JESSICA F. STORY

 , i got diagnosed on May 21 of this year my A1c level was at 7.8 my cholesterol was 219 and my bp was running from 160 ish /102 even got to 198/120. .pretty scary. So my doc. gave me the run down about diabetes and prescribed. metformin 500 mg twice daily and bp meds ( 10 mg ) and cholesterol medication. So on my way home from the dr. i had a long talk with myself and i just had to ask myself " do you want to live longer or continue to eat whatever" so i decided to watch what i ate i went back for my follow up in July my A1c was down to 5.1 my bp was staying 130/ 80 . And as of last month my cholesterol is down to 94 :) . I have lost 25 pounds, still got a lot more to lose but i  i got this

AMANDA H. C. TESTIMONY

Most people struggle with food. I know I do. I am eating low carb but there isn't one day that goes by that I don't want something that is loaded with delicious heavy carbs. Yesterday it was a cheeseburger from Culvers (Wisconsin speciality). Today will be something...usually hitting me late at night. It gets to me cause I do so well and then one moment of weakness can ruin a whole day. I have considered "everything in moderation" or just using my insulin to cover what I eat.... I mean, no one in my family would judge me so why not? Well let me tell you why not...

I was diagnosed at the age of 21 with diabetes but did nothing about it. I had meds to take but was miserable at keeping a schedule for them so they didn't help. I ate what I wanted and had no worries over it. The photo attached to this is me at the age of 24...three years after being diagnosed. I was 350 lbs and still uncontrolled. After two miscarriages, I decided it was time to start thinking about my health. I stopped eating sugar and seriously cut down on carbs. I began eating wholesome and delicious foods...it was a great excuse to buy more expensive cuts of meat! Steak, stuffed chicken breasts, pork roasts, hard cheeses, exotic veggies. I also cut out my three large meals a day and started eating multiple small meals...my hubby calls it grazing. I was hard on myself and the more weight I lost, the more I felt I was fat.
Fast forward to this year...I have lost 125 lbs total since then. The pictures on the right are me now. I know the pictures are improved but now I suffer from consequences of eating wrong for the first few years. I have a dead pancreas (only 4% working), neuropathy, fibromyalgia and gastroperisis.I have super high triglycerides (we are talking 12000 range, now lowered to 3000) I have had three rounds of pancreatitis in two years, Bells Palsy, appendicitis, staph infection and multiple viruses and bacteria infections. I have basically no immune system because my metabolic system is shot. These are all direct results of diabetes. I am 30 years old and have already been in a diabetic coma. I was told I wouldn't make it to 40. I have also suffered three other miscarriages from diabetic related issues.
I am not trying to scare you....oh wait, yes I am! If I can prevent even one of you from living like I did and suffering for so long, then all this is worth it! Weight loss is great but the main concern is eating right...the weight loss then follows. Please realize that myself and the admin team are here to help you. We can seem harsh and maybe even mean at times, but we want everyone educated and healthy. We challenge you and your choices because it needs to be done. We are a support group for you to live healthy. Not to support you making bad choices. We are here to help you learn as well and we love questions and discussions. We understand the struggles because we are one of you.
Please, take your health seriously! Eat well, live well!

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ANGIE'S HUSBAND

Angie posted this in our recipe group
I know I don't say much here but I have been reading everything since I joined. I want to thank you all SO MUCH!! I have gotten some great ideas especially for my hubby's lunches to take to work. He is the diabetic and 3 months ago his doctor said he gave him 3 more months or he was going to put him on insulin injections. We both dug in & today at his appt his doctor congratulated him in the waiting room!! He's numbers were the best they've ever been since he's been seeing him, he got to decrease his glyburide and when he weighed in he's lost 25 lbs! All that hard work has paid off, thanks again to you all!

SHIRLEY M. STORY

 have lost 43 lbs . My dr took me off all my sugar meds, blood pressure meds, and expect to be off cholesterol by next appt. My cholesterol levels arenow in the normal range.my anxiety meds have been cut in half. When I started walking I could hardly walk from neighbors yard now I walk 2-4 miles a day

Konda Detterline 9/19
my BS was messed up.  Been trying this for about 3 weeks and for the last week now I have FINALLY leveled out and gotten control over them and been loosing weight.  You dont feel starved or deprived either.

Lillian Stevens 9/19
Last April I started eating LCHF (I don't really pay attention to adding extra fat to my diet but I don't restrict it if that makes sense).  My last a1c was 5.6,  my indigestion/acid reflux is gone, my arthritis in my left shoulder miraculously acts up a fraction of what it used to and my knees no longer hurt. I have lost almost 40 pounds.  I went through my closet today to purge old clothes and was shocked at what I saw in the mirror.  I wasn't trying to lose weight (just trying to lower my a1c) but I got the fringe benefit of this:   Makes me smile from ear to ear

PATTY S STORY

My story isn't a long time story, but sometimes "instant gratification" is where its at. So here's my story:   I was diagnosed on August 3 with a A1c of 11 and BG at 253, during a routine physical.  I was shocked because I am not overweight, but I had the worst junk food diet on earth.  Cookies, candy, ice cream, flour tortillas, Pasta, Coke by the six pack, white bread and lots of fruit was about 90 percent of my diet......  I came home in shock.  I was scared and frankly, I would be fired if my boss found out, a requirement of my job is being physically fit for duty.  ANYWAY.... that sucked...but I have a great paying good job and want to keep it. I don't want to be on insulin (again, I'd be fired)  So...... I came home and threw out every crappy thing in this house.  All of the above mentioned stuff and more. I started eating a big salad every night with Bleu Cheese dressing. I'd eat a piece of cheese and cook up a hamburger patty or a steak or a chicken breast.  I made sure I had a high fiber/low carb breakfast, I will have a few slices of bacon or  a piece of cheese.  I walk miles every day at my job so exercise wasn't a concern..... Well, the first week my Blood Sugar inched down to 175, which was a relief... the next week it DROPPED  to 120 or so, didn't ever get up past 140.  Now, six weeks later my highest blood sugar for a long time has been 154 (I think) and that was today and I don't know why.  It runs usually about 95 when I wake up in the mornings, is around 100 at lunchtime and no more than 120 max.  I have more energy and am able to stay awake without taking a nap when I get home from work.  I sleep so much better, I have no heartburn, and I feel.... peaceful.   It wasn't "that" hard to do.  I don't like to let some one or some "thing" (food in this instance) dictate my destiny and my choices.... so I won't listen to the ADAs recommendation that a A1c of 7.0 is "good enough for diabetics"  That's bull crap... I will fight for the rest of my life to keep my limbs, my organs, and my LIFE itself.  If it is good enough for everyone else to have a 5.0 A1c, then it is good enough for me, and by  God I'm gonna get there.  The end.

That's it so far
There was another butt was just too vague and didn't usually show much success. 

UPDATE ON DWAYNE R STORY

In march I was put on cholesterol medication.
I immediately experienced side effects. 
I asked questions in the group and done some homework.
I was skeptical at best but finally just went for it.
I cut 100 carbs from my diet, and upped my good fats.
I also added two natural supplements.
Although it didn't usually change my glucose levels, well here's the rest of the story....
I returned to the doctor in July for tests and I was sweating bullets.
Blood work results came back. My cholesterol levels all fell into the perfectly acceptable range.
I don't do true LCHF, but I try to stay between 100-140 daily. So even though my lower carb higher fats isn't truly LCHF, cutting carbs and upping my good fats was a success in lowering my cholesterol and I also lost 20 pounds in the process.

DONNA F. STORY

After only about a week totally focusing on LCHF and logging everything I ate using an online tracker because honestly until that point in time, it was a 'guessing game and I cheated ALL the time...' but when I saw and was holding myself accountable, my life changed.  I WISH I'd faced this 8 years ago and got tough with myself.  So I'm now well below 50 carbs/day, sometimes have to force myself to eat since my appetite is far less, I feel energetic, 'lighter', have lower readings and think "good grief Donna why didn't you clue in sooner!"  I'm owning my diabetes now, it's not owning me.

CHARLENE C STORY

I am thrilled with the progress I've made with LCHF. To be honest, I really didn't want it to work, but I had to do something. My sugars weren't awful, but I knew I'd become way too complacent about them. When I saw how quickly they came under control, how quickly I lost weight, and how much my body changed, I knew I had to make this my way of life-because it is all about life, you know, and what kind of life you want to live. I didn't kick cancer's ass just to get knocked down by a freakin slice of bread.

LISA'S COMMENTS REGARDING THE TYPE 2 SUPPORT GROUP

Friends...I urge all of you to eat to your meter. Do not put it off and tell yourself "I will start tomorrow" I used that vary statement for almost 5 years after I found out I was diabetic. Although I have been taking better care of myself for the past 4 months, the damage it caused by not doing so sooner is showing its ugly face. 
I have been dealing with diverticulitis the past two weeks that is taking longer to recover from because I ignored that too for two months. I am dealing with a couple other health issues along with it. All these problems are taking longer to heal and deal with due to my sugars being too high for too long.
The Admis to this group may seem a little strict at times but it is only because they have witnessed what this awful disease can do to our bodies.
When I first joined this group I would get so aggravated because they deleted post where people were talking about cheating on their diet or showing pics of food that we all know we shouldn't be eating. I would think to myself...geez, we are only human!! 
I no longer get aggravated with the admis deleting such post, it now breaks my heart seeing others being as stubborn as I was. My attitude was..."I am grown, no one is gonna tell me what I can or cannot do!" That is a load of crap because eventually our bodies are gonna do just that!!! I cannot cheat on my diet because one day leads to two and so on, and before I know it a month has went by and I'm asking myself, " how in the hell did I end up here again?" It is not worth it. I encourage all fellow diabetics to stop using excuses....starting tomorrow is not good enough, you must start now! 
Sorry for the long post, I think I mainly wrote it because I needed to see it and hear it for myself. 
Thank you to all the Admis for the time and energy you put into this page. Some of us may be stubborn and resistant to change, but you never know when the seed has been planted. Thanks for listening!

PENNY's STORY

To the Admins, thank you for all you do to educate and assist all the members in caring for themselves with their diabetes. I would like to tell my story in hopes if helping at least one person. I was diagnosed in 1999 with diabetes and told I would be controlling it with diet and medication. The following year I had to have stents put in my legs because of PAD (secondary to diabetes). While the doctor was going through my arteries he checked my heart and found five block...ages that could not be stented. Nine days later I had a heart bypass surgery. I was placed on insulin shots at this time. My bs were hard to control, but I struggled with it and in 2009 I became very ill and had to give up work. My liver was diseased with nonalcohol cirrhosis and my kidneys were in distress. My stomach would fill up with fluid and every week I had eleven liters of fluid removed. In August 2010 my kidneys quit and I went on dialysis which didn't agree with me. I got sick every time I went. My nephrologist worked very hard to get me on the organ transplant list and one day he said I was on the list, but in the next breath told me I had thyroid cancer (which took me back off the list for 3-5 years. Two hours before surgery to remove my thyroid the doctor told met surgery was canceled and I needed to get back on the transplant list. It was touch and go since I was given only a 20% chance to live six months. The next day I got back on the list and ten days later I had a new liver and kidney. God bless organ donors. I have to take immune suppressant medications and am restricted pretty much to home. Crowds could be dangerous and I could again find myself hospitalized. Hoping this would be enough, not a chance. I developed neuropathy in my legs, sciatica and spinal stenosis. In 2011 I had a heart attack and now have a pacemaker. I have the start if COPD. And as if that is not enough, I have had seven trigger fingers released. I constantly need to be aware of my bs, especially now because a high could mean I'm going into rejection of one or both of my organs. This is a small list compared to the devastation diabetes can have. I hope this helps at least one person realize the seriousness of diabetes. Actually, I hope and pray everyone will take this dreaded and damaging disease to heart and do what is necessary to keep it under control. There is no cure, just control. Thank you for allowing me to tell my story.

JASON'S STORY

Hello Everyone. I just joined this group last week and I can't tell you all enough how much I love it. I have struggled with my diabetes for 5 years and have never gotten a handle on my numbers. I have not been exercising. I barely changed my eating habits, and have been very inconsistent with taking my meds. I am 40 years old and I have High BP, slightly high cholesterol, Type 2 Diabetes, and Atrial Fibrillation. I am a walking stroke waiting to happen, among other thin...gs. That was before. I can't believe how much motivation I get from seeing your posts every day. Even just the morning roll call motivates me. I have been taking my meds regularly, eating healthier(today i started counting carbs and keeping a log), and plan to get some regular exercise. I know I can't beat this disease but I'm going to control it from now on. Today is the first day in a long time that my numbers were BELOW 140 every time I tested. Thank You for the inspiration.

DEBRA'S STORY

Hello everyone. Thank you for approving my "membership" here. My name is Debbie. I have been Type 2 since 2011. I weighed 236 and managed pretty well for a while. My A1C was a steady 6.5 so I was good. Eventually, I stopped checking my BS and thought I was eating okay. Fast forward to Jan 2014. I was feeling pretty bad one night and checked my BS. 469. I was scared. I called my doc the next day for an appointment. My A1C was 8.5 - the worst I've been. I immediately started a low-carb diet. As of May, I have lost down to 185. For the past 3 months I have been playing around with the same 5 pounds but I've been sick with sinus infections and summer colds all summer. In May, I had my lab work re-checked. My triglycerides which were 387 in Jan are down to 150. My good cholesterol is 60 - it was 20 in Jan - and my total cholesterol is 163. My A1C....is 5.5!! While I am struggling this summer, I know I am better able to control my cravings by not eating the harmful carbs associated with higher BS levels. I no longer view food as a crutch for emotions but rather a source of energy or sometimes, just something to make the hunger go away. I am healthier than I have been in a long time. I still have a goal to reach of 140lbs of which I will reassess when I get closer. I might find comfort at 150 - who knows. I hope my story can be an inspiration to others as I know others will inspire me to continue moving forward.

• , pray and find what works for you. I bought Atkins frozen dinners, meal bars and dark chocolate shakes. I spent a lot of money on those for the first 3 months. I ate eggs for bfast (sometimes using egg substitute for omelets) and bfast meats. I didn't worry about fat content at first. I was only focused on NOT eating the carbs. Initially, I ate 1800 cals a day with 20 carbs per day. I drank a butt load of water. I ate 1 frozen dinner for lunch and sometimes another meal bar for snack. I ate meat and veggies for dinner. I did this for 3 months until I felt I didn't have to use so many atkins products. I have returned to the shakes and bars since I am trying to refocus my efforts. I have decided to "go back to the basics". My short term goal is always the next level - I need to get under 180 - then I need to get to 175, then under 170 - etc. 5 lbs at a time. If you mess up, who cares? Dont beat yourself up, just start again with the next meal. This is a life journey. We don't really mess up, we simply test ourselves until we learn what works and what doesn't. We are all different so work with your body to learn what works best for you. You CAN do this if you WANT to do it. Blessings.

Debra is a member of the type 2 diabetes weight loss group