Metaformin...eek!

[Deleted member 489048]

Went to see DN today as my diabetes is 'out of control'. It was decided that I should give metaformin a try; as I've been resisting going onto meds. But time has moved on and things have changed drastically for me and my diabetes. Where I was once in 6 and 7 range I'm now up at the 11 range. Lots of things contributing as well as me NOT paying attention to it all. I can't exercise anymore and my health is going downhill. I feel like a bouncy ball on a bat!

So I'm making a start TODAY and starting over 'again' with recording my meals and trying to do the right thing instead of 'ignoring it'. I explained that I don't like tablets as have a hard time swallowing them. Believe metaformin are like horse tablets! But asked if they can be split and they can. Agreed to try them and if I suffer any side effects like vomiting or 'the trots' then I'll stop taking them, but to give them time to settle and take it from there. So starting tomorrow I've to take 1 tablet with my evening meal.

 

[Rachox]

I’m on Metformin and have been for over five years now. My stomach was a bit upset for around ten days at the start but I have had no further problems. I always take it with a meal. The trouble with Metformin side effects are that the people that have bad side effects shout the loudest! What diet are you planning as you cant rely on Metformin to do all the work.

 

[Deleted member 489048]

I’m on Metformin and have been for over five years now. My stomach was a bit upset for around ten days at the start but I have had no further problems. I always take it with a meal. The trouble with Metformin side effects are that the people that have bad side effects shout the loudest! What diet are you planning as you cant rely on Metformin to do all the work.

Thanks for reply. That gives me an idea of how long before my system gets use to metaformin. I know people are different from each other to how they react. But it gives me some idea what to expect. Thank you. Just looking at your profile picture; you are in remission FABULOUS, Rachox! You give me hope woman! I'm 10.5stone so classed as obese. Hopefully I can get back on track but know this is going to be slow and steady is the name of the process.

I've looked up and thought would try some of these that I got from another site

breakfast
bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk
two slices of wholegrain toast with olive oil based spread
a pot of natural unsweetened yogurt and fruit
two slices of avaocado with a hard boiled egg

lunch ideas

a chicken or tuna salad sandwich
a small pasta salad
soup with or whithout a wholegrain roll
a piece of salmon or tuna steak and salad.
have a piece of fruit or pot of natural unsweetened yogurt afterwards too.

Dinner ideas

lasagna and salad
roast chicken and vegetables with or without potatoes
beef stir fry and vegetables with or without brown rice
chicken tortillas and salad
salmon and vegetables with or without noodles
curry with chickpeas and brown rice

I already eat wholegrain bread(Hovis) and olive oil bases spread (bertoli), cheerios with semi skimmed milk already; I need to get back to my roasted veggies.

I have two weeks before seeing DN again. To see how things go. Need to kick myself up the backside!

 

[Lobsang Tsultim]

Those ideas seem to include an awful lot of carbs: bread, pasta, legumes, noodles, rice, potatoes! Are you measuring how many carbs you have each day? And if you are, what is your target?

 

[EllieM]

My suggestion would be to test your blood sugar before and after some of your meals. If you go up by more than 2mmol/L you may want to reconsider that meal, in particular its carb content.

Different people's bodies can tolerate different amounts of carbs, but many of the T2s here find bread, pasta and cereal problematic, even if it is wholegrain...

Good luck.

ps
Maybe have another read (I'm sure someone will have linked to it before) of jokalsbeek's excellent blog on T2 and low carb.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog/jokalsbeek.401801/

 

[Geordie_P]

I think you're doing well and you can get on top of this, but I just want to run through your list of food, because I think it's the first thing you should address in getting your numbers down. Through no fault of your own, you have been fooled into eating some very inappropriate food. My list may look critical or hostile, but I assure you it's not directed at you, I just want to bluntly say what foods you should avoid, because it is almost certain your numbers are high as a result of the very, very diabetic unfriendly foods on your list.

breakfast
bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk BAD
two slices of wholegrain toast with olive oil based spread BAD
a pot of natural unsweetened yogurt and fruit NOT GOOD
two slices of avaocado with a hard boiled egg VERY GOOD

lunch ideas

a chicken or tuna salad sandwich BAD
a small pasta salad BAD
soup with or whithout a wholegrain roll DEPENDS ON THE SOUP. ROLL IS BAD
a piece of salmon or tuna steak and salad. VERY GOOD
have a piece of fruit or pot of natural unsweetened yogurt afterwards too. FRUIT IS BAD

Dinner ideas

lasagna and salad LASAGNA IS BAD
roast chicken and vegetables with or without potatoes POTATOES ARE VERY BAD, CHICKEN IS FINE VEGETABLES DEPENDS
beef stir fry and vegetables with or without brown rice BROWN RICE IS BAD
chicken tortillas and salad TORTILLAS ARENT GOOD
salmon and vegetables with or without noodles NOODLES ARE BAD
curry with chickpeas and brown rice CURRY DEPENDS. CHICKPEAS AND RICE ARE ALWAYS BAD

I already eat wholegrain bread(Hovis) BAD FOR YOU and olive oil bases spread (bertoli) FINE , cheerios with semi skimmed milk THE WORST already; I need to get back to my roasted veggies.

 

[ianf0ster]

Rather than join those saying that your meals aren't good, here are a few suggestions for Breakfast which is probabbly the most critical meal of the day and also the easiest to fix:
Eggs (cooked any way but with no bread or potatoes).
Cold meat or fish
Cheese ( but no bread) or crackers)
Full fat Greek Yogurt with a handful of berries (berries are among the lowest carb fruit, raspberries, black berries and strawberries are lower carb than blueberries). You can also add seed, tree nuts (not cashews) or even a couple of grated squares of 85% cocoa dark chocolate. Low fat yogurts tend to have higher carbs than full fat and full fat keeps you fuller for longer.
There are also some low carb granolas , but I have never tried them since I like eggs.

 

[Deleted member 489048]

Those ideas seem to include an awful lot of carbs: bread, pasta, legumes, noodles, rice, potatoes! Are you measuring how many carbs you have each day? And if you are, what is your target?

I've never measured carbs. I don't have a target! :-(

 

[Deleted member 489048]

Rather than join those saying that your meals aren't good, here are a few suggestions for Breakfast which is probabbly the most critical meal of the day and also the easiest to fix:
Eggs (cooked any way but with no bread or potatoes).
Cold meat or fish
Cheese ( but no bread) or crackers)
Full fat Greek Yogurt with a handful of berries (berries are among the lowest carb fruit, raspberries, black berries and strawberries are lower carb than blueberries). You can also add seed, tree nuts (not cashews) or even a couple of grated squares of 85% cocoa dark chocolate. Low fat yogurts tend to have higher carbs than full fat and full fat keeps you fuller for longer.
There are also some low carb granolas , but I have never tried them since I like eggs.

Thank you much appreciated for this...as about to start metformin for first time TODAY 22/06/2022!

 

[Deleted member 489048]

I think you're doing well and you can get on top of this, but I just want to run through your list of food, because I think it's the first thing you should address in getting your numbers down. Through no fault of your own, you have been fooled into eating some very inappropriate food. My list may look critical or hostile, but I assure you it's not directed at you, I just want to bluntly say what foods you should avoid, because it is almost certain your numbers are high as a result of the very, very diabetic unfriendly foods on your list.

breakfast
bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk BAD
two slices of wholegrain toast with olive oil based spread BAD
a pot of natural unsweetened yogurt and fruit NOT GOOD
two slices of avaocado with a hard boiled egg VERY GOOD

lunch ideas

a chicken or tuna salad sandwich BAD
a small pasta salad BAD
soup with or whithout a wholegrain roll DEPENDS ON THE SOUP. ROLL IS BAD
a piece of salmon or tuna steak and salad. VERY GOOD
have a piece of fruit or pot of natural unsweetened yogurt afterwards too. FRUIT IS BAD

Dinner ideas

lasagna and salad LASAGNA IS BAD
roast chicken and vegetables with or without potatoes POTATOES ARE VERY BAD, CHICKEN IS FINE VEGETABLES DEPENDS
beef stir fry and vegetables with or without brown rice BROWN RICE IS BAD
chicken tortillas and salad TORTILLAS ARENT GOOD
salmon and vegetables with or without noodles NOODLES ARE BAD
curry with chickpeas and brown rice CURRY DEPENDS. CHICKPEAS AND RICE ARE ALWAYS BAD

I already eat wholegrain bread(Hovis) BAD FOR YOU and olive oil bases spread (bertoli) FINE , cheerios with semi skimmed milk THE WORST already; I need to get back to my roasted veggies.

This list isn't what I eat. I took it from another site which was ideas for meal plan. Yes numbeRS very high and having to get them down to a lower number. Anything helps as long as I can get myself 'balanced'. Thanks for your input.

 

[TriciaWs]

While some adjust to the side effects of Metformin my mother never did - but wouldn't give up carbs. It was her example along with a friend whose had various bits of her feet amputated and is now almost blind but still eats sweets that drove me to do low carb when I was diagnosed as T2.

I sometimes eat a small slice of high protein bread with a very low carb meal, but wouldn't eat some of the meals you listed. Like many others one of my treats is full fat Greek yogurt, with a few fresh raspberries. Breakfast is usually a mix of milled flaxseed and chia seeds with a few chopped nuts or other seeds, a little coconut milk, cinnamon, pinch of salt and hot water - microwave for 2 mins then served with double cream.
I rarely have lunch, maybe a small protein snack.
Dinner is about 15g of carbs (mainly from vegs plus the yogurt)

 

[Resurgam]

Someone really doesn't like the idea of type 2 diabetics getting into remission.
I am eating just one proper meal a day - for breakfast I had a tomato and some brie as just a few carbs stops my blood glucose from rising further than it usually does getting out of bed.
Tonight I will probably have tuna salad and maybe some sugar free jelly with berries and cream if it hasn't gone off. I am drinking less coffee these hot days and so need to change my shopping habits - though last time I was at Lidl the shelves were really bare.

 

[danziger]

For what it’s worth, I can’t exercise and am ‘obese’ but my blood sugar is in non-diabetic range with no meds thanks to low carb eating (and this forum), so while Metformin may help you, you can also make dietary changes that will really set you in good stead.

 

[Vee58]

You can get Metformin in liquid form, I take it like that as I also have trouble swallowing the "horse tablets" too, good luck.

 

[leicestertrev]

Thanks for reply. That gives me an idea of how long before my system gets use to metaformin. I know people are different from each other to how they react. But it gives me some idea what to expect. Thank you. Just looking at your profile picture; you are in remission FABULOUS, Rachox! You give me hope woman! I'm 10.5stone so classed as obese. Hopefully I can get back on track but know this is going to be slow and steady is the name of the process. I have a different type of carb. each day for my evening meals. I rotate between potatoes, pasta and egg noodles. The problem I have is getting the amounts right because I cook only for myself and it seems wasteful to cook very small amounts.

I've looked up and thought would try some of these that I got from another site

breakfast
bowl of wholegrain cereal with milk
two slices of wholegrain toast with olive oil based spread
a pot of natural unsweetened yogurt and fruit
two slices of avaocado with a hard boiled egg

lunch ideas

a chicken or tuna salad sandwich
a small pasta salad
soup with or whithout a wholegrain roll
a piece of salmon or tuna steak and salad.
have a piece of fruit or pot of natural unsweetened yogurt afterwards too.

Dinner ideas

lasagna and salad
roast chicken and vegetables with or without potatoes
beef stir fry and vegetables with or without brown rice
chicken tortillas and salad
salmon and vegetables with or without noodles
curry with chickpeas and brown rice

I already eat wholegrain bread(Hovis) and olive oil bases spread (bertoli), cheerios with semi skimmed milk already; I need to get back to my roasted veggies.

I have two weeks before seeing DN again. To see how things go. Need to kick myself up the backside!

 

[Zilsniggy]

This list isn't what I eat. I took it from another site which was ideas for meal plan. Yes numbeRS very high and having to get them down to a lower number. Anything helps as long as I can get myself 'balanced'. Thanks for your input.

Some sites haven’t changed their advice to diabetics for nearly 50 years. This site has a great Low Carb Program, although it’s quite expensive now. DietDoctor.com can be trusted for great advice and good low carb recipes. There are some very good books around by people like Dr David Unwin, too.

I think the basic DietDoctor site is free, otherwise it’s a few pounds a month for membership. There are plenty of low carb sites around, so I’d suggest, rather than saying foods are good or bad, you settle down and read some info.

Then try a few recipes, testing your blood sugars before and then 2 hours after, to give you an idea of how they’ve affected your blood sugars. That is the only real way to find out. It takes a good bit of trial and error, but that’s because we are all different in our tolerance of carbs.

By my reckoning you should be a week into your Metformin by now, how are you getting on with it? Always take with food, that should mitigate side effects, and lower carbs, as that helps too, and often medical personnel don’t tell you that!

 

[carty]

I take my metformin with a spoonful of yoghurt instead of water I find that it slices down a lot easier
Carol

 

[FIGARO5]

I have taken Metformin 3x500mg per day for 11 years. Also on Duloxetine 120mg per day for Clinical Depression and Anxiety for 19 years. Hba1c this week was 70! Not good but down on last December. I am 11st 7lbs. Was higher but lost a stone when my mother died suddenly. I would love to eat less carbs but I hate most vegetables and always have. I have had IBS for 31 years, also I am Dairy intolerant. I can't eat any nuts or seeds, onions and garlic. I cannot live on meat,eggs,fish etc. Welcome to my Diabetes hell. Any suggestions?

 

[PXJmcr]

I record my meals in my fitness pal, I also use a diabetes app to record glucose, carbs, headaches, meds and a timeline shows fluctuations. It’s called MySugr. My glucose levels were all over the show before and now it’s much more controlled and I am losing weight despite mi I mal exercise due to work and issues walking. I do hope you get things under co trip and hopefully avoid the need for long term metformin.

 

[DChes]

I have taken Metformin 3x500mg per day for 11 years. Also on Duloxetine 120mg per day for Clinical Depression and Anxiety for 19 years. Hba1c this week was 70! Not good but down on last December. I am 11st 7lbs. Was higher but lost a stone when my mother died suddenly. I would love to eat less carbs but I hate most vegetables and always have. I have had IBS for 31 years, also I am Dairy intolerant. I can't eat any nuts or seeds, onions and garlic. I cannot live on meat,eggs,fish etc. Welcome to my Diabetes hell. Any suggestions?

Whatever dietary changes you make, make them gradually so as to not upset your sensitive system. If you must eat carbohydrates, can you eat sweet potatoes instead of white? Whole grain bread instead of white? Whole oats instead of instant? Barley? Brown Rice? The whole grains may go a bit more slowly into the blood, if you can tolerate them. But they'd go slower with some fiber. Maybe you can work on getting used to putting some veg in your grains. Mix mashed potato with some mashed cauliflower? Make the veg intersting with spices and sauces? Oven roast them? But remember, a serving of rice is still only 1/3 of a measuring cup of cooked rice.

Can you eat low lactose dairy(hard cheeses, cultured products like live yogurt, kefir, skyr, sour cream) if you take Lact-Aid (over the counter lactase tablets to help digest the dairy) - or is it an allergy?