Help Please

[Riker13]

I was diagnosed in December 2016 but only told I had diabetes in March (Complaint in the works) I am on Metformin and have been to the DESMOND class which was quite a good day actualy, anyway my blood sugar levels rise to over 12mmol and goes to a low of 3.2mmol so I get shaking hands and generaly feel ****.
I let the people at DESMOND know this and they said go to the Doctor, the locum Doctor told me not to worry and only if it goes over 20mmol should I worry?

20mmol, is that right?
Should I be getting highs and lows like this if on Metformin?
And should I have a dedicated Diabetes team to speak to because I dont?

Many Regards
Mark

 

[Jaylee]

I was diagnosed in December 2016 but only told I had diabetes in March (Complaint in the works) I am on Metformin and have been to the DESMOND class which was quite a good day actualy, anyway my blood sugar levels rise to over 12mmol and goes to a low of 3.2mmol so I get shaking hands and generaly feel ****.
I let the people at DESMOND know this and they said go to the Doctor, the locum Doctor told me not to worry and only if it goes over 20mmol should I worry?

20mmol, is that right?
Should I be getting highs and lows like this if on Metformin?
And should I have a dedicated Diabetes team to speak to because I dont?

Many Regards
Mark

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the forum!

Gonna tag in a couple of lovely guys with some info. @daisy1 @AM1874

Plenty more will soon follow with sound advice.

 

[Riker13]

Thanks Jaylee.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome!

I imagine the doctor was warning you that over 20mmol/l needs immediate attention as you are heading towards danger territory. He wasn't meaning it was a figure to aim for. He should have been more concerned about your low of 3.2 as that can be worrying.

12mmol/ is high and 3.2mmol/l is low. It would help us if you told us when these tests were - morning fasting, before a meal, after a meal, how long after a meal etc.

Metformin is a mild drug. It doesn't help stop the swings up and down. It works on the liver to help reduce the amount of glucose it produces, helps with insulin resistance, and is an appetite suppressant - but all these only to a limited extent. It isn't the key to controlling blood sugars. Diet is the key.

You will learn from this forum and elsewhere that carbohydrates are the cause of raised blood sugars, and in particular bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, flour and breakfast cereals (including all the healthier options of wholemeal varieties). Reduce or eliminate these and your blood sugars will improve.

Use your meter to help you. Test before you eat and 2 hours after first bite. Look at the rise from before to after. Try to keep any rise under 2mmol/l, preferably under 1.5mmol/l. If you also keep a food diary including portion sizes and record your levels alongside you will see patterns emerging and be able to see which foods are causing problems.

 

[Riker13]

Thanks for that, I have changed my diet but maybe have to make more changes and yes a food diary would help.
What breakfast do you normaly have?

 

[Resurgam]

Those lows are a bit concerning, but at least it indicates that you're not running high all the time.
Do they happen after exercise, or at specific times of day?
I used to have slumps in energy in the mid to late afternoons, both when much younger and during my recent history as I lowered my blood glucose by eating low carb foods. As I had a meter this time I could work out that I needed to eat earlier in the day and have just a small amount of carbs and that minimised the effect.
I don't think that the NHS takes all that much notice of type 2 diabetics, they are put through the process but pretty much left to sink or swim as best they can.
You'll see quite a few people on the forum who have managed to reverse the effects and get normal numbers, mostly by eating low carb foods or doing low calorie either intermittently or for a period of weeks.
Thanks to the internet it is a lot easier to get information, and encouragement about diabetes and diet, and tablets and treatment so I hope that you'll find what you need.

 

[Riker13]

Yep thanks Resurgam it does seem I need to look at my diet bit more, I suppose it does take time to get this right.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Thanks for that, I have changed my diet but maybe have to make more changes and yes a food diary would help.
What breakfast do you normaly have?

Breakfasts seem to cause the most problems with newcomers because we are all accustomed to eating cereals or toast with jam, and are also told porridge is good for us. You have to put these traditional breakfasts out of your mind and think out of the box.

Personally I don't eat before lunch time. I just have a coffee with cream and then a cup of tea mid morning. However, this doesn't suit everyone. Bacon and eggs are very popular and very acceptable for diabetics. Eggs cooked any which way. A plain full fat yogurt with maybe 2 or 3 chopped up strawberries mixed in, or half a dozen raspberries or blackberries or blueberries. Cold meats and cheese are good. Whatever you fancy that is low to no carb. Hope this helps.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @Riker13 .. and welcome
You have certainly made a good move coming here. I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb and, like yourself and many others, I was shell-shocked with no information and no real idea of what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. It's still early for me but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I see that @Jaylee has already tagged @ daisy1 for you and I suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

It seems that you have your own meter and that you are testing regularly .. if not, though, this is a top priority so the following websites might help:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 (you don't pay VAT) or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them. Unless you are prescribed test strips by your doctor (unlikely), the costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-5 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them
Hope this helps

 

[Riker13]

Breakfasts seem to cause the most problems with newcomers because we are all accustomed to eating cereals or toast with jam, and are also told porridge is good for us. You have to put these traditional breakfasts out of your mind and think out of the box.

Personally I don't eat before lunch time. I just have a coffee with cream and then a cup of tea mid morning. However, this doesn't suit everyone. Bacon and eggs are very popular and very acceptable for diabetics. Eggs cooked any which way. A plain full fat yogurt with maybe 2 or 3 chopped up strawberries mixed in, or half a dozen raspberries or blackberries or blueberries. Cold meats and cheese are good. Whatever you fancy that is low to no carb. Hope this helps.

Yes it does thanks, I really need to look at what I eat even more closely. all the best.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes it does thanks, I really need to look at what I eat even more closely. all the best.

Yes, and testing before and after, with a food diary, will help you do this.

 

[Riker13]

Hi @Riker13 .. and welcome
You have certainly made a good move coming here. I was diagnosed T2 in early Feb and, like yourself and many others, I was shell-shocked with no information and no real idea of what was happening to me. Since joining this forum, though, the folks here have given me so much info, advice and support that I am now much more confident about the journey ahead. So ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need .. It's still early for me but, in my experience, it gets easier .. very quickly.

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward for many people. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day seems to be working and you'll find that there is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum ..

I see that @Jaylee has already tagged @ daisy1 for you and I suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the information that she will soon be sending you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following Diet Doctor websites ...
Low Carb Intro and Information
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds

It seems that you have your own meter and that you are testing regularly .. if not, though, this is a top priority so the following websites might help:
https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/
for the SD Codefree meter, which costs £12.98 (you don't pay VAT) or:
http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/
who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free.
I have both for comparative purposes and I have never found any significant difference between them. Unless you are prescribed test strips by your doctor (unlikely), the costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-5 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for either of the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I can now manage them
Hope this helps

Thanks so much for the post I do feel more positive just by you guys responding to my OP so quickly and with some great advice, its still early days for me but with a few more changes on my part and your help i`m sure It will help a lot. Regards.

 

[Riker13]

Yes, and testing before and after, with a food diary, will help you do this.

Will do.

 

[Resurgam]

Kippers with a toasted Lidl protein roll - good breakfast, or boiled bacon (in hot water for a minute before frying - removes salt and soluble preserving stuffs) or a fried egg, large organic. Yum.

 

[Riker13]

Kippers with a toasted Lidl protein roll - good breakfast, or boiled bacon (in hot water for a minute before frying - removes salt and soluble preserving stuffs) or a fried egg, large organic. Yum.

It seems I need to get more eggs in the shopping

 

[Bluetit1802]

It seems I need to get more eggs in the shopping

You can't have too many!

 

[Riker13]

I think I might start another post about what people have for meals?

 

[Riker13]

You can't have too many!

I know I Love eggs

 

[Resurgam]

I was just watching 'Jamie at home' and he used beaten eggs with a little water to thin them down, a non stick frying pan and olive oil to make really thin pancakes. They were stacked, rolled, then sliced to make 'noodles'.
The noodles were mixed with a leafy salad, finely sliced fennel (dropped into icy water for half a minute then drained and dried) laid onto thin slices of cured beef and dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and a few drops of real truffle oil, top with parmesan.

 

[Riker13]

I was just watching 'Jamie at home' and he used beaten eggs with a little water to thin them down, a non stick frying pan and olive oil to make really thin pancakes. They were stacked, rolled, then sliced to make 'noodles'.
The noodles were mixed with a leafy salad, finely sliced fennel (dropped into icy water for half a minute then drained and dried) laid onto thin slices of cured beef and dressed with olive oil, lemon juice and a few drops of real truffle oil, top with parmesan.

Sounds nice but not sure I have time to do that, well maybe the weekend.