Type 2 Medication

[Karoline]

Hi all,

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 and put on medication. My blood sugar level was sky high and was wondering how long does it take to get the levels down? I haven’t been given a glucometer but bought one myself and keep testing. Just wondering what is your experience? When did you start noticing the difference and how long did it take to stabilise your sugar levels? When I got diagnosed my glucose was 18.9, it went down to 13.8 in a few days but it keeps changing so not sure if this is something I should worry about? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Bigbassett_]

Hi all,

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2 and put on medication. My blood sugar level was sky high and was wondering how long does it take to get the levels down? I haven’t been given a glucometer but bought one myself and keep testing. Just wondering what is your experience? When did you start noticing the difference and how long did it take to stabilise your sugar levels? When I got diagnosed my glucose was 18.9, it went down to 13.8 in a few days but it keeps changing so not sure if this is something I should worry about? Any advice would be appreciated

Biggest difference will be diet, check out the low carb diet here on diabetes.co.uk. Excercise, walking, running, cycling, whatever you can manage.

I am currently off the wagon, but have been successful in the past with obtaining decent control and sugars between 4-7. Currently trying to get back on it. It's hard so don't beat yourself up. Also sugars come down really really slowly. They can go up fast. It's hard work. Keep going (says he).

 

[Karoline]

Thanks so much for the answer, I probably sound naive but thought after taking medication sugar level goes down quickly (to Normal level) and then you need to diet and exercise to keep it this way, this is why I thought I am doing something wrong.
Wish you all the best in this journey! Not the easiest one unfortunately!

 

[Lamont D]

Testing before and after meals, is the best way to use a glucometer.

Pre meal, then two hours after will show you what you are eating is spiking your blood glucose levels.
Keeping a food diary, is always a good idea!

Low carb diet, portion control and exercise to your needs and wants!

 

[EllieM]

Hi @Karoline and welcome to the forums.

I recommend that you have a read of jokalsbeek's excellent blog on low carb and T2

JoKalsbeek's blog | Diabetes Forum • The Global Diabetes Community

Though low carb is by far the most popular way of managing T2 by the people posting here, you can get good results with medication, and/or weight loss (if you are overweight). An issue with medication alone is that it tends to be progressive so you need more meds as you go and many T2s eventually progress to insulin, which has its own issues. (Though as a T1, I am a big fan, and I am of the belief that there is nothing wrong with taking meds if you need them to control your diabetes.)

But you've already taken a big step by investing in a meter, you might as well use it to see what effect different foods have on your personal blood sugar. Different people can tolerate drastically different amounts of carbs.

Good luck.

 

[Member496333]

At its core, although there are doubtless genetic susceptibilities, real type 2 diabetes is a dietary disease best treated with diet. Medications can help alleviate the symptoms but only diet will cut it out at the roots. Great news is that you've already found the best resource on the internet to find help and advice. I'm not saying that drugs don't have their place, but if you really want to get a handle on your type 2 diabetes for life then diet is the way.

 

[Karoline]

Thanks for your response, so did you manage to reverse your type 2?

 

[VashtiB]

Hello and welcome @Karoline

I am a type 2 who has been able to keep my blood sugars within the normal range for over two years. I have done this by the use of a very low dose of metformin and by diet. So medically speaking my doctor indicated I may no longer qualify for the reduction in the price of medication available to those with diabetes. However, I am very confident that if I increased my carb intake to anything approaching what people consider 'normal' intake I would qualify for those medications very quickly. So I use the term 'in remission' rather than reversed. For me the term reversed somehow implies you no longer have the condition rather than you have it but are managing the symptoms if that make sense.

However, I agree with @EllieM that since you have a meter you might as well use it and see if you can manage your condition by diet alone. Not every type 2 can and that's okay. You have to find the solution that works for you. It needs to be sustainable. I have gone very low carb because that works for me. I find moderation challenging . Use the meter to allow you to make the choices that work for you.

Read around and post - as you ave already seen people here are very happy to provide advice, opinions and reassurance.

Welcome.

 

[Karoline]

Well done! That sounds really encouraging. I can imagine it was not easy! Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate all the advice. I was just wondering how long did it take to get the blood sugars down? I mean should I be worried if after two weeks they are still too high even after taking medication and dieting?

 

[Outlier]

It's different for each one of us, so we can't put a timescale on it. It is affected by internal as well as outside factors. The great saying I learned when I first found this forum is that "it's a marathon not a sprint". We are best to follow our eating regime carefully and without resentment, use our meters and listen to what our bodies are telling us. It's fascinating as well, to monitor how our bodies deal with this once we start helping them.
Any time anyone needs extra support, it's here for all of us.

 

[TeddyTottie]

Of course, it varies for individuals but I went extremely low carb from the moment I was diagnosed - my HbA1c went from 87 to 35 in 3 months, and I saw my BG dropping quickly and steadily over the first 2 or 3 weeks. If you consider that HbA1c is the average BG over 3 months or so, then it follows that my levels must have decreased quickly and stayed low in order to deliver the results I saw. My HbA1c has stayed at this level ever since, but I do eat a consistently low carb/keto diet and don’t feel the need to ‘cheat’ at all.

 

[Karoline]

Well done, that’s an amazing result!My HbA1c was sky high- 117, staring my 8th day on medication and diet, joined the gym… someone told me his BG went back to normal from 10 (fasting glucose) in just 3 days so I started to worry. I know it probably sounds naive but I thought medication will lower it down quickly and I will need to ensure I follow proper diet etc to keep it low.
I am still very overwhelmed by this and keep stressing my BG is not going down as fast as it should. Also my fasting glucose is always higher than the reading I take in the evening. It’s just all new to me and I can’t get my head around it!

 

[lessci]

Well done, that’s an amazing result!My HbA1c was sky high- 117, staring my 8th day on medication and diet, joined the gym… someone told me his BG went back to normal from 10 (fasting glucose) in just 3 days so I started to worry. I know it probably sounds naive but I thought medication will lower it down quickly and I will need to ensure I follow proper diet etc to keep it low.
I am still very overwhelmed by this and keep stressing my BG is not going down as fast as it should. Also my fasting glucose is always higher than the reading I take in the evening. It’s just all new to me and I can’t get my head around it!

I know it's not easy, but try not to strees, because that can put up your BG's too

 

[Antje77]

I am still very overwhelmed by this and keep stressing my BG is not going down as fast as it should. Also my fasting glucose is always higher than the reading I take in the evening. It’s just all new to me and I can’t get my head around it!

Would you like sharing with us what sort of foods you eat? It might be you're eating some high carb foods without realising.

 

[Resurgam]

Well done, that’s an amazing result!My HbA1c was sky high- 117, staring my 8th day on medication and diet, joined the gym… someone told me his BG went back to normal from 10 (fasting glucose) in just 3 days so I started to worry. I know it probably sounds naive but I thought medication will lower it down quickly and I will need to ensure I follow proper diet etc to keep it low.
I am still very overwhelmed by this and keep stressing my BG is not going down as fast as it should. Also my fasting glucose is always higher than the reading I take in the evening. It’s just all new to me and I can’t get my head around it!

If you take the test 2 hours after starting to eat a meal you can see if what you ate was too high in carbs.
I went from a glucose level of over 17 down to normal very quickly as I went low carb from the moment of diagnosis. Taking tests early and late don't tell you very much at all.

 

[Karoline]

Would you like sharing with us what sort of foods you eat? It might be you're eating some high carb foods without realising.

I usually have natural yoghurt with a bit of raspberries or strawberries in the morning, a handful of nuts before lunch, for lunch a salad with veg, chicken/fish, egg for protein and really the same thing for supper when I get home. Sometimes I have soup, grilled meat, maybe a bit of brown rice or cauliflower rice. I’ve been on low sugar diet before so have an idea of what has lots of carbs. Bought protein bread that only has 11g of carbs per slice and never eat more that 2 a day, most of the days I don’t eat bread at all. But I am open to any suggestions, I am definitely not an expert in this!

 

[EllieM]

maybe a bit of brown rice or cauliflower rice.

There might be significant carbs in brown rice, depending on how much you eat, but your diet sounds pretty low carb to me.

How are your blood sugars now going?

 

[Karoline]

Hi Ellie,
I eat brown rice maybe once a week and honestly 3 table spoons of if. When I was diagnosed (8 days ago) my sugars were sky high -18.9 fasting and A1c was 12.9 which is equivalent to 117 depending on which measurement you use. It’s now between 8-9.7 for the last 3 days but it is higher in the morning- 9.7. I am also on medication.

 

[JMK1954]

Everyone's levels tend to be higher in the morning. It's because our livers produce glucose to give us the energy to start the day. This is quite normal.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. Be aware that is you are not overweight and the blood sugar doesn't come down and stay reasonable you may need to ask the GP for the two tests for late onset T1 (LADA). A proportion of those diagnosed as 'T2' may actually be late onset T1 which is not always easy for the GP to spot. Being slim with 'sky high' BS can be one sign. I've been down that route. What meds are you on? If Metformin, it never has that much effect on BS but is good overall. There are other meds prior to insulin which can also help.