RiffRaff
Active Member
- Messages
- 27
- Location
- Hull East Yorks
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- people that have no manners,,
yep i agree with the will power bit and the testing. but when you ask what should be the norm for fasting an after meals an all the other times that everyone say test for you get so many answers. yes i know everyone is different an will get differing results. i eat lots of different things to vary my food an i don't eat large portions of anything. i dropped 4 kilos since the last time i was stuck on a scale about 5 weeks ago. as for the awful consequences of uncontrolled diabetes Fournier gangrene is a good one to have(joking) had that the beginning of summer 2014 loads of fun NOT.recovered from that just about. its all down to self help as all the HCP's are just out to prescribe stuff an fob you off.or send you on a course were the people running it have no bloody clue an have memorized an idiot sheet
The side effects of Metformin are a stroll in the park compared with Actos, from what I've just read. Good luck with that. BTW, I've taken Metformin since 1997 and it was only 2 years ago that I discovered that by cutting my carb intake, the side effects were no way as bad as they use to be. As for the diet thing, it's been said, will power not required, a bit of discipline might be. I see that hypos can be a problem when taking Actos, so if you do cut carbs, do be careful. Since cutting my carbs I was able to stop taking Gliclazide, Januvia and Atorvastatin and I've lost 4 1/2 stone, so bit of a no brainer really, low carb it is. You may hate Google but I suggest you look at the law suits against the manufacturer by people who have used the drug long term. I took a very similar drug called Rosiglitazone which helped me gain 8 stone in weight and screwed up my liver function which is still not normal. Rosiglitazone is no longer available and I wouldn't be surprised if Actos (Pioglitazone) eventually goes the same way. As it is quite possible that this drug suits you well, monitor the side effects carefully. Naturally this only my opinion and I'm not a medic, but at the end of the day we all have to take responsibility of our care and I am personally very cautious of what GPs prescribe, never mind the nurse. I always think that they should be made to try some of this stuff themselves before they give it to us. You mention sleep pattern, you're not on a statin by any chance? All the best.hi guys my nurse in her infinite wisdom has decided to change my meds from Metformin 500mg three times a day to Actos 15mg once a day. because of the side effects wind,, the runs and sleep pattern that an insomniac would be proud of how many of us are taking Actos an what do i have to look forward too there is some scary side effects when you read up on the net, i hate Google. my Ac1 is up and down from like 31 47 44 49 the higher one been the latest these were done on a 6 week interval, i cant do diets no will power an the fact i like all the things that are supposed to be bad for me, bread,pasta,rice,sweets of any kind,beer and spirits. but hey that's life
cheers Riff
I'd forgotten about the SR or XR versions of Metformin, they make quite a difference as well. I gained about 10 kgs after starting Gliclazide and the most frustrating thing was that I kept to my calorie restricted diet and exercise regime, but still gained. These drugs affect the way you handle food and to make it worse I was given Januvia as well, I think I was awash with insulin. My understanding is that if insulin isn't required then Januvia doesn't make you produce more.Can I ask whether you were having Metformin SR, the Slow Release version? This gives far fewer bowel problems. As graj0 says, the Glitazones can work very well but do have some side effects so do watch out for these and read the leaflet. A low-carb diet remains the best plan of attack. If you are not overweight, there are other drugs in addition to Metformin that can help e.g. Gliclazide and Sitagliptin. I chose Sitagliptin over a Gltazone when my diabetes GP offered one or the other as I was aware of some of the side effects.
Yes, Gliclazide can cause weight gain I assume by getting the pancreas to produce more insulin and hence use up some of excess glucose in the blood? My understanding is that Januvia suppresses a DPP-4 enzyme that in turn switches insulin production off after a meal hence the time is extended and yes it has no effect once your BS in normal. Both these drugs appear to be indicated if you are slim and effectively an early LADA like I was. I can't remember how the Glitazones work. I wonder whether your calorie restricted diet still had too many carbs? Fat is much higher calorie than carbs weight for weight and is why I have some reservations about the ND if your bs is way too high?I'd forgotten about the SR or XR versions of Metformin, they make quite a difference as well. I gained about 10 kgs after starting Gliclazide and the most frustrating thing was that I kept to my calorie restricted diet and exercise regime, but still gained. These drugs affect the way you handle food and to make it worse I was given Januvia as well, I think I was awash with insulin. My understanding is that if insulin isn't required then Januvia doesn't make you produce more.
Horses for courses really. I suppose if we were to be scientific about it we would have to ask exactly how much carb do we actually eat. I was originally under the impression that 250gms a day was "normal", but have recently read that 125 gms is more the norm. Personally I'm eating about 80 gms a day (my food diary software calculates it for me), which has made enough of a difference for me. Some may not have to go that far and some might do better by going even lower. From my wife's experience of Atkins, cutting them out completely is not just difficult, but almost impossible. The emphasis being on almost.There are many of us on here that do not have a low carb eating plan and still are managing our diabetes. You certainly need to keep carbs in check and monitor the effects each one has on you to find out which ones to avoid, but you don't need to cut them out completely (unless they send your glucose readings sky high).
Good luck.
I also find that it depends on the type of carb for example I can eat a salad sandwich with two pieces of seeded bread (28 carbs) with no problem but when I had a similar salad sandwich using a Warburton Thin (20 carbs) my BS levels were higher by at least 3.0 and took longer to come down. I thought that being less carbs would be better but it obviously wasn't - back to the drawing board me thinksHorses for courses really. I suppose if we were to be scientific about it we would have to ask exactly how much carb do we actually eat. I was originally under the impression that 250gms a day was "normal", but have recently read that 125 gms is more the norm. Personally I'm eating about 80 gms a day (my food diary software calculates it for me), which has made enough of a difference for me. Some may not have to go that far and some might do better by going even lower. From my wife's experience of Atkins, cutting them out completely is not just difficult, but almost impossible. The emphasis being on almost.
Is that where Glycemic Index comes into it? My brother has been told that he is now pre-diabetic and has been told to eat low GI foods, which in my mind is a good start, I but I think Glycemic Load is possibly more important for some. Certainly had I not reduced my GL, I would not have lost any weight, reducing GI just spreads it out to reduce the peaks in BG. IMHO of course. Also, I've heard that not all calories were created equal, obviously not all carbs were created equal either. Sometimes I despair, none of this game is an exact science, we really do have to "suck it and see".I also find that it depends on the type of carb for example I can eat a salad sandwich with two pieces of seeded bread (28 carbs) with no problem but when I had a similar salad sandwich using a Warburton Thin (20 carbs) my BS levels were higher by at least 3.0 and took longer to come down. I thought that being less carbs would be better but it obviously wasn't - back to the drawing board me thinks
I think that because we are all individuals we need to remember that it's no size fits all! For example a very low calorie diet would not work for me - been there, done that and, health wise, nearly did myself a mischief but others can loose more in a week than I did in 2 Months. However I also seem to be able to eat a little more carby foods than others eg cereals and bread.Is that where Glycemic Index comes into it? My brother has been told that he is now pre-diabetic and has been told to eat low GI foods, which in my mind is a good start, I but I think Glycemic Load is possibly more important for some. Certainly had I not reduced my GL, I would not have lost any weight, reducing GI just spreads it out to reduce the peaks in BG. IMHO of course. Also, I've heard that not all calories were created equal, obviously not all carbs were created equal either. Sometimes I despair, none of this game is an exact science, we really do have to "suck it and see".
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