the medication, and my last blood pressure was 106/65.

Glipizide always made me feel like crap, but that is gone with the new medication.

Not to cast aspersions on any other method, because I am a firm believer in doing what works for you.

However, in my 30 years I have seen dozens of methods and medications come and go. Usually they don't work, and are in fact harmful to many.

I am aware that everything is a risk. Jardiance has an increased risk of yeast infections, which in rare cases has turned into gangrene and made people's dicks fall off, but so far it is working for me...

Latino take a look at the blood glucose monitor from iHealth. It’s cheap, accurate and the strips are $12.50 for 50. Way cheaper than my copay.
As for testing, some type 2s test way more than they should. You should test first thing in the morning, before lunch and at night before bed.

I have been a type 2 diabetic for the last 2 years. I have been on metformin, tradjenta, and now a once a week injectable - trulicity. I find that most doctors and endocrinologists have no idea how exactly to manage diabetes exactly. They preach a low carb diet but it isn't really helpful.

What I did find helpful is keep track of my sugars often. My insurance only covers testing once daily as I'm only on one medication so I have to buy more out of pocket. I have found a wonderful app and program called onduo which provides free testing supplies and coaching as well as help to better manage sugar levels and diabetes. If you google it you should be able to find the application for the program which provides free blood glucose testing devices, testing strips, lancets, continuous glucose monitors and more if needed.

I personally use onduo, noom, diet, exercise and just as much research as possible to help my control my sugars.

Wrong, sugar is not enemy #1 to a Type II diabetic.thatvis one of the common fallacies.

I have some confidence in the general recommendations that whullybully posted. A lot of what Fung writes and talks about has been known for quite a while, but fell outside of the ADA, AHA, etc standard recommendations and was not well accepted standard of care. Several things have happened of late that are causing a shift.

First, academics began uncovering evidence of research misconduct and corruption, in studies that underpinned the institutional recommendations. This resulted in re-interpretation of long-held beliefs regarding fats and simple carbohydrates. New research is being published that qualifies or contradicts the previous results. Doctors are just people, and they were fed the same bad science for decades. It will take them a little while to catch up.

Second, the calorie-in/calorie-out model is being radically modified, if not completely debunked, with better models of hormonal mechanisms. Remember, all models are wrong but some models are good enough to be useful. It turns out that the calorie-in/calorie-out model is crude enough to lead to some very misleading recommendations and poor quality choices. Practices aimed at insulin reduction are producing reproducible results whereas practices focused on calorie reduction and glucose control have met with much more limited success if not stark failure. Benjamin Bikman, PhD, has a lot of videos discussing his lab's research on the subject of hormonal models vs calorie models.

Third, outright myths that have become accepted dogma are being undermined and disproven by scientific research in physiology . An example is the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology that was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for “discoveries of the mechanisms for autophagy.” In a nutshell, this opened up a lot more research activity showing that in mammals (including humans) it is possible to recover pancreatic islet function, enhance insulin sensitivity, and regenerate peripheral nerve tissues, through periodic intermittent fasting. Unless your doctor is really on top of the medical literature they may not even have heard the word "autophagy" (mine GP did not).

What has been working for me is periodic intermittent fasting, moderated to very-low sugar/starch carbohydrate intake, regular exercise (a blend of whatever you can do regularly, but HIIT seems to perform well in terms of results), a shift to more whole plant-based food, more naturally saturated fats, and foods that are higher in omega-3s and 9s and fiber. I try to eat animal protein in moderation - according to Bikman, when consumed along with a high carb load it can magnify the insulin response something like 10-fold and that may be why a high protein diet leads to poorer outcomes for some but not others (agreeing in part with goodcleanfun15 here).

My A1C is 5.5 right now, and my triglycerides/cholesterols/liver enzymes etc are all in a good range yet all that stuff was way out a matter of months ago. I'm aiming at a 4.5< A1C <5 next. My family is diabetic, and I was diagnosed as diabetic at an A1C of 6.7 at one point. I consider myself diabetic because it is trivial to fall back. I don't drink alcohol either, but I over-consumed cereal-based foods as well as fruits... I eat a select few only in tiny amounts and infrequently now. The longer you are hyperinsulinemic, the more damage is done to the nerves and organs, and the harder and longer it will be to come back... but you can move in the right direction by maintaining low insulin and taking other steps to increase autophagy.

This may be hard to swallow, and many people may disagree, but cutting meat out of your diet will help keep it in check.

Now you don't have to become a vegetarian, but cut as much meat out of your diet as possible; especially, beef and pork, which in the US is like eating poison because of all the shit they pump into the animals here.

Sorry but you don’t ‘reverse’ Type II. You just put it into a state of remission. Bariatric surgery has been the only thing that’ seems to ‘cure’ diabetes, it’s still needs studies to prove it but patience who have had the surgery have had it happen. Probably because they are getting more protein than carbs in their diet and they eat limited calories.

I have had two seperate incidents where my numbers dropped down to normal levels. Once I stopped watching what I ate and stopped working out, it returned. When you have Type II it’s all about constant diligence.