Advice needed please.

[spurslad]

Hi all
I have been T2 since 2008 and was put straight onto metformin which has never agreed with me. In the past 2 years I have also been put on gliclazide but over the past 4 month my sugar levels have been in double figures the lowest being 15.7 the heighest at 29.8. My nurse has put me on the lowest dose of metformin slow release but I still have problems with it and increased my gliclazide to 2 tablets on a morning and 2 on a night but with not much effect on blood sugars as needed. The nurse has said the next step is either another tablet or onto insulin when I go back next week. I was talking to another diabetic who had this same problem and they were told the same and when they went back the nurse was going to put them on another tablet until my friend said they would rather be on insulin as same as me my feet are becoming numb. The nurse agreed to this and since then they are feeling better in themselves and sugars have got into the recommended levels.

Please can people advise me if this is the best way for me to go as I am thirsty all the time and urinate a lot and have bad mood swings which is affecting my young family.

Thank you all in advance
Leon


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[mo1905]

Hi Leon, I can't advise on specific meds but clearly running at those high BG levels is not good. I would certainly discuss your options with your diabetes team and ask if insulin may help.


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[chubbyian]

Hi Leon, welcome to the forum, and could I say those boys look a good handfull
You do not mention diet, If you low carb or not or if you have changed your diet. I dont know about the meds, the only person that can decide that is yourself, but I do think it is a good responsible attitude to think about it.

How ever things go, please come back and share with us, There are a lot of new people, like me (only dx in sep last year) who have not got your experience, and may down the line face the same situation, and you could really help then,

 

[carraway]

Hi Leon

Welcome to the gang.

I would be interested to know if you have any weight to lose and what you like to eat.
Have you tried changing your diet and increasing you exercise levels to help?

I lost weight and changed what I ate as I was losing sensation in my fingers. After changing what I ate my fingers went back to normal. Over Christmas I let things slip and my old problems returned.

Some of us have found the NHS diet advice less than useful to say the least.

Lots of people here will offer advice and opinions. Dont be shy to ask

Cara

 

[paul-1976]

Hi Leon! Welcome and sorry to hear your struggling with your levels.

Is there any chance you might be able to post a typical days menu on here so we might be able to help you with any 'Trigger' foods that may be adding to your high blood glucose readings?

Best

Paul

 

[Andy12345]

hi, im sorry to hear you support spurs personally i would be more worried about that than the diabetes

only joking (not)

 

[Daibell]

Hi, it sounds like you could be a mis-diagnosed Late onset T1 like many of us. If you are a lot overweight it could be you are heavily insulin resistant instead so please let us know. If you are overweight you must lose weight by low-carbing until you come down to the right BMI. That will help determine the right tablets and how many. If you are near normal weight then LADA becomes a strong possibility and my advice would be to go onto insulin if the DN will agree to it. There are tests for LADA but the treatment will be the same unless you are overweight. I struggled on just tablets for too many years because my GP didn't understand LADA. Insulin has been really great for me and isn't that onerous; you need to test before driving and avoid hypos where you can. Although you could have a 3rd tablet such as sitaglitpin added to the Met & Glic like I did it only helped for a year and not by much. A slim person who has 320mg of Gliclazide that doesn't work I'm afraid has a failing pancreas with insulin being the solution

 

[najib ahmadi]

Hey


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[Osidge]

You may want to consider some of the newer diabetes medications such as exenatide, liraglutide or dapagliflozin, especially if you are overweight. Combined with metformin they can produce good results.

Hope this helps

Doug

 

[CollieBoy]

Leon, as others have said this could require a multi pronged attack;
Weight: have you any to be lost?
Carbs: could you trim some off. as less carbs consumed means less insulin required by your body.
Sudden increase in BG could be late onset T1 poss get checked out.
Insulin need not be for life, a spell to get you on track/ rest for pancreas could be what is needed.
I got put on bolus/basal at diagnosis - now diet & exercise.

 

[spurslad]

Hi all
Thanks for all your great advice all of which has been taken onboard. I was 19.5 stone one year ago and got it down to 17.9 then over the last month it dropped to 16.13 that's when the bad readings started to get higher than normal. Today I have seen my nurse and she wants to leave insulin as a very last resort after talking with my doctor. She has now got me on 2 gliclazide on a morning and 2 on a night and has now taken me of metformin completely and started me on sitagliptin on a morning, she is calling me next week to see if this has brought my BC down to 10 mmol and if not then she is looking at injections of some sort but she has said there not insulin so am a bit baffled as to what they are as she didn't go into detail. Any info about these would be great.
Thanks again and will keep you all posted as to the outcome.

Leon




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[jimmyr]

Hi Leon, its no fun i know having high sugar levels as i have been living up in the 20's and even in the 30's never feeling well and i was put on insulin, made no difference, always up in the double figures, i know i was eating pretty healthy, Loved my fish, loved my Vegetables, was not overly keen on sugar, but didn't stop me getting overweight, i have big probs with exercise, as i have Amongst other things Unstable Angina, already had three strokes, so exercise is about Zero if the truth be told.
Anyway Leon i started the Newcastle Diet four days ago, yes four days ago and my Blood sugars are down already, now i am not saying this is for you, but i was pretty desperate and went ahead with it before checking with the Surgery, luckily enough they have allowed me to carry on, but with slight adjustment.
I am pig headed and a bit of a conspiracy theorist lol and i have off my own back stopped my morning Diabetes meds and the sugars are still ok, and yes when i go to the docs on my next appointment i will tell them what i have done, well its all about me isn't it, i feel 100% better already, i had slight blurred vision, now i do not, i had a feeling of confusion in my head all the time, now i do not, i can play with my Grandchildren where before i would get dizzy.
All that in four days, come on, what am i to do wait for docs to make me back to the way i was before eating better, of course not.
All i am saying is, you do not have to have High blood sugars.