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Type 1 diet only

7K views 37 replies 9 participants last post by  rsfletcher 
#1 ·
Is it possible to control type 1 with diet and excercise only
and not use insulin or meds?

What's your thoughts please???
 
#3 ·
I tried once about 20 years ago when I was on one of my canoe expedition trips. I was only eating fish or beef jerky and was of course physically active from dusk to dawn. I still had to give myself a small amount of Long Lasting Insulin each day to keep my BG levels relatively stable in the normal range.

So having said that - I have not found a way but I suspect I could definitely extend my life by taking extreme dietary and exercise measures if for whatever reason I could not find insulin but I suspect that's about as good as it would get and eventually it would be game over.

Like Lily B if anyone knows how to do this - let us know !
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hi I'm only asking as my son has been nearly 5 months, first diagnosed (type 1) end of March given insulin (10 on evening) by the 2nd April he was brought off it as it was making his BG to low
(See my OP "Mother needing info" )

Since then he has been eating normal just not as much carb as he used to have, and excercise every other day.

He has portage for breakfast
Chicken and salad Wrap for lunch sm piece of cake
Meat and veg with rice or pasta for dinner again with a dessert apple tart

Eats olives, cheese and couple of pieces of chocolate on an evening

Bloods in a morning 4 , evening 2 hours after dinner 6
 
#6 ·
Could be that for some reason, his pancreas took a break on the output of insulin and/or went crazy putting out glucagon on a brief frenzy. I don't know much if anything about type 1 or 1.5 so I can't say if this may be the first of the onset of an autoimmune event or not and that he has been in a honeymoon phase ever since. You'd think even on a honeymoon, there would be a disruption in the harmony with some occasional bride's toast or having a beer with the boys in the first 5 months. Maybe it was just a 1 day protest that may have gone undetected had it not been for the night out drinking.
 
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#8 ·
Lilly no type 1 can exist without insulin. It would be a matter of of days and likely after 1 day, DKA would set in as blood sugar rose over 300. For example if i went 24 hrs without insulin even without eating and staying active, my glucose level would likely go over 400 day 1, 600 day 2 and 800+ day 3 and most likely coma day 4. Honeymoon type 1's could go for longer like 2 weeks but i dont have a way of knowing exactly how long.

Diabetic ketoacidosis has a high mortality (death rate) and risk of complications. The prognosis depends on how quickly it is recognized, the underlying medical conditions of the individual, and the underlying precipitating causes of the diabetic ketoacidosis.
 
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#19 ·
Yes I was diagnosed as a diabetic in December of 1966 where I was hospitalized in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit because I was kind of late being diagnosed and ended up in a diabetic comma.

After about 2 months I had recovered enough to be released. Fortunately for me I have very few memories of that time.
 
#14 ·
Son has been here today, he looks great...said he feels great too
He is still diet and excercise only, still got great bs readings all in (non diabetic) normal range
He said he is looking forward to seeing his specialist, to see what his A1C, HbA1c tests are like .....just waiting for the appointment to come through the post
 
#15 · (Edited)
good news. right now as of today is he not a diabetic. He should continue to monitor his blood sugars and see if they continue to remain very stable as has been the case for months. Also hopefully Dr will monitor his c-peptide every 3 mo and A1c to see how it compares to previous results. That one autoantibody that was positive last month the ZnT8, is only reason i see to continue to monitor his glucose and diet. If he is consistent in his daily total carb intake and knew how many carbs he ate a day on average, that would be even better. If he notices he is gradually running higher glucose levels over time or his A1c is jumping or is feeling more sluggish, then have him discuss with Dr. To be even more pro active, he can lower carb intake and increase fat and protein
 
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#16 · (Edited)
Hi HJ he is very good with his diet, very low carbs...the ZnT8 test was positive making the specialist thinks this was consistent in type 1, but she hasn't seen my son since late Apr/May, so keen to see her now.
He checks everyday his BS everyday, he says he likes to do them, he finds them reassuring.
His readings are all in the normal range (MY WORDS non diabetic as they are) , but he is awaiting to speak to the Specalist.
I'm sure he could still be in the honeymoon stage maybe??
 
#17 ·
That is one long honeymoon. Is he and the newlywed traveling around Europe, into the south pacific, and over to America? Sounds like an expensive get away. The best part is there is no end date for the honeymoon yet so have him tour the world several times. I bet his Dr will be delighted with his glucose levels all without medication.
 
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#20 ·
I have never been able to, and with each decade of having the disease, it has progressively worsened; and that is with insulin.
I take more of it now than I ever did; and I think that my pancreas and kidneys are both weaker, because of the disease.
 
#21 · (Edited)
***up date*** Hearts Jounrey, rsfletcher and squarksx
Son has seen a private diabetic specialist of 25 years, below is the outcome....


1. At present your glucos is completely normal - so you must have Type 2 in remission due to diet and exercise or Type 1 in a good honeymoon OR we have also seen very rare cases of remitting Type 1 when it disappears for >10 years+ and counting.
2. You should stop measuring your glucose except may be once a week after a big meal (your glucose is completely normal - if the diabetes comes back if Type 1 or Type 2 it will be very slow)
3. You have a very healthy diet - this is good for all of us but like the rest of us the occasional burger or chocolate is fine - there is no magic diet whatever any individual says on the internet for Type 1 (and any diet that reduces calories works for Type 2)

I encourage you to get on with your life while in my opinion you do not have diabetes attend the occasional hospital follow up clinic. You are in very good control
 
#22 ·
I'm glad that a specialist thinks he is not type 1. However, I, personally, would have issues with this doctor's statements.
a) #1 is making assumptions, if not type1 so must be type 2.
b) #2 is if his high BG issue came upon him suddenly to begin with, why could it not come upon him suddenly again. If it does, DKA doesn't happen slowly. I would check my BG more often than once a week after a big meal, I would test it after any really carb heavy snack or meal, night of drinking, or if I was feeling "different".
c) #3, if not a misquote, calories don't make BG. A diet low in calories, if composed of mostly carbs is not good for a type 2.
d) final quote "do not have diabetes" contradicts first point "must be type 2"

Again, I am glad your son is not definitely diabetic.
 
#24 ·
Pleased with what doctor said mbuster, but like you a little confused also. I believe from what son said is that if/until this comes to anything it could be a very slow on set of either type 1 or 2
So just get on with your life.
My son does check his bloods once a day, he said he finds it reassuring to do this and isn't stopping doing this
 
#23 ·
It appear there's no way to determine what actually happened for him to have that high BG event. This may, or may not, happen again. Occasional checking BG is prudent. I think the doctor's conclusion is very good advice... get on with your life.
 
#26 ·
I have the perfect symbol to represent your sons mysterious condition and what type he may or may not have. Growing up I became I was a big fan of a TV character who kept everybody guessing. The best part of this symbol is that it can be worn so when anybody asks if your son is a diabetic, it should be self explanatory.



The Riddler from Batman TV series staring Frank Gorshin
 
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#31 ·
Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas.
Thought I would give you an update as I haven't posted for a good while.

Son still doing great, he has had a good Christmas, his blood readings are still good, so only checks his Bloods twice a week now, he did them on 27th Dec after 3 days of heavy meals and drink, which gave him a reading of 6

Hope you are all ok after the Christmas party food too xx
 
#33 ·
Thanks for the update, glad to hear he is doing well.
 
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#35 · (Edited)
Interesting question. I think the answer is No, but I would like to talk about this for a bit.

Type 2 diabetes:
- I have type 2 diabetes, I eat a low carb, high fat diet to lower my insulin levels.
- If I overeat on a LCHF diet, ie eat more fat than my body is able to burn, it is still possible to gain weight - because - I still have insulin in my system.
- Why do I still gain weight? I am told that even though my insulin levels are low enough to allow body fat to re-enter the blood stream, there is enough insulin in my blood stream to move excessive fats back into my fat stores.
- It is definitely worth noting that insulin carries nutrients to my muscles and organ, so I would be wrong to think of it as only a fat storage hormone.

Type 1 diabetes:
- there is one thing that I am not sure of: if untreated, is insulin totally non existent? or are there also type 1 diabetes where insulin is present in insufficient amounts? I think if we understood this, it would be easy to make some generalizations on how to treat it.

- if there is insulin but in insufficient amounts, then I think a general strategy of LCHF would work to 1) reduce the need for insulin to regulate blood glucose, and 2) increase your odds of having sufficient insulin to deliver the vitally needed nutrients to your body.
- in essence, you would be partially treating type 1 diabetes without meds, and using meds to meet your full insulin needs.

my opinion:
- unfortunately, without insulin meds, insufficient is insufficient no matter what is eaten, so the above might be a recipe for healthier living but to is not a recipe for treating type 1 diabetes.

if I take a step back, and look at this from a distance, I think a healthy diet and exercise is a good recommendation for everyone. Especially for diabetes - both t1 and t2 - because we are higher risks for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, etc.

-----------

BTW, my son was born in Calgary, and I grew up south of Banff. Now I live in Nova Scotia about a day drive south of RSFletcher in PEI. Ron, one of these days I would like to buy you a coffee( or maybe just a water - lol) I don't care if our first meeting was two strangers not knowing what to say because I think it will be an honor to meet you.
 
#36 · (Edited)
- Why do I still gain weight? I am told that even though my insulin levels are low enough to allow body fat to re-enter the blood stream, there is enough insulin in my blood stream to move excessive fats back into my fat stores
My understanding that insulin stores glucose as fat into the fat cells. It has no effect on fats in the bloodstream. I have always understood that some of the excess protein one eats can be converted to glycogen and stored in the liver, to be dumped into the bloodstream as glucose - which insulin would then store into the fat cells. Everything I've read about low-carb and keto is that eating too much protein is what causes weight gain.

I have also read that too much insulin can block the movement of fat from fat cells into the bloodstream. Which is why it's so hard to lose weight when eating a carbohydrate-based diet.
 
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