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Could Really Use Some Advice....Again...

Hi Daibell,

I was actually told by one of the diabetic nurses when I called to for some reassurance about the fact that my weight had gone UP by 8lbs since starting the Victoza that I was obviously a liar and I was clearly eating far too much and that I should be honest with them...!

Typically I eat a high-protein breakfast which is usually eggs; lunch is salad with chicken or tuna and dinner is grilled chicken/fish/turkey/etc... with vegetables (I tend to stay away from carrots at the moment as when they're cooked they make my BG rocket!)
Occasionally I make use of the Atkins bars or shake powders for something quick that has a good amount of protein (I don't use them often but they're handy to keep around for convenience).

I stay away from bread, pasta, potatoes and rice (although rice doesn't affect me as much as the others do).
I am lactose intolerant although I can have small amounts of cheese or yogurt; milk, cream and things like that are out for me but I have good substitutes with Lactofree milk and Alpro soy cream.

What I'm trying to do is follow what they're telling me to do so that I can show I've tried it their way.
My carb intake runs between 30-60 for the day - they've told me to go no lower than that, so again I'm trying to follow that so I can say that I've done it and show them the result (whether it's good or bad).

I spoke to a lovely lovely man called Kevin at IDDT just now who just listened and understood and told me that my feelings and thoughts are valid and that I AM entitled to ask for all of my options for treatment and not just the one that makes it easy for them.

I don't know whether to talk to my doctor or just go straight back to the BDEC team and tell them (politely, of course!) what I would like to happen from here.
 
Sorry for double posting but the edit button wasn't showing on my last post :eh:

A small victory - I spoke to BDEC (not the nurse that I always see/speak too, but someone different) and as I was trying to get across how rubbish I'm feeling and that I feel that I'm not really being listened to I rather embarrassingly burst into tears :oops:
She was very kind and said that she doesn't see the harm in going back onto Glimepiride 6mg a day to see if that combined with Metformin and Victoza will be enough to bring my BG levels down.

I'm more than happy to try that and I see the diabetic dietician mid-September which gives me 5-6 weeks on the Glimepiride to see if it has any effect.

Like I said, a small victory; but a victory nonetheless :D
 
Well done getting your point across Natalie. This will give you a chance to try and get your weight down. Are you going to have a stab at the Newcastle Diet?
 
Thanks Catza :D
I'm not certain about the Newcastle Diet - I read about it here and it mentions Optifast. I've no idea what that is or where I could get it. Would I have to use that or would any type of meal replacement shake work?
 
Fraddycat said:
Hi again, Defren used Atkins Shakes from Boots, but you could also use Tescos aparently.
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Yes I did. Another alternative that are higher carb, but less calories and loads more flavours is slim and save. Just Google S&S and the site comes up. I am really carb sensitive, but found I could use the S&S with no problems. I do have them now and again if I can't face a meal or am in a hurry.
 
Hi Natalie, congratulations on getting someone to listen! I was going to suggest taking someone in with you for moral support, but it sounds like you don't need this.(When pregnant and put on insulin, it took me bursting into tears for the doctors to hear my worries about non-stop hypos - tears seem to turn them back into human beings!)

I am gobsmacked that they are asking you to eat fruit whilst low carbing. As another poster suggested, I would take a good multivitamin, but a lot of veggies have higher levels of vitamins, eg red pepper has more Vit c than an orange.

Have you had a look at the Scandinavian diet? This is not low fat, but if you are willing to strike off on your own in terms of determining your diet, it might work wonders with your sugar. The book, Diabetes, No Thanks by Lars-Erik Litsfeldt, give a great overview of the diet and its effects. If you are successully low carbing, you should have no trouble sticking to this way of eating. I think I got my copy from amazon. Whilst on this way of eating, my sugars went down, I ate less overall, my skin improved as did my bleeding gums. I can't recommend it enough.

Good luck with getting your docs to treat you like a person, not a disease and with the revised approach to your meds.

x
 
swimmer2 said:
Could we make this sort of shakes at home?
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The aim seems to be to get a sustaining ow carb/cal meal replacement.

When I went to the Ealing Hosp Gym table tennis "Olympics" for 12 noon I needed to take a lunch with me. I decided a modified almond porridge might work - It did - I won gold in the afternoon tournament. I took a mix of the powder & added boiling water. I played 25 games of TT. I was tired afterwards but not hungry.

The basic mix is equal parts ground almonds & coconut flour {not Tiana brand as that's defatted & higher carb};
half a mug of powder is a good meal replacement;
flavour with cup-a-soup or coffee [I sometimes use a low carb drinking choc sachet - but that includes milk]
If it thickens too much, use a spoon.

p.s. I find peppers totally indigestible, so if you have any tendency to digestive disturbance, avoid them.
I only buy tiny oranges, or share fruit with my wife.
 
Thank you Volorg.

I keep asking why they're telling me to eat fruit because of the carb content and because they've told me to go onto a restricted carb diet but the answer I get is always the same:
"because it has the nutrients you need, it has fiber and it's stupid to cut it out of your diet."

I think that if I follow their orders to the letter and my BG still doesn't improve then at least I can say to them that clearly something in what they've told me to do isn't right for me.

I'm due to visit my Mom-in-law in Spain (with my husband, of course!) at the beginning of September.
I'm looking forward to seeing her and my sister-in-law but I'm dreading navigating the food situation - I love his Mom to bits but it's taken me years to get her to understand that I can't have regular milk; let alone trying to stick to a low carb diet!
It's something that you could talk to her about until you're blue in the face but it won't register at all; so I have no idea what I'm going to do there!
 
swimmer2 said:
Could we make this sort of shakes at home?
Click to expand...

Yes, I suppose you could Simon. The only reason I personally wouldn't is meal replacement shakes have the correct vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs. That might be difficult to replicate at home.
 
Hi. Also don't forget that Sitagliptin (Januvia) is a tablet option which I'm on. It's fairly new and some GPs don't seem to be aware of it. It works by reducing spikes. It doesn't cause weight gain or hypos and the side effects aren't common; I don't have any. It may not be relevant for you but it's in the NICE guidelines as an alternative to insulin at the last hurdle.
 
I agree with Daibelll abiut sitagliptin. I would be a litle concerned about 6mg of glimepiride with regard to the weight loss .
I found that it not only causes weight gain after a time but it also prevents weight loss, alhough as you probably know from experience it can be very effective in reducing bg levels .

If you csn lose a little weight you may find that less is more with the glimepiride. The thig is . as you know, hat hey prescribe it in multiples of 2g, When that stops working they increase it in muliples of 2g, This happened to me and i was taking 6g . It did nothing but cause me to gain weight for the firs time in my life.

When I stopped taking it and took sitagliptin instead and increased my exercise a litle I lost the weight very quickly . I was supposed o resuce the glimepiride graduaally but had to sop it right away because I was having hypos .

My research showed that ther is acually no proof that an increased dose .is any more effecive than the minimum dose.

Having said that I found that for certain reasons for a shor period I needed a little more help. I knew 2mg of glimepiride would cause hypos again but found that they actually produce it in 1 mg doses. I asked a Dr to prescribe it ahich she did and find hat this doese now works for me beter han the 6mg did,

The sitagliptin is particularly good if you suffer from unexplained spikes as Daibell said. I would almost have o eat more han I wanted to prevent enormous spikes. When i ate a smaller , low carb meal I would have spikes of 18 plus.

All this stopped with sitagliptin and I have never regained the weight..Just another option . If it is suitable for you , you will not need that high dose of glimepride
 
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