Any diabetics here

[nightmusk]

Hi just joined here today and joined a SW group on Wednesday under the advice of my GP and diabetic nurse
Does it help your diabetes if you lose weight ( i have a lot to lose around 4 stone) ive heard it does but wanted to find out first hand from a fellow diabetic
By the way i am Type 2 and on medication...not insulin
Thank you​

 

[lindax]

Hiya yes it does really help ive been doing sw since jan 2010 lost 5 1/2 st and no longer take tabs i was on 3 a day my doc says ive done really well 2 reverse it so he took me off them and now im diet controlled x i feel great x hope thus helps x

 

[nightmusk]

thanks congrats on your weight loss i need to lose weight for my diabetes also for the many aches and pains i have too....been told i will feel a lot better losing weight

 

[lindax]

Aww thanks ive still 2st to lose i know what you mean bout aches n pains blood pressure was v high all fine now.and this site really helps x good look with yr weight loss

 

[bees_knees]

lindax, please can I ask if you choose or avoid particular foods within the SW plan? The eating plan given to by the diebtic nurse was pretty dire and I think I would gain huge amounts of weight if I followed it.

I have diet controlled diabetes and have just joined my local SW class, but I wonder whether I should be avoiding fruits and using syns for things such as chocolate etc. due to the sugar content and go for low gi choices instead ( but still staying within the SW rules IWSWIM)

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Soz to OP for thread hijacking!

 

[nightmusk]

HI Bees knees
dont give up your fruit its allowed freely at SW i use my sins for chocolate bad for a diabetic i know...but my nurse says everyone in moderation
i check my blood sugar most days and its fine well under the limit as long as you are careful you should be ok
as i said im on medication but am hoping to go to diet controlled only good luck

 

[carol30]

Hi just joined here today and joined a SW group on Wednesday under the advice of my GP and diabetic nurse
Does it help your diabetes if you lose weight ( i have a lot to lose around 4 stone) ive heard it does but wanted to find out first hand from a fellow diabetic
By the way i am Type 2 and on medication...not insulin
Thank you​

I've been a type 2 diabetic since 2003 and it's not till this year that i've done something serious with my weight.

I've lost 2 stone since starting in late March, I've seen a big drop in my sugar level.

To answer your question yes it is worth it. You will see a differnce not only in your blood sugar level but also you will have more energy to do things that you thought you couldn't do before because you felt knackered (excuse the language!).

Go for it girl!

 

[nightmusk]

Thanks for your input yes apart from feeling tired all the time i also feel awful after eating what i prob shoulnt
ive only been food optimising for 3 days now (eating loads of fruit etc) im begining to feel better already

 

[hollys nan]

Hi nightmusk, did your consultant give you a booklet on S W and diabetics if not I would ask her for one.

 

[nightmusk]

No he didnt was going to bring me one in next week

 

[michmick]

Hi,
I'm type 1 and losing the weight through SW has really improved my control and reduced my insulin requirements.
Theres a lady at my group who's type 2 and was on insulin 4 times a day. Since losing weight she now only needs insulin once a day. Fantastic!
I find SW fits in really well with my diabetes management, especially extra easy. I've never done red as having had it drummed into me since age 5 that I need my carbs, I struggle without them now!
good luck!
michelle x

 

[Bobbi.T]

Hi all

So glad you started this thread Nightmusk. I'm type2 diabetic too & hoping that losing weight will help with my diabetes control.

When I was first diagnosed I was told to test my sugar levels twice a week. This kept me in control as it gave me a kick up the backside if I'd been naughty. However after about a year they said the new policy was only those on insulin needed to measure their levels. Well, I went into denial & ate pretty much what I wanted. I went to all my clinics but my levels stayed around the 8.5 mark. Last time I had a new nurse & as it hadn't reduced she increased my tablets & told me not to worry if I had to go on insulin as it was really easy to administer! I think she missed the point as I don't want to go on insulin!

I have maintained my weight over the years but needed to lose about 5 stones. I have lost 7lbs so far so it will be interesting at my next checks to see how things are going. If they have reduced I bet she'll take credit for increasing my tablets, not giving me credit for losing weight. Lol

 

[bilsat]

I was a type 2 diabetic last year with over weight problems, 13 tablets in the morning, tired, sleeping all the time & arthritis.Now I have lost 6.5 stones, reduced my tablets to 7, all my joints have stopped aching, my blood pressure is normal & my sugar levels are normal.
Just stick to the SW plan!

 

[Bobbi.T]

I was a type 2 diabetic last year with over weight problems, 13 tablets in the morning, tired, sleeping all the time & arthritis.Now I have lost 6.5 stones, reduced my tablets to 7, all my joints have stopped aching, my blood pressure is normal & my sugar levels are normal.
Just stick to the SW plan!

Wow that's brilliant. Congratulations you've done so well.

 

[Bobbi.T]

Hi all

Just wondered how you were all doing. I went to my check up yesterday & my test in May showed that my sugar levels weren't coming down as she'd hoped despite the increase in glicazide. she wanted to increase the again but seeing as I hate tablets anyway I explained that I'd lost a stone in weight (well 13lbs) & was on the SW plan now so hoping for a lot more to come off.

She weighed me & tested my sugar levels & was really pleased with the results. (Sugar was 7.2). I've got to test & monitor for the next 2 weeks & she said if this continues she won't have to increase them & may even be able to reduce. Result!

Hopefully I'll have a weight loss & tablets loss in 2 weeks time.

Hope you are all doing ok too. Xx

 

[cc-callie]

Hi all,
I'm Type two and have been taking 1000g Metformin for years plus injecting 1.2mg Victoza (liraglutide) daily for about 18 months (it's a fairly new drug for type two, not insulin). I've always really struggled with morning highs and wondered if anyone else does and how they deal with it. I'm finding SW really good for my blood sugar levels, although have to admit it's the first time in years I've been in control!

 

[carol30]

Hi CC

I’m also taking Metformin and also Glitazide, which I take 4 of each a day. When I last spoke to my doctor she wanted to put me on insulin but I refused; which she wasn’t happy about she told me to come back in six months, which won’t be until August. I was already on a slimming plan but with Weight watchers, the weight wasn’t shifting although I was going to bed hungry.

In late march I started on Slimming World and I haven’t looked back. I’m glad to say that I have now lost 2 ½ stone. When I first started I was doing my sugar level maybe one or twice a day; I didn’t realize I could only have two packs of strips a year, which in my mind is stupid you’ll have to know what sort of food puts your BS up or down. My lowest has been 3.2, and when my BS is that low my daughter says I get ratty.

I wonder what my doctor will say when I go back in August.

 

[cc-callie]

Carol, I'm amazed that you've been told you can only have two packs of strips per year, that is preposterous - for me that would mean I could only test once every 3 days which is ridiculous. I don't test frequently or sometimes even regularly, but when you change your diet or introduce exercise or are ill or any other major change it is vital to know how your blood sugars are affected. I would ask your doctor to explain this random decision - it's not like that all over the country, I can order as many strips as I need. You could also complain to your local Primary Care Trust.

Also, you shouldn't go straight from Metformin to insulin without trying Victoza first, the national guidelines for diabetes are for Victoza to be tried before insulin for type twos. I was referred to the local hospital Specialist Diabetes Nurse Service and was initially prescribed it there, I now get it on repeat from the GP. It's a hormone so it needs to be injected like insulin, but just once a day. A lot of people also have a huge weight loss with Victoza as one of the side effects is that it suppresses appetite - unfortunately that didn't last more than a month for me . However, after the first three months of taking it my HbA1c dropped from 9.7 to 6.5, and has been stable ever since. I have never felt better since diagnosis - no more mood swings (well okay, not many and certainly not related to my sugar levels!!)

I actually never see my GP about my diabetes, there is a diabetes nurse within my practice so I see her or the Specialist Diabetes Nurses, and I have to say they all know much more than my GP does!

 

[cc-callie]

The challenge document is great, thanks for sharing Jezzi.

With all the NHS re-structuring nearly all pharmacy budgets have been taken out of the hands of the PCTs and are now controlled by the the local commissioning groups (not sure what they are called this week), who are the GPs, and each practice will have their own pharmacy targets. I personally believe restricting test strips is a very poor economic decision, and having worked in a PCT until recently there are plenty of areas where more money could be saved without compromising patients.