blood sugar counts increasing w/o gliclazide. why?

[jlm]

Hi

I stopped taking 80mg Gliclazide on Wednesday23 August. I m continuing with Metformin in the evening of 1 g. Today is Saturday 26 August. Previously to stopping my average meter reading was 6.3 taking it 2 or 3 x a day. Now my readings are generally in the 8 range with one a 9.6. Is this a big deal? I thought being between 4 - 7 was the goal. The reason I stopped is I need to lose weight, ca. 10 - 12 kg. Any answers, support or thoughts are appreciated especially in relation to diet. Thank you. Jeff

 

[Mr_Pot]

Hi

I stopped taking 80mg Gliclazide on Wednesday23 August. I m continuing with Metformin in the evening of 1 g. Today is Saturday 26 August. Previously to stopping my average meter reading was 6.3 taking it 2 or 3 x a day. Now my readings are generally in the 8 range with one a 9.6. Is this a big deal? I thought being between 4 - 7 was the goal. The reason I stopped is I need to lose weight, ca. 10 - 12 kg. Any answers, support or thoughts are appreciated especially in relation to diet. Thank you. Jeff

So, you have stopped taking a BG reducing drug and your BG has gone up, hardly surprising. If you want to deal with your BG and weight without drugs you will have to change your diet.

 

[jlm]

So, you have stopped taking a BG reducing drug and your BG has gone up, hardly surprising. If you want to deal with your BG and weight without drugs you will have to change your diet.

I have changed my diet. I stopped all cabs 8 weeks ago and my bg came way down. 2 weeks ago a dietician said I should introduce some low GI carbs, ca. 30 - 50g d day. I did. quinoa, chickpeas. But I am not losing weight! So I stopped the gliclazide. I went off animal protein 2 weeks ago also as my gp said I had high cholesterol. It is all so co fusing. anyway I had an omelet, 3 egg with airman for breakfast today, first time in weeks. it was great.but 2 hours later my bg reading is 8.7 after a 8.9 before breakfast. is this a rebound or how can I keep the readings blow 7. thanks for your prompt reply and sharing!

 

[Mr_Pot]

I only control my diabetes with diet so others will need to comment on the effect of stopping taking glicazide. If you're measuring before and after meals and getting a rise of less than 2 then you are on the right track with your diet. Maybe it is just too soon to notice a difference in BG or weight.

 

[Daibell]

HI. First, Gliclazide only results in weight gain if you have too many carbs as it stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin which then metabolises those carbs. Those meter readings aren't at all bad so I wouldn't worry too much about them at the moment. If they continue to increase even with a low carb diet then you may need to go back onto Gliclazide. Why are you worried about animal protein? It will be having very little effect on cholesterol in the blood which the liver produces and not about the food you eat

 

[DCUKMod]

@jlm - The harsh reality is that Gliclazide is a more powerful drug, in terms of reducing blood sugars than Metformin.

As has been said, Gliclazide stimulates your pancreas to push out more insulin. but unfortunately Gliclazide is also known to adversely impact on weight control for some people.

Metformin, on the other hand, to put it as simply as I can, helps your body deal with your natural insulin more efficiently. It is also known to reduce the appetite in some who take it, which can positively impact in weight control.

In essence by stopping Gliclazide you have taken away the downward push on your blood scores. In your case, then adding in additional carbs (which irrespective of their GI scores) tend to push the blood numbers up. It is indeed a bit of an unfortunate change combo, and to an extent it is understandable that your numbers might have crept up a bit. It does also take some people's bodies a little while to be used to any changed eating patterns; whether what's being eaten, or when.

As I suggested in another thread, I'd seriously consider deciding which of your two changes you will follow and seriously consider deferring the other, until you learn the impact of one change.

Your comment about animal protein impacting triglycerides is one often heard, however, my personal research (including various consultations with Dr Google) lead me to believe that triglycerides are far more impacted by carbs than fats or animal protein.

Some people find that in the earlier phases of reducing carbs, their cholesterol numbers rise a bit, but this tends to be a transient phase, with a longer term shift to improved cholesterol. The infuriating aspect, though, is that what happens for most people isn't guaranteed for everyone. Oh, if only it was that simple!

So, my nudge would be choose one of your changes, and stick with it. Have bloods done as regularly as your practice will tolerate. They do seem to be joining you in your efforts to improve your lot, which is fantastic.

You'll get there jlm, but please be patient with your body. It's important that you understand what you're doing, and why. For me, that understanding really keeps me on-track when I have a grumpy, hate it all day. I'm sure we've all had them at some time.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Yes, as others have said, your increased levels are due to A) stopping Gliclazide and B) at the same time increasing carbs. If you want to stay off Gliclazide you will have to reduce your carbs to a level lower than before you stopped the Glic. You will probably need to stop the quinoa and chickpeas, plus anything else you added when your dietician spoke to you. Carbs will always increase BS levels and may also prevent you losing weight. (whether low GI or not).

As for stopping all animal protein simply to reduce cholesterol, this is a mistake. Our livers manufacture our cholesterol naturally, very little of it comes from what we eat. To lower cholesterol you need foods such as oily fish at least twice a week, if not more, plus olive oil, nuts, seeds like flaxseed and chia seeds.

If you want to continue eating carbs, this is your choice, but you run the risk of higher BS and also weight gain.

You test 2 or 3 times a day. Is this enough at the moment? If I were you I would keep a detailed food diary including portion sizes of everything in that meal, test before you eat and 2 hours after first bite, record your levels alongside the food and look at the rise from before to after. That rise should be as low as possible and certainly under 2mmol/l.

 

[DavidGrahamJones]

2 weeks ago a dietician said I should introduce some low GI carbs, ca. 30 - 50g d day. I did. quinoa, chickpeas.

She should also have said "if your BG goes up, stop!"

100 gms quinoa is 75 gms carb. The answer to your question is staring you in the face. You re-introduce carbs and it doesn't make any difference whether it's GI or not, it will affect your BG. They told my pre-diabetic brother to eat low GI carbs, he is now fully fledged type II diabetic. What's truly annoying is that people giving out this advice don't even take the effects on people they advise on board and they just continue giving bad advice with impunity.

The reason I stopped is I need to lose weight

The only reason you should stop is if you are having so many hypos that you are obviously over medicated. Even then it should only be after consulting the doctor.

I'm very familiar with the affects of Gliclazide on weight, I was happily losing weight until I was prescribed Gliclazide and I actually gained 11 kgs without changing diet or exercise. I didn't start losing again until I cut ALL carbs out whether they were low GI or not, the Glycemic load is more important in the long run. My carbs come from vegetables that grow above ground, therefore low carb.

What we might be suggesting might sound like rubbish as you have been advised by a dietician. The difference is that we're not struggling to try to eat carbs and keep our BG down.

All the very best.

 

[lovinglife]

I tried to stop my last bit of gliclizide 40mg breakfast and evening meal - dropped my carbs to as low as I could get - about 15g but my numbers slowly rose and I was hitting 8s and 9s - hadn't seen those for years - took back my gliclizide and up my carbs slowly to get the right balance and my optimum carb level is about 60 - 70g, sadly some of us just cannot do it without help of meds we may have more damage than others - doesn't mean you've failed just because you can't do diet only. Failing is doing nothing about high numbers.

It doesn't automatically follow that you gain or can't loose weight on gliclizide - I'm proof of that with 160lb weight loss- you just have to get the balance right and it can take time and perseverance