Partner is T2, has lost weight, taken control but is really weak and tired?

jack412

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yep get him or you to ring the Dr/nurse Monday, get permission to cut the glicazide 3,9 is hypo enough
 
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douglas99

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'metformin, glicazide, sitaliptin' seems like one two many meds, definitely see the doctor about reducing them.
 
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Andy12345

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i think your saying your happy with yours diet and thats cool as your also happy with your numbers, the key has to be reducing the meds then still being happy with the numbers assuming they stay the same, if they go up again you will be faced with the unfortunate decision of going back onto the meds, reducing the carbs (sugar) further or tolerating higher numbers, lack of energy could be a few different things, it could be he is deficient in a vitamin, ive heard folks talking about vit d for example, perhaps hes previously bd diet was high in a certain vitamin that was hiding the fact he was low in something (im only guessing) it could even be down to depression which is common, does he seem happier on this new lifestyle or deprived? so i agree with the others, see the doc about reducing the meds, this isnt always easy as docs love to give us medicine, it make them feel useful, and see wht happens, lso mention the lethagy and the possibilty of some tests to find out what may be causing it, well done and best of luck
 
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nooboots

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Thank you, yes I think if he starts getting much higher results, say over 5, then we need to re look at diet again, which is fine.

I know the tiredness could be caused by a variety of things but it literally came on a couple of weeks into the new lifestyle and its been 4 months now so surely any his body has had a chance to get used to the change by now. I need to check when he gets in whether he contacted the GP for an appointment this week as we need to check all this out.
But like you say, I was a bit surprised when she didnt take him off at least a couple of his glicazide (he is on 4 a day) when his figures changed dramatically in the summer. Hopefully they will now take him off some of those.
 

Brunneria

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Have you worked out what proportions of protein fat and carbs he is eating?

You may be surprised.

Have you heard of Myfitnesspal (online or an app).
It allows you to enter how much you eat and tells you the calories, and balance of nutrients.

When I entered my eating for a couple of weeks, I learned A LOT!

It turned out that I wasn't eating as much protein as I thought, and that my carbs were coming from unexpected places.

Often, people on low cal diets end up losing muscle mass, rather than fat, because they've cut the protein too low.

Then there is the nutrition calculator found in the 'food' section of bloodsugar 101 website (see the link in my sig).
That was a revelation too!
You simply enter age, weight, height, activity level, and tell it the carbs you are eating (which you learned from myfitnesspal).
And voila! The calculator tells you what amount of protein and fat you need to add to make up for the carb reduction. It will even tell you what proportions will give weight loss or stable weight.
 
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Mud Island Dweller

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l would say only in the last month l have not been light headed l have had it for the past aprox 8 months. Very weird almost disconnected from body feeling a lot of the time. I think it is a case of each person adjusts different.
l agree to check meds but think also as he has had so many years of running hot on bloods and weight he will take a long time to come to "natural"

l put mine down to a huge diet change and body adjusting. My bloods were/still are spot on, my slightly raised BP came down to normal and my weight has fallen off, l have lost over 25kg from 105kg (weighed myself first time since l think February about 3 weeks ago) l usually measure body fat that's gone 28% body fat to last check 12.5% This means my body has taken a truly hard physical and psychological kicking.

l was diagnosed in November T2 and have around a 30g carbs a day since December. I am down to one metformin a day from 3 at the start. I also initially had what l know now were false hypos my body being "low" (normal) thinking it was crashing from several years of being high......I thought l had menopause so didn't bother seeing a dr for nearly 4 years :facepalm:

I know everyone pushes myfitness pal l avoid it as it is open source means anyone can add to it and l didn't find l could trust the readings. If you buy food that has labels go by that it is safer. (sorry Brunneria and others)
 
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nooboots

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Have you worked out what proportions of protein fat and carbs he is eating?

You may be surprised.

Have you heard of Myfitnesspal (online or an app).
It allows you to enter how much you eat and tells you the calories, and balance of nutrients.

When I entered my eating for a couple of weeks, I learned A LOT!

It turned out that I wasn't eating as much protein as I thought, and that my carbs were coming from unexpected places.

Often, people on low cal diets end up losing muscle mass, rather than fat, because they've cut the protein too low.

Then there is the nutrition calculator found in the 'food' section of bloodsugar 101 website (see the link in my sig).
That was a revelation too!
You simply enter age, weight, height, activity level, and tell it the carbs you are eating (which you learned from myfitnesspal).
And voila! The calculator tells you what amount of protein and fat you need to add to make up for the carb reduction. It will even tell you what proportions will give weight loss or stable weight.

Yes, I use this for myself and have introduced him to this but he doesnt keep track. I also use foodfocus, which I find easier and he was sort of trying to use that but gave up quite quickly. I agree, I think we need to look at whether he is eating enough fat and protein especially as I found out recently that he wasnt taking protein and fat into work with him now, I dont know why. I would like him to reintroduce this.

But I cant emphasise enough the number of nuts he eats. In fact, he hasnt lost any weight for the last 3 weeks and he would like to lose some more, although I think he has lost more than enough now, and was saying he might cut back on his nuts of an evening. If that was the case I would worry he would be undereating.
 
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Brunneria

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Yes, Muddy, I should have mentioned that about myfitnesspal.

You have to be careful when you select items from the list of foods.
Make sure the entry lists all the nutrients, and lists them correctly. Sometimes people don't bother to add all the nutrients, or get them wrong.

But my experience was that I very quickly learned to spot the good entries and ignore the duds.
 

Brunneria

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Yes, I use this for myself and have introduced him to this but he doesnt keep track. I also use foodfocus, which I find easier and he was sort of trying to use that but gave up quite quickly. I agree, I think we need to look at whether he is eating enough fat and protein especially as I found out recently that he wasnt taking protein and fat into work with him now, I dont know why. I would like him to reintroduce this.

But I cant emphasise enough the number of nuts he eats. In fact, he hasnt lost any weight for the last 3 weeks and he would like to lose some more, although I think he has lost more than enough now, and was saying he might cut back on his nuts of an evening. If that was the case I would worry he would be undereating.
Maybe point out the calories in his nuts? Sometimes we convince ourselves that nuts are good because they are natural.

I love nuts, but not in huge quantities!
 
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nooboots

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l would say only in the last month l have not been light headed l have had it for the past aprox 8 months. Very weird almost disconnected from body feeling a lot of the time. I think it is a case of each person adjusts different.
l agree to check meds but think also as he has had so many years of running hot on bloods and weight he will take a long time to come to "natural"

l put mine down to a huge diet change and body adjusting. My bloods were/still are spot on, my slightly raised BP came down to normal and my weight has fallen off, l have lost over 25kg from 105kg (weighed myself first time since l think February about 3 weeks ago) l usually measure body fat that's gone 28% body fat to last check 12.5% This means my body has taken a truly hard physical and psychological kicking.

l was diagnosed in November T2 and have around a 30g carbs a day since December. I am down to one metformin a day from 3 at the start. I also initially had what l know now were false hypos my body being "low" (normal) thinking it was crashing from several years of being high......I thought l had menopause so didn't bother seeing a dr for nearly 4 years :facepalm:

I know everyone pushes myfitness pal l avoid it as it is open source means anyone can add to it and l didn't find l could trust the readings. If you buy food that has labels go by that it is safer. (sorry Brunneria and others)


Yes, I prefer foodfocus, as you put in your own foods from the label and put these in your favourites. He doesnt use it for himself though.

For me personally unfortunately, my body fat is so high its immeasurable, or unmeasurable (not sure of correct phrase). I used to go to the weight loss clinic at the local pharmacy but she couldnt measure my body fat on the tool because it passed out when I came along.

Anyway, I digress, yes he has lost weight for the first time probably in his whole life properly so I would imagine it will take some time to get used to. I just thought 4 months would be enough! I thought people were supposed to feel full of energy once they have lost weight!
 

nooboots

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Oh yes, he does know, he would cut down if he keeps staying static although as I say, I dont think he should lose anymore.

Maybe point out the calories in his nuts? Sometimes we convince ourselves that nuts are good because they are natural.

I love nuts, but not in huge quantities!
 

Mud Island Dweller

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Nooboots have you gone low carb high fat as well? many spouses do mine does although does have the odd treat. Just because you are not diabetic no reason not to and all reason to go.
l understand Sweden put all their diabetic and obese people on it.
 
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Mud Island Dweller

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*mind in gutter...whistling innocently* ....sniggering over nuts and calories comment
:))
 
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this is too difficult two

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Thanks, yes the levels have definitely gone down since this okra stuff, although he has been complaining that since the new lifestyle he has felt tired and lethargic (although not unwell). I just thought that he would have loads of energy, having lost weight and levels at normal.

Yes, he's going to test again in the way he was earlier in the summer, he does test himself when he feels actually unwell like yesterday, I think the one from yesterday when he did it in the middle of the day was 3.9. His before lunches have been early 4s too.

I wish she had taken him off some of the glicazide earlier in the summer actually, it worries me he is on this amount of medication.
random testing is pointless. You have to rest before and after meals
*mind in gutter...whistling innocently* ....sniggering over nuts and calories comment
:))
Crips?.
 

nooboots

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Nooboots have you gone low carb high fat as well? many spouses do mine does although does have the odd treat. Just because you are not diabetic no reason not to and all reason to go.
l understand Sweden put all their diabetic and obese people on it.


Sort of, although as I say, I give in now and then and buy a pastie or pizza.

I have a real problem with carbs, they dont just make me crave more carbs, they make me crave more food overall. I started doing 'lower carb' (because we're not doing a low carb diet) around a year ago and found it much easier to stick to eating less overall. But even when I am quite strict, I still miss bread and potatoes.

Now that he has joined me, I find it much easier to stick to as he used to bring home all sorts of stuff, he cannot help but stop off at the shops to buy food even though we have a house full of food. he has just got in but now his bags are full of salad instead so this is good. It used to be cakes and crisps and I would eat loads of it all.

Now I notice that when I eat something carby from a starchy carb it makes me feel drunk.
 
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nooboots

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random testing is pointless. You have to rest before and after meals

Crips?.

He doesnt do random testing, he tested when he felt ill to see whether he was having a real hypo. He tests before and after meals. He has just got in so tested pre dinner, its 4.5 but about an hour ago he told me he had some dried fruits which are full of sugar. He ate these on the train because he was feeling shaky again.
 

Mud Island Dweller

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If he felt shaky what were his bloods? not his feelings much more useful if he does bloods that way he knows whats going on instead of shoving handful of sugar down him ... bet he finds out he isnt low just his body thinks it is :)
 

Loobles

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To be honest, I'd just stop the guessing game and go back to the doctor. Explain he's drastically reduced the carbs and is concerned he's probably having too high a dose of his "insulin promoting" meds and, since his BG's are good, you'd like them to reduce the doses. I wouldn't wait for the next appointment if you can help it - same advice goes for any health issue, if things change, it's worth asking for an early review.

Well done to both of you though for getting things on the right track. He's getting there, it just needs tweaking. Best of luck to both of you x
 

nooboots

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If he felt shaky what were his bloods? not his feelings much more useful if he does bloods that way he knows whats going on instead of shoving handful of sugar down him ... bet he finds out he isnt low just his body thinks it is :)

When he felt shaky, he tests his bloods and they tend to be either dead on 4 or just below, like the 3.9 I mentioned above.

I thought it would need to be lower than this to be a 'proper' hypo but I dont know.

However, I suppose the original query was just this long term general tiredness/lethargy since he started losing weight but as people have said on here, I think its just his body getting used to the weight loss and new lifestyle