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Finding right levels of medication

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Parselmouth

Active Member
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I'm new to all this and need to know how the right levels of medication are arrived at.

I am currently prescribed 2 x 500 Metformin and 2 x 80 Gliclazide. I have been trying to adopt the low carb diet having already worked out for myself via testing that this is the only way of keeping my levels low.

I was 20 at diagnosis after fasting, but on the medication and diet, yesterday my morning result was 5.8.

However, even on this diet my bs levels following food are pretty volatile. At points during the day, at one hour after eating I was hitting 15, having had a busy (though not very active) day and not been able to manage my eating timetable too well.

Someone one the forum suggested knocking off one of the gliclazide, as it may be that my body is producing too much insulin for my low carb diet, so I didn't take last night's glic too see what would happen, and this morning it was 9.1. Not so good.

Is it too much medication? Or not enough? Or not the right combo? I just don't know. Can anyone shine a light?
 
Parselmouth.
Metformin and Gliclazide will lower your Bg levels. Stopping any of them at the moment will probably cause Bg levels to rise. Your morning level was good, until you stopped a Glic ?

I would be more inclined to look at your Diet and Carbohydrate intake as the most likely suspect.
This appears to be the area to concentrate on.

If you are concerned about the 'volatility' of your levels you need to discuss this with your GP.
 
Your question is one that we are all struggling with (Type 2) because the of the difference between each of our conditions. There is one person on here keeps telling all lowish carb dieters that he manages quite well without low carbing and we all should. He probably still has a fair production of insulin and is not as insulin resistant as others on here. Your condition is unlikely to be similar to anyone elses and will probably still be varying. All you can do is keep checking which foods send you high and which don't. But don't expect it to be consistent. I am awaiting test results I have asked for to determine if I am insulin deficient or insulin resistant or probably both but I don't know how accurately this can be measured. I do know that any sugars or starches send me into double figures for sometimes over 3 hours.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I did much better yesterday, not over 10.3 at all, most of the day under 8 until I decided to have some low sugar choc :oops: It was completely necessary!

I have the same problem with the starches, gbtyke, although new potatoes seem to be tolerated quite well. I'm testing Ryvita this morning, seem to think I had them a couple of weeks ago when I wasn't paying quite so much attention to the carbs, and they were not too bad. I can't have bacon and egg every day, need to have a range of breakfasts, but can manage quite well the rest of the day low carb.

Went to a NHS diabetes education day yesterday and heard all the usual advice about eating starchy carbs. I piped up that they make me spike badly, and the dietician looked at me as if I had grown two heads. Then said that I must be unusual.
 
Parselmouth said:
Went to a NHS diabetes education day yesterday and heard all the usual advice about eating starchy carbs. I piped up that they make me spike badly, and the dietician looked at me as if I had grown two heads. Then said that I must be unusual.
Click to expand...


Was that 'unusual' because you actually knew what you were talking about, :?
or 'unusual' because you had dared to speak out ? :shock:
 
Let's just say she didn't encourage me to believe that independent thought and questioning of established norms would be welcome.

I decided discretion was the better part of valour, when it came to her telling us all about safe levels of alcohol, and didn't say that I had recently heard the scientists who had set the levels admit that they had made it up.

Next week we are learning all about 'lifestyle' and setting targets which I think is probably much more fertile ground for dissent as I will be armed with my own evidence of low carb success. Not that any of my fellow students seem that bothered about their levels, maybe they are managing ok on carbs, but I wasn't.

Biscuits and crackers are the only thing I really miss, bread & cake I can take or leave, potatoes not that bothered about (although I'm ok with new pots). Haven't really experimented with rice or pasta, they are next on the list.

The ryvita raised my levels by about 2, which is ok as long as I'm under 6 to start with, but that doesn't often happen in the mornings. May have to run round the garden before brekky.
 
Parselmouth said:
Went to a NHS diabetes education day yesterday and heard all the usual advice about eating starchy carbs. I piped up that they make me spike badly, and the dietician looked at me as if I had grown two heads. Then said that I must be unusual.
Click to expand...

Sic Mrs Pugwash onto her!

Seen these?

http://www.nairns-oatcakes.com/content/ ... age=s1_1_5

I can manage two of them even at breakfast, they're one of the few sources of starch I still eat
 
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