BarbaraG
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 294
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
OK, very brief history. I was diagnosed with T2 aged 34, I am now 60. I have a long history of weight cycling through alternately strict dieting and binge eating. I no longer “diet” as it presses all the wrong buttons mentally. I periodically have periods of eating better and doing more exercise, I have done low carb - indeed, keto - in the past, but not for a few years. The weight cycling has reduced considerably - over the past 2 years I’ve been within a range of about a stone, as against 8 stone previously, and I’m currently about 3.5 stone lower than my all time high.
I’ve been on metformin forever, and on Trulicity (weekly injection) for 4 years, and HbA1C has been low 50’s the past few years. Not ideal, but not high enough for either the practice nurse or me to do anything about it. Until this week - annual review, HbA1C came back at 71. All other bloods fine, no sign of complications.
As it happens, my husband and I had mutually agreed we were going to improve our diet and get more active once we’d got past Christmas and New Year. . So I’m shifting our meals towards whole foods, more vegetables and pulses, and away from ready meals and a lot of sweet stuff and crisps. We have rejoined our local leisure centre for (in my case) gym, swimming and exercise classes. I told her all that and said how about we retest in 3 months and see how I’m doing. She pushed to start the additional med now, we can always stop it again if I do well with diet and exercise.
So, when the prescription comes through I will be starting on one of the meds which makes you pee out more glucose. I really hope I can make it temporary! Can I ask anyone who is/has been on one of those - does the frequent peeing continue as long as you’re on it, or does it reduce? I knew my HbA1C would come back high as I’ve been getting up several times in the night to go. I don’t fancy that as a permanent part of life.
She told me that in her experience, Trulicity seems to have an effective life of 3-4 years, after which it doesn’t work as well. They didn’t tell me that when I started it! It dropped my HbA1C from 86 to low 50’s when I first started on it, and some weight came off as well.
Anyhow - I know, like I’ve always known, that diet and exercise are the best way. So, here I go again….
Oh - and I’ve ordered a couple of Freestyle Libre sensors to get some feedback. I’ll use one before I start the new med, so I can see what immediate difference it makes. And then the second one maybe a month in, to see how things are changing. Obviously it all works together: cutting carbs will give an immediate reduction in BG, as will exercise, and the combination will result in some weight loss which will improve insulin sensitivity.
I’ve been on metformin forever, and on Trulicity (weekly injection) for 4 years, and HbA1C has been low 50’s the past few years. Not ideal, but not high enough for either the practice nurse or me to do anything about it. Until this week - annual review, HbA1C came back at 71. All other bloods fine, no sign of complications.
As it happens, my husband and I had mutually agreed we were going to improve our diet and get more active once we’d got past Christmas and New Year. . So I’m shifting our meals towards whole foods, more vegetables and pulses, and away from ready meals and a lot of sweet stuff and crisps. We have rejoined our local leisure centre for (in my case) gym, swimming and exercise classes. I told her all that and said how about we retest in 3 months and see how I’m doing. She pushed to start the additional med now, we can always stop it again if I do well with diet and exercise.
So, when the prescription comes through I will be starting on one of the meds which makes you pee out more glucose. I really hope I can make it temporary! Can I ask anyone who is/has been on one of those - does the frequent peeing continue as long as you’re on it, or does it reduce? I knew my HbA1C would come back high as I’ve been getting up several times in the night to go. I don’t fancy that as a permanent part of life.
She told me that in her experience, Trulicity seems to have an effective life of 3-4 years, after which it doesn’t work as well. They didn’t tell me that when I started it! It dropped my HbA1C from 86 to low 50’s when I first started on it, and some weight came off as well.
Anyhow - I know, like I’ve always known, that diet and exercise are the best way. So, here I go again….
Oh - and I’ve ordered a couple of Freestyle Libre sensors to get some feedback. I’ll use one before I start the new med, so I can see what immediate difference it makes. And then the second one maybe a month in, to see how things are changing. Obviously it all works together: cutting carbs will give an immediate reduction in BG, as will exercise, and the combination will result in some weight loss which will improve insulin sensitivity.
