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Advice needed

L

Lea76

Well-Known Member
Messages
55
Hi I got diagnosed a few weeks ago with type 2. Think my fasting level was 7.8 and hb1ac was 62. I was told to change diet and take metformin. However I bought I meter and have been eating well and staying less than 7.5 after every meal. I only took the metformin for a few days then stopped because the nurse said I will be on them for life! My morning levels are still high and I would like to know if they can become lower by diet alone? Should I start taking the metformin to reduce it?
Any advice is much appreciated
Thanks


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Re: Advice needed

Hi. I would take the Metformin as it is very safe drug and will help reduce your blood sugar to some extent. Some people do manage to keep below 7.5 with diet alone. So the first priority is a low'ish carb diet with sensible portion sizes. It may work by itself but the Metformin will also help a bit. It's your choice whether you try just the diet but do discuss this with the nurse. Suggest to her that you would like to try just the diet first?
 
Re: Advice needed

Thank you for the reply
Is it possible to reduce the fasting levels with diet alone? Would it take a long time to achieve?


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Re: Advice needed

Yes, many people who have posted on the forum have reduced fasting levels thru diet alone but we are all different. If you are currently overweight then dieting should have useful effect. Note that a fasting test is not always reliable due to the dawn phenomenon where the liver dumps glucose for the morning start. I would rely more on typical readings 2 hours after a meal where you should be looking for a max of 7.5 most times. The sugar reduction would relate to weight loss and I would expect it to take a good few weeks or even months?
 
Re: Advice needed

I've lost a stone and a half since Jan still have a couple more stone to go. It's actually given me an added incentive to lose the excess weight!
Do you know what effect the dawn phenomenon has on hb1ac readings?


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