Metformin

[Omega55]

I have two queries I can’t get to the bottom of, so post here in the hope of enlightenment. First, Metformin. I am at the stage now where I believe I shall need to use drugs in the very near future as I can no longer stop my figures rising by diet. I have heard that certain batches have been recalled as they have been found to contain unacceptable levels of carcinogenic material and have actually been banned in some countries. Is this a cause for concern?

Secondly, diet. My wife has also been diagnosed, like me, with D2 and advised to control diet. However it seems to me that everything points to losing weight, but we are both as thin as rakes and have no weight to lose. There is no way I can give my wife less foods, she needs to eat carbs to retain the weight she has, less than 7 stone, so how can I possibly alter her diet to reduce glucose and keep her weight up?

Any help on the two matters would be appreciated.

 

[catinahat]

As you have discovered not all people diagnosed with T2 are overweight and not all overweight people have T2.
Life would be so simple if we could just loose a few pounds and be cured. Although being overweight is a risk factor for T2 , high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease and many other ailments, it's by no means the cause, and for many weight gain is just another symptom.
Our problem is insulin resistance, so our insulin is not as efficient as it used to be at dealing with carbs in our diet. Luckily out of the 3 main food groups, protein, fats and carbs, only protein and fats are essential. Carbohydrates we can easily do without. To avoid weight loss when eating low carb add extra protein and healthy fats to make up for the calories you are loosing by not eating carbs.

 

[carty]

I am also a skinny type 2 under 7 st I keep my weight stable and BGs also stable by eating lower carbs and higher fat .I eat lots of cheese and full fat yoghurt with berries and double cream ,butter on my vegetables ,avocados and nuts .Fish, meat .I exchange pasta for courgette or aubergine or celeriac slices with lots of cheese sauce .Roasted veg drizzled with avocado oil .Hope that helps a little
Carol

 

[Omega55]

I am also a skinny type 2 under 7 st I keep my weight stable and BGs also stable by eating lower carbs and higher fat .I eat lots of cheese and full fat yoghurt with berries and double cream ,butter on my vegetables ,avocados and nuts .Fish, meat .I exchange pasta for courgette or aubergine or celeriac slices with lots of cheese sauce .Roasted veg drizzled with avocado oil .Hope that helps a little
Carol

Thank you for that kind advice, but I also have a lactose (milk product) intolerance so I am a hopeless case so far as diet is concerned. It isn’t easy, is it.

 

[Lakeslover]

From memory the metformin batches which were recalled were liquid Metformin not tablets, and were in the USA.

 

[JohnEGreen]

Thank you for that kind advice, but I also have a lactose (milk product) intolerance so I am a hopeless case so far as diet is concerned. It isn’t easy, is it.

There are those on here who are practically carnivore and eat mainly meat. The fat does not have to be in the form of cheeses or other milk products.

 

[ianf0ster]

I was never as skinny as your 3 above, but I too was/am a TOFI (Thin Outside, Fat Inside ) Type 2 Diabetic.
It was because of that I chose Low Carb over the Very Low Calorie Diet or Fasting routes to achieve remission from Type 2.

I did lose some weight, but probably 4lbs of that was water retention loss due to eating such a lot less carbohydrates.

You don't have to drink Milk or eat cheese or yogurt in order to consume enough fat to stabilise weight. Eggs, Olives and Avocados are high in fat, so too are Salmon, Trout, Mackerel and Sardines. Macadamia nuts and Brazil nuts too are very high in fat (and quite low in carbohydrates. But as @catinahat said, it's a combination of both extra Protein as well as extra Fat you need to make up for the reduction in Carbohydrates.

For those who can afford it I strongly advise getting a Blood Glucose meter and testing outypour own reaction to different foods because there may be some carby food that affect you much less than you may think - and without testing you have no way of knowing that you can tolerate them better than some other Type Diabetic can. Test just before eating and then 2hrs after first bite looking for a rise of 2.0 mmol or less. Good (cheap meters in the UK are the SD Gluco Navii and the Spirit TEE2+. A starter pack costs around £15 and extra pots of test strips (of which you will need several) cost between £8 and £10 per pot of 50.

So far as Lactose intolerance is concerned, many people find that because fermentation reduces the lactose in dairy products, many moderately lactose intolerant people can drink Kefir, cultured Buttermilk, eat yogurt and fermented cheeses such as Swiss, Parmesan, Cheddar. Cottage Cheese, is also low in lactose as is Feta Cheese if its made from goat or sheep milk

Here is a link to 'a lactose intolerant's guide to cheese' : https://oldeuropecheese.com/blog/a-lactose-intolerants-guide-to-cheese/

Here is a link to JoKalsbeek's wonderful 'Nutritional thingy' : The Nutritional Thingy. | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

 

[Geordie_P]

Thank you for that kind advice, but I also have a lactose (milk product) intolerance so I am a hopeless case so far as diet is concerned. It isn’t easy, is it.

Oof, it's not easy at all, but I think you can do it. Nuts, fish, olive oil, eggs and meat will all help to keep your weight up. I like to eat a bowl of tuna mayonnaise or chopped boiled egg mayonnaise for brekkie before work- that's another high calorie option. Good luck!

 

[marymaryjill]

I am also a skinny type 2 under 7 st I keep my weight stable and BGs also stable by eating lower carbs and higher fat .I eat lots of cheese and full fat yoghurt with berries and double cream ,butter on my vegetables ,avocados and nuts .Fish, meat .I exchange pasta for courgette or aubergine or celeriac slices with lots of cheese sauce .Roasted veg drizzled with avocado oil .Hope that helps a little
Carol

 

[Glink]

Also skinny T2, and metformin has been amazing for me (& did not cause any weight loss). I'm allergic to milk (among other things!), but am able to eat a moderately low carb diet (like 75-100g/day) without dairy. For a while I did very low carb (<25g) but I had to eat more fats and after a while my tummy (gallbladder?) did not like that so I eased up under my endocrinologist's advice.

 

[myracat]

Hello! I was attracted to this post by its title. My OH seems to be allergic to Metformin each time he takes it he gets really bad diarrhoea, they have been experimenting with Glylacide at the same time. He is also very thin, allergic to eggs and struggles to eat enough calories for his active job by low carbing to an extent, not 0 carbs, he still has a wholemeal sandwich at lunchtime with a yoghurt for example. The GP has now told him to deal directly with the head pharmacist in the surgery to try to get the balance right. Should he see an endo for example? Thanks for your understanding

 

[Resurgam]

@myracat Metformin can have that effect for quite a few people. I was so miserable taking it with Atorvastatin I gave up, and now just do diet controlled, which seems to work really well - but I eat low carb, no grain. It is pretty much the Atkins diet, as described by Dr A not as presented in the media, so I have a sell stocked huge freezer and two fridges for all the protein and fresh veges.

 

[myracat]

@myracat Metformin can have that effect for quite a few people. I was so miserable taking it with Atorvastatin I gave up, and now just do diet controlled, which seems to work really well - but I eat low carb, no grain. It is pretty much the Atkins diet, as described by Dr A not as presented in the media, so I have a sell stocked huge freezer and two fridges for all the protein and fresh veges.

He thought he was ok with what he was doing with no drugs for 2 years since covid and his last diabetic appt however when he eventually got tested he was 24 and should be 7 so they put him straight on metformin, he had 2 days in day clinic on beds with drip and injection in stomach, now he’s getting up 3/4 times in the night. They’ve changed the metformin now but still having problems

 

[Resurgam]

@myracat Does your husband have a meter to test his blood glucose?
They help a lot to pinpoint the foods we can't cope with.

 

[myracat]

He tests before he was 7.2 tonight (I don’t understand the numbers)

 

[Mrs HJG]

Hi @Omega55 and @myracat I really have limited experience so far, 2 months in, but I am on 2000mg Metformin, 2 at breakfast, 2 at dinner. Since being diagnosed and going lower carb, (cutting out sweets and biscuits as well as potatoes, pasta, rice and bread), and upping my exercise, (c. +30mins brisk walking/day +5k steps from 'before'), if I was trying to lose weight, I'd be rather disappointed! <3kg in 2 months, and I would not put any of that down to the Metformin; I am currently 59kg so am happy to stay where I am, (I was 80kg this time last year).

As for upset stomach, I was advised, after a rather dramatic introduction on the first evening, to take the pill(s) mid-meal, not before, so that they are 'surrounded' by food and not directly being absorbed into your stomach lining - this might be nonsense, but I have never had a problem since. Maybe I am a lucky one (about bloody time something in this diabetes mularky went my way!), but may be worth a try.

Good luck to the both of you and your other halves x