How I beat type 2 diabetes

I got some great medical news on Wednesday. For those who didn't get to flow the Myspace blog, I will give you a bit of backstory. On December 26 2011 (Boxing Day) I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I had gone to the ER because of a spot in my vision, and bloodwork showed I was "badly" diabetic, I still question can you by "goodly" diabetic? They wanted to admit me but I refused, I left the hospital with a couple of perscriptions and being told that I would get a phone call from some form of medical group, as I didn't have a family doctor that the time (A call never came) The diagnosis was really overwhelming at first, I cried my first trip to the grocery store not knowing what I could have or not have.

 I ended up finding a diabetes management clinic online, and timing worked out well, because even though they were closed a nurse Wendy who just happened to have to stopped in to pick something was there, and saw me right away. She set me up with a glucose metre to test my sugars, and showed me how to use it, Wendy fixed up me with an endocrine doctor  Dr Z. to oversee me. I got a basic idea of what to do food wise, and a follow up appointment with a nutritionist Nicole the following week. Wendy also supplemented my dose of metformin with glicazide (also known as diamicron).

For a person with well controlled diabetes your A1C sugar results should be between a 7-7.5%, mine was13.5%. A1C is a 3 month average of your blood sugars. To give you an idea when I was in the hospital my sugars were a 25, before eating you should be between a 4-7 and a 5-10 after eating. I was way off the charts. I hate taking pills, so right from the start I was determined to get off the meds. That was my goal, I very much had a can do attitude, I can and will reverse this. By mid March 2012  things were well enough for my to stop the glicazide, then in May, under supervision I reduced the dose of Metformin. By the end of May 2012 I had stopped the meds all together.
 

This was accomplished by radically changing the way I ate. I began to count carbohydrates, limited by number to 8 a day, and making sure to balance it out with protein, and making sure to eat my veggies as well.  The way it was explained to me, my dinner plate should be a 1/4 each of protein and a starch and 1/2 veggies. I made changes like eating half a banana instead of a full one because of the sugar content, switched to rye bread because there is no added sugar, switching to cheeses with less that 20% milk fat. Diet was huge, I needed to feel normal, so I went through the McDonald's drive thru ordering thing based on their nutritional info for people with Diabetes. Eating out for the first time was overwhelming, so I planned with Nicole, where I should go and what I should eat when I was heading to Toronto to see the show American Idiot. Here is a diabetic friendly version of fish and chips I made one night. I like to call it pink fish and chips, it is made with unbreaded salmon and sweet potato fries.
 

For a while it was a journey of discovery because I would find new sugar free or no sugar added items like Jelly Bellys, Twizzlers, ice cream or Reeses mini cups or even salt water taffy. Going through the holidays was a little tough like valentine's, I got through by making a diabetic friendly dark chocolate raspberry soufflee. (It was a definite change for me because I am the type of baker that likes making things like lemon meringue pie completely from scratch.) My mom was supportive though, she bought my no sugar added treats for Easter. For my first Hallowe'en I brought some no sugar added treats to work, because I knew there would be lots of candy. I got through it, here's a pic of some no sugar added treats and the soufflee.



 Alcohol was a whole other kettle of fish. I have never been a big drinker, but I am one of those girly drinkers who likes coolers and drinks where you can't taste the booze. Alcohol is basically liquid sugar and or carbs, so some modifications on what I could drink was in order. My metabolism changed as I result I can get buzzed off half a pint of cider, cheap but not always fun. It was interesting trying to sort out what wines I could have. I was so happy when I found out that Woody's makes a light cooler, that is low carb and made with sucralose! 

I also had to be more active, so it got to the point where I was using my Wii Fit 4 to 5 times a week for half an hour.  Within 6 months I lost 30 pounds (10 of which I have gained back sadly) all of this contributed to getting the diabetes under control. It is still a struggle trying to remain as physically active as I should be.

The fall showed that my A1C was in the pre-diabetic range, and when I saw my doctor in January 2013 she changed my diagnosis to pre-diabetic.I admittedly haven't been as strict as I should have been these past six months, far too much tasty but bad for me fast food, and the occasional sugary treat. On Wednesday, I was very anxious to see how the latest results would come back. I was really happy to have the doctor tell me I am not longer even pre-diabetic, and that my diabetes is in remission and that my A1C was 5.9%. 

This doesn't mean I can revert to my bad habits, or start having sugary sodas frequently again It is quite possible for it to come right back, especially if I gain weight. I am one of the lucky ones, because not everyone's body will allow them to even get off the medication, let alone reverse it. I worked hard to get to this point and I am going to keep it going.  As conceited as this might sound, I hope I can be an inspiration  to those living with this disease, you can control diabetes, it doesn't have to control you!

It wasn't always a picnic there were times when I did feel sorry for myself. I am very grateful I was diagnosed when I was, because had it gone undiagnosed my story would be quite a different one. I could have had kidney problems or lost a limb. I am also really thankful to my friends, family and boyfriend who encouraged and supported me through my journey, this sounds cliched but I couldn't have done it with out them!