Low carb question

Maggie75 said:

My question is I have a constant feeling of a lump in my throat, as though there's constant catarrh there but that's not the case.

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A feeling of having a lump in your throat is not a side effect of diabetes I ever heard of, nor is it of low carbing.

I'd try to make an appointment with your GP to have it checked out.

Maggie75 said:

Hi everyone,

I'm T2, just started back on low carb about 3 weeks ago and started taking alogliptin again. Felt hungry for the first couple of weeks, that seems to have ceased a good bit and I can add a bit of intermittent fasting in the morning now too.
According to my scales I've lost 5 pounds so far which I'm happy with. My question is I have a constant feeling of a lump in my throat, as though there's constant catarrh there but that's not the case.
Most of the time I feel really good but a few times I've felt so weak and awful, I've tested my bloods and never been anywhere near a hypo, lowest my blood sugar has been is 6.9. Has anyone else experienced this, is it just a normal thing while my body gets used to this difference way of eating? Thanks for any advice on this.

Maggie

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Are you drinking enough? Medics here say we should be drinking 2 litres of fluid a day. When I failed to do that a couple of years ago, I ended up in hospital - symptoms very like a hypo but BG fairly high. A dry throat can make you feel as though there is something you haven't managed to swallow - may even be not completely swallowed because of the dryness.

It may be something as simple as that, but all the same, better to ask a doctor to check.

Are you on metformin? I’ve only just read (and I’ve been on Metformin for a couple of years) that metformin can cause low vit B12 and a couple of the symptoms are feeling very tired and dizzy, so I’ve started taking the supplement. There was a list of symptoms for low vitamin B12 so it might be worth checking it out. But definitely contact your GP as others have said.

MissMuffett said:

Are you on metformin? I’ve only just read (and I’ve been on Metformin for a couple of years) that metformin can cause low vit B12 and a couple of the symptoms are feeling very tired and dizzy, so I’ve started taking the supplement. There was a list of symptoms for low vitamin B12 so it might be worth checking it out. But definitely contact your GP as others have said.

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I've been on Metformin for about 15 years but I'd never heard that it can cause low Vit B12. As it happens I've recently started taking a multiple vitamin and mineral supplement to try to combat tiredness. Hasn't helped yet, but we shall see how it goes.

An interesting watch

MissMuffett said:

An interesting watch

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Very interesting. Thanks for posting that.

Have a check on what your medical professionals are supposed to be checking you for. Here in Aotearoa/NZ B12 is definitely on the list, and they are supposed to be checking it as part of your blood test as a matter of course. I would be surprised if it is not on a UK list (or whichever country you are in).

Yes, metformin is a known 'drug mugger' of B12. Hence it being theoretically obligatory for it to be checked, especially in longterm metformin users, but indeed, from the word 'go' with metformin dosage.

Just as a point of interest in my own country - part of the annual review is supposed to check on gum health, foot health (and we know why that one is so important!), and mental health.

I have never, even by my very good city GP, had those things checked as a matter of course, in my own country. My guess is - takes too long, which it would. And they don't want to charge you the heaps it would be, and they don't want to do the work for no monetary return. Even the good doctors.

Tough times. The money thing is always relative?

Enlarged thyroid perhaps?

AloeSvea said:

Have a check on what your medical professionals are supposed to be checking you for. Here in Aotearoa/NZ B12 is definitely on the list, and they are supposed to be checking it as part of your blood test as a matter of course. I would be surprised if it is not on a UK list (or whichever country you are in).

Yes, metformin is a known 'drug mugger' of B12. Hence it being theoretically obligatory for it to be checked, especially in longterm metformin users, but indeed, from the word 'go' with metformin dosage.

Just as a point of interest in my own country - part of the annual review is supposed to check on gum health, foot health (and we know why that one is so important!), and mental health.

I have never, even by my very good city GP, had those things checked as a matter of course, in my own country. My guess is - takes too long, which it would. And they don't want to charge you the heaps it would be, and they don't want to do the work for no monetary return. Even the good doctors.

Tough times. The money thing is always relative?

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I'd deffo get that doctors appointment & let them check it out, @Maggie75 .

Hope it's nothing of real concern & an easy fix.

Best wishes.

As for the UK , @AloeSvea as far as I know B12 isn't routinely tested.

I read up on B12 & Metformin just after DX, asked to be tested, no problem & it now gets tested every time when I get bloods done for HBA1c.

Glad I did, deficiency can have nasty consequences.

Range here is 190-900, mine was 'fine' at 225.....Eeek.

Worrying given the part it plays in cognitive functions.

Started on sublingual tablets (others forms don't make it past the stomach acids )

Got it back to mid 300’s .

Major accident, meant I had other priorities, so off lchf & Metformin.

B12 now up at mid 500's.

( Odd note Japan has low rates of senile dementia etc, and they instigate intervention if the B12 readings hit 500 or less...see link below )

Getting run over not the best way to find out it's Metformin causing depletion but bonus is at least it's not my age depleting my B12*

*Noted that B12, along with so many things , seems to decline once we inch past 60 ..mine seems fine if I'm not on Metformin.

Foot check is tested, but not gums ..(UK dental crisis probably makes that a pointless exercise )

Or mental health

Though that is a good idea, especially so given Metformin & the link to B12 deficiency being misdiagnosed as other illnesses.

Here's a link expanding more on that here.

MissMuffett said:

An interesting watch

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Great posting of Dr berry.

He got me started looking into B12.... horrendous it's not more widely known.

The link to the film in my previous post, where it 'could' be misdiagnosed as dementia, is where my interest peaked.

Not routinely tested by those on Metformin (UK)
Declines as we hit 60

I wonder how often mental decline is just shrugged off as part of 'getting old ' when it 'might' , given early enough testing be avoidable or even recoverable IF caught early enough.

THAT* was all the warning I needed to start taking it seriously.

*Been up close & personal with dementia, trust me, no one wants that for themselves or those they love.

A simple understanding of this one vitamin, 'could' possibly improve so many lives.

Bitterly regret not knowing this when my mum's health began to decline .

That, just that one simple test could have eliminated any doubts early on & likely wasn't part of the testing until it was too late. .. appalling.

My diabetes team don't even do HBa1c tests any more. Every once in a while, I'll send some current figures to them but other than that they have no idea what is going on. I did ask a GP about testing for vitamins and minerals but was told that that isn't routinely done and , unless they had a very good reason, like clear symptoms, they wouldn't include it in blood tests. Last time my iron levels were low, as they often have been all my life, but they didn't want to do anything about it. Blood tests for me are only looking for indicators of kidney or liver disease, or thyroid deficiency.

Now I have over the counter supplements, which may, or may not, be the right ones.

As far as dentists go here. We do have a second dental practice (NHS) but I can't get an appointment. Neil was deregistered years ago now and so hasn't had any dental care in the last 15 or so years. I phoned last October to try to get an appointment and was told that there were none available, but they would let me know of any cancellation that I could take. Still waiting. Luckily, the problem I had seems to have eased off, or callluses have formed where there was pressure, so not so painful anymore. I still need someone to check my mouth though.

Does it help seeing a dentist or a doctor? I had a very dear friend who had an ulcer on his tongue which wouldn't heal and both dentist and GP brushed it aside. He was a smoker so maybe they didn't bother too much (self inflicted harm?) It was cancer and some months later, he died, leaving a young wife and small children.