Diagnosed as Type 2 and given Metformin - worried!!

[ditchy76]

Hi everyone

I am brand new to this forum and have just been diagnosed as having type 2 diabetes. If I am honest I have been very worried about this as I know nothing about diabetes. I was diagnosed last Monday after having two fasting blood tests and put on Metformin and I am still waiting for an appointment with the diabetic nurse.

First of all I would like to ask everyone about Metformin. I was given this to take one every morning (500mg) for the first week before upping my dose from next week to 2 a day. I am not keen to do this as I have been suffering from really bad stomach cramps, wind and trips to the toilet. In fact it's ruining my day, every day because I have a constant uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. It's awful and I don't know how long I can go on feeling like this!! Everything I seem to eat makes my stomach bubble, then the cramps and pain and it's really getting me down.

The second thing is my diet. I am overweight and I am well aware that I need to bring my weight down. The problem is I have no idea what foods or meals I should be having and at what times.

Finally my blood sugar level. I keep getting mixed information from different websites and all I got told from my GP was that it was high but not worryingly high!! Before going on the medication I was always between 7.5 and 10.5 but today after day 5 of the awful metformin I was 4.5 before lunch. Can anyone give me any idea of what the ideal levels are supposed to be at certain points of the day?

Sorry for all the questions but my head is just all over the place with worry and i'm sick of having a bad stomach. Thanks everyone.

Paul

 

[mariab]

Hi Paul - I'm recently diagnosed as well (10 days ago). I suspected that it was coming so I did quite a bit of reading up first. My GP prescribed me metformin but i haven't taken any yet. The GP was awful and the earliest appointment I could get with the nurse was 15th July so I got a bit stroppy and they found me one for last Thursday. The nurse was brilliant - gave me a monitor and strips without question (the GP had refused).
Advice from other people on this forum is to try and persuade your GP/nurse that you want to be pro-active and manage it yourself. This advice worked in my case.

The nurse agreed that I could try the low carb approach and see if I can manage it before my three month check. If I'm not managing it then I will go on the medication but I'm hoping that I won't have to.

Take time to look around on this forum - I've got so much help and information I don't know where I would have got it from otherwise. There's always someone who can help.

Maria

 

[daisy1]

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum This is the best place to come for information and you will soon get the hang of looking after your diabetes. For the Metformin, make sure you take it during a meal - this is very important and may resolve your problems. These may also stop in due course. If not ask your doctor/nurse if you can have the SR version which gives a lot less problems.

Concerning weight and levels, you might find some information in here which will help you. This advice was written by Ken and Sue, very knowledgeable members and former monitors of the forum, to be given to new members. I'm sure other members will also be along soon to give you any advice they can.

Here is the advice that Ken and I, as Forum Monitors, usually give to newly diagnosed Diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

For more information on CARBOHYDRATE see here:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20306

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

For TIPS FOR STRIPS see here:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=19002#p173253

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2011 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking and before meals).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l...(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals........................no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals......................... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do at least 30 minutes moderate exercise a day, it can be split into 10 min sessions to start with. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.

Finally a few QUESTIONS TO ASK AT DIABETES CLINIC.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17091



Sue/Ken.

 

[ClaireG 06]

Hello and welcome to the forum
If you click on this link it's takes you to some information written by two very experienced type 2's.

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=17088

Any more questions etc. Please come back and ask

 

[DazG]

Paul the slow release metformin is so much better, I didnt have a single problem after taking that.

Dont worry too much about things, it all falls into place nicely sooner or later and you will learn to live with it and look after yourself at the same time. Just read the threads on here, they are very helpful and will tell you most of what you need to know.

 

[evilcat]

Hi Paul,

I too was diagnosed quite recently (mid-May) and put straight onto Metformin (2 x a day.) I had all the typical side effects (not fun having to run out of a business meeting!) but after a couple of weeks they did die down.

I've found the effects are worse if I've eaten something with carbs, but after discovering what eating carbs did to my BS, I've cut them right down anyway.

I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much. In six weeks my BS levels have gone down from over 20 to around 7-8 without making too many changes to my diet.

In terms of diet, I think the key thing is to keep testing to see what causes you to spike. in the mornings I only eat protein (eggs/cheese/sausage) with soup/salad for lunch (sometimes a small seeded roll if I'm hungry). In the evening I've found that I can have a near normal meal, just with smaller portions of potato/rice/pasta etc.

This seems to work for me, but everyone is different

 

[ditchy76]

Thanks everyone for the kind messages, I think to be honest I have been really worried about my bad stomach and what to eat but this is all helping so thanks very much.

 

[NewdestinyX]

Take a deep breath, Paul! Welcome to the forum and to the club noone wants to be a member of. But you are now and you're among family. I'm two year into this journey as of the 15th of this month (July). And life is WAY better for me healthwise than 2 years ago. Hang in there. You've gotten great advice so far..

I'm one of the failure stories with Meformin -- the slow or extended release kind. I had your exact symptoms and was told to just bear it for at least 6 weeks.. It did get a little better after week 4 or so -- and I 'hung in there' for 6 months - and then decided I couldn't live that way anymore with the cramps. I'm not alone... Many people can't bear Metformin. It's one of the most proven drugs out there and if you can stick it out at least a month or a little more to see if your body can adjust it's worth it. Or switch to the extended release version if you're not on that already.. In the end insulin was what worked best for me. The Metformin seems to be bringing your numbers now and into alignment with healthy - all the more reason to hang in there with it. My numbers weren't coming into alignment so I added insulin early. And now most of the research is showing that that's a great and 'first' alternative' in addition to OR in place of Metformin. Most of the studies assign the best results to insulin + Metformin. So again - -hang in there.

Believe it or not the simple 'anti-gas' remedies like 'Gas-X' help with the side effects of Metformin. Not the stomach acid reducers but 'anti-gas' tablet -- they're different things. But try adding that and see if the relief is a little better. Hang in! You're not alone!