Feeling despondent, not sure what to do.

[Nicksu]

(forgive me if you have already done this), but have you tried fasting also?

When I had 4+ stone to lose, I used to do this on a Sunday. Have your normal meal on a Saturday night and then don't eat until Sunday night. Not that hard to do. (just distract yourself with things to do and drink plenty!).

(and on a completely different note - is it just me, or are GP's always trying to shove statins at you? Drives me crackers when they do this when you don't need them) (rant over!)

 

[Outlier]

and on a completely different note - is it just me, or are GP's always trying to shove statins at you? Drives me crackers when they do this when you don't need them) (rant over!)

Certainly a "yes" to that in my case. I understand that there is a financial incentive. And no, I'm not going to take them.

Periodically there is something in the newspapers about plans to have "everybody" over a certain age (the last one I read was for everyone over 50) on statins. Of course it may not be true.

 

[BarbaraG]

(forgive me if you have already done this), but have you tried fasting also?

When I had 4+ stone to lose, I used to do this on a Sunday. Have your normal meal on a Saturday night and then don't eat until Sunday night. Not that hard to do. (just distract yourself with things to do and drink plenty!).

(and on a completely different note - is it just me, or are GP's always trying to shove statins at you? Drives me crackers when they do this when you don't need them) (rant over!)

I have some in the past, but not this time round. Have been thinking about it. It‘s not as simple as just not eating when you’re providing food for someone else, though.

 

[ATB123]

Barbara, should you decide to ask for a paper script for you Trulicity to see if you can get it elsewhere, it is my understanding your pharmacy can only do that if either it was the only item on the prescription, or if there was more than one item, NOTHING on the script has been dispensed. If you "fail" that, then your GP needs to provide the paper script.

It could be worthwhile ringing round the local pharmacies to see if anyone either has it or can get it before going down the route of getting the paperwork in your hand?

Agree, it's all to do with the NHS spine if a whole prescription cannot be filled, it can be returned to the spine and transferred to a pharmacy that can get the meds. Few GPs issue paper scripts now, but if the OP can find a pharmacy to dispense, it's a simple matter for the GP to issue a fresh script to that pharmacy. I would also suggest contacting the practice manager to try and resolve the issue.

 

[mouseee]

I'm lucky and use the dispensary attached to my GP. When they don't have something in stock they just get that single item written up for me to take elsewhere.

 

[Hopeful34]

Agree, it's all to do with the NHS spine if a whole prescription cannot be filled, it can be returned to the spine and transferred to a pharmacy that can get the meds. Few GPs issue paper scripts now, but if the OP can find a pharmacy to dispense, it's a simple matter for the GP to issue a fresh script to that pharmacy. I would also suggest contacting the practice manager to try and resolve the issue.

I agree it's a simple matter for the GP to issue a fresh script to that pharmacy, BUT my experience has been so, so stressful and very time consuming to get that to happen. You would think I was asking for something really complicated. I couldn't get an appointment or telephone call with the practice manager.
On a separate issue the practice manager didn't respond to 2 recorded delivery letters.

 

[ATB123]

I agree it's a simple matter for the GP to issue a fresh script to that pharmacy, BUT my experience has been so, so stressful and very time consuming to get that to happen. You would think I was asking for something really complicated. I couldn't get an appointment or telephone call with the practice manager.
On a separate issue the practice manager didn't respond to 2 recorded delivery letters.

Agreed. What needs to happen is simple enough and straightforward. But getting to speak with a GP is infinitely more complicated! Our surgery uses a system called Klinik now, a bit like the previous e-consult and fingers crossed seems to be a LOT easier than hanging on the phone for hours. We had a problem with someone in our family who has epilepsy, terrible difficulty in getting the GP prescription changed to the new dose recommended by her consultant, in the end the practice manager intervened and sorted it. Depends on the quality of the staff you are dealing with, maybe we were just lucky. I do think practice managers are often the way forward for a lot of people, yours excepted! And another way to get a GP appointment is via 111, they have been able to get us appointments even when we have been told by the surgery that they are all gone for the day.

 

[MrsA2]

@BarbaraG
Couple of suggestions
1do record and measure your food for a few days. It might show your consuming more than you think
2 try going down to 20g carbs (or less) a day, for a week or 2, a short sharp shock might kick start weight loss again
3 "fasting" can be a frightening term which instantly sends my brain into panic eating, however I can now easily skip a meal or 2 or 3 as I often don't feel hungry. That might be terminology that sits better with you.
4 I live with carb eaters who eat by the clock. I find it easier to cook their carbs separately eg potatoes on the side, pasta with a poured sauce rather than a baked dish, they make their own packed lunch sandwiches. That way its not so noticeable that I don't join in, or that I have cabbage instead of pasta for example..Over time I've been increasing their portions of green veg and protein and lowering their carb portions. They haven't noticed . It can be done.

Keep going, it's so worth it

 

[BarbaraG]

A further update…. my previous on 20th Feb about the rise in BG having peaked was a bit previous, as it did go up some more….. but it is now definitely starting to come down (7-day average BG moving down, time in range going up), and I have started losing weight again. I haven’t done anything different with diet and exercise compared to the previous couple of weeks, not so you’d notice anyway. I’ve even had cake and other carby things a few things, thank’s to husband’s birthday and attending a funeral wake. It’s 27 days since my last dose of Trulicity, it is pretty much out of my system now, so I’m on my own. Well, apart from the metformin!

I did some digging about the correlation between weight loss and HbA1C, and discovered that on average every kg lost translates to a 0.1% reduction in HbA1C on the old scale, or 1.1 points on the new. In practical terms - losing another 2 stone (I’ve now lost nearly a stone since early January) would potentially get my BG back to the point it had reached when the Trulicity went AWOL. And that would, just about, be within the target for long term control.

Now, I do know that not everyone is average! I may not respond as well as that, or I may not be able to get that weight off and sustain it. But it feels achievable, because although 2 stone is a lot to lose, I am technically 7.5 stone above the top of the healthy BMI range, so it’s not as though I’m aiming for a very low weight.

I’m going to give it a go and see how I do.

By the way, I did check with other pharmacies. Trulicity is down as out of stock with the manufacturer. They appear not to be able to make it at the moment.

 

[Daphne917]

@BarbaraG when I was first diagnosed my hba1c was 48 but, after taking Statins, it rose to 54. I came off them due to other side effects and my hba1c dropped to non diabetic levels.