Hello. Just to introduce myself to the Forum. My Diabetes 2 is usually diet controlled. I was advised this morning to take Metorforim
- Thread starter SPIKEYCAT
- Start Date
- Messages
- 17,302
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Welcome to the forum @SPIKEYCAT . Can you tell us a bit about your current diet? What would you eat in a typical day? There may be some tweaks to be made before going down the drug route.
Hi @SPIKEYCAT and welcome to the forum.
As has been said, if you provide something about how you have been trying to control your diabetes , your most recent HbA1C, medications and diet then we may find some alternatives for you to consider.
As you say, you have been advised to take Metformin. We don't all go down the route of taking Metformin ,though many do.
Some of us attained T2D remission though lifestyle only, others were intolerant to Metformin and take alternative medications.
As has been said, if you provide something about how you have been trying to control your diabetes , your most recent HbA1C, medications and diet then we may find some alternatives for you to consider.
As you say, you have been advised to take Metformin. We don't all go down the route of taking Metformin ,though many do.
Some of us attained T2D remission though lifestyle only, others were intolerant to Metformin and take alternative medications.
Hello and thanks for your message. Some of my diet has slipped a bit, i.e birthdays, a few holidays. But at home my breakfast (usually one Weetabix and blueberries) and main meals I am quite good at monitoring. But it has been the snacks in between that I have found difficult. In 2021 I was in remission, but that crept up again 2022 onwards. A few weeks back, I bought a new monitoring kit and readings in morning no more then 7.0. The nurse mentioned this morning, it has been rising a bit and getting older doens't help! My grandfather had diabetes, I am wondering if it could be genetics? I am very wary of taking Metiforim. I take statins and tapering of Anti-depressants 10/20 (have taken them since 1999 but stopped once).
Thank you for your message. I have replied to Ian (Moderator). Are you able to see this message?
Yes, all members can see your posts in here. Though specific forums are best once past introductions, since then more members with more relevant experience tend to reply.
- Messages
- 17,302
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
I can see all the messages on this thread.
Regarding your food, have you been intending to lower carbs? If so Weetabix aren’t well tolerated by most type 2s, too high carb. Can you tell us what your main meals and snacks are, maybe they are higher carb than you think too?
Oh and statins raise blood sugars too.
Just that one meal you mention could be improved so far as keeping Blood Glucose lower. All Carbohydrates are digested into glucose, so the Weetabix the milk any sugar plus the sugars in the Blueberries (one of the highest carb of all the berries) will combine to raise your BG levels at a time when most of us are at our most carb intolerant.
But we all tend to process carbs differently from each other (unique genes and gut biome). So it's a good idea to use your BG meter to measure how well your body processes the meals you eat. Test your BG just before eating and then again 2hrs later (2hrs after first bite). What we aim for is to have the increase (aka spike) from the first to the second reading of not more than 2.0 mmol. If it is 2 mmol or less then you body probably handles that meal OK
If it is higher then perhaps you can reduce portions or substitute something with fewer carbohydrates.
For breakfast eggs (no bread/toast) makes a good start t the day, having almost zero carbs and a good ratio of proteins to fats.
Thank you for replyng and really appreciate your advice. It was suggested to me to have 1 x weetabix and blueberries instead of grapes. Perhaps I should try another alternative? Obviously the milk doesn't help either. It doesn't seem that ceriel in any form (except plain porridge) would help?
Thanks for your reply and advice. I wondered if some meds affect blood sugar. Would there be another alternative ie. Statins and should I speak to GP about this? I have 1 x weetabix and blueberries, Ian mentioned then can raise blood sugar. I could try an egg breakfast, which will take some getting used I must admit and if I could change this sometimes to plain porridge? As for main meals, Monday I would have mackeral (tomatoe sauce) and a fish finger, 2 x crochects, cooked toms and vegetables. Tues@ 1/4 cheese/onion quiche cooked toms, new pots or have had a few chips before and green beans. Wednesday (low sugar) baked beans on toasted brown bread, perhaps I could try another (almond?) bread? thursday 1 x sausage and or bacon, egg, tinned toms, wedges and toast. Friday Shepherds Pie, little mash, carrots and peas. Saturday, Chicken (breast) curry and small veg rice (I know rice is not good), low brand garlic bread. Sunday: baked pot, beef madelion and/pork loin chopx, brussels, carrot and low brand 1 x yorkshire pud. After small Apple pie, (sometimes with apple and blackberries) and chock ice or custard, perhaps not every week? Otherwise, I try not to eat cakes after meals in the week.
- Messages
- 17,302
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi @SPIKEYCAT , there are two other types of medication to help with cholesterol that I know of, one is Ezetimibe (which I take, as I refused to start statins), the other is Fenofibrate.
You have more carbs in your diet than a lot of us. Even starting on Metformin with out a change of diet may not help that much. Have a read of this dietary advice written by one of our members, to give you a better understanding of low carb way of eating:
josekalsbeek.blogspot.com
You have more carbs in your diet than a lot of us. Even starting on Metformin with out a change of diet may not help that much. Have a read of this dietary advice written by one of our members, to give you a better understanding of low carb way of eating:
The Nutritional Thingy
There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...
josekalsbeek.blogspot.com
Okay thanks. I really have to look and change my diet somewhat. Do you have any side affects with the meds you mentioned? I will ask my GP if its possible to change. I am surprised they didn't mention this to me. I often wondered if Metoforim have side affect.Hi @SPIKEYCAT , there are two other types of medication to help with cholesterol that I know of, one is Ezetimibe (which I take, as I refused to start statins), the other is Fenofibrate.
You have more carbs in your diet than a lot of us. Even starting on Metformin with out a change of diet may not help that much. Have a read of this dietary advice written by one of our members, to give you a better understanding of low carb way of eating:
The Nutritional Thingy
There’s a few things you should know. 1. Practically all carbs turn to glucose once ingested , so not just straight sugars, but starches...
Wow. plenty of room there to cut carbs enough to have a bigger effect than Metformin would in my opinion.
Ye, plain porridge is something that some Type 2's can handle in small quantities best just made with water instead of milk , then add either cream or full fat G yogurt to serve, an alternative to that is making a porridge of chia seeds. But Eggs can be done lots of different ways oiled (either freshly, or cold from day or 2 before),poached, scrambled, omelette (mushroom, cheese, onion, etc).
Mackerel is fine, but watch out for added sugars in the tomato sauce. Plain fish (or with a light sauce) is better than fish fingers. Celeriac or Swede (Rutabaga in the USA) or Turnip are decent substitutes for Potato.
Even low sugar baked beans may be too high in carb for some Type 2's. Ordinary Bread is high carb, whole grain or Brown makes little difference.
Quiche may be OK if the side and base are low carb.
High meat content Sausages are OK, but cheaper ones contain lots of carbs as fillers.
Green beans are good, but the individual beans (as in kidney or pinto or lima etc) as well as peas can be too high some some Type2's.
Blackberries are much lower carb than apple (berries are low car, except Blueberries ten to be much higher than other berries).
Take a look at low carb veg and low carb fruit at www.dietdoctor.com
Ye, plain porridge is something that some Type 2's can handle in small quantities best just made with water instead of milk , then add either cream or full fat G yogurt to serve, an alternative to that is making a porridge of chia seeds. But Eggs can be done lots of different ways oiled (either freshly, or cold from day or 2 before),poached, scrambled, omelette (mushroom, cheese, onion, etc).
Mackerel is fine, but watch out for added sugars in the tomato sauce. Plain fish (or with a light sauce) is better than fish fingers. Celeriac or Swede (Rutabaga in the USA) or Turnip are decent substitutes for Potato.
Even low sugar baked beans may be too high in carb for some Type 2's. Ordinary Bread is high carb, whole grain or Brown makes little difference.
Quiche may be OK if the side and base are low carb.
High meat content Sausages are OK, but cheaper ones contain lots of carbs as fillers.
Green beans are good, but the individual beans (as in kidney or pinto or lima etc) as well as peas can be too high some some Type2's.
Blackberries are much lower carb than apple (berries are low car, except Blueberries ten to be much higher than other berries).
Take a look at low carb veg and low carb fruit at www.dietdoctor.com
- Messages
- 17,302
- Type of diabetes
- I reversed my Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
I don’t get any side effects on Ezetimibe, have a discussion with your GP about it. I find it completely nonsensical that statins are given to diabetics!
Metformin for me caused stomach upset for the first 10 days or so, the only way you’d know how it would affect you is to try it if that’s what you decide
Yes I will contact GP about the ones that you take. I will be monitored again in Oct so I have a few months to hopefully not have to take metiforim. The Blog you mentioned was very informative thank you.
Great advice, will definitely make a note. I usually get better quality sausages. I've always been a bit muddled with 0 or low fat. I have 0 fat Greek yogurt. I was also informed that grapes cause spikes and to try blueberries or ki wi. I could alternate mackerelwith tuna in spring water?
I will watch the baked beans, the one I buy has 9gm sugar. The frozen peas I buy (budget) don't seem to have much sugar. I can have a look at bread alternatives. The omelette seem good, I'll have to learn how to cook them!
It isn't just the '... of which Sugars' number that it says on the back of a pack or tin, it's the 'Carbohydrates per 100gms' or 'Carbohydrates per serving' which matters (assuming the serving size they quote is actually a serving that you would eat (many are much smaller than the public would consider to be a serving).
Yes, blueberries (or Kiwi fruit) is better than the same weight of grapes.
Tuna in spring water should contain approximately 0 carbs
Heinz 'No added Sugar' baked beans has 9.5 gms of carbohydrates per 100gms of which sugars is 1.9 gms
Heinz Baked Beans (regular) has 15.5 gms of carbs per 100gs of which sugars is 4.3gms
So in the 'no added sugar' version, they have done more than reduce the sugars (by 2.4gms) the have also reduced the carbs by an additional 3.6 gms per 100gms !
Frozen peas :
Sainsbury's (Garden Peas) Carbs per 100gms 10.8gms Sugars per 100gms 6.6
Tesco (Growers Harvest) Carbs per 100gms 9.2gms Sugars per 100gms 1.1 -obviously much less sweet but almost same carbs!
So always go by the carbs figure, not the sugars figure!
Yes, blueberries (or Kiwi fruit) is better than the same weight of grapes.
Tuna in spring water should contain approximately 0 carbs
Heinz 'No added Sugar' baked beans has 9.5 gms of carbohydrates per 100gms of which sugars is 1.9 gms
Heinz Baked Beans (regular) has 15.5 gms of carbs per 100gs of which sugars is 4.3gms
So in the 'no added sugar' version, they have done more than reduce the sugars (by 2.4gms) the have also reduced the carbs by an additional 3.6 gms per 100gms !
Frozen peas :
Sainsbury's (Garden Peas) Carbs per 100gms 10.8gms Sugars per 100gms 6.6
Tesco (Growers Harvest) Carbs per 100gms 9.2gms Sugars per 100gms 1.1 -obviously much less sweet but almost same carbs!
So always go by the carbs figure, not the sugars figure!
IMHO 7.0 morning BG indicates absolutely nothing. do you have your HbA1c value? that is the only true indicator of your carb intolerance. everyone is so keen to suggest that not eating and no carbs is better than Metformin but it is not true. Metformin is your safety net. If you can regulate your BG with an evening 500mg XR you are in luck. side effects usually start with higher doses. I used to be on 2x 1000mg of Metformin and it was just horrible. Although they say that a single dose of 1000mg XR is the same as 2x 500mg XR it isn’t for me. that 1000mg XR pill runs havoc in my stomach (although from the same manufacturer as the 500) I get instant constipation and nothing comes out for days. I was also on statins and those worked quite well. reduced total cholesterol from 7.3!!! to 3.0 in two months but also reduced my HDL from 1.2 to 0.9 so I stopped those. Now at 4.8 total and HDL 1.2 my cholesterol levels improved as soon as my BG numbers came under control (A1c 5.6)
Cholesterol is closely linked with T2DM as your liver converts more and more sugar into fat. Also get educated on the side effects of messing with your cholesterol production by taking statins and the links to dementia.
I don’t know your stats (age, weight, activity levels and A1c) but you need to stop your snacking (unless it is 0 carbs as in nuts and vegetables) stop eating after 8pm and befoee 10am and then eat controlled bits of fruit with nuts and coffee to delay your next meal until 2/3 pm. that way you limit your food intake and teach your body to be more effective with the food consumed and also burn into your fat storage a bit more.
in closing : this diabetes forum has turned into a cookery program with no mention of the benefit certain meds especially in older T2DM patients, or the need to get a move on and activate your muscles as those wonderful things in our body take BG from the blood without the need for insulins (or very little of it) and in turn make the liver break-up more fat for energy. that’s what we want in the end - less fat in the body and less glucose (sugar!) in our blood.
Keep fighting as DM on its own always gets worse and never better on its own
Cholesterol is closely linked with T2DM as your liver converts more and more sugar into fat. Also get educated on the side effects of messing with your cholesterol production by taking statins and the links to dementia.
I don’t know your stats (age, weight, activity levels and A1c) but you need to stop your snacking (unless it is 0 carbs as in nuts and vegetables) stop eating after 8pm and befoee 10am and then eat controlled bits of fruit with nuts and coffee to delay your next meal until 2/3 pm. that way you limit your food intake and teach your body to be more effective with the food consumed and also burn into your fat storage a bit more.
in closing : this diabetes forum has turned into a cookery program with no mention of the benefit certain meds especially in older T2DM patients, or the need to get a move on and activate your muscles as those wonderful things in our body take BG from the blood without the need for insulins (or very little of it) and in turn make the liver break-up more fat for energy. that’s what we want in the end - less fat in the body and less glucose (sugar!) in our blood.
Keep fighting as DM on its own always gets worse and never better on its own
please disclose your age, Metformin dose and your A1c that woild explain everything. Also why were you given statins??? what was your total cholesterol level?
Thanks for your advice especially re Metiforim and Statins. I do not take Metiforim at the moment, but the nurse was advising me to. this morning approx 9.00 a.m my glucose reading was 6.9. I am 68 and weigh 10 stone 1.lb. I will be starting some Pesonal Training Monday for 1 hour, so I hope this helps. Otherwise I walk a lot with our dog. I was advised to statins approx 7 years ago. I hesitated a few times, but a GP advised to start them as my reading was 6.0 and the 10mg statins have bought it down to 4.0. I have to start taking Metiforim, it seems that 1 x a day would be best? I am also being put forward for 5 hours session at the local hospital to have some extra support.
