Couple of Questions

[1DaveC]

Hi all, I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.

1. I was diagnosed T2 nearly 3 months back, started Metformin, Simvastatin & Ramipril to help me. I've never really had any thing wrong with me, I was only diagnosed because of routine blood tests after an ingrowing toenail (ouch).
I set about eating more healthy, shed a stone, HbA1C went from 7 to 6.5.
But I don't feel like there's anything wrong me at all. I feel like a complete fake. Is this at all normal?

2. Does anyone else feel a little colder than usual having taken Metformin? I'm usually a hot water bottle, but recently I'm an ice cube.

Cheers folks!

 

[Yorksman]

I was taking ramipril for ten years before I was diagnosed. Very soon after taking it I asked the consultant about the tingling I had in my toes. Apparantly this is a side effect of that drug. It constricts the capilliaries. He said, if I can live with it, do so because its doing me more good than the discomfort.

However, it does make it hard for me to know what's going on because of my diabetes. I also have a little osteoarthritis in my ankle so I can never tell what is to blame. Exercise, keeping warm feet with bedsocks and slippers and generally pampering my feet help.

Your BG levels don't look too bad at all and it would not suprise me to hear that you don't notice anything. Many people here have readings in the teens or even twenties. 7 or 6.5 is not very much higher than normal, 6 being the limit after fasting. I was 9.8 and got it down to below 6 without drugs, just by diet and exercise. I take ramipril for blood pressure and simvastatin as the GP is a typical pill pusher. He wanted to give me metformin, I refused. He scoffed and I haven't seen him for nearly a year.

If you get your diet right and become more active, you'd probably get an improvement without the metformin. If your blood pressure was OK before diabetes and is still OK, I wouldn't have thought you need an ace inhibitor like ramipril. Statins are one of those things some GPs think should be forced down the throats of the entire population or added to the water supply.

The rewards of doing it yourself though, and you are in a great position to try, are much better than relying on pills.

 

[Daibell]

Yes, the problem with diabetes is that you can feel fine but that's why it's such an insidious condition so don't underestimate it's power to do harm. I've read a lot about statins in recent months and have now stopped them and my DN didn't complain. I rely on a low-carb diet and my body knowing what's best ref cholesterol. I only take 1.25mg of Ramipril which is the lowest possible dose so don't worry about it. I do take Metformin as it's a very safe drug, has very few recorded problems and does reduce liver fat helping insulin doing it's job mainly if you are overweight. I'm not overweight so it may not be doing much for me.