Yet more update on my quest to cure myself of diabetes. It is now six months into my quest, and I continue to make some encouraging progress, and I am learning a lot.

Keeping my blood pressure in range has been a challenge. I am taking Ramipril, plus half a water pill. I have noticed the water pill can elevate my blood glucose level, which means I have a trade off between blood pressure and blood glucose level. That is why I only take half a water pill a day, trying to compromise. My hope is that as I reduce my weight in the future, my blood pressure will normalize to the point I don't need medications.

Hemoglobin A1c Test Results

Next week I am due to see my doctor again, and I did the lab tests yesterday. As you can see my A1C is now down to 6.1% which is just 0.1% above the normal range. This is the lowest A1C I have been for over a decade, possibly longer. The oldest data I have is from 2010, when I was 6.1%. Just six months ago I was at 9.3%.

I am excited to think I am very close to not being a diabetic, and I am not taking diabetes medications to maintain this level. The low carb diet and intermittent fasting is working for me. As I said earlier, the water pill can elevate my blood glucose level, so I am watching out for that.

High Morning Readings

Some mornings, I get high blood glucose level readings that tail off during the day. The above is an example. I have tried to counter this by not eating after 8pm. Since it comes down after a while, I am not going to panic. It is referred to as the dawn phenomenon. This is also a good example of the benefits of taking multiple readings per day. I can see a recurring pattern here.

Reduction in Waist Size

I bought some jeans recently, and I now fit into a 38 inch waist size. They fit easy on me. In March this year I was at 48 inch waist size. That means I have lost about 10 inches from around my waist. I read that the waist size is an indicator of health or lack of it. To reduce my waist size this much is a good sign. Next time, my wife thinks I will fit into a 36 inch waist.

Also my wife, who is following the same diet, is experiencing a reduction in her waist size. She says she can now fit into clothes that she was previously unable to. It almost brings me to tears of joy.

Weight Loss

My progress on weight loss has mixed results, as you can see in the chart above. I am lighter than when I last visited my doctor about 3 months ago, but for the last month I have been going up and down around 219 lbs. I know a lot of the variation can be due to water, and when I went on a long cycle ride, I would be down a few pounds after the ride. I also think I have gained some muscle mass, which is a good thing.

I figure I just need to be patient, and this will work itself out in time. I might try some multi-day fasts or a fat fast at some point.

Bird Feeder Boo Boo

Recently I made the mistake of handling a hummingbird feeder before testing my blood glucose level. I must have got some of the syrup/nectar on my hands, and I scored a whopping 15.9 mmol/L. After panic wore off, I realized that I had contaminated myself with syrup. I washed my hands and I re-tested. This time I scored 5.7 mmol/L.

Note to self: wash my hands before testing.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. This is based on my own experience. Your mileage may vary. Check with your doctor before doing anything drastic based on what I wrote above.