Introduce myself.

Eddie wrote:Paul can you make Skinnydippers story a stickie and place in the how to reverse diabetes thread with Rod's story or whatever you think best. Thanks.

skinnydipper wrote:Thank you for the warm welcome.  This is the first time that I have posted on a forum so please excuse any gaffes.

I have been a lurker on "the other forum" since I was diagnosed as T2 in 2013.  The high blood sugar was picked up by the ambulance men when I was admitted to hospital for another problem.  I had previously been to the doctor with blurred vision and other vague symptoms but never had BG checked.  

Following the brief admission (when the hospital advised to see my GP re BG) and before seeing my GP, I started looking into solutions and discovered low carb.  I already had a meter as my late brother in law was an insulin dependent T2 and for some reason I kept his meters.  Incidentally he committed suicide by stopping his insulin. My GP suggested Metformin at that time but having read extensively I decided to give low carb a go first and it worked.  My GP tells me I am no longer diabetic.  I know that I am only achieving good results through low carb.

Since starting low carb my kidney function has improved from eGFR of 55 to 84. GP hadn't bothered to tell me it was down to 55 about 5 years ago and only told me when the results were improving! - I was furious.  Reason for not being told - not at treatment level.  Obviously just waiting for further deterioration.  I now make sure I know all my results and ask for copies.

My autoimmune hypothyroidism has improved and I now only need 75 mcg of Thyroxine instead of 125.  I understand from reading up on it that the thyroid function improves as a consequence of lower insulin levels - GP hadn't heard of this.  I assume I had insulin resistance and was producing massive amounts of insulin to try & keep my blood sugar down.

I had been diagnosed with early cataracts some years ago but no sign of them now.  I understand they can be caused by high blood sugar and called "sugar cataracts"

Another bonus is the weight loss, I have lost about 4st without any effort other than the change in diet and am now slim. I do not count how many CH grams I eat but just follow LCHF guidelines and eat real food.  Even though I have no gall bladder I have had no problem eating high fat.

I have also been able to stop the proton pump inhibitor for reflux that I had been taking for many years and which nobody told me caused osteoporosis.  As you can see I now read up on everything.

Against my doctor's advice I stopped taking my statin and despite his pessimism my triglycerides are now excellent.  I also stopped one of my BP meds.

At the time of diagnosis I was told I was just over the borderline into T2 so I realise I am very lucky not to have been further down the line.  I feel blessed to have been so ill that day I required an ambulance as if my blood had not been checked by the ambulance man then I would have continued to abuse my body by eating junk and probably caused more permanent damage.  All my improvements in health I put down to eating a low carbohydrate diet.

I just wish that I hadn't always accepted medication as the solution but looked into the cause of the problem and tried to put that right.  Still, its never too late to take responsibility for your own health.

I have probably told you more than you needed or wanted to know and will likely just go back to lurking.

I have learnt so much from the knowledgeable low carb folk and continue to learn.  Thank you for your guidance.