Told not to get a blood glucose meter

[Resurgam]

When I was first diagnosed I was prescribed statins and Metformin - I was so ill and so very miserable, I think that I had every side effect possible. When I stopped taking them things got better fairly quickly and I could venture out of the house again. I used a meter and by eating low carb foods I have dropped my levels to normal.
It was not difficult, the process was far faster than I had thought - I had allowed a year to have them half as good, but in 6 months my blood test came back in the normal range.

 

[TipTop2]

Great you have decided to get a meter. It will be your best friend. It may also tell you your nurse was wrong about the 2 slices of bread, and possibly also the 2 pieces of fruit. Bread (along with rice, potatoes, pasta and breakfast cereals) is a danger food, including wholemeal varieties. It is very heavy in carbs and raises blood sugar levels. Fruit is difficult because it depends on the fruit. Berries (blackberries, raspberries and strawberries) are OK in small portions. Fruits from warm climates such as bananas and grapes are very sweet and will raise BG levels. Your meter will guide you in all this.

There are some low carb breads available, such as Lidl high protein rolls (9g carbs per roll) and Burgen bread available in most supermarkets.

Statins? You would be best using the search box to find out about these. There are hundreds of threads, and it would fill a whole page if I were to tell you all about them. All I will say is they have more unpleasant side effects than benefit (unless you already have CVD) and they raise blood sugar levels. The choice is yours, but please do some research before you decide.

Good advice on carbs but not medicines.....'statins have more S/Es than benefits'......well maybe you haven't read the decades of overwhelming clinical evidence supporting the role of statins in both primary and secondary prevention of CVD which is especially important then in diabetes because of our higher risk factors. It is true that just like all medicines some people will not be able to tolerate them but that is the few not the many. Indeed they are indicated for prevention in diabetes.

 

[TREVIE99]

Just a quick question been looking at a meter and it's asking if I want a mmol/l or a mg/dl meter ???? Which one for a type 2
Thanks

 

[Salvia]

Hi @TREVIE99, assuming you are in the UK, you need a meter that measures in mmol/l.

 

[AM1874]

Hi @TREVIE99 ..
You want mmol/L .. and FYI it's not to do with T1 or T2 .. mmol/L is the way that blood sugar is normally measured in UK and Europe, rather than in US

 

[Element137]

Good advice on carbs but not medicines.....'statins have more S/Es than benefits'......well maybe you haven't read the decades of overwhelming clinical evidence supporting the role of statins in both primary and secondary prevention of CVD which is especially important then in diabetes because of our higher risk factors. It is true that just like all medicines some people will not be able to tolerate them but that is the few not the many. Indeed they are indicated for prevention in diabetes.

You sure about that ? -

 

[Element137]

You sure about that ? -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/24/lancet-study-statins-fundamentally-flawed-critics-say/

 

[Daphne917]

Good advice on carbs but not medicines.....'statins have more S/Es than benefits'......well maybe you haven't read the decades of overwhelming clinical evidence supporting the role of statins in both primary and secondary prevention of CVD which is especially important then in diabetes because of our higher risk factors. It is true that just like all medicines some people will not be able to tolerate them but that is the few not the many. Indeed they are indicated for prevention in diabetes.

Not sure if your last statement is true as it's recognised that statins can cause diabetes or increase BS levels in some people me included - my Hba1c rose from 48 on diagnosis to 54 after starting statins it went down to 36 once I stopped taking them

 

[RFSMarch]

Some thoughts... I was diagnosed in the summer, and at the time had high everything (BG, BP, cholesterol) and my doctor asked me how I felt about statins. I had no idea what they were so he erred on the side of 'let's just get you stable first and then when you come in for your bloods in September we can have a look at your cholesterol then.'

Since then I have bought a Freestyle Libre Flash Glucose Monitor and use that to monitor my blood sugar levels. In doing that, and understanding what causes me to spike, and focusing on moving from the previous high GI foods to medium and low wherever possible, I have managed to bring my BG down by almost half (albeit estimated using the Libre and the average Mmol to hbA1c converter here. Before anyone jumps on my post ... I KNOW it is an estimate and I KNOW that the Libre can have a 2Mmol difference to actual blood. But when all said and done I have come down massively from where I started in July.

My doctor told me that now he put me on Metformin, I didn't need the Libre anymore, and also reckoned that I would need to be up on 4 Metformin a day, not to mention tablets most likely for my high BP and those statins. I have other ideas. My aim is to stick to no more than 3 Metformin and to be honest I find it blocks me solid, so ideally I want to come off the **** things altogether. I have absolutely NO intention of having statins and really hope my bloods at the end of the month show enough improved cholesterol levels that we don't have to discuss it. That just leaves the BP which is down most times from high to pre-high but need to get that down.

As I lost a stone and a half in short order which was a presenting symptom of the diabetes, I exercise a lot more, but again it was all about stabilizing ... and thankfully the massive drop has stopped and is a little more gradual.

Buy a monitor - learn what affects YOU and admit to yourself that you will have to make some lifestyle changes. LCHF seems to work well for some. I personally avoided it because of the high cholesterol and chose to work to the GI index. But don't be surprised if your health care professionals seem to be indifferent to your efforts to manage your own condition. It disappointed me at first, and then I figured... my money (Libre ain't cheap), my body, my life, so my choice.

Good luck on your journey and the people in this forum ROCK!!!!!

 

[Art Of Flowers]

Get a blood glucose meter and eat a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet. You will soon find which foods spike your blood sugar and you will be able to reduce your HbA1C down to normal levels in a few months with or without Metformin. Metformin only reduces blood sugars a small amount, but it does suppress appetite so aids weight loss. However, Metformin can cause diarrhoea, memory loss and neuropathy. So, a diet only method of controlling type 2 diabetes may be best providing you have a glucose meter to ensure you are on track.

Statins should be avoided as they raise blood sugar levels and have severe side effects such as muscle pain and dementia type symptoms. Over 64% of people on here said they stopped taking statins due to side effects. See http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/poll-side-effects-from-statins.58409/

For more information on why you should avoid statins see the film Statin Nation.

 

[Jo_the_boat]

Just a quick question been looking at a meter and it's asking if I want a mmol/l or a mg/dl meter ???? Which one for a type 2
Thanks

I've just been diagnosed and ordered on of these.....
http://Blood Glucose Monitor - SD Codefree Meter
(if the link works)