Diagnosed last Thursday 28th or was I?

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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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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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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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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Geocacher said:

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.

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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.

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


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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.

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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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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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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