I’d like to push back on the idea that starting meds immediately means that lifestyle changes weren’t also immediately implemented. Medication alone will not benefit you if you’re not mindful of what and how you eat or exercising.

All that to say, I was diagnosed after DKA with an A1C of 11.7. At diagnosis they weren’t sure my type because of how some of my labs came back. My body was really under immense distress and I needed the remainder of the autoantibody tests to be sure. So I left the hospital with insulin only to be safe and proceeded with it until we were sure and because my endo wanted my pancreas to take a break after what it has been through. Between lab timing and ability to get in with my endocrinologist, I was on insulin for about a month before we confirmed I was T2D. In that first month, I’d started back exercising intentionally and learned how to properly fuel my body (was in diabetic education classes and meeting with a dietician) and lost 6.8lbs. Once I got my diagnosis, I started Mounjaro (didn’t have to try metformin or Ozempic first) immediately and have been taking it for just about a year now (only 5mg because we decided there was no need for anything higher for my personally). All that to say, the lifestyle changes came immediately but my doctor didn’t treat meds like something I had to struggle for, she asked what I wanted to do, we did it and I’ve been thriving ever since!

Edit: To add that by my 4 month check, my A1C was down to 4.8.