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is my metformin working??

R

RichPJ

Member
Messages
21
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Morning all - i was diagnosed in september with a BG of 27.6 and a hba1c of 21.3 - ive been on metformin for three months now and my fasting BS is between 14-17 and I have an average throughout the day of 18-21 still - ive been recalled by the doctor and had more blood tests done as they were expecting my readings to be lower by now - i exercise (swim) regularly and have an active job where i am up and walking about alot - i also am eating all the right foods low carb and always look at the food labels and go for green on sugar and green or amber on carbs - with all of this i still cant seem to get my levels down- has anyone else ahd any experience of this and am i liukely to now have to go on insulin quicker than the doctors thought - any help and advice appreciated. TIA Rich
 
If you are checking the labels on the front of packaging and expecting to follow a low carb diet that way then I'm afraid you are being misled. As far as I know the only label on the front that references carb levels is the sugar one. You should check the nutrition label on the back and look at total carbs. If it is more than 10g per 100 then it would be lowish.. I tend to go for less than 5g per 100 as as maximum. Its total carbs that matter and I'm afraid that for low carbers the traffic light system is quite misleading and best avoided.
 
You might want to ask for a c-peptide test which will tell you how much insulin you are producing. If it is very low you will have to consider insulin. If it is very high then you are eating way to many carbs and a change in diet will be necessary for control. Throwing insulin at someone who already has very high insulin levels is a recipe for disaster and yet doctors do it all the time. The more information you have about what is going on in your body, the better equipped you are to make good decisions with your doctor.
 
A sample listing of what you actually eat, how much and how frequently will be a better basis to determine if it is low carb...

But if you have really been on low carb (< 100g/day) for 3 months...then you may want to consider further test, espeically on your c-peptide/insulin levels etc to determine if you have late onset type 1.

My anecdotal experience is that going low carbs has almost immediate impact on glucose normalization. Didn't have to wait for 3 months...units in mg/dl. Divide by 18 to get mmols.
 
Yes, it sounds to me from your description that you may need more tests to properly diagnose your condition and appropriate treatment. Metformin on its own can be a useful help, but if you have a blood sugar permanently in the teens and have already properly adjusted your diet then it seems you may need something else in addition / replacement.
 
RichPJ said:
M i also am eating all the right foods low carb and always look at the food labels and go for green on sugar and green or amber on carbs -
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As far as I am aware the traffic light label does not have an entry for carbs and where it does give sugar percentage this invariably differs from the total carbs figure given on the back of the pack. I wondered why this was and tried to look into it and all I found was that the traffic light label is sponsored by the same people as the Eatwell Plate/Guide. So if you are using the traffic light label as a guide your chances of lowering your blood sugar levels are slim and none.
 
Hi Rich after 3 month mine had hardly moved my Doc said metformin dont work for everybody. And changed my tablets to Janumet. Within a few weeks down to 5 area This morning was 5.6
Chris
 
All I can say is read up on LCHF lifestyle what I thought was a low carb diet wasn't in the slightest pre packed food is a nightmare so I just stopped buying it I cook from fresh every day and I feel great bg lowered weight lowered energy gained sleeping so well it's a revaluation of life I know not everyone has the will power and what's easy for one is hard for the other but give it a go and you'll reap the rewards and keep reading threads on here there are many many helpful people and some with great knowledge and recipes good luck
 
thanks guys much helpfulness - guess i have to wait for my blood test to come back and see whats been happening - apologies as i was babbling this morning and reading back realise what i wrote in that i use the traffic light for sugar and fat (im on simvastatin for an elevated cholesterol), carbs i do look on the back and go for low or zero carb options - the doctor told me not to go above 25% of carbs in my meals if i can and i have been managing to keep below that - rarely eat bread now and when i do its brown bread - same with rice that i have brown rice now but only small amounts and also watch my potatoe content too - my main carb intake a day has been having a small porridge for breakfast - weight loss has carried on now and ive now lost 3st 1lb and my bmi is now in the normal range at 24.2
 
Bread rice potato porridge aaaaahhhhhh !!!! Run away!! Lol
 
RichPJ said:
- rarely eat bread now and when i do its brown bread - same with rice that i have brown rice now but only small amounts and also watch my potatoe content too
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Congratulations on your weight loss.
Years ago brown bread was advertised as being healthier than white bread. Brown bread was brown because the flour was less refined and some husk was included. People found it kept them regular and that seemed to be its sole purpose in life. Nowadays I suspect that some of the brown bread is brown because the chef puts some brown stuff in it and it is much wiser to eat wholegrain bread if you wish to stay regular.

All of the above is pretty irrelevant if you want to control blood sugar levels. You have to find bread with the lowest possible carb content. It doesn't matter what colour it is.
 
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Sorry - but that is not a low carb diet. No grains, no potatoes, but lots of low carb vegetables, perhaps a small amount of low carb fruits - but the good news is that eating just about anything else is fine.
 
@Resurgam,
Resurgam said:
Sorry - but that is not a low carb diet. No grains, no potatoes, but lots of low carb vegetables, perhaps a small amount of low carb fruits - but the good news is that eating just about anything else is fine.
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You are talking about a VLC diet. This is taken from the main website of DCUK.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diet/low-carb-diabetes-diet.html
There are members here who low carb and do include some carbs in their diet. Bothe Burgen Soya and Linseed bread and Lidl rolls have wheat in their ingredients. Some low carbers can eat a small amount of potatoes, rice and pasta and there are some who can eat porridge.
 
If we eat to our meters we will find we can eat small portions of certain "banned" carbs and if that helps towards a sustainable lifetime diet, then this is a good thing. I struggle with grains and flour, but potatoes are less difficult for me. Fruit other than a very few strawberries or raspberries is off my menu. It isn't just the total carbs we eat per meal or per day that is important, but having learnt from our meters, the type of carbs we eat can be just as important
 
I am not advocating a very low carb diet, as I can't do the 20gm a day Induction levels without going dizzy, but can lose weight and still eat up to 80gm of carb a day - just not grains, no starchy veges like potatoes not high carb fruits - not, as I now know, without elevating my blood glucose readings. I have to stick to foods which don't elevate BG, but I know that lower carb veges, berries and melon, - all the things from the Dr Atkins Induction level lists, I can eat freely - just about, and not get elevated BG. I can only go by what I have experienced and read and which seem to apply in this case. Eating the things RichPj lists would do exactly the same thing to me as he is finding, high BG readings - and I can see that in the record of the readings on my meter over the last few days.
Now I will go back to my proper diet and push the levels back down to where I'd got to after three weeks low carb eating.
 
A significant weightloss with high glucose reading is not a healthy sign. Do check your pre and post meal glucose reading closely.

Here is an example of my low carb lunch. Pre-lunch reading was 80mg/dl ~ 4.5 mmol, 2hr post meal is 97mg/dl ~ 5.4 mmol

 
You have to accept that we are individuals and what we can and cannot eat varies.
 

Well done, you've made a good start. It's already been said but a c-peptide test is useful, at least you can see how the old pancreas is doing. When you say 25% of carbs in meals, does that mean 25% of calories as carbs? Probably too much. Everybody who starts the low(er) carb thing will find that different carbs affect them in different ways. Some may have to drop their carbs further than others to achieve the best results. Also, some may tolerate HF (as in LCHF), whatever HF really means, others on the other hand will gain weight, some will even see their BG increase with an increase in fat. It's like balancing plates on sticks. You're getting there though.
 
Sounds like they may be treating the wrong condition. This happened to me. I remember feeling really defeated that my tablet and diet regime wasn't working. Losing so much weight in a short time sounds like something else is going on. Make sure you get tested for type 1. You can get it at any age. I'm 62
 
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