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How hard it is to live with diabetes

S

Shxx

Newbie
Messages
3
Type of diabetes
Type 2
I was diagnosed accidently almost 18 months ago with type 2. I had no clue what diabetes was and how it affects life.
Well certain tests were done and finally I was started with glucophage. I was overseas so I had no choice but start it straight away. It didnt help and I was really concerned. At the start we are much more conscious about the levels and check at frequent times.
Then medication was chnaged to getformin.It was a combination pill with 500mg metformin and 2 mg of glimepride.
Then ha1c was done sugar dropped down to the 44. There was one problem in between I had couple of very severe attacks of hypos that I almost felt I was going to die.
I went cold all of sudden and sugar levels dropped from 140 to 35 in 3 mins. I started to shiver and getting blank. I was overseas so readings were different.
I informed the gp he said just be aware at times that happens. In this time I left not any website which I didn't visit and tried to learn everything it was there on the net.
When I came back I went to my gp he simply asked me to stopped and back on metformin 500 mg three times a day.

I had some stock of getformin so I kept on taking it. The ha1c was excellent but hypos still there. When I told Dr he got too confused that metformin doesn't let hypos. When I used to check the bg perfect 80 to 110.
I didnt tell Dr. Then as soon as I switch back to metformin the sugar jumped to over 200 plus or high 180. The hard reason started to get worse. The dose changed to 2000 mg. I started to feel so sick that I can't tell don't feel like eating anything. As soon as I saw food felt like throwing up. I was not big eater since day one. I used to remain empty stomach all day and I was fine. Now it was an issue. I have to have small meals every few hours. It bugged me alot but at the same time the sugar levels not in the normal range.
I get so sweaty all the time. I never used to sweat before. Now i am sweating a the time specially if I exert a little it seems like I have taken shower.
Yes I have been drinking alot of fizzy drinks before I was diagnosed because I wasn't eating so I was getting all that energy from drinks. I have been too stressed past many years. It made things far more worse. I take statins 20 mg rimipril 2.5mg, Dulexitine 60 mg because I couldn't sleep all night so much pain in legs. I used to get up in the night and massaged my calf muscles so much pain. I am on sertaline 100 mg and I take zolpidem 10 mg at night and metformin 1000 mg in morning and evening.
My family barely knows about diabetes and my mom is too sick do at times she has severe depression attacks. Most of the time I keep my self composed but now I get so irritated and its like in flash I don't know what to do. I know its not right but I can't control it. I am so upset because of it. Life hasn't been so easy and then this diabetes working like topping on cake.
I don't know if I am making any sense or not. Mostly health related things that happen are automatically linked to diabetes which is not right either so I can't say of i am right or wrong.
 
When I at times miss the metformin my sugar levels drops to 5.4 or u can say under six.
 
Have your read @daisy1 info for new forum members .. it will help explain diabetes things for you.
 
@Shxx

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope this will be useful to you. Ask as many questions as you like and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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 over 150,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program


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
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/thr...cose-testing-supplies-incl-test-strips.19002/


You may also be interested to read
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/questions-to-ask-at-a-diabetes-clinic.17091/


Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
 
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