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A: You can try. Not everyone with Type 2 Diabetes can do it without medication.
Typically, ‘trying it’ means changing the way that you eat – decrease the intake of simple carbohydrates and increase your intake of vegetables. And, quite frankly, it will take a good deal of exercise and increased activity.
Most people who have Diabetes can positively impact their condition in such a way that they won’t need medication but it does take a lot of work. Time? It differs for every person.
In my practice, it has a lot to do with numbers. It’s all about the A1c.
If you have an A1c between 6 and 7, you have all the time in the world to work on this as long as you keep your A1c below 7. If your numbers get to be above 7, then we have to talk about medication – even if you continue working on it, you should be on medication as well just to protect your kidneys and small vessels. If you can get and keep your A1c below 7, then you may be able to start weaning yourself off of medication.
However, when you get to be over 8 then we are talking about insulin and that is harder to come back from. Once you get to the point you need insulin, it is hard to reverse that. It’s not impossible, but it is harder to do.
So, it is all about where you are when you get diagnosed. Most people, when they get diagnosed have an A1c between 6 and 7 and it would be a good idea to start trying to reverse your diabetes with diet and exercise, but diabetes is a progressive disorder and it doesn’t mean that if you are able to maintain it without the use of medication early on, that you might not need it later.
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