Feeling lost and confused

[Forgetfuldan]

I was diagnosed July 2019 with Type 2. At that time my HBA1C was 52mmol. I wasn't given much information, just to try to better my diet and increase exercise. The exercise was a conflict of information as my blood pressure was dangerously high and the dr said not to do any exercise until my diastolic reading was below 100.

Fast forward to mid-December. I have my HBA1C reviewed again, this time it's shot up to 80mmol. I've stressed about this as I'd tried my hardest to improve my diet and had started to include gentle exercise, 30mins walking each day. The dr put me on metformin, 3 x 500mg per day.

Since starting on the metformin, I've had some terrible migraines like nothing I have ever experienced before. I feel that I need to sleep a lot more too. I work from home 9am-5pm but by 5.30pm I'm falling asleep and need a nap. After an hours snooze I wake, make dinner then by 9pm I'm ready for my bed and sleep right through until 7.30am. It feels like all I do is sleep!

It it normal to sleep this much? I'm sure the headaches are not normal but I don't know what I can change to eliminate them. I can't see the dr until Feb 10th :/

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Hello @Forgetfuldan ,

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles, and you're not exactly getting much help, eh? For a T2, exercise, if you can do it, could be a nice walk. If you do something actually strenuous, your liver can kick into gear and start dumping glucose, upping your blood sugars. A walk however, preferably a long, relaxing one, can bring your blood sugars down and won't up your blood pressure. So that is, hopefully, the exercise bit sorted for you.

Now, as for the rest. You mention changing your diet, but not HOW you've changed your diet. The conventional low fat, high carb thing doesn't work for people with a metabolic disorder like ours, after all. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so that would include not only straight refined sugars, but also fruit, bread (or anything made with flour, really), rice, pasta, cereal, potatoes. Anything starchy will up your blood sugars. So will "natural" sugars like dates and honey, fructose... All not good.

So now what? Well, if you don't have one yet, get yourself a meter. (@Rachox has some excellent information on those, so I'm tagging her in). You can't wait for a doc's appointment all the way in February if you're this miserable. I'm a migraineur myself and I know daily ones just won't do, as one can't function when having those. Metformin gave me other side effects, but when I changed my diet to low carb/high fat, I could ditch all diabetes medication with my doc's blessing. I've been in the normal, non-diabetic range ever since, and there's no reason you wouldn't be able to do the same. So... https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html <--Have a read here, learn how to do groceries all over again (it's a pain in the rear, but invaluable), and start testing before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. You're aiming for a rise of no more than 2.0 mmol/l, anything higher means your body couldn't cope with the carb load of said meal. Go that route and you won't be on Met much longer. Also, metformin doesn't actually do anything about the food you ingest... It only tells your liver to knock it off with the glucose dumping in the morning, reducing output by about 75%. It won't do anything about a sandwich or a spud. So... If you ask me, not a pill worth the agony you're in now, and a diet change to get rid of it ASAP seems like a good idea.

Good luck!
Jo

 

[Forgetfuldan]

Thank you Jo!

So my change in diet has been to cut out the rubbish and to eat regular meals at regular times. As a vegetarian with IBS I find high fat difficult to deal with. As soon as my fat increases well then the bathroom becomes my best friend! Looking more at low carb would really benefit me. I should have mentioned I'm also being referred to the dietician so hopefully I can learn more how to eat better.

A monitor sounds like a good idea! I'll have to research this and get one asap.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I'm going to bury my nose in your blog now

 

[JoKalsbeek]

Thank you Jo!

So my change in diet has been to cut out the rubbish and to eat regular meals at regular times. As a vegetarian with IBS I find high fat difficult to deal with. As soon as my fat increases well then the bathroom becomes my best friend! Looking more at low carb would really benefit me. I should have mentioned I'm also being referred to the dietician so hopefully I can learn more how to eat better.

A monitor sounds like a good idea! I'll have to research this and get one asap.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I'm going to bury my nose in your blog now

If fats are a problem, take it slow with those. You could just up the protein a little instead, but you don't want to do both low fat and low carb without upping something, somewhere, you know? Scurvy is no fun, after all. It is possible to do low carb while vegetarian/vegan, but it is a tad more difficult. (How are you with fats like from an avocado? Do those process better than other fats?). For me, the IBS practically went out the door when I started low carbing. I haven't used the mebeverine in a couple of years. (Though I keep a stock in the drawer just in case it hits me again). Anyway... There's a whole section on this forum about low carb vegetarianism, https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/ will hopefully help. Also, I don't know whether you are vitamin B deficient as a lot of vegetarians already know to be wary of that, but metformin makes it harder for you to absorb the stuff... So you might want to keep an eye on that with the occasional blood draw to see how you're doing in that respect, for as long as you remain on it. Extra supplements might be required.

 

[HSSS]

A dietician may or may not be on board with low carb. Depends how up to date with the latest research. But it is an nhs recognised method to control type 2 (along with extremely low calorie diets aka starvation in my opinion, and bariatric surgery) and to my mind the most preferential.

as a vegetarian is is more challenging to be low carb as so many vegetarian options are based on carbs. It can be done though with determination. Take a look at the vegetarian section on here for ideas and support. I would add that some who have been vegetarian as they believe it healthier (as opposed to ethical reasons) have found as diabetics the opposite is more frequently and more easily the case. Personally I couldn’t do it without meat. If you eat dairy and eggs still it helps a lot.

If you can’t eat meat and can’t add fats very easily and definitely shouldn’t eat many carbs then you will struggle with hunger i suspect. Try and find as many high protein sources as you can and try different fats for different effects. Some might be better than others. Add the fats very very gently, you might adjust better that way. Ibs commonly improves on low carb btw, possibly because it’s the sugars that irritate and make the fats tricky as a result. Remove the irritation and the fats are not such an issue.

Sleepiness is a sign of high blood glucose as can be the migraine (at least it triggers mine). Metformin doesn’t suit everyone and there are slow release versions that might be better. It also doesn’t do a huge amount to lower levels. It stops the liver dumping extra and reduces hunger so some a little but it won’t help process the carbs you do eat. The walks are a great plan. For fitness and such exercise helps lower levels so a walk after meals is ideally timed.

loads more links and help to be had on these forums but don’t want to overwhelm you right now, other than say go look at dietdoctor.com too. Loads of free info and recipes there. Oh and definitely get a meter.

 

[VashtiB]

Hello and welcome,

I agree with the previous posters. Reducing the carbs will help with your blood sugar levels. I also agree that you may have to shop around for a dietician that is on board with low carb. Given you are a vegetarian and find fats difficult I suspect it will be worth your while to shop around. You may want to do a @JoKalsbeek suggests and increase them gradually.

It can seem very difficult- but you don't have to do it all of a sudden. Maybe take it one meal at a time. I find breakfast my most challenging. Many of us find that our bodies tolerate less carbs in the morning than later in the day. So maybe start with lunch or dinner. For lunch I usually have a bunch of spinach leaves with some spring onion, betta cheese and smoked salmon- maybe a salad with some tofu or eggs may work? You beed to be carefully of some of the vegetables but if you have mostly leafy greens it will probably be fine.

As they have said there is a vegetarian part of the site which may give you more ideas.

Welcome and good luck with finding some recipes that will suit you.