Were you just diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes?
Getting a diagnosis of any disease can be very scary. Type 2 Diabetes is no different.
This diagnosis is much easier to deal with nowadays than it used to be because of the wonderful medications available. Also, the ADA recognizes that some types of diets can be helpful.
When my grandfather, uncles, and sons were diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in the 1970s and 80s, there were not as many options available.
My grandfather died from complications of Type 2 Diabetes after having his leg amputated. That was my first exposure to the damage that Type 2 Diabetes can do.
Fast forward to 2022. Not only is Metformin very common and helping so many people, but many new medications are also being developed constantly.
So you were just diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. What now?
When you get a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis, it is not surprising that a doctor will prescribe one (or more) medications. The most common drug they will prescribe is Metformin. They may tell you to return in 6 months for more blood tests.
“Diabetes healthcare professionals consider metformin “the drug of choice for initial treatment of type 2 diabetes,” according to an article published in March 2017 in JAMA.” H/T EverydayHealth.com
Unless they have a diabetes educator on staff or refer you to a nutritionist, they may only tell you to stop drinking sugary beverages and foods. This is beneficial information because cutting those out may help you lose weight. Please pay attention to this advice.
In fact, a scientific trial shows this to be true:
“The DiRECT trial published in the Lancet in 2018 found that nearly half (46%) of 149 participants studied—who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within six years and who weren’t on insulin—were able to achieve remission through an evidence-based weight-loss program. The research was carried out in primary-care practices—not specialized weight-loss centers-—over a period of a year. Those who lost 33 lb. or more were most likely to achieve remission.” H/T Time Magazine “Type 2 Diabetes Remission Is Possible. Here’s How to Do It
Sometimes, doctors give you some nutritional advice or refer you to a nutritionist or diabetes educator.
Changing what you eat and losing weight can put Type 2 Diabetes into remission. It can also cause your prediabetes to never turn into Type 2. Add in the helpful diabetes drug(s) that your doctor may have prescribed, and you will be on an excellent road to remission.
One of the most popular drugs used to help people with Type 2 Diabetes is Metformin.
A review published in July 2014 in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences reported that, when it comes to lowering the risk of death and complications due to Type 2 Diabetes, metformin is 30 percent more effective than many other diabetes drugs.1
Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes can be put into remission
In 2021, a group of experts at the American Diabetes Association agreed that Type 2 Diabetes can be put into remission.
“The reason we use the word remission is that if someone were to think that they were cured or reversed, the challenge is they may then not feel like they need to have anything checked,” says Dr. Robert Gabbay, ADA’s chief science and medical officer.
“In simplest terms, the expert panel defined Type 2 diabetes remission as having a blood-sugar level below the established threshold for a diabetes diagnosis for at least three months without taking diabetes medication. That would be below, for example, 6.5% A1c, for the blood test that’s used to get a three-month average of blood sugar.” H/T Time Magazine
This news that Type 2 Diabetes can be put into remission is important. For decades, doctors didn’t think that this was possible.
Don’t let your new Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis scare you. Your doctor will help, and many support groups can also help you figure out what works best for you. You can join our free support group. Just click here.
We are also tracking new studies and medications they are developing to help people with Type 2 Diabetes. Click here to read New Diabetes Medication Helps Weight Loss – Tirzepatide
Her tragic family history of Type 2 Diabetes, and her own diagnosis of prediabetes in 2021 caused her to research more deeply, leading to a passion in educating people on how to hopefully put this disease into remission.
