Feeling a bit overwhelmed today

[Lisijay]

Hi all, I was diagnosed on Monday, and started Metformin Thursday. I posted yesterday and got the advice from Daisy1. I can't check my blood glucose yet and woke this morning quite sweaty . I guessed I was having a hypo and ate something feeling better almost straight away - but how do I know when my blood sugar is too high?

 

[Jamesuk9]

Hi, unfortunately without a Glucometer and test strips you will never know.

 

[lowedb]

You may not have been having a hypo. Reducing your BG after its been high for a long time can give you watts called a false hypo. Its happened to me a couple of times, where I felt like you but actually my BG was still well above hypo level. Now I'm in better control, it's no longer happening. I'm lucky in having a meter and strips prescribed, but like everyone says, its worth getting one if you aren't in the same position.

 

[Lisijay]

Thanks for the reply. GP visit next week so I am going to see if he will prescribe one for me. I will try that first before getting one another way. Just need some guidance before then.

 

[AM1874]

Thanks for the reply. GP visit next week so I am going to see if he will prescribe one for me. I will try that first before getting one another way. Just need some guidance before then.

Hi @Lisijay .. and welcome
You will shortly receive a wealth of information from @daisy1 and I think you would do well by reading up on the Low Carb Program within this. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful

I hope your Doc does prescribe a meter and strips for you .. but in all honesty, I doubt it. Type 2 on Metformin seems to be the formula for "no need to test" .. you will find many folks on here that have experienced this.
Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day, seems to be working .. I have lost 1stone 8lbs since my diagnosis on Feb 7th and my BG levels are down from 12.5 to around 6. There is a wealth of info about LCHF on the forum .. and a wealth of relevant advice and positive support.

If/when you are considering testing, try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

 

[Energize]

Hi @Lisijay and welcome to the forum

As @AM1874 has already mentioned, it's highly unlikely your GP, or Diabetes Nurse, will agree to you having a Glucometer, unless you are on Insulin or one of the tablets that stimulate the pancreas to produce more insulin, therefore having the risk of hypo's. The usual statement is that 'Type 2's don't need to test' which is actually a load of hogwash. In fact, if you want to take control of your diabetes, you definitely need to test, test and test again

The other bit of poor advice you are likely to be given is to eat as per the EatWell place! Too many carbs on this plate for diabetics although the Health Care Professionals (HCP) will try to tell you that you need all the carbs! You don't need carbs, but you do need protien and fats, plus vegetables. Fruit contains sugars, in the form of fructose, so be careful there.

So, SDCodeFree £11.99
Test Strips £7.69
https://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/codefree-blood-glucose-monitoring-system-mmoll-or-mgdl/

or Tee2 meter (Free)
Test strips £7.75/50
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/

These two are considered reliable and most economical.

Good luck with your GP. It would certainly be great if you did get glucometer and test strips prescribed but don't hold your breath, nor be too disappointed.

 

[Lisijay]

Thanks guys, all very useful advice. I will update you on whether I get one or not next week. I have chosen to do the 800 cal diet which is similar to that advocated. I don't miss the carbs and once I get used to it I know it will get easier. Roads of yummy food and I am strangely getting into spinach! I will look into the diet you suggest it may be a better alternative. It is such a shame the main diabetes groups give conflicting info which confuses newbies. It is no wonder so many panic and are in a state of dispair!

 

[dennis100]

metformin itself cannot give you a hypo ,it works on your liver not your pancreas, it stop the release of glucose from the liver

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi all, I was diagnosed on Monday, and started Metformin Thursday. I posted yesterday and got the advice from Daisy1. I can't check my blood glucose yet and woke this morning quite sweaty . I guessed I was having a hypo and ate something feeling better almost straight away - but how do I know when my blood sugar is too high?

It could equally have been high blood sugars, not a hypo. As you are only on Metformin, and as this is very unlikely to give you a hypo, I would suggest it was high rather than low, but you will never know without a meter.

 

[Resurgam]

The feeling you had was far more likely due to your brain realising that it was no longer in a nice warm sugary bath and getting into a panic - I had the same thing and found that just a few grapes were enough to make it go away for a while - and after a little while the brain accepted that the sugary baths were no more and it might even have to swap to using ketones for fuel.
Eating low carb according to Atkins dropped my BG and Hba1c down to levels so low that my doctor has put no further action on my notes, but I am really glad that I spotted BG meters being sold in Lidl a few weeks after I was diagnosed.
The NHS doesn't supply them to type 2's who don't need insulin, so I am more than happy to fund myself - the strips from Germany worked out at 25p each when I bought 9 lots of 25, and I only need to test a few times a week now.

 

[TallLeeds]

I am in your situation. ...except that after three months of taking 4 metformin a day...and eating the LCHF recommended lists I am now in remission and am down to 2 tablets a day. In a month I will stop the medication. ...on Dr's advice....I will stick to the LCHF...I like it and it works. Don't give up....get motivated to heal yourself through the experience and advice of other T2 individuals. Good luck. ...and feel free to ask questions.