Bereavement, Stress and Metaformin

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trolleydolley

Member
Messages
9
Hi everyone

I've been a reader rather than a regular contributor on this forum for a while, but today I need to ask a question.

I was diagnosed as diet-controlled Type 2 in 2008 and since then my levels have been between 6 and 7 which I was told by my diabetic nurse is OK but six months ago my HBthingy was 7.2.

My beloved gran went into hospital in February and died three weeks later. She was an amazing 92-year-old lady and as next of kin it's been my job to organise the funeral, clear her house (with help from other family members) and now to execute her will.
It's been a deeply stressful time and as you can imagine, has involved a lot of eating on the hoof and coffee and rubbish grabbed from hospital restaurants, service stations and the like.

So I went for my six month check today with the diabetic nurse and my HBthingy is 8.3 which is obviously a big rise. My blood pressure is also up as well as my weight.

The nurse recommended that now was the time to go onto Metaformin so I've come away with my first prescription ever for this and will start it today.

I'm just wondering if that's it now and I have to stay on Metaformin forever or if this is a blip and as I work through bereavement and also return to being more careful with my diet, then the levels will go down again. (I've been working towards a more low-carb diet for a while)

Is this just an exceptional reading due to exceptional circumstances or should I be more worried?

any thoughts appreciated.
thanks

td
 
Grazer

Grazer

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,115
Stress can raise blood sugars - cortisol release i think. So if youir stress reduces, AND you lose weight again, your levels could well come down.
Having said that, i think you should stay on the metformin regardless. There are some on this forum who can't get it because there BGs are too good, but would dearly love it.
it's a very safe drug, proven over many years. It only reduces your BGs a little (you have to do the rest with diet and exercise) but it's a very good preventative against cardio vascular probs in the future. There are no known downsides to it, other than the fact that you can get short term (usually) tummy problems. if you do, ask to go onto metformin SR (slow release) which doesn't have these side effects. But take the Met! It am goood!
 
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trolleydolley

Member
Messages
9
thank you.....

Another question - I've started taking half a tablet in the morning with breakfast and half a tablet in the evening with food as specified by Dr, but about an hour later I feel really sick although I don't throw up.

It says in the box instructions that this is a common side effect but how long does it take to go away....did anyone else experience this?
 
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tree-peony

Well-Known Member
Messages
686
yes, I'm currently struggling with the same thing, along with a host of other side effects! The advice seem to be to ask for the slow release version which is tolerated better, but I've not done this yet as I was supposed to be having a cataract op tomorrow and wanted that out of the way first - it was cancelled this afternoon :cry:
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I just wanted to pass on my condolences Trollydolley. I know how very sad I was when my beautiful Nanna died nearly forty years ago, and I still miss her to this day.
 
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trolleydolley

Member
Messages
9
Thank you treepeony, sorry to hear about your op.

And thank you Jeannemum too - it has been a difficult time, but I have a fantastic fiance who has been just brilliant and he is helping me through. We're getting married in July :)
 
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shop

Well-Known Member
Messages
665
Hi TrolleyDolly,

Sorry to hear about your Nan. My Nan died when she was 96 ( 8 yrs ago ) I grew up with her so I can understand how special a Nan can be. I loved her to bits and still miss her terribly. I am not clued up on met but can see that you are getting help from other members. Sending Hugs (((X)))

Lucy.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
trolleydolley said:
Thank you treepeony, sorry to hear about your op.

And thank you Jeannemum too - it has been a difficult time, but I have a fantastic fiance who has been just brilliant and he is helping me through. We're getting married in July :)
Click to expand...

Happy news. Congratulations x
 
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shop

Well-Known Member
Messages
665
And thank you Jeannemum too - it has been a difficult time, but I have a fantastic fiance who has been just brilliant and he is helping me through. We're getting married in July :)


Congratulations from me too :)
 
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Unbeliever

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,551
tree-peony said:
yes, I'm currently struggling with the same thing, along with a host of other side effects! The advice seem to be to ask for the slow release version which is tolerated better, but I've not done this yet as I was supposed to be having a cataract op tomorrow and wanted that out of the way first - it was cancelled this afternoon :cry:
Click to expand...

Sorry your op was cancelled. I would ask for the SR metformin asap. There is no point in struggling along on the other..
They only prescribe it initially because it is cheaper. The SR version is generally much easier o tolerate but can still take a while to kick in. so don't hink it isn't working if you don't notice a huge improvement immediately.
Its impossible to predict how long these things take it varies from person to person.
I hope you dont wait oo long for your cataract op.
 
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tree-peony

Well-Known Member
Messages
686
it's rescheduled for a week on Thursday, so not too bad. I'm going to have to try the SR - I can't carry on like this :cry:
 
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