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Hi All!

sparkyrich

sparkyrich

Well-Known Member
Messages
197
Another new member of the happy diabetic band here.

I was diagnosed a month ago and I've spent the last four weeks reading loads of contradicting advice on t'interweb (yep, Yorkshire and computermerator illiterate). It's good to have found a site where people seem to have sensible, practical advice to offer.

My health centre have put me on metformin but won't let me have a monitor unless I have to have insulin. Fortunately for me, my mother is also diabetic and has as fine a collection of unused monitors as you've ever seen. Apparently the manufacturers send her a new one every few months but she won't change from her favourite and she's given me a meter and test strips. Not enough to last forever, but enough to let me see whats happening to my levels.

As I'm overweight I decided to try the 'South beach' diet. It's VERY low carb for the first two weeks then reintroduces carbs slowly (but no white flour/white rice/potatoes). 3 weeks in and my weight is down by 2 stones although the loss is slower now the carbs are coming back.

Originally the test result at the surgery was 9.6.

First thing in a morning it's 4.8-5.2. Two hours later it's generally around 5.6.

Thing is, when I started the metformin they wanted me to take 1x500 per day for a week, then up it to 2x500. As my numbers don't look too bad I've stayed on the single tablet. Worth sticking with that for now or would the extra tablet provide any advantage?

Rich
 
Hi and welcome.

Good going with the weight loss. I would take the advice of a health professional regarding how much metformin to take.

Well done with the BG levels. I test before I eat then 2 hours after.

Their will be others along who will be able to offer more advice.

Good luck with managing your diabetes.
 
Hi sparkyrich and welcome to the forum :) I agree with krs 1958 that you should take your Metformin as prescribed. If you don't want to take the second pill then talk to your DN about it. As you are newly diagnosed here is the advice we give to new members. You will find information on testing, diet (although you seem to be managing well on your diet) etc. which I'm sure will be useful to you.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS.

Here is the advice we usually give to newly diagnosed diabetics. We hope that these few ideas gained through experience help you to gain control and give you some understanding of Diabetes. This forum doesn't always follow the recommended dietary advice, you have to work out what works for you as we are all different.

It's not just 'sugars' you need to avoid, diabetes is an inability to process glucose properly. Carbohydrate converts, in the body, to glucose. So it makes sense to reduce the amount of carbohydrate that you eat which includes sugars.

This is NOT a low carb diet suggestion, just a reduction in your intake of carbohydrate. You have to decide yourself how much of a reduction will keep your blood glucose levels in control.

The main carbs to avoid OR reduce are the complex or starchy carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, starchy root veg and also any flour based products. The starchy carbs all convert 100% to glucose in the body and raise the blood sugar levels significantly.

If you are on Insulin you may find that reducing the carb intake also means that you can reduce your dose of insulin. This can help you to keep weight gain down as Insulin tends to make you put on weight and eventually cause insulin resistance. This should be done slowly so as not to cause hypos.

The way to find out how different foods affect you is to do regular daily testing and keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. If you test just before eating, then two hours after eating, you will see the effect of certain foods on your blood glucose levels. Some foods, which are slow acting carbohydrates, are absorbed more slowly so you may need to test three or even four hours later to see the effect that these have on your blood glucose levels.

Buy yourself a carb counter book (you can get these on-line) and you will be able to work out how much carbs you are eating, when you test, the reading two hours after should be roughly the same as the before eating reading, if it is then that meal was fine, if it isn’t then you need to check what you have eaten and think about reducing the portion size of carbs.

When you are buying products check the total carbohydrate content, this includes the sugar content. Do not just go by the amount of sugar on the packaging as this is misleading to a diabetic.


As for a tester, try asking the nurse/doctor and explain that you want to be proactive in managing your own diabetes and therefore need to test so that you can see just how foods affect your blood sugar levels. Hopefully this will work ! Sometimes they are not keen to give Type 2’s the strips on prescription, (in the UK) but you can but try!!

If you are an Insulin user in theory you should have no problem getting test strips.

The latest 2010 NICE guidelines for Bg levels are as follows:
Fasting (waking).......between 4 - 7 mmol/l........(Type 1 & 2)
2 hrs after meals......no more than 8.5 mmol/l.....( Type 2)

2hrs after meals....... no more than 9 mmol/l ......(Type 1)

If you are able to keep the post meal numbers lower, so much the better.

It also helps if you can do 30 minutes moderate exercise a day. It doesn't have to be strenuous.

The above is just general advice and it is recommended that you discuss with your HCP before making any changes. You can also ask questions on the forum on anything that is not clear.
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You say" I decided to try the 'South beach' diet" good for you

Something you may not have been told is :
That Metformin also decreases your appetite which helps you lose a few pounds in weight.


Welcome to the club :)
 
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