Last March, at the age of 57 I was diagnosed by the NHS here in the UK with Diabetes and my cholesterol was also way too high. My doctor instantly prescribed statins and metformin and said I would have to have an HBA1c test every three months. I wasn't suffering from any obvious diabetic symptoms so I told him that I wasn't going to take his tablets until I tried to deal with it myself by diet and lifestyle changes. So, I reduced my refined carbs and sugars, reduced my saturated fats and increased my intake of nutrient dense foods. I also researched some supplements and take some of those everyday. I also increased my regular exercise and general movement. My deal with my better half was that if i can't move the numbers significantly in the first three months I would then consider the medication. So, in March my Hbalc was 78 mmols which is the US is expressed as a percentage which would be 9.3. Here in the UK anything from 48 mmols and above is a diagnosis of diabetes. Three months later in June I had got the number down to 43 mmols (6.1). Here in the UK the pre-diabetic range is 42 to 47 mmols so I would still be considered pre-diabetic. However, I was supposed to have an appointment with the diabetes nurse a week or two later but I could get one for over a month until 24th July. So i decided to go and have another hba1c test early in July so that it was up to date for my appointment. It came it at 40 mmols (5.8) which is below the pre-diabetic range. The nurse was amazed at how well I had done and doesn't want to see me again until April. I did have another test in October and it was still 40 so i'm maintaining my levels. Back in March my cholesterol had been 7.5 which is 290 under the US measurements. By June it was down to 4.3 or 166 in the US. My aim is to get that under 4 under the UK measurement which would be 155 in the US