Well done with your HbA1c result you done better than me. I have been with type 2 for over 7 years now and have experienced stomach cramps for most of that time until last year. Although I had spoken to the GP on every visit about these cramps I had been told it was gastric reflux and to take indigestion medication for it. In October 2014 the Sister at the surgery thought it may have been the Metformin releasing itself too soon and 6 years prior to that she had told me to take 2 Metformin twice a day instead of 1 twice a day. Her excuse was that, I quote "Everyone takes 2 tablets twice a day!" So in October 2014 she thought that maybe the stomach cramps were being caused by this Metformin releasing itself too soon and giving me digestive problems so she trialled me on the moderate release Metformin. After one week the cramps got a bit better and I just had a few episodes of discomfort instead of full blown agony. 3 months later the GP picked up a blood test to find I had an inflamed liver and i had also come out in large spots and patches of acute eczema all over my body. I was sent to have an abdominal scan in March and had breast screening to make sure I hadn't got breast cancer. I saw the dermatologist that told me I had varicose eczema on my breasts and he wanted to do a biopsy on them. My abdominal scan came back with the results that I had a gallstone, and all the GP was interested in was me having an op to remove my gallbladder. I went to see the surgeon in May to discuss this and he promptly said the gallstone was not giving me any grief so he was not prepared to operate until I turned yellow and was in excruciating pain, and that I would have to go back and discuss things with my GP. That day I tried to get an appointment with my GP and couldn't get past the receptionist as she wouldn't book me in until the information had arrived from the hospital. So I plodded on and tried every week for a month and still no letter arrived from the surgeon. I had been referred to a health trainer who has been marvellous in helping me with losing weight and exercise. She referred me to the Diabetic Dietitian at the hospital. She thought the spots and eczema may have been gluten intolerance so stuck my on a diet for 6 weeks eating wheat at least twice a day. The results of that test came back negative so that was another waste of 6 weeks. Meanwhile other symptoms have got worse like constipation too. I then started to suspect that one of my drugs was giving me side effects so went back to see the GP. Lone behold she found a letter on my file from the consultant about my gallstone to say that he felt that all the problems were being caused by the Metformin. After having further blood tests and flippant remarks from the young Sister at surgery about trialling new drugs that have different side effects that I might like to try. I insisted on seeing a specialist. I have been taken off Metformin for at least a month as the specialist felt that I had been prescribed 3 times the quantity that i really needed for the past 7 years. My HbA1c is now 46 so I have room to enjoy myself as they look for figures to be under 58. I am sticking to my wonderful diet and keeping the carbs down to no more than 120 grams a day, and like you can afford the odd glass of red wine or the odd small cake (which I no longer enjoy) and still my sugars are not rising. I have only been without Metformin for 5 days and people have already told me that I am looking much better, I know my skin is starting to clear up a little. I am not suffering any pain and hopefully one day the constipation will stop. But I sincerely think that the GP's and their staff do not know enough about Diabetes and that every now and then you must get the help from a specialist.
I was talking to a friend at the weekend and her husband had recently passed away after suffering a stroke and heart attack. He also had 2 different types of cancer and diabetes at the same time. He was on 21 tablets a day and no one had ever reviewed his meds. When he died the hospital said he had been overdosing on 3 different types of blood pressure tablets and no one had told him to stop taking 2 types of them or removed them from his prescription. So make sure your prescription is tailored for you and not for your GP's bank balance. Good luck!
