Type 2 Diabetes reversible?

[Angry Irishman]

Just diagnosed and put on meds. my doctor is saying this condition isn't reversible, should I take that as gospel?

 

[harobikes333]

http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/reversing-type-2-diabetes

Yes & no...? Kind of a mixed bag. Depends on genes, etc. but typically you don't get off of medications overnight. A full, "cure" typically isn't seen. You typically still have some sort of condition from type 2. I've had a friend that changed their diet & lifestyle but they still are required to take some medication or their blood is out of whack

 

[Raghu]

T2D pretty much = carbohydrate intolerance. Remove carbs from your diet and you can go off medicines very quickly (matter of few months).

https://www.youtube.com/user/drjasonfung

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuJ11OJynsvHMsN48LG18Ag/videos

 

[Kaido]

From what I understand, it is reversible for the majority of people. It's mainly a diet change. From what I understand, people get the best results with a combination of 3 things:

1. Dietary change
2. Exercise program
3. Good sleep hygiene (particularly a consistent sleeping schedule)

A few questions:

1. Does it run in your family?
2. Are you overweight?
3. Do you have sleeping problems? (apparently that's common with Type II)

I thought I was diabetic for awhile, turns out I'm just hypoglycemic (low blood sugar), so I've looked into it a bit. The problem is, most people aren't willing to change, they'd rather take drugs to "fix" it so they can keep their lifestyle. All depends on what you're willing to do!

 

[Art&Science]

Type 2 Diabetes reversible?

It was for me. I took the meds for less than two months, lost weight (LCHF eating). Everyone is different though. I take no meds now and can have carbs and sugar but generally choose not to.

http://www.diabetesforum.com/

Go there, read, learn.

 

[Angry Irishman]

Thank you for the responses....I'm starting with exercise (should lose about 30 pounds), I'm following a LCHF diet and doing a lot of reading. I'm still sort of reeling from the news but intend to fight this. It does run in my family but I don't use that as an excuse. It's my fault for poor diet and weight gain....I'm committed to controlling this.

 

[iluvdeal]

Whether you have to deal with it the rest of your life or not with medication, exercise and healthy diet should be part of your life regardless. It may be too late to reverse diabetes but there's still heart disease, cancer risk, etc., all of which you are at higher risk for if you're overweight. You aren't just fighting against diabetes here, it's more than that. Good luck.

 

[ElFenix]

is reversible the right term? i don't think it's possible to reset the carb tolerance. it seems it's more like controlling it, similar to the treatment for alcoholism. an alcoholic is an alcoholic, but can learn to deal with his disease and thereby avoid the bad outcomes.

<--- just what i gleaned from reading up on it online a while back

 

[Kaido]

is reversible the right term? i don't think it's possible to reset the carb tolerance. it seems it's more like controlling it, similar to the treatment for alcoholism. an alcoholic is an alcoholic, but can learn to deal with his disease and thereby avoid the bad outcomes.

<--- just what i gleaned from reading up on it online a while back

That's a better term for it - it becomes manageable. But on the flip side, you can also make yourself diabetic by sitting around & eating a bunch of crap food :awe:

 

[mazeroth]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjkC71exKU

Enjoy.

I've come to learn most doctors are idiots. Never take what they say as gospel. Always do your own research as it's your body and in your best interest to!

 

[mcveigh]

Yes, My doctor put my wife on a diabetic type diet for other reasons.
http://drrosedale.com/

he had he go on Dr. Rosedale's diet. It's like a lot of other low carb diets. In his book he lists specific food to eat and what to avoid if you are lost.

 

[Art&Science]

is reversible the right term? i don't think it's possible to reset the carb tolerance. it seems it's more like controlling it, similar to the treatment for alcoholism. an alcoholic is an alcoholic, but can learn to deal with his disease and thereby avoid the bad outcomes.

<--- just what i gleaned from reading up on it online a while back

This really isn't accurate.

 

[Angry Irishman]

Thanks again for all the inputs....hopeful and scared shitless.

 

[Kaido]

This really isn't accurate.

That's actually a pretty good explanation. From all of the studies I've seen, weight loss is the primary factor for reversing Type II diabetes, and the primary controlling factor of weight is diet. If you're prone to diabetes, then you have to manage your diet & weight the same way an alcoholic would manage their condition because you could fall back into the same trap. Just boils down to habits.

That's not true for 100% of the Type II cases out there, but from what I understand, medical science has shown that most cases are reversible through lifestyle changes, so it's a majority rule.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks again for all the inputs....hopeful and scared

Nah dude. All you have to be willing to do is change how you eat a bit. You don't have to adopt a crazy specific diet or anything. My friends at work go out to lunch with us & eat birthday cake & all that without any problem. I have one friend who carries stuff like cheese & peanut butter crackers and beef jerky - she'll have some protein before having a donut or something so she doesn't crash. Pretty minor really, just have to be willing to do it!

 

[Kaido]

Yes, My doctor put my wife on a diabetic type diet for other reasons.
http://drrosedale.com/

he had he go on Dr. Rosedale's diet. It's like a lot of other low carb diets. In his book he lists specific food to eat and what to avoid if you are lost.

I'm on the flip side of the spectrum (low blood sugar), but a lot of the same rules apply to me - I always felt best on a bodybuilding diet where I was eating smaller meals more often (5 to 7 a day, just like half a sandwich instead of a whole one, and then the other half a few hours later, nothing crazy) & later found out why that was the case for me.

 

[Kaido]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pjkC71exKU

Enjoy.

I've come to learn most doctors are idiots. Never take what they say as gospel. Always do your own research as it's your body and in your best interest to!

I fully trust doctors when it's within their realm of understanding, but I had a really long journey to good health with food allergies, which is something the medical community doesn't fully understand yet. If you break your arm, no problem - we have x-rays, we have casts, we have painkillers - but for other things, the dissemination of information isn't quite as prevalent, so you can get a variety of answers. I went on a wild goose chase hunting down my food allergies until I found the right answer, and now I feel great all the time, piece of cake. Makes a BIG difference to have a solid system you can follow to manage whatever your issues are!

 

[erikistired]

sorta? i was type 2 diabetic, lost 300 lbs, stopped eating and drinking crap, and now i'm "not" in the sense that i don't take medication for it. i suppose i will always have it, just don't need to be medicated to keep my blood sugar under control.

 

[tortillasoup]

I would absolutely say Type 2 diabetes is reversible. I have a friend who was diagnosed with type 2 (unsurprisingly), A1C test said he was diabetic. Changed his diet for like 3 months and made sure he took a walk after his meal before he went to bed and no more diabetes.


I'd say a good portion of people who have diabetes get it because they eat a large meal right before going to bed which a BIG no no! If you have type 2 diabetes, it's probably your own fault 90% of the time.

 

[JellyBaby]

This should be worth a read to you: http://www.dietdoctor.com/diabetes. Be sure to catch the vid near the bottom "How to Cure Type 2 Diabetes". Lots of good info. on your question. Good luck!

 

[semperdoodle]

I too was diagnosed with a pre-diabetic condition. Was given the option of diet and excercise as opposed to oral meds due to a bgl of about 117. I was just curious. Severe inflamation of the skin from injury has me wondering about oral corticosteroid use. I know with even pre-diabetes its risky but topicals just aren't workin. Can anyone recommend the least adversely affecting ocs.

 

[interchange]

Corticosteroids raise blood sugar period.

Is reversing diabetes possible? Does an alcoholic who quits drinking no longer have alcoholism? For many people with type 2 DM yes it is possible to have blood glucose in the normal range with diet and exercise, even to the point of being able to return to old habits (at least for a while). What this forum is missing is that many people have more advanced disease and have no such hope without medication or insulin. There is no universal and anyone who purports to cure diabetes should face legal consequences. Actually one intervention (gastric bypass) seems to be magic for this independent of actual weight loss. So I'll allow the bariatric surgeons some latitude.

 

[Remobz]

My dad was diagnosed last year with it and my sister a few months back.

Runs in my family and my sorry arse is next

 

[tortillasoup]

Corticosteroids raise blood sugar period.

Is reversing diabetes possible? Does an alcoholic who quits drinking no longer have alcoholism? For many people with type 2 DM yes it is possible to have blood glucose in the normal range with diet and exercise, even to the point of being able to return to old habits (at least for a while). What this forum is missing is that many people have more advanced disease and have no such hope without medication or insulin. There is no universal and anyone who purports to cure diabetes should face legal consequences. Actually one intervention (gastric bypass) seems to be magic for this independent of actual weight loss. So I'll allow the bariatric surgeons some latitude.

You actually think gastric bypass is a "cure" for type 2 diabetes but not lifestyle and diet changes? To be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you need A1C tests to show that you have diabetes. If your A1C tests are continually normal and you're not taking insulin or any other drugs, it's safe to say you're cured of diabetes. Just because you can regress back to having diabetes, doesn't mean anything. Diabetes isn't treated like cancer where cancer survivors are continually never considered "cured" of cancer. Most type 2 diabetics got there from their lifestyle choices and like a lot of things, people don't typically change.

 

[interchange]

You actually think gastric bypass is a "cure" for type 2 diabetes but not lifestyle and diet changes? To be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, you need A1C tests to show that you have diabetes. If your A1C tests are continually normal and you're not taking insulin or any other drugs, it's safe to say you're cured of diabetes. Just because you can regress back to having diabetes, doesn't mean anything. Diabetes isn't treated like cancer where cancer survivors are continually never considered "cured" of cancer. Most type 2 diabetics got there from their lifestyle choices and like a lot of things, people don't typically change.

I was being a bit cheeky to add in the gastric bypass surgery. It is a difficult intervention with a lot of risks that need to be weighed appropriately before recommending it. However, it does have a high "cure" rate, or at least rapid (e.g. within days) reversal of hyperglycemia through another mechanism other than weight loss and diet control. Likely involving incretins.

RE: "cure" of diabetes I am not attempting to disparage the role of lifestyle intervention. Clearly it is possible to return blood sugars to the "normal" range for many individuals. It is a critical intervention for all diabetics. However it is not likely to "cure" diabetes in a great number of cases and thus should not be advertised as such.

RE: whether cure of diabetes is possible is another question altogether and one that we simply don't have a straightforward answer for. Diabetes is a complex metabolic and inflammatory illness for which we diagnose based on hyperglycemia (e.g. Hemoglobin A1C), but it is no more a description of the illness than defining alcoholism as one who drinks alcohol. Having had a diagnosis of diabetes and returning blood sugar to normal is a great thing, but underlying damage from an ongoing inflammatory illness with ongoing insulin resistance may still be going on. For example, in the largest trial of intensive lifestyle modification for diabetes, the Look AHEAD study, they found no reduction in cardiac events.

I would also like to challenge the ha ha fatty attitude toward diabetes. It is one of the most heritable illnesses in existence. Yes it does also depend largely on lifestyle, but that dependence is also strongly heritable. There are people who are not overweight that have what most would call a healthy lifestyle that still develop diabetes.