Hello - my name is Lisa. I'm a 57 year old who was diagnosed with type 2 four years ago. Since then I've managed to keep in range with my HBA1C with readings of 52-56. Today I had my first reading of 62. I have a really healthy vegetarian diet - eat no cakes, biscuits, chocs, alcohol, bread, crisps, pasta or potatoes. And I thought I was doing ok but this reading has put me into a spin. I'm about 3 stone overweight and due to only just being in menopause finding it really hard to lose weight despite the diet. I don't exercise every day but do at least 3-4 times a week including about 3 hours of walking on a weekend. My dilemma is that I really don't want to take metformin - I am anxious about the possible side effects and i don't like the idea of being on meds for the rest of my life. I m in a bit of a bad state mentally as I don't know what else i can do and the nurse at my doctors is no help at all, just goes through the motions on the phone as quickly as possible. I don't know if a reading of 62 is really bad, whether it will get worse and whether there is anything I can do to make myself better (I feel like a terrible failure), Id really appreciate any advice. I also don't know if NOT going on metformin will cause me all sorts of health complications. Feeling lost and sad. Sorry this sounds so dramatic - it's affected me really badly as I feel out of control and that I don't have enough info. Any advice/thoughts would be SO welcome and appreciated. Lisa
Hello Lisa,
Oh my.... I'll start here, as that's what
@MrsA2 asked for:
https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html Slight warning: it is written with omnivores in mind, so please don't be offended by all the animal products in there.
Second thing, also very, very important: Do NOT feel like a failure. You're left to your own devices and have to figure things out on your own. Considering that, your blood glucose could've been one heck of a lot worse. Really.
Metformin, well, some of us -like me- respond badly to it, others are on it for decades without problems, others can use it for a while and move away from it at a later date. Just keep in mind that it doesn't do a whole heck of a lot about what you ingest. It'll keep your liver from dumping a lot of glucose when it thinks it's being helpful (in the morning, or when you're stressed or ill), and improve your insulin sensitivity a smidge, but that's it. It's not a magic bullet, it's just an aid. And there's no shame in trying whether it suits you. Metformin makes it harder for your body to absorb vitamin B12 though, which on a vegetarian diet you're likely having to supplement as it is. So if you take it, have your vitamin levels checked regularly. Deficiency could mean cramping, neuropathy and other issues you don't want to deal with, on top of everything else.
Now, the food... I'm not surprised you're hungry all the time. I see very little protein in your diet, and practically no fats. There's three macro nutrients that can fuel our bodies. Humans generally run on carbs, as that's the thing our bodies find easiest to turn into fuel for muscles, brain, bodily functions and what have you. Cut the carbs, and it's the fats and protein that are burnt for fuel. And with the carbs gone... And little proteins and fats in your diet? You're running on empty all the time. There's nothing to burn. It's not just about cutting carbs, it's about keeping (healthy) fats up and protein moderate. What you're on now is more of a starvation diet, which isn't even doing what you're hoping for it to, likely because of things like fruits and pulses still driving your blood glucose up.
So while I'm not really very familiar with your method of eating, if you can find your way to more eggs, (most of the cholesterol we have circling around in our bodies we make ourselves, it's not per se from what we eat), avocado for fats, more peanut butter (the kind just made of peanuts, no nonsensical additives), maybe add in other things like hard cheeses, full fat cream, butter etc...
https://www.dietdoctor.com/search?s=vegetarian might help some in that direction. The idea is also to just eat until you are full... You're not supposed to go hungry on a keto diet. I mean, I'm rarely hungry and I only eat twice a day. As
@MrsA2 said, if the vegetarian way of eating has more to do with thinking it is healthy rather than religious or personal values, it might be time to re-evaluate. If not, it's not easy, but it's not impossible either.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/vegetarian-diet-forum.71/ is a relatively quiet area of the forum, but you could learn a lot there to help, possibly.
Hang in there, eh. And don't kick yourself around so much. You do not even remotely deserve that sort of treatment from anyone, least of all yourself.
Hugs,
Jo