Mintyfresh73

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Good Evening. Glad I found you lot. Diagnosed T2 in January with crazy high sugars of 30+ and put straight on insulin and metformin. Took a couple of months to reach anything near normal. Recently, I've been put on Trulicity, which is a weekly jab to help reduce appetite and kid my brain that I'm full. It also makes you feel fuller for longer, with food taking longer to digest. Tell you what, it's incredible. I'm on my 3rd week and it's now that I should be feeling the effects apparently. And I am. Appetite has virtually vanished, and I've reduced my daily calorie intake by more than half.
I'm still getting used to what I can and can't eat on this, due to.the slower digestion. Red meat is a no go. Shame because I love a steak. Pork isn't great either, or anything fried for that matter. The results of meat on my system are terrifying. Bloating like a zeppelin, which causes discomfort whatever way I turn. I have to ask my wife to wind me by rubbing my back, and then warning her to take cover. Timing is everything. The wind from both ends is unbelievable, and when burps smell like bad farts, you can only imagine how they taste on the way out. It's embarrassing and gross. But I WILL stick with it, because if it helps me lose weight and stops the cravings, then it's so worth it. As a large lad with a love for the lardy things in life, it's a revelation. I've been told if it didn't work, the next step would be Gastric Surgery, which I am determined not to allow. On Trulicity, I have to eat little and often, and easily digestible foods. Honestly never thought I'd become vegetarian, but I'm beginning to see the appeal.
My DN has informed me that side effects usually settle after 2-3 weeks, so I'm keeping everything crossed that I'll stop contributing to global warming and lose the weight I know I need to lose.
As Trulicity starts to work, calorie intake comes down and so does insulin. The goal is to get me off insulin altogether, which would be fantastic, but even more fantastic would be to lose 10st!
Would love to hear if anyone on here has been prescribed Trulicity and if it had similar effects, or if you have any tips (other than charcoal pants, nose-pegs or taking up self-powered paragliding.)
Thanks for listening :)
 
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Liam1955

Master
Messages
10,964
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Anti-Gay People, Self Centre People, Two Faced People and Bad Language.
Welcome @Mintyfresh73 to the Forum :).

@daisy1 will post on this Thread some useful information for New Members.
 

daisy1

Legend
Messages
26,457
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Cruelty towards animals.
@Mintyfresh73

Hello Mintyfresh and welcome to the Forum :) Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:
  • Reduce your carbohydrate intake
  • Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates
Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
  • structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
  • self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

  • Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why

  • Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
 

briped

Well-Known Member
Messages
947
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Non-insulin injectable medication (incretin mimetics)
Hello Mintyfresh73 and welcome. I'm a newcomer myself, and have never heard of Trulicity. The side effects don't sound pleasant, so I do hope for you (and your wife) that they'll diminish over time. Please don't forget that you're in this for the long haul, and consider how you'd like to cope once your BS and weight has come down to an acceptable level.
Like you I'm overweight, and like you I'd never let anybody tamper with my guts and bowels surgically. I know that lots of people in here praise the LowCarbHighFat way of getting their bodies back to near normal or perfectly normal levels, so on March 23rd 2018 I cut out all pasta, potatoes, rice and nearly all bread from my diet, and started trying to be sensible about eating. I've now lost just under 1st, but still need to look into exactly how much protein and fat I need to go with the low carb food. In other words, I'm no expert, but I must be doing something right, and at some point I'd love to ditch my diabetes meds (metformin, jardiance and victoza). The good news is that I can still eat red meat if I feel like it :) Please check out NewTD2s link above.
My best piece of advice is to read this forum. You'll find many helpful people with lots of knowledge. I've learned a lot more from people who know what they're on about, than I've ever learned from the professionals, who rarely have the time to answer all your questions anyway.