Diagnosed last Thursday 28th or was I?

[elaine77]

If you don't eat for a while your body goes into starvation mode so ur liver dumps a bunch of glucose into your blood to top u up. That's fine for normal people but us diabetics can't break it down and it pushes us up sky high! To stop this happening I usually never go long between meals/snacks apart from through the night but I get bad dawn phenomenon in the morning but at least that's the only one that's really bad I spose.

With regard to ur high level post tea, I find jacket potatoes and white bread a recipe for disaster and so I don't eat white bread at all ever and if I want potatoes I have new potatoes as they don't effect the levels anywhere near as much....defo worth cutting those things out while ur trying to bring ur blood lower. The blood tests should shed more light on things for you long term


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[carlrr]

I will cut out the jacket potatoes and white bread as you advised until my sugar comes down, checked first thing this morning and I'm 15.8 so today I will low carb and high protein to see what happens, at least when I do see the nurse I will have some idea what my body is doing - or not

 

[carlrr]

Today after work on an empty stomach reading 15.9 my food was shredded wheat for breakfast, protein drink and a large ham and cheese omelette for lunch.
Tonight for tea it will be 3 chicken thighs, 3 new potatoes 2 tablespoons of basmati rice, and a beetroot salad soaked in cider vinegar

I will snack on 2 riveta crackers

And for supper I will have an omelette and a protein drink

Wonder what my reading will be in the morning

A couple of questions are running through my mind

1) Would a slow release carb cereal biscuit consumed right before bed time be helpful for your morning readings?

2) I was craving milk, smoothies, pop, fast food for pretty much 4 weeks before I was diagnosed and I mean madly craving ate and drunk it all to, when I went to the surgery I had a reading of 26 the GP diagnosed me and gave me Metformin 2 x 500mg I instantaneously stopped craving yet during the last week my readings have been 15 or higher! now is there some secret going on in the medical world that they are not telling us about ie: our bodies can function at a higher sugar level without permanent damage

Did I biologically change when I went into the surgery? is Metformin an anti craving drug that work immediately?

Will the diabetic nurse prescribe different drugs when I see her on Friday after a week at a reading of 15+ or will she send me back to the doctor?

 

[elaine77]

With regard to the slow carb before bed, yes lots of people say this works for them as ur body doesn't think it's starving so much then and doesn't need to top u up as much.

From what you've said the Metformin seems to have had minimal impact and as I said before I suspect maybe you aren't type 2, you really need those blood results back before you can do anything.... If u don't have antibodies nd you are just type 2 then the nurse will need to go through your diet and exercise plan with you with a fine tooth comb and probably will give you additional type 2 meds...

Also, if your body has been functioning at high BG levels for a long period of time then you will obviously have side effects as ur levels come down....with type 2s they mostly mention their vision being effected... It doesn't mean high BG is good for you because internally it's really really bad, the symptoms you get as your levels to back down are just...artificial for want of a better word. Our bodies will get used to pretty much anything over a period of time, like smokers or alcoholics..... It doesn't necessarily mean its good just a 'personal norm'.

Also, It's worth asking someone more knowledgable than me about this as I really am no expert.

But I'm sure protein effects ur BG levels but just does it slower than carbs..... Maybe stop the protein drinks for 1 day and see if it makes a difference to ur levels to find out? I'm just sure I read somewhere that protein can turn to glucose... I know it defo has an effect upon kidneys and so people have to be careful for that but obviously glucose is more important to you right now.

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[carlrr]

Hi Elaine

Thanks for replying so quickly

Hopefully the pieces will fit together with the nurse on Friday

One thing you did mention is the eyes, mine really hurt at the moment, its a pressure type feeling

Also when my BG levels come down what side effects should I be looking for ?

I also assume I will be feeling a lot better though

 

[carlrr]

Reading of 14.7 this morning before breakfast and I did eat 2 cereal biscuits last night before bed so it has come down a point, I also had a pint of Stella yesterday eve this wont be a regular thing though

 

[blackcat79]

Hi can i ask what meter are you using? May be wrong but I had high reading and still do one but not as high on one given to me by clinic just a thought
Sue


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[elaine77]

Not sure about Stella but vodka brings my levels down lol!

Yes if you've been running really high BG your retina will be swollen so u will feel the pressure and maybe get blurry vision which eill continue as your levels come down, it can take a few weeks to fix itself once you start getting your levels under control. All types of diabetes can result in eye problems, wit me it was headaches...awful dull headaches I had right up until about 3 weeks ago and I've been diagnosed since December so it did take a while. Other than headaches and vision some people complain of thrush in their mouth and leg or foot pain or cramps... They're all just symptoms of diabetes but they will all be changing as your levels drop so may be more pronounced until you get your diabetes controlled.


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[Sid Bonkers]

it's best to ask for slow release metformin before your dosage is increased. It will make a real difference in how you feel and how well it helps to lower your blood sugar.

Slow release metformin doesnt work any better than ordinary metformin so wont make the slightest difference to how well it lowers your bg levels, the only difference is that it is slow release and as for asking for it before you know whether or not you will have a problem with it seems a bit extreme to me to say the least, a bit like suggesting that everyone wear a crash helmet all the time "in case" something falls on their heads...

Side effects are not a given and thousands of people have no side effects what so ever from metformin, I also doubt that any doctor would prescribe a more expensive med just in case you might have a side effect.

You may have had a problem with metformin Geocacher but the majority do not.

 

[Sid Bonkers]

Hi carlrr, regards your question about whether or not it is better to drop blood glucose levels quickly, the answer is no its not and the reason that it is best to achieve a gradual reduction is that when you run high blood glucose levels for any length of time they cause a build up of blood pressure behind the eyes, this often goes unnoticed or some think their sight is deteriorating slightly.

If blood glucose levels are dropped quickly it can result in an equally fast drop in the blood pressure at the back of the eyes which can cause blurred vision or even retinopathy which is a rupturing of the tiny blood vessels in the eyes..

Better to slowly reduce your bg levels over the course of a few weeks/months than suddenly reducing them too quickly. :thumbup:

 

[carlrr]

Thanks for your replies they are certainly a great help

Today my vision is very blurry

The meter I am using is an Accu Chek Aviva

I am actually ok with my Metformin at the moment would like to see my readings at 10+ not 15+ though

 

[carlrr]

Tonight's reading before tea 13.3, tea consisted of cod, new potatoes, broccoli and home made parsley sauce, snacks pre eve will be 2 Riveta whole-wheat crackers with pesto sun dried tomatoes and then for supper a cheese omelette.

May have to increase my protein as my weight is dropping slightly and I want it to increase

 

[carlrr]

No direct answers to the number 2 question last night

 

[JaneC]

Carlrr, how old are you and why are you presumed to be type2?


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[Geocacher]

Sid Bonkers -- it's not just a matter of avoiding side effects, it's also a matter of how long metformin remains active in your body.

When you're taking regular metformin twice a day and eating three meals where is the metformin needed to help your body process that extra meal when your kidneys have filtered out and disposed of the earlier dose and it'll be another five or six hours before your next dose? I've give you a hint -- there isn't any.

Irrespective of side effects, my blood sugar levels were never as stable with regular metformin as they are now with SR metformin. Not just daily levels, but HbA1C as well. End of story.

I'm not going to accept a less suitable solution that would put my long term health at risk when a more suitable one is available for the asking. If you're happy to do so, that's your choice.

Carlrr -- Even with high blood sugar your brain was probabaly still starved of the glucose it needed to function because of insulin resistance. Insulin allows your cells to use glucose. Metfromin causes your body to be more sensitive to the insulin it is able to produce so it can better use the glocose in your blood. And with your brain no longer starved of sugar, it stopped the cravings.

Sometimes it can be just like turning off a switch. No secret, just basic biology. The endocrine system is a fascinating in that it can sometimes appear so deceptively simple and yet there is a complexity to the balance it maintains that is only really visible when it fails.

 

[Tarwaddilo]

Hi, I was diagnosed 3 weeks ago and went for my first dn appointment last week. No meds but have been asked to diet and exercise. It's just a quick question, can type 2 diabetes cause diarrhoea?


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[Thundercat]

Don't know if Type 2 specifically causes diarrhoea but high bs can cause it. Found this out when buying Immodium (for IBS) and pharmacist started a very loud lecture on the evils of "neglecting myself".

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[elaine77]

Hi tarwadillo, diabetes doesn't cause diarrhoea but Metformin often does... I don't know if your taking it yet or not but it is a side effect of normal Metformin so IBS suffers generally need Slow Release Metformin if they need to take it. Just a thought


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[carlrr]

James C - The GP said I was type 2 due to the symptoms when I asked him, this hasn't been confirmed as of yet, and I wont know for sure until my blood result tomorrow, I haven't had or been told to have a fasting test
Im waiting to see what the diabetic nurse says

I am 47

Sid - I will ask for SR Metformin, my guess is they will say I've only been taking them for a week so see what happens

This time last week I had a reading of 26 today it 13.4 if I can half it again by next Thursday, happy days

Don't think that will happen though, I think its going to be a long journey with different meds

 

[carlrr]

This morning at 7:30 I had a reading of 15.8 bite size shredded wheat for breakfast and the diabetic nurse at 10:15 she tested me and I was 26 which was the same as where I started
She got a prescription of Glicazide 50mg
So I am on 2 x Metformin and 2 x Glicazide a day

My diet is fine but she has said to up the carb to 300mg per day