I have been asked to go on a diet to control my diabetes without medication (even though I dont consider myself overweight at 15st 4, and 6ft tall) the hard thing for me is that I work 12hr shifts and finding the best foods to eat when your not diabetic is hard enough, so being diabetic is going to be tougher.(im not looking for an easy time) I know its to help with my diabetes and rightly so. If I was taking medication like "metformin" to help increase the breakdown of glucose would this be better for me, and be more practical :?: .
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Diet or medication?
- Thread starter Anthb
- Start Date
Sid Bonkers
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,976
- Location
- S.E.London, N.W.Kent borders
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
- Dislikes
- Customer helplines that use recorded menus that promise to put me through to the right person but never do - and being ill. Oh, and did I mention customer helplines :)
Hi Anthb and welcome to the forum 
Even the max dose of metformin which is currently 2000mg split 1000mg with breakfast and 1000mg with dinner/evening meal , will only help to reduce your blood glucose (bg) levels by 1 to 2 mmol/L so even with metformin you will still have to watch the carbohydrates you eat. I am well controlled but even one white bread roll will send my bg levels into double figures.
I would suggest you try diet to start with and maybe introduce metformin at the same time or in a few weeks if your diet isnt working for you. There are lots of other meds that can also help too but obviously it is best to do what you can yourself by diet and you dont necessarily have to lose weight just cat back on the amount of food you eat (most westerners eat too much anyway ) especially the carbs.
Even the max dose of metformin which is currently 2000mg split 1000mg with breakfast and 1000mg with dinner/evening meal , will only help to reduce your blood glucose (bg) levels by 1 to 2 mmol/L so even with metformin you will still have to watch the carbohydrates you eat. I am well controlled but even one white bread roll will send my bg levels into double figures.
I would suggest you try diet to start with and maybe introduce metformin at the same time or in a few weeks if your diet isnt working for you. There are lots of other meds that can also help too but obviously it is best to do what you can yourself by diet and you dont necessarily have to lose weight just cat back on the amount of food you eat (most westerners eat too much anyway
) especially the carbs.Just like Sid says, and I found that adding Metformin allows a bit more latitude when deciding what to eat.
It also works better if started early rather than late and has a protective effect on the heart and other organs.
My DSN offers it in a low dose to all of her patients diagnosed with T2 regardless of BGs, my last A1c was 5.2% but she was still keen to get me on Metformin. I was reluctant at first but after some research I recognised where she was coming from.
So you might consider a low dose (I am on 500mg once a day) whether ot not your diet brings you BGs down?
H
EDIT. By the way Metformin increases the sensitivity of muscles to blood sugars using them up more efficiently and lowering BGs.
It also works better if started early rather than late and has a protective effect on the heart and other organs.
My DSN offers it in a low dose to all of her patients diagnosed with T2 regardless of BGs, my last A1c was 5.2% but she was still keen to get me on Metformin. I was reluctant at first but after some research I recognised where she was coming from.
So you might consider a low dose (I am on 500mg once a day) whether ot not your diet brings you BGs down?
H
EDIT. By the way Metformin increases the sensitivity of muscles to blood sugars using them up more efficiently and lowering BGs.
Daibell
Master
I agree with Sid that although Metformin may help a bit and has few downsides, diet is worth looking at. It can seem confusing at first, but if you look at the info on the forum and go for low-GI carbs in sensible quantities you will find suitable foods. Go for complex carbs and breads such as multi-grain and keep slices thinnish. Look at the labels of everything if buying at the supermarket as manufacturers will add sugar whenever they can and carbs can add up. You can eat almost as much as you want of protein and even fats so the traditional English Breakfast can be OK without fried bread, potatoes etc. Do test yourself with a meter to find out what affects your BS the most.
