Diet and meds question ...

[Ultramum]

Hi ... Type two diabetic diagnosed about 10 years ago ... Not very good follow up at previous GP but present surgery has picked up the ball and seems to be helpful.

I was advised on diagnosis to eat low GI carbohydrates at every meal and low fat everything. This seemed to work at first but gradually my blood test results would creep up and I've slowly gone from 500 mg of Metformin daily to just about 1700mg. Now they are creeping up again and the present GP has said she will change me from the ordinary Metformin to the slow release version as they are double the effectiveness and so I only need to take one per day as the 1000mg will be the equivalent of taking 2000mg of the ordinary sort.

I picked up the tablets today and duly read the insert ... Now I'm confused - the insert says that the 1000mg slow release form is the equivalent of 780 mg of ordinary Metformin- so I now seem to be taking half of what I was on.

Have I got it wrong and misunderstood? Or has the new GP got her fractions the wrong way up? I'm thinking I probably need to go and see the pharmacist tomorrow before contacting the surgery ...

I have been looking over the site tonight and it seems that the dietary advice I was given originally was topsy turvy too ... The consensus seems to be low carb rather than high fibre and ordinary fat rather than low fat. Is that what most people are using to help control blood sugars by diet? I'm a bit confused with all the changes in numbers but my last HBA1C was 59?

I've never monitored my blood sugars so don't know exactly why my blood levels are slowly creeping up. How do you get a monitor to test as I thought that was only for insulin users?

Thanks for any replies

 

[Squire Fulwood]

I've never monitored my blood sugars so don't know exactly why my blood levels are slowly creeping up. How do you get a monitor to test as I thought that was only for insulin users?

Thanks for any replies

You are mostly correct in that monitors are only issued to certain people. Those on any medication that could cause a hypo get them. For the rest of us we buy our own. They are cheap to buy but expensive to run.

 

[britishpub]

Hi.

Read the welcome pack that @daisy1 will add to this thread.

The parts about reducing Carbohydrate, and testing BG are most relevant.

Hopefully if you follow the advice you will be off Metformin soon so what dose you require will be irrelevant.

Meter wise you may be lucky and get one prescribed, but you will probably have to self fund. The investment is well worth it.

 

[Ultramum]

I went from regular to time release and they replicated the amount, but in TWO time release tablets, i.e. 2 x 500EX. I also did better on white colored time release tabs. When tabs were increased, it was suggested I take the highest amount at night after a snack.Do not take any of this on an empty stomach

Thanks for that. So my plan to take them first thing in the morning about 1/2 an hour before breakfast (with other medications) is probably not the best. I think I shall go and have a word with the pharmacist about the dosage - from what I know about doctors the query may be better received from another professional.

 

[Ultramum]

Hi.

Read the welcome pack that @daisy1 will add to this thread.

The parts about reducing Carbohydrate, and testing BG are most relevant.

Hopefully if you follow the advice you will be off Metformin soon so what dose you require will be irrelevant.

Meter wise you may be lucky and get one prescribed, but you will probably have to self fund. The investment is well worth it.

Thanks - look forward to reading the welcome pack - may have to rethink my breakfasts of 30g of porridge made with skimmed milk topped with a banana and mixed berries. Have just added bacon, mushrooms and eggs to my next online shop.

A supplementary question - probably answered elsewhere -

BACKGROUND - I have what appears to be permanent muscle problems following taking simvastatin for about 7 years - got to the point I couldn't even lift my R leg up to step over the flap where the tent zips up. Better since stopping, after running through three other statins and then Ezetimibe, which ruined my sleep and finally led me to saying 'No more' last autumn.

QUESTION - does the low carb high fat diet do bad things to cholesterol? One of the reasons for sticking to the porridge was to help with the cholesterol - I suppose the high fat would allow for walnuts and avocado and oil based dressings to help with managing it by diet ... Is there any evidence about its effects on cholesterol?

 

[britishpub]

From my own experience, and the experience of many other posters Cholesterol improves over time following the diet. Good cholesterol increases, and the bad decreases. There is often a short period where your body adjusts when the reverse occurs.

The most important thing is to reduce the Carbohydrate intake. Don't focus too much on the Fat part, but your Fat intake will increase naturally as you need to replace the energy you got from Carbs. Choosing better Fats will be the eventual aim.

 

[Ultramum]

After speaking to the pharmacy ... who said that the dose when swapped to slow release is usually like for like ... I finally managed to speak to my doctor. She spun me some story about side effects and why the dose was lower (halved!) so the final decision was to keep me on the ordinary Metformin, same dosage, and add in sitagliptin (not sure on the spelling). Off to research the Dawn Effect and also the new medication.

I'm still reading up on LCHF around the forum but not quite ready to make the leap yet - apart from having a cooked breakfast. I think I need to see what the change in meds does as the doctor suggested I may be more likely to have low blood sugar on the new medication and, as with all good experiments, I don't want to change two parameters at once.

Thanks for the input

 

[mfactor]

Some docs know sod all and are full of it............sorry but in bad mood lol............ seems they just want to medicate all the time


Carbs bad - Fat good


I was getting blood readings of between 10-20 mmol last summer , bit the bullet and went LCHF ...4 months later and my hba1c was "No longer in the diabetic range"


Job done , I noticed a massive improvement in my bloods in 6 weeks...


So as this is a lifelong disease, my advice is just try it , a few months of your life not eating carbs , will answer you as to whether it works or not........


You dont have to go full on LCHF ,,just cuts the carbs( try -100g/day to start) , dont worry about the fat and bobs your uncle,,, I still have 40g of carbs a day so you can still have the odd small spud/bread etc

 

[Pag]

Hi, my thinking has always been that once one is on Metformin and Insulin, together with proper diet, a person living with diabetes can eat moderately. This has been how I have managed my type 2 diabetes. Is it correct?

 

[Finsky]

Hi, my thinking has always been that once one is on Metformin and Insulin, together with proper diet, a person living with diabetes can eat moderately. This has been how I have managed my type 2 diabetes. Is it correct?

It depends entirely about person and their bodies and how resistant they are for insulin and how carb sensitive they are.
I'm on 'full doze', metforming, insulin, and other 'bits and bobs' ..and although have been eating 'sensible' diet, have physical work and hobbies...and still my readings were bit hit and miss.
Now that I've lowered my carb intake between 20-60g, depending of the day, my bloods have been regularly been on normal range....and not only that I've been able lower my medicine intake! It is early days yet of my new life and I'm still adjusting my medicines. Surely less medicine is better for us!?
Oh....AND...loosing few pounds of weight was virtually unheard for me with 'healthy eating' regime...and I'm glad to report that here is WHOLE 5lbs less of me typing my reply.....it feels almost miracle!

 

[Ultramum]

I've just watched the first two videos of the LCHF programme - shall watch some more tomorrow and try to make some minor adaptations to my diet after Sunday ... Out for a meal for Mother's Day so may be off the rails slightly!