New but in trouble

[_Little_Pocket_rocket]

Hi nice to be in a place where people know what the talking about, I noticed my sugar levels are way to high for me, mostly around 10 and up to 13
I seen my doctor last year that in my opinion fob me off with ..the pancreas don't work so well when you get older and will do its own thing !
I disagreed exercise four times a day walking watching my food you name it I did it...correctly, still high, found new doctors who nearly fell on floor when tested me, now I have metaformin glicazide and sitagliptin, still a bit high but they said getting better I don't know what else I can do and wish their was a diabetic trained person at our surgery rather than be tablet fed

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Pills and exercise wont lower your blood sugar to normal levels. For that you need to change your diet.

Many people here follow the Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet. Carbohydrates such as bread, breakfast cereals, rice, pasta and potatoes should be avoided and you should cut out fruit juice as well. You can eat more fat in your diet such as butter, cheese, full fat yoghurt, avocados, nuts.

For more diet recipes see https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes

You need to be careful with low carb and glicazide in case you blood sugars go too low. Get a glucose meter and monitor your levels. If they are going too low then cut back on the glicazide.

 

[Ultramum]

Hi nice to be in a place where people know what the talking about, I noticed my sugar levels are way to high for me, mostly around 10 and up to 13
I seen my doctor last year that in my opinion fob me off with ..the pancreas don't work so well when you get older and will do its own thing !
I disagreed exercise four times a day walking watching my food you name it I did it...correctly, still high, found new doctors who nearly fell on floor when tested me, now I have metaformin glicazide and sitagliptin, still a bit high but they said getting better I don't know what else I can do and wish their was a diabetic trained person at our surgery rather than be tablet fed

Hi there

I'll tag @daisy1 who will add some info to this thread for you to read.

I have been a type 2 for several years but my sugars were slowly creeping up. I decided to try eating the Low Carb High Fat lifestyle since mid Feb and my sugars are slowly coming down.

This is only one approach to managing your blood sugars. There is a forum on here devoted to this way of eating if you want to read more about it.

I'm sure others will be along with other ideas for you.

 

[donnellysdogs]

You mention not liking the "pill fed" option.. having tried exercise too..
what eating lifestyle are you following?
It maybe insulin injections that you need, has anybody discussed this with you?

I'm T1 and to be honest I would ratber have injections than horrendoys amounts of horrible tablets.

I'm unsure though what you would prefer as your "ideal" to get better control?

You need definitely to form a good relationship with one GP and nurse if its possible..

 

[Freema]

counting ones carb daily and going under 100 grams a day seems to be the way most people type 2 can get a real control... but of cause on insuline affecting medication one needs to measure over the day and avoid to become too low in blood glucose too, a bit of a linedance.... ... so maybe try going lower like maybe 150 grams first shared all over the day and see how your blood glucose behaves : is it going going lower or higher ... and then go lower if needed

 

[daisy1]

@_Little_Pocket_rocket

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will come and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 147,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Can you give us some idea of your BMI and weight and whether you are already low-carbing. Gliclazide and Sitagliptin would normally be prescribed when you are suspect as being Late onset T1 (LADA) and the pancreas is failing. Being slim and/or having lost weight recently can be indicators. If you have excess weight then these tablets may not be an ideal solution and a low-carb diet would be the first stop. For those with a lot of excess weight there are other injectables that can sometimes help. BTW, your GP is stretching a point when he says your pancreas fails as you get older. It may do a bit but there are plenty of old folk with excellent BS levels.

 

[SimonCrox]

It would seem that you are motivated and trying hard to control things, so very despiriting that not getting the desired effect. The comment about the pancreas getting older and doing its own thing is not particularly helpful; yes, as T2DM progresses, the pancreas is less able to make insulin, but one's age chronologically is probably less important than one's biological age.
As Daibell says above, knowing your BMI, change in weight, and duration of diabetes would be valuable. And since struggling with glucose control, self glucose testing would be invaluable.
Chances are, particularly if you have had the diabetes for more than 12 months, that you have Type 2 diabetes. So, for T2DM management, you are exercising fantastically, I will leave the diet discussion to others (but as an HCP, my preferred diet is noted above, ( although other diets to control the weigh can be great)), and optomising the tablets that you are taking eg for your renal function, are you on the top dose of metformin and sitagliptin ? Are you on top dose gliclazide? Although one does have to say that if struggling to control glucose levels on half max dose tablet, increasing to max dose does not add that much. So after all this, it (as said above) might be time to consider an injection; the GLP-1 RAs such as liraglutide are as good as insulin over 6-12 months, decrease weight a bit, and do not themselves make you hypo; they also decrease risk of heart attack etc. (well, liraglutide does, lixesentide does not). One could alternatively add in an SGLT-2 inhibitor if your renal function OK, but as noted above, you will start to rattle with all the tablets, and it does assume good kidney function.
I agree that if you are struggling despite all your hard work, then seeing an expert is a good idea.
As above, if you have had diabetes for less than 12 months, then you might have LADA, but at this stage, the increased medication from your last GP generally has minimal effect.
I am assuming that you have not had pancreatitis.
Best wishes.