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A newbie type-2 diabetic

F

F7nu

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hello everyone, i have diagnosed as type-2 diabetic 4 months back, since then i started low-carb diet and exercise mainly walk. I have reduced my HbA1c from 8.9 to 6.04 in 4 months. Another thing is at first when i diagnosed doctor adviced me some medicines but i didn't take it and started diet and exercise. i have lost 13 kgs weight during this time. My fasting glucose range is from 88-96-97-106 to 100-107 and after two hours of eating it flacuates to 168-115-136-125. Shall i continue with this or shall i start taking medicines?
 
Hi @F7nu - welcome to the forum.

You've done great bringing down your HbA1c through diet and exercise! Keep it up!

For medication. Metformin is often prescribed for type 2 diabetics. It has limited side effects, and potential upsides on top of helping manage blood glucose.

Is metformin a wonder drug? - Harvard Health

Metformin, a medicine prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, also has cardiovascular benefits and is used off-label to treat other conditions. Interest is growing in its potential to help lowe...
www.health.harvard.edu

I'm currently managing through diet and lifestyle. But I'm hoping to live a long time yet, and so trying to keep my blood glucose as low as possible to prevent complications getting worse.

I've been thinking about going back on to Metformin for that same reason.
 
Thank you so much, yeah it's feels super great when you encounter it through diet and exercise but sometimes my legs feel hurt,even my blood sugar is controlled. Another thing i can't get it over with this diabetes, it comes in my mind everytime even j am trying to not think about it.
 
Hi - it sounds (from your quoted figures) like you're doing well on your diet and exercise approach. No reason why that shouldn't continue, is there? The decision about what to do is yours - we are all different and one person's experience may not be directly relatable to yours.

On metformin - I've never used it, so this information comes from the Bilous and Donnelly textbook. Metformin doesn't affect the carbs/glucose in the food you eat. What it does do is interfere with your liver topping up your blood glucose - which is a natural thing and happens all the time. B&D call this "lowering glucose by decreasing hepatic glucose output".

Metformin does have some very well-known digestive/gastric side effects (nausea/anorexia/diarrhoea) which affect about a third of patients. Some people find this unacceptable. There are slow release versions which might be better if this happens. It shouldn't be prescribed for patients with renal, hepatic, cardiac, or respiratory failure and for anyone with a history of alcohol abuse.
 
Thank you so much, it really boost me up when i hear something positive about my so far progress because of the diet and exercise. Bdw i am 34 years old and recently diagnosed like 4 months back. No i don't want to go for the meds but the thing is i think too much about my diabetes. in fact i can not cope this. I don't wana think about it and it keep coming in my mind. Another thing is sometimes my legs hurt alot at night. I don't know what to do with this.
 
I am still low carbing 7 years from diagnosis and am firmly in remission - I am 72 years old so I think a bit of leeway is given, but I am just above the normal range of HbA1c.
At diagnosis I was prescribed Metformin and Atorvastatin, and it made me so ill I thought I was dying. So ill that I was actually starting to look forward to no further problems.
It was quite surprising how easily normal numbers became normal for me, lost weight as well.
The AZ covid jab hit me really hard and I had swollen lower legs and feet. I found that a fairly hot shower and massaging my legs and feet to get the blood flowing through my veins, deflated them and stopped them hurting. I seem to be prone to similar problems since then, but the same treatment has continued to work well. When really bad I was taking three showers a day, but it fixed the problems and took away the pain.
 
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