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I'd forgotten how rubbish high BG feels!

S

SilverAndEbony

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
Hi folks,

I'm in the process of switching from 'ordinary' metformin to glucophage. After a week of going from 3 tabs a day, which gave me good control - could do better if I lose weight and cut the carbs though! - to 1 tab of glucophage a day I feel a bit rough
:-(

My BG 2.5 hours after my usual breakfast this morning was 10.9 - no wonder I felt very tired, dizzy (not a change for me, sadly) and a bit double-vision-y. I knew it would get bad before I've titrated up to the right dose for me, but forgot how rubbish I felt before I was diagnosed! I'm eyeing up the cheese to avoid the sugar-laden and starchy stuff, though.
I should say I have history of dizziness and double-vision, which isn't associated with my diabetes. But the high BG surly can't help!

Feel a lot better now, but I've just had my lunch, so I'll wait and see! I wanted to try Glucophage because I was getting lots of tummy pain and upset tums.

My GP told me to test my blood to check my levels, both in the early stages of swapping over, but also to titrate onto the right dose for me. No chance of canceling the test strips from my repeat prescription! I only test 2-3 times a week anyway, just to check my BG is in the right place. This is the highest it's been for years!
 
I assume you mean Glucophage SR or XR.
Glucophage is just a brand name for Metformin. The SR or Xr is slow release or extended release. the tablet is coated in something, which delays it's being dissolved and absorbed.
You might need more strips o titrate your levels.
 
SilverAndEbony said:
I'm in the process of switching from 'ordinary' metformin to glucophage. After a week of going from 3 tabs a day, which gave me good control - could do better if I lose weight and cut the carbs though! - to 1 tab of glucophage a day I feel a bit rough
Click to expand...
As Hana has said Glucophage is the same as metformin but it just releases slower into your system. I'm not surprised you are seeing poorer results as your medication appears to have been reduced by 2/3rds!! If you were previously taking 2 with one meal and one with another then you will still need the same dose - each tablet is simply slower acting, not stronger!
 
I didn't make it clear in my first post!

I'm in stage one of the swapping-over process. The jump from 1 tab with each meal to 1 tab of modified release a day. I expected my BG levels to go up, but had forgotten how rubbish I felt before I was diagnosed
:( :oops:
The plan is that I increase the dose of glucophage after 10 days then after another 10 days. Then review my GB levels. And take it from there until I hit the dose that keeps me 'under control' :lol:

I took my BG 2 hrs after my lunch - 7.4
So a lot better than after breakfast.....
I suspect something I've known all along. I may have been having a glass of fruit juice for breakfast for over 35 years, but it doesn't half push your BG up! I love red grape juice, but it's got to go
:(

Apparently someone asked if I was OK earlier as I looked 'a bit out of sorts'. I certainly felt out of it!
I'll have to be much more careful that I thought I would until I get more controlled. It's a good time to assess my diet. I have a strong family history of heart disease, and was prescribed simvastatin because of my cholesterol level. So the low carb diet is a bit confusing to be because it appears to mean relatively high fat. I'm really not keen on meat, don't eat fish or eggs so it's not very obvious to me what to eat instead!
Lots of veg, but what else!
 
I should say - I have a degree in Applied Biology, mainly pharmacology plus biochemistry and immunology. So I understand about extended release tablets. Before I moved into IT I worked as a pharmaceutical analyst for a drug delivery system development company. Not developing the formulations, but testing clinical trial and stability samples.

And my boyfriend's keeping an eye on me. He's a pharmacist, so I trust him with all things pharmaceutical! Which is just as well considering all of my medical conditions and the pills and potions I've taken over the years! He worked for a different pharmaceutical company when I met him, concocting new formulations. Thankfully I've never needed the lice treatment he worked on!
:lol:

I'm waiting for a software build to run a sanity test on - I'm now a software test analyst. It could arrive any time in the next few hours.......
My day officially ended 30mins ago, but a tester's got to do what a tester's got to do
:lol:

At least I've got time to plan my diet some more.......
 
I read somewhere that hyperglycemia is classed as anything over 10. However when I queried this with consultant (not the figure per se, but the effect) she stated that only prolonged hyperglycemia had this effect and occasional readings over ten would not cause any symptoms?

I was a bit confused because on testing at 11 after food one day (thankfully not recently)I felt quite dry and absolutely shattered and one of the reasons I asked to move from mix to bb was to avoid the rise in pp bg. Was told however that it wasnt this transient?

Is that right enough? Or is this just more misinformation from official sources?
 
I always feel as if I've got a hangover if I overdo the carbs.Had meal at son's two Sundays ago and suffered all of Monday!!
 
Are you sure it was the carbs Sue and not the booze :lol: :lol: :lol:

sugarless sue said:
I always feel as if I've got a hangover if I overdo the carbs.Had meal at son's two Sundays ago and suffered all of Monday!!
Click to expand...
 
SilverAndEbony said:
It's a good time to assess my diet. I have a strong family history of heart disease, and was prescribed simvastatin because of my cholesterol level. So the low carb diet is a bit confusing to be because it appears to mean relatively high fat. I'm really not keen on meat, don't eat fish or eggs so it's not very obvious to me what to eat instead!
Lots of veg, but what else!
Click to expand...

For many of us our lipids went down significantly on cutting carbs.

Think about it, how do you fatten animals? What do cows eat to produce milk? How do you make pate de foi gras?

Humans are not significantly different in this.

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/freeveggies.htm

Nuts, cheese, fish, meat, eggs (sorry) all work significantly better.
 
Humans are significantly different to cows. Cows are herbivores. Humans have to eat a mix of veggies, protein and fat to survive.
Eating lots of meat will make you put on weight too
LOL

I'm not sure exactly geese and other poultry/waterfowl need to eat. Do some eat meat, but other's don't??? Poor geese and ducks! I've just read online what fois Gras actually means - force feeding via a tube! I knew is force feeding, but not how it's done.

On a more serious diet note
I'll have to check what diet is recommended for reducing the risk of heart disease. Basically low-fat from memory. Could I live on chocolate, I wonder? It's low GI after all! But high-fat. The heart attacks and angina my Dad had didn't look like fun, so I'm planning to avoid that!
 
SilverAndEbony said:
On a more serious diet note
I'll have to check what diet is recommended for reducing the risk of heart disease. Basically low-fat from memory. Could I live on chocolate, I wonder? It's low GI after all! But high-fat. The heart attacks and angina my Dad had didn't look like fun, so I'm planning to avoid that!
Click to expand...

The trouble is that the diet "recommended" for reducing the risk of heart disease doesn't work.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h ... sec=health

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/taubes.html

Taubes extends his thesis in a monster book The Diet Delusion (Good Calories Bad Calories in the US)

An increasing number of modern dietary authorities agree

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/index.html

The key is to avoid fats in the blood (lipids) and central body fat. Both of which are generated from excess carbs rather than dietary fat.

My lipids on a low fat diet

trigs 4.29 HDL 0.63 LDL 4.22

My lipids on a low carb diet

trigs 0.7 HDL 1.40 LDL 2.40

NOT an uncommon pattern
 
Just had experience of higher than normal BGs (due to a carb binge - all my fault and yes I enjoyed my meal whilst I was eating it thanks!!) but - my god - it was horrid (the high BG) ... I felt physically sick, stomach cramped, could not stay awake and totally lethargic ... something I will refrain from repeating too often methinks :)
 
wotchya!

thanks! back to normal - but it was like having a hangover - only instead of the day after it was within an hour of eating the treat meal ... bleurgh!

not saying I won't ever eat pizza again (cos that wouldbe a big fat greek lie) buuuuuut I am going to make a mental notation of how crud I felt!

J/xxx
 
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