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Type 2 Diabetes reversal

I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes... My A1C went from 6.9 to just recently 6.3..yay!  so does this mean i'm no longer type 2 diabetic? this is all so new to me.
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973741 tn?1342342773
Hi!  How long have you been diagnosed?  Did you start a new diet and medicine?  It sounds like you must have and it is working.  The thing is, now you are kind of in a position to keep working on it.  Usually you will have to continue medication to achieve the decrease in numbers you are seeing. What medicine do you take?
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My doctor wanted to see if we could control it with diet before we started medication. I’m just 3 months into this and the diet seems to be working great!
231441 tn?1333892766
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi Lizzy,  you are still diabetic... completely normal blood glucose is a hba1c of 5.0 or less.  Prediabetic is usually considered as 5.7 - 6.5, and diabetic as 6.5.    But being diabetic is sometimes likened to being pregnant...  whether 6 weeks or 9 months you are still pregnant. So slightly high or very high, is still diabetic.

To give you some perspective.  Normal blood sugars will typically be < 100 all the time.   Hba1c of 6.9 gives you average BG of about 160.  Hab1c of 6.3 gives you average BG of about 140.  Still a good deal higher than that of people without diabetes.

You are now officially a "controlled" diabetic.  Please keep working on diet and lifestyle measures to keep your blood sugars as well controlled as you possibly can.  Many people also find that low carb eating or even ketogenic diet is very helpful for putting their diabetes into "remission".

Do you have a blood glucose meter.   It can be helpful to use a blood glucose meter to monitor fasting glucose (ideally < 95) and post eating glucose (ideally < 120).  This will let you see the impact of what you eat on your blood sugars and guide you in modifying your diet.

Hope this helps.
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Avatar universal
Expanding on what sally said; even if with diet and exercise you get down into the 5’s on your A1c you are still diabetic.  But work towards that because what kills diabetics - organ damage, cardio-vascular/heart damage, blindness, amputations etc etc - are the result of damage done by all that excess sugar circulating in the blood day in and day out over the years.

So it’s not being under a magic a1c diagnosis number that makes you safe from diabetic complications,  it’s day to day blood sugar control.

So like sally says, get test strips and start monitoring your blood sugars through the day to figure out how to keep glucose low. Lots out there on how to test (before/after food/exercise, mornings... figure out what makes you go high, try to keep it fairly stable)  Walmart has cheap strips and testers that help if you want to do a lot of testing while you figure your body out.

I have a friend who is ~280lb and appears to live on bread from what I can see... she has normal blood sugar control without trying - that’s  someone who is not diabetic... she might damage her metabolism and pancreas over time and become diabetic but she is not now .

On the flip side There might be some super healthy-eating sportswomen out there who’d be diabetic if they ate what you or I did and didn’t exercise, and they just don’t know it.  

Diabetes is not reversible, it can be controllable.
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1 Comments
I just want to thank you for your comments and information!  Isn't it maddening how unique we all are. I can watch what I eat, exercise, limit salt and have to worry about blood pressure, for example.  And others do  none of that and are heavier than me and they don't.  Grr.  Genetics. I guess.  Do you have diabetes?
Avatar universal
Although there's no cure for type 2 diabetes, studies show it's possible for some people to reverse it. Through diet changes and weight loss, you may be able to reach and hold normal blood sugar levels without medication.

This doesn't mean you're completely cured. Type 2 diabetes is an ongoing disease. Even if you're in remission, which means you aren't taking medication and your blood sugar levels stay in a healthy range, there's always a chance that symptoms will return. But it's possible for some people to go years without trouble controlling their glucose and the health concerns that come with diabetes.

So how can you reverse diabetes? The key seems to be weight loss. Not only can shedding pounds help you manage your diabetes, sometimes losing enough weight could help you live diabetes-free -- especially if you've only had the disease for a few years and haven't needed insulin.

Low-Calorie Diet
Several studies in England have looked at the effects of a very low-calorie diet on diabetes. Two had people follow a mostly liquid diet of 625-850 calories a day for 2-5 months, followed by a less restricted diet designed to help them keep off the weight they lost. Both studies found that nearly half the people who took part reversed their diabetes and kept their blood glucose near the normal range for at least 6 months to a year.



This type of diet is extreme. It means working with a professional and being very controlled with how many calories you eat. But the chance that it could send you into remission may give you strong motivation to stick to it.

Most of the people who reversed their type 2 diabetes lost 30 pounds or more. They also hadn't had diabetes as long as those who weren't as successful. So it's important to get started on a weight loss plan as soon as possible after you're diagnosed.

What Happens
When you have type 2 diabetes, cells that help your body control your blood sugar stop working right. Doctors used to think they were shut down for good, but research shows that certain cells may come back. People who lost weight had lower levels of fat in their liver and pancreas, and for some of them, that helped the beta cells in their pancreas that release insulin and control blood sugar start working again.

The odds of rescuing those cells are best early on. That suggests it may be better for doctors to help people lose a lot of weight after a diagnosis, rather than make small lifestyle changes and manage symptoms with medication.
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Avatar universal
i was an 8.3 today i recieved my A1c three months it is 6.2 no meds i have cut from 217 to 180 in three months i eat no salt no bread cereals pastas drinks with sugar i take metimucil 3 times a day and at bedtime one tbls cyder vinegar i walk 2 mils everyday my doctor and i are very happy with my results i will never take metiformin heard to mny bad things so diet excersise and god is my light at the end of the tunnel good luck
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