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Getting your blood sugar level down

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PHILLIPD1234

Member
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5
Location
Telford, Shropshire
I have just had my latest review, my level 6 months ago was 66mmol ,I was then put on 1 x 500mg Metformin daily and fully expected my level to have dropped considerably. I was shocked to find it had only gone down to 58. I have now been prescribed 4 x 500 mg tablets is this small drop from 1 tablet normal? any advice welcome.
 
Hi

Metformin, as a single medication, produces different results depending on what part of your diabetes relates to insulin sensitivity. In my own case, it produced good results but only because I adjusted my diet to exclude carbohydrates in the form of sugary foods - cakes, biscuits, sweets etc. For some people that needs to be taken further and other forms of carbohydrate intake may need adjustment. It is, in my view, important for you to learn what effects various foods have on your blood sugars. The usual way for doing this would be to test your blood with a glucose monitor.

Hope this helps

Regards

Doug
 
Metformin doesn't act directly on your blood glucose levels; instead it reduces the insulin resistance in your muscle cells so that the insulin you are producing can act more effectively. It helps prevent spikes, and it can aid weight loss (if you need to lose any). Usually it doesn't reduce BG levels by more than 1 or 2 points.

Glucose is produced in your body every time you eat carbohydrate; insulin from your pancreas puts the glucose into your muscle cells (where it's used for energy) and stores any surplus in your fat cells. Your liver stores some too as a reserve. If your muscle cells 'resist' taking in the glucose, it gets converted into fat and stored in your fat cells.

If you reduce your carbohydrate intake, to about 150g or less, your blood glucose levels will drop. Many of the Type 2s on here eat a reduced carbohydrate diet and find it works well. Some Type 1s eat this way too.

Re the Metformin: don't go straight up from 1 tablet a day to 4 - it could cause horrible gastric problems :shock: . It's more usual to take 1 a day for a week, then 2 a day for a week, then 3, then 4. This allows your system to acclimatise.

Hope this helps.

Viv 8)

PS I don't quite understand the levels you give - were they from an HbA1c? and do you mean 5.8 mmol/l (which is a good reading), or 58%, which is high. V but see Sid Bonkers' post below.
 
viviennem said:
PS I don't quite understand the levels you give - were they from an HbA1c? and do you mean 5.8 mmol/l (which is a good reading), or 58%, which is high. V
Click to expand...

I would guess these are the new Hba1c results which are in mmol/mol and not the % that we are most used to Viv.

An approximate conversion from the DUCK web page shows:
66 mmol/mol = 8.2%
58 mmol/mol = 7.5%

So not that high for a newly diagnosed diabetic but obviously some work still needed.
 
Thanks Doug, Viv and Sid. I realise now that I need to do much more in the way af changing my diet than not eating sweets,chocolates etc. I have made a start and am trying to cut out rice, bread,pasta and potatoes as much as possible.I have also been advised to start increasing the Metformin slowly.


Phill
 
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