I was diagnosed with diabetes in 1945, when I was 6. I used animal insulin. My doctor told my parents I could eat anything I wanted, and as much as I wanted, as long as it did not contain sugar. I lived on a small farm, and I ate large amounts of food, but I avoided all sugar (sucrose). I was very skinny, and I got a lot of exercise on the farm. In the mid 1990’s I started using a rapid acting insulin (Humalog). I began gaining weight, and I was overweight for the very first time. In 1998 a doctor diagnosed me with insulin resistance (IR). I had gradually reduced my daily carb intake from hundreds of grams to only 130 grams. I still had a lot of exercise, but I continued gaining weight. By the year 2000 I had gained 57 pounds! I had four relatives with type 2 diabetes. I think my IR was caused by genes passed down from those relatives. The weight gain triggered the IR. I was a double diabetic. That does not mean I had both types of diabetes. I had been tested, and found to be autoimmune. A C-peptide test showed I produced almost no insulin. I was a type 1 diabetic with a type 2 characteristic, but I was not also type 2. Many type 1 diabetics have been found to have IR.
My doctor was an internal medicine doctor, and he did not believe a type 1 diabetic should use Metformin. He prescribed Avandia, which slowed my weight gain, and I gradually lost about 27 pounds during the next few years. I continued using Avandia for many years. My weight stabilized, but I needed to lose another 30 pounds. I started seeing an endocrinologist, and she prescribed Metformin. In a little more than one year I lost 38 pounds. My weight before all the gain was 185 ( I am 6 ft, 2 in with a large frame). The doctor said my weight should be in the 170-200 range. I considered a weight of 185 pounds to be a good healthy weight. I continued using Metformin for seven years. After the weight loss I weighed 177 pounds. My IR seemed to have disappeared, and I stopped using Metformin in mid 2018. Recently, I have started gaining again. I currently weigh 186. My average daily carb intake is still 130 grams. I do not want to follow a Keto diet, I am happy with 130 carbs per day. I may start using Metformin again.
I have been type 1 for 73 years. My heart, kidneys and eyes are in great shape, but I have some neuropathy in my feet and legs. There is some numbness, but no pain. I feel that I have very good diabetes health.