They might as well have tied streamers and balloons to me as I left my Dr’s office today: diagnosed T2 on 9/24/25 with A1C of 9.2, went in for my 3-month recheck and it’s down to 5.0!
What worked:
- Understanding that I don’t need to “count” carbs, but to balance my nutrition. Yes, I cut out sweets, bread, and high-carb snacks like cereal bars and fruit preserves, but I still eat carbs. I just balance everything with fiber and protein. Based on my last lipid panel, fats are okay, just limiting the saturated fats is a good goal.
-Ozempic. I’m almost up to the 2.0 dose, but I noticed gastric slowing even at .25. That’s helped tremendously in my weight and nutrition management.
-Learning how my body reacts to carbs. Libre3 for all its recent issues was truly eye opening for what foods require a little extra planning.
- Exercise. Two walking miles a day, or 1hr strength training and 15-30 minutes on the treadmill. When I was sick, I still managed a slow 30 minutes on that treadmill, just to get my body moving a little.
-Sleep. I was waking up at 5am to walk every morning, and changed that to be flexible whenever I needed the extra time. I’d sometimes work out in the evening, and my sleep quality improved.
- Seeing a therapist. Scheduling all the other Dr appointments I’d been putting off (lowers the anxiety about having failed to make those calls for so long). Lower stress = lower BG.
-Advocating for better medical guidance. I was one of the ones who got a diagnosis over the phone and medication Rx, and nothing else initially. I resolved to not be a victim of this thing, and scheduled a follow up with a different doctor (who specializes in diabetes). THIS made all the difference. Your care team is crucial.
- A supportive group of real in person humans. This was the luckiest thing for me, because not everyone has a supportive spouse, or a group of friends who either have well-controlled T2, or care for someone with well-controlled T2.
Going forward:
-Going to try to bring my LDL down. It’s great for a non-diabetic, and mostly fine for me at 5.0, but I should keep aware. I eat a lot of cheese and meats these days, so it’s probably the next move.
-Keep active.
-Get another CGM for the weeks when I need a little closer guidance due to less control over my diet.
If I can do this at 40 years old with a semi-sedentary career and a morbidly obese BMI to start? There’s hope for you too.
Excellent work
Thank you for sharing. My level is currently 5.9, and I’ve made some lifestyle changes in hopes of bringing it down further. At the moment, I’m experiencing dizziness and headaches. When your level dropped from 9.2 to 5.0, did your symptoms go away? I really don’t want to keep feeling dizzy or dealing with these headaches.
Honestly, my symptoms weren’t what prompted the diagnosis - I had a few “annoying” things that I assumed were disconnected: puffy ankles/feet when I didn’t exercise, trouble losing weight, rapid and severe hair thinning for a month or two (thought this was related to birth control hormones), some dark skin spots on my shins, poor circulation in my lower legs leading to cellulitis after a bad bug bite, etc. Ten days after diagnosis and a major nutrition change, my ankles and feet were skinny and vascular again, for the first time in nearly five years. Three months later, my hair is 50% thicker and almost back to normal. The skin spots apparently take a lot longer to heal, so that’s still present, but it has not gotten worse by any means. My vision is a question mark until I can get to the eye doctor in February. The important stuff though - I caught it before kidney damage (albumin/creatinine ratio should be under 30, and mine is 7). I never had dizziness, but I imagine I probably had fatigue and brain fog/memory issues. I feel fantastic right now, and like I’m on my way to being the healthiest I’ve ever been because I KNOW what’s going on now. I hope you’re able to resolve the symptoms you’re experiencing- headaches suck, and dizziness can really wreck your quality of life.
Well done! Keep up the good work.