Help How can I put some weight ON.?

Catherine - thank you. That was the one thing I did read after someone pointed it out on another thread. What I can't get my head around is: if we skinny ones *were* to be LADA and were therefore attacking our own insulin production, then surely we wouldn't be making enough to manage the low carbs we do eat. It's not as though I'm lowering and lowering my carb intake by the month to keep things stable. I manage fine with what I do take in. Maybe that's where the 2-6 years comes in? It would gradually get worse if it were LADA, whereas right now (in year one since dx) it acts exactly like type 2. I guess time will tell.

Jenrose - yes, I too eat nuts a lot (a LOT) and have started adding extra ham in for snacks too because the nuts aren't adding weight on.
Today I was very bothered with the weight loss because I decided to sing (yeah, don't ask! but it's proper singing, with keyboard etc) and my chest was tight and my breathing difficult and I went light-headed, so I stopped. Well I haven't sung properly since dx - just usual round-the-house stuff - but this dismayed me as I could feel my chest hurting when trying to control breathing as one does when singing to accompaniment. It's bad enough my ribs sticking out without feeling like I'm going to expire. More food required, obviously. So I've stuck a bird in the oven...

Hi Dragongirl and other skinny T2's

I went to my hospital appointment on Monday and saw a dietician and a diabetic nurse and came home feeling the most positive I've felt since having been diagnosed.

My GP had prescribed 1x metoformin 500mg morning and night and 1x gliclazide 80mg morning and night. My bg's have come down to between 4 and 7 (with quite a few low 4's , but for the last week at lunchtime they have been around 8 as I've gone back to work and not been able to have my daily walk after lunch as I'm doing short hours but working all the way through) When I was diagnosed on New Year's Eve, my bg's were around 18.

Before going, I weighed myself and swore at the numbers on the scales as I'd lost more weight, then trudged off to the hospital feeling really scared.

The dietician and diabetic nurse first of all suggested I stop taking Metformin, and they suggested splitting the gliclazide so I now take 1/2 before breakfast and 1/2 before lunch and a whole one before dinner (but suggested if my after dinner readings were below 6, I should drop it to 1/2. They were very complementary about my diet (low gi and low carb, thanks to all the tips I've picked up on this forum) although suggested I may want to try to increase my carb intake by about 20 to 120g a day. Since adjusting my medication, my bg levels haven't dropped quite so much after breakfast (now about 6 to 7) and they are holding at around 8 at lunchtime and around 7 to 9 after dinner time. They told me that the target levels they were looking for are around 5 to 9, 2 hours after food, so I seem to be keeping within these bands so far.

They made it clear that they would not consider insulin at this point in my case (which was music to my ears!) and talked about other options for medication which may suit my busy lifestyle. I'm going back to see the dietician next week to discuss progress and will be seeing the consultant in mid April.

Although my bmi is 18.5 and they said I am undeweight they were not overly concerned and pointed to the fact that as I was slender anyway, it may just be me and I may 'plateau out' and certainly didn't peddle insulin to be the remedy for me.

I also had the hb1 (not sure what it's called but it's the test to track your glucose levels over the 3 month period) and I'm hoping I'll find out what that is when I go back next week.

All in all I came out feeling very positive and they complemented my approach and said that I was making good progress in managing my diabetes.

I know I've been lucky in seeing these two people who have been supportive of my reluctance to accept insulin as a remedy, and I know you're worried that if you go to the GP, they may suggest insulin too, but would it be an idea to go and talk to either the GP and/or diabetic nurse and ask if they could refer you to the dietician. At least this would give you an opportunity to discuss your diet and medication with 'the expert team' , explore any tweaks you could make and if they are like the people I saw, they may be able to suggest other forms of medication instead of peddling insulin as the remedy.

Sorry this is a bit longwinded, but hope some bits are helpful to you. I'll let you know how my next appointment goes with the dietician.

Take Care,

Libbyloo

ssshelley t
gaining weight for those that find it difficult( diabetic or no) is usually more difficult than losing it for the others.
The most Ican suggest is you do some resisance exercise and build muscle.
My oldest friend from university days spent most of her adult life at about 8 stone( and 5' 7") Now in her 60s she's gained about a stone. You may have to wait too.
It was never a disadvantage to her. She dressed like a model and enjoyed it. she was always pretty healthy too.
Hana

Hi Libbyloo
Thanks for all that info. Most helpful. I'm glad you've found some people who are willing to listen and then work within your parameters. Sounds like heaven! I've set myself a cut-off date of July 1st for asking for help and/or a GAD test (is that the word?) or a dietician visit (rather than the DN at the surgery). It feels better to have a fall-back plan and who knows, I may still be at eight and a half and enjoying buying different clothes! That date marks a year since diagnosis, so it's not arbitrary so much as carefully chosen to be logical :lol:
Good luck with your journey.
DG

Libbyloo said:

Although my bmi is 18.5 and they said I am undeweight they were not overly concerned and pointed to the fact that as I was slender anyway, it may just be me and I may 'plateau out' and certainly didn't peddle insulin to be the remedy for me.

Click to expand...

I am not underweight but really don't want to lose any more weight and have also been told not to worry as I will 'plateau out' so hopefully that will happen.

Hi Shelly I'm in the same boat as you! I found out I was a Type 2 diabetic in March 2009. Since then my weight has some what plummeted, when I found out I weighed 10stone 12lbs now 8months down the line I weigh 9stone 2lbs. I have contacted a dietician who has said that people like ourselves should eat oily fish such as sardines and tuna (in their natural juices) and bananas are also good as they are high in fibre! Fresh meat such as chicken and pork, if you do buy these the best way for them to be cooked is on a George Foreman.

Shelly what is your HBA1c and your cholesterol? Please get in touch as I would like to share my experiences with you!

Ian

Hi guys, I've been reading all about us 'skinny' Type 2's, when I saw someone had suggested 'Flaxseed' bread, I went down to Tesco and looked at some 'Flaxseed' bread which was showing the Carbohydrates being extreemly high. Maybe I was looking at the wrong stuff. Would someone be able to tell me whether I can pick this bread up from a super- market such as Tesco?!
Thanks

Hi

Sorry, I've been away and only just read this thread. I have had a problem with losing weight ever since my initial diagnosis in Jan 2004 - weight loss was one of my initial symptoms. I am male, just over 6ft tall and at the time weighed just over 11 stone. (Sorry, I'm a £sd man).
Initially I went on to 1 x 80mg Gliclazide per day and that stabilised my bs and my weight loss. I adjusted my diet, but only to the extent of cutting out sweet foods. Carbs stayed in, as advised by the medical profession.
Eighteen months later and my diabetes took a downward turn, my weight loss returned and my hba1c crept up. After referral to my local hospital diabetes clinic I quadrupled my gliclazide and added 2 x 500mg Metformin for good measure. I stabilised again, but was now about 10st 7lb. Things went fine for a while and I ought to add that I am a moderately active person. Due to redundancy and then retirement my physical activity increased around this time.
Then early in 2008 I was at it again. I was in a quandry because if I ate more carbs my bs went up, if I ate less I lost more weight. I tried eating more fatty foods but it didn't seem to help. I won't go into the details of my trips to my GP, but it took several weeks before I was referred to the diabetes clinic. By this time I weighed under 10 stone and was medically "underweight". I found the whole thing very stressful.
My initial visit to the hospital clinic was depressing because the so called "specialist" refused to blame my diabetes for my weight loss. I was rescued by the dietician and the diabetes nurse, who I went to see the following week. After listening to details of my fairly normal and balanced diet the nurse proclaimed that I needed to go on to insulin injections. She was correct.
I have now added 10 units of Lantus per day to my tablets. My weight has gone up, but I can't quite get to the 10st 7lb mark that I would like. However, I am just about out of the "underweight" classification, I feel better, have more energy and I've probably had the longest period of stable hba1cs since my initial diagnosis.
Clearly I can't say whether you need to go on to insulin or not, but hopefully you can take heart that somebody else was having a desperate time with weight loss and eventually, with the assistance of a very good diabetes nurse, the problem was solved.
Hope that helps.