Blood sugar experiences, Gliclazide, diabetic Type 2

Hi,

You certainly eat masses of carbs and yet still get those low numbers, which suggests to me you are right that your medication is too strong for you. If I were you I would see your doctor and take along a food diary of exactly what and when you ate and drank with your levels recorded alongside. See what he has to say. It may be a better option for you to drop all those carbs and your medication, BUT not before speaking to your doctor.

You are recently diagnosed. What was your HbA1c?

Gliclazide is known to cause hypos and I stopped my evening dosage as I was getting nighttime hypos. I agree with Bluetit, your Gliclazide medication is too strong. I also find it strange that the doctor didn't prescribe Metformin as that is the standard first drug used on diagnosis. It does not cause hypos as a rule.

I'm thinking your doctor has prescribed on the basis of your HbA1c but, maybe since then, you have reduced what you were eating? Certainly, I would agree that the medication you are taking is too much for the amount of carbs in your diet.

If you are needing to lose weight, the extra carbs that you are having to eat to manage hypos will cause you to gain weight, unfortunately. Not to eat these extra carbs will mean you having hypos so it's difficult to manage that situation.

I was prescribed similar medication, with the idea of bringing my glucose levels down but my HbA1c didn't change much so, rather than give me further advice and support to limit what I ate (which I was really struggling with) the doctor just prescribed an increase in medication. Consequently, I gained more weight, on top of the excess I already had. Umm, not good, I thought. So, I then cut back on starchy/carb foods and have lost weight which, in turn, meant that the medications were too much for me, meaning I needed to eat carbs again to keep glucose up.

So, I suggest you monitor things very carefully and be sure to explain to the doctor when you see him again.

Well done. It seems like you're winning.

As Bluetit says, don't cut your carbs before seeing your doctor. In case you haven't seen the post @daisy1 has re advice in relation to diabetes and diet etc, I've just tagged her for you.

@Tala_2015

Hello and welcome to the forum Here is the basic information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 220,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Tala_2015 said:

Thanks, I think it was because my Hb1AC was at 122 to start with, maybe, but I am only learning

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Ask your doctor if you feel able to. Good luck.

Hiya - just wanted to say this happened to me too. I was put on 40mg a day and had a lot of hypos dropping to the lowest of 3.3 (and I didn't feel anything!). Did your doctor lower your dose? My dose was halved as it was ridiculous the amount I was having to eat just so it didn't drop! It's much better now thankfully!

Tala_2015 said:

Any similar experiences?

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I can only share my experience which was that when I cut the carbs right down to about 40 gms, which at the time I did to lose weight (partially caused by taking Gliclazide in the first place), my GP warned me that my BG would drop. I'd worked that out because I remember skipping a meal once and taking the meds, v. bad idea. I'm pleased to say that by keeping carbs low with just an occasional slice of bread (twice a week) I was able to discard Gliclazide, Januvia and Atorvastatin. As I'd also been discussing insulin with my GP, I avoided that as well.

I was put on Gliclazide, once I discovered "low carbs", and my BG were getting too low, I decided myself to stop the Gliclazide without asking my GP first, as I was commited to "low carb". We can't tell you do to the same as we are not doctors, but remember you can cut a tablet in half if needed.

If you do stop Gliclazide, then clealry you MUST keep up the ow carb, or your BG will go out of control.