Help Needed

[pamK]

As some of you may know earlier this year I stopped taking my statins and did the low carb and it went well i reversed my diabetic ~(type 2) and was taken of my medication of Metformin But over the last 2 months i have had Psoriatic Arthritis which has been very painful my hands all was swollen and it affected my other joints Had to go to hospital to Rheumatology where i had to have 2 lots of IV drip of steroids they helped a few days but still serious pain Hands down slowly going but still swollen slightly But having IV steroids makes your sugar levels go high they went to 22.7 but are now between 14'1 and 11.7 spoke to the Dr this morning as i thought i should go back onto my Metformin But she said as i have had IVsteroids it will not come down with Metformin and i have to go onto gliclazide wich i have avoided for 14 years I said i wanted to try Metformin first for a few days but she has had to put it in my Doctors notes that i have refused it But i said if i have to go onto it i will My sister has had some hypos with using gliclazide which frightens me a little First can i ask has anyone had this happen to them after having steroids and second can anyone say how gliclazide affected them when first put onto it Also is it possible with doing Low carb to reverse diabetes and come off the gliclazide as i have no experiance of this any help i would appreciate Thanks

 

[DCUKMod]

As some of you may know earlier this year I stopped taking my statins and did the low carb and it went well i reversed my diabetic ~(type 2) and was taken of my medication of Metformin But over the last 2 months i have had Psoriatic Arthritis which has been very painful my hands all was swollen and it affected my other joints Had to go to hospital to Rheumatology where i had to have 2 lots of IV drip of steroids they helped a few days but still serious pain Hands down slowly going but still swollen slightly But having IV steroids makes your sugar levels go high they went to 22.7 but are now between 14'1 and 11.7 spoke to the Dr this morning as i thought i should go back onto my Metformin But she said as i have had IVsteroids it will not come down with Metformin and i have to go onto gliclazide wich i have avoided for 14 years I said i wanted to try Metformin first for a few days but she has had to put it in my Doctors notes that i have refused it But i said if i have to go onto it i will My sister has had some hypos with using gliclazide which frightens me a little First can i ask has anyone had this happen to them after having steroids and second can anyone say how gliclazide affected them when first put onto it Also is it possible with doing Low carb to reverse diabetes and come off the gliclazide as i have no experiance of this any help i would appreciate Thanks

Hi there - I've never taken Gliclazide or any diabetes medication for that matter, but lots of people do quite well on Gliclazide.

One thing that you may be able to tick on the positive side of things is that Glaclazide is a much more "instant" drug, in its action, than Metformin. Of course, it isn't instant, but by that I mean those taking it notice the impact, per dose, as opposed to Metformin where the efficacy builds up over a period of time.

I'm wondering, on that basis if it could be something that might work for you by being able to increase/decrease your doses, depending on your requirements - especially whilst having cycles of IV steroids.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that's something you would do, but it might make for a talking point with your Doc?

My Father had a fairly complex RA condition, with other things "thrown in", and had fortnightly IV steroid infusions. It was the IV steroids that triggered a diabetes diagnosis for him, so I do appreciate your dilemma.

Hopefully, my post will bump your thread up for others as they come on for the evening.

Good luck with it all.

 

[ziggy_w]

Hi @pamK,

My heart goes out to you. You have worked so hard on lowering your blood sugar levels and now this.

I am not sure what to advice you. I am not a medical professional.

Here are some of my thoughts:

Could you do an insulin test (maybe c-peptide) to see how much insulin you are still producing? I would think knowing how much of your own insulin you still produce would allow you to make a more informed decision.

Will you treated with steroids long-term? I suffer from psoriasis of the scalp and after being on low-carb for more than two years, it has improved significantly. (I can't see the affected area myself, but my husband estimates it has improved by about 80%). I don't know if psoriatic athritis is related, but if it is, a low-carb and gluten-free diet might help in the long run.

Also, if I remember correctly gliclazide forces your pancreas to produce more insulin. There are some who believe this might not necessarily be a good thing as it might put undue stress on your pancreas.

To be honest, I don't what I would do if I were you. Maybe take a bit more time to think about matters and not let your doctor pressure you into a decision you don't feel comfortable with.

Hope someone else will be along soon who can advice you better than I can.

 

[pamK]

Thank you for your replies Psoriatic Arthritis is associated with Psoriasis and is very painful but you could live all your life and not get it I did first have it 13 years ago but not as bad as this but thanks for info