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I have only posted once before so please be kind.
I was diagnosed T2 back in October 2019 and I think I've made good progress, I’m on 2 x 500mg Metformin twice a day and I had a GAD antibody test just before lockdown which came back negative. My highest was HbA1c 105 in November but I’ve brought it down to 44 in my most recent blood test back in early July.
I wasn’t overweight to start with but have stayed on a very strict low carb diet, luckily my weight has stayed quite stable. I regularly test and I have found the range of food that doesn’t seriously affect my levels quite restrictive and can be a struggle to manage with the rest of my family eating normally, particularly during the lockdown.
In the end I spoke to the diabetic team at my local hospital in June and they added 1 x 40mg Gliclazide twice a day to “allow” me to eat some carbs. I was told to take them 20 minutes before meals and test before driving as the effect should be immediate. I was warned I might experience hypos so I went a bit OTT testing but my bloods actually seemed to go up (even without carbs) or there was no effect at all? After about a week I spoke to the hospital team again and they advised upping to 80mg before breakfast and 40mg before dinner (I understand this is still a fairly low dose overall) which I have followed since but still with no apparently consistent effects but I dropped the tests back to twice a day (or as required) as advised by the diabetic clinic.
I also had a dietician appointment on the phone who, amongst other things, advised that carbs help the Gliclazide to metabolise so I need to eat at least some (and also as part of a healthy diet). I have introduced some carbs (1 slice of brown bread, brown rice, brown pasta, etc. but always in small quantities) but I didn’t really find any difference between my tests with and without the Gliclazide. Then I experienced my first hypo a few weeks ago at 3.2, I have had a 3.7 and 3.9 since, not ultra-low I know but I really notice when it’s happened but I can’t seem to find any pattern to the cause.
This sounds stupid as I type it but I’ve almost been trying to “cause” a hypo just so I know how to avoid them in future but they seem to happen regardless of when or whether I’ve had carbs, that said my hypos have always been in the evening, after dinner (so far).
I think I’m just after some general advice and/or reassurance as I know a lot of the “Official advice” isn’t always quite right or tailored to everyone and I received some excellent advice from my first post that’s really stuck with me and has helped me get this far.
I was diagnosed T2 back in October 2019 and I think I've made good progress, I’m on 2 x 500mg Metformin twice a day and I had a GAD antibody test just before lockdown which came back negative. My highest was HbA1c 105 in November but I’ve brought it down to 44 in my most recent blood test back in early July.
I wasn’t overweight to start with but have stayed on a very strict low carb diet, luckily my weight has stayed quite stable. I regularly test and I have found the range of food that doesn’t seriously affect my levels quite restrictive and can be a struggle to manage with the rest of my family eating normally, particularly during the lockdown.
In the end I spoke to the diabetic team at my local hospital in June and they added 1 x 40mg Gliclazide twice a day to “allow” me to eat some carbs. I was told to take them 20 minutes before meals and test before driving as the effect should be immediate. I was warned I might experience hypos so I went a bit OTT testing but my bloods actually seemed to go up (even without carbs) or there was no effect at all? After about a week I spoke to the hospital team again and they advised upping to 80mg before breakfast and 40mg before dinner (I understand this is still a fairly low dose overall) which I have followed since but still with no apparently consistent effects but I dropped the tests back to twice a day (or as required) as advised by the diabetic clinic.
I also had a dietician appointment on the phone who, amongst other things, advised that carbs help the Gliclazide to metabolise so I need to eat at least some (and also as part of a healthy diet). I have introduced some carbs (1 slice of brown bread, brown rice, brown pasta, etc. but always in small quantities) but I didn’t really find any difference between my tests with and without the Gliclazide. Then I experienced my first hypo a few weeks ago at 3.2, I have had a 3.7 and 3.9 since, not ultra-low I know but I really notice when it’s happened but I can’t seem to find any pattern to the cause.
This sounds stupid as I type it but I’ve almost been trying to “cause” a hypo just so I know how to avoid them in future but they seem to happen regardless of when or whether I’ve had carbs, that said my hypos have always been in the evening, after dinner (so far).
I think I’m just after some general advice and/or reassurance as I know a lot of the “Official advice” isn’t always quite right or tailored to everyone and I received some excellent advice from my first post that’s really stuck with me and has helped me get this far.