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Knikkii

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Hi
I was diagnosed in early September this year. I had initially gone to my GP as I wanted him to start me on Metformin as I have PCOS. I had been to see another GP at my practice a few weeks earlier and made the same request but she told me that my 10 minute consultation was up, she could only see me for one problem and if I needed/wanted the Metformin I would need to make another appointment :evil: .

Anyway, I made the other appointment and my GP said he said he would only start me on Metformin for the PCOS after checking my blood sugar (among other things). A few days later I had a call asking me to return to the surgery and I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes :? . To be honest, I didn't really worry at that point as I did not think it was too serious and as I have high blood pressure as well along with the PCOS I knew that diabetes could be a possibility.

He put me on 500mg Metformin and sent me away saying to return in a few weeks, which I did. He again checked my levels and put me up to 500mg twice a day again with instructions to return in a few weeks. I was supposed to see him last Wednesday but on Tuesday afternoon at work I felt really dizzy and my voice was slurring (luckily I work in a clinic) so on the advice of a friend I went downstairs and asked one of the nurses to check my blood glucose .... it was 24.2!!! :sick:

I went to A&E and they put me on a drip for a few hours and sent me home. I saw my GP the next day and he again upped my meds to 1g Metformin twice a day and asked me to come back and see him today. I went back, my fasting bloods were 16 and he has now added Glicazide twice a day to the list.

Couple of questions:

1. Is this dosage harmful? Should I be on so much medication
2. Has anyone tried a low carb/no sugar diet, and does this work?

I have been researching on the internet this evening and it seems to be a good idea to cut out carbs and replace with alternatives (e.g. replace flour with homemade almond flour)

Any suggestions???

Thanks for reading

Tam
 
hi and welcome to the forum. Daisy should be along shortly to give you loads of standard info . You've come to the best place for advice on low carb diets, you will find that many of us find it the best and only way to bring our Diabetes under control. Diet will effect your blood sugar levels much more than oral meds.
Your meds are a standard appraoch by your doctor, once you start to control your diet and lower your blood sugar levels, you may find that you can also reduce your medication. You will also find that it may improve your other conditions.
Because you are on gliclazide ask your gp for a test meter and test strips. He should prescribe them because of your meds, unfortunately it is a bit of a post code lottery, so don't be surprised if he refuses. If this is the case then come back to the forum and you will get plenty of what and where to buy a meter.

Best of luck
 
Hi Tam 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 like as someone will always 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 30,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes ... rains.html

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

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.
 
Hi Tam, welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place. I started on a low carb high fat diet in July and have managed to pretty quickly get my BGs down to a better level. I want to go lower but its an on going process.

I would really recommend the following website as this is where I got started; www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
 
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