Newly diagnosed

[Kri5te1]

Hi so I recently was diagnosed as having type 2, my first hba1c was 69, Dr put me on to metformin 3x a day, I've been careful what I'm eating and actually lost a stone, was in work on Friday (work in a gp surgery) when I started to feel a bit strange, felt hot but cold and was shaking, practice nurse checked my blood sugar and it was 4.1, gave me a glucose shot and started to feel better, although she said I shouldn't really get hypo as only on metformin, she advised me to stop this over weekend and speak to my gp on Monday, so yeah hi everyone nice to have found a great informative site.

 

[ianf0ster]

It seems that you can control your Diabetes by just being careful of how many carbs you eat and which ones. Many people can do that, though some prefer to go down the medi8cation route even though lifestyle changes are much more successful in reversing T2 Diabetes.

 

[Buster_]

A level of 4.1 isn't actually in hypo territory, it's at the lower end of a normal range. Apparently when your blood sugars are too high over a significant period, as they are for us type 2's, your body can get used to this. Then, when you are diagnosed and start to bring your levels back toward a normal range with diet and drugs this can upset your system for a time, while your body adjusts. I've seen this described as false hypo. That's perhaps what you experienced.

The nurse is correct though, as a type 2 on only metformin you're at very low risk of genuine hypoglycaemia.

 

[Kri5te1]

Thanks for the replies, I've spoken to my gp, she advised me to drop down to 1 metformin and build up again, also to book for more bloods.

 

[Resurgam]

You probably felt strange as the Metformin inhibits release of glucose from your liver, so when you might have needed it, it wasn't available.
Why you would need a shot of glucose is not clear.
What good reducing and then increasing again with the Metformin isn't very clear either.
If you go on having the false hypos you might find having a warm drink - even warm water from the kettle, might help, and a small amount of something sugary - I ate three grapes, slowly. That was only necessary a few times and then I got used to the lower glucose levels. I stopped taking the tablets though, could not cope with the side effects, but I never needed them anyway, the low carb diet sorted out the type two quite quickly. If you can cope with them then taking the Metformin will probably not do any harm, but they can be rather problematic with the side effects.

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hi so I recently was diagnosed as having type 2, my first hba1c was 69, Dr put me on to metformin 3x a day, I've been careful what I'm eating and actually lost a stone, was in work on Friday (work in a gp surgery) when I started to feel a bit strange, felt hot but cold and was shaking, practice nurse checked my blood sugar and it was 4.1, gave me a glucose shot and started to feel better, although she said I shouldn't really get hypo as only on metformin, she advised me to stop this over weekend and speak to my gp on Monday, so yeah hi everyone nice to have found a great informative site.

Sounds to me like you could do perfectly well without metformin... Why on earth with that HbA1c, you've been put on three right from the get-go, is a mystery to me... Not to mention why you'd reduce and then build up again if you're hitting fours already. If you cut carbs you should be able to get back into the normal range fairly quickly, as it seems like you're already seeing normal numbers as it is. And yeah, that was a false hypo... Not an actual one, though they feel exactly the same, just don't have the numbers to back them up. If you keep treating them with glucose, you'll never get used to having normal blood sugars, so... For a one-off it's fine, but try and ride them out from here on in if you think you can, then you'll be rid of them that much sooner. Just have some protein to eat and you'll perk up some, without spiking your blood sugars for hours afterwards.

You say you've been careful of what you're eating, and losing weight, and seeing a 4,1, can I assume you've cut carbs? Because if you are, good on you. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ might help a little, but... Keep in mind your nurse may not know you can stop T2 in its tracks on diet alone. (Because if she does know, that would make the go-back-to-3-a-day even weirder).

You're doing an excellent job already. And get yourself a meter, you want to know what your blood sugars are doing.
Jo