need some answers...........

[VW754]

my hba1c is 7.8 (163)
I went for a test last week,as i was soooo stupid,eating everything bad,when tested at g.p my non fasting level was 22.3 1 hour after breakfast.

im on 3 750mg metformin (glucophage).....and last week nurse gave me .....i think its called gliclazide 80mg to take.
in morning my level is 6.5-7.7

Levels do come down,but sometimes after 3-4 hours...........it was 6.8 today,i tested after work,i had a cup of tea (no sugar) 1 slice wholemeal bread,very little veg soup,i checked after 1 hour and its 12.8 1 why is it going high like that?
after 1 hour 20 mins its on 11.7.......so going down this time.

do the glucophage work like that ,as there slow release?

yester day my levels after 4 hours of not eating were 7.8,i ate grilled fish,lots of boiled veg,1 potato waffle........levels were on 13.3 for a good 3-4 hours.

also are apples,bananas,ok ?

im on aspirin,and simvastatin 20mg ..nurse said all diabetics should be on it as it prevents stroke/heart attack,etcnow want me to have some other tablet,that i apparently need as im taking aspirin and it prevents bleeding or something.

My cholestorol is 3.1...........sometimes i think,il stop taking aspirin,and simvastatin,and the new gliclazide.
im trying hard to control my food/carbs...........ive been stupid for a good few 6-7months eating everyting ! but now stopped.
any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Daibell]

Hi. With a cholesterol level of 3.1 I would suggest that you halve it to 10mg or stop it completely; do discuss with the GP. Metformin only has a little effect on blood sugar levels and is at it's best for diabetics who are overweight and insulin resistant. If you are overweight the Gliclazide may help a bit but is at it's best for those who are nearer to normal weight. Form what you say it sounds like to need to review your diet. Bananas are not OK if your sugars are high as they are high-GI; apples are fairly good. Are you low-carbing i.e. something like less than 150gm/day? You should be testing your bloods around 2 hours after a meal and your target should be less than 8.5mmol. Do keep trying with the Gliclazide and do review your diet.

 

[VW754]

Hi. With a cholesterol level of 3.1 I would suggest that you halve it to 10mg or stop it completely; do discuss with the GP. Metformin only has a little effect on blood sugar levels and is at it's best for diabetics who are overweight and insulin resistant. If you are overweight the Gliclazide may help a bit but is at it's best for those who are nearer to normal weight. Form what you say it sounds like to need to review your diet. Bananas are not OK if your sugars are high as they are high-GI; apples are fairly good. Are you low-carbing i.e. something like less than 150gm/day? You should be testing your bloods around 2 hours after a meal and your target should be less than 8.5mmol. Do keep trying with the Gliclazide and do review your diet.

Thanks for the reply.........just tested and my level has come down,2hours after its 8.9mmol.
Gliclazide worries me,ive heard they make you put on weight?
as i mentioned before,ive been eating stupidly,i wanted to stay off gliclazide and just have 3 metformin slow release,and controll what i eat,im not on low carb diet,well i am sort of ,im watching what i eat,and not scoffing cholate,sweets,cakes,biscuits etc...i do have an apple every day,today ive been having very mild shooting pain in my right kidney area coming and going every few seconds,more annoying than anything.

My blood results came back last week,doc says all is ok,excepet hba1c is 7.8

 

[Paul_c]

are you actually counting your carbs and trying to cut back on them?

 

[VW754]

cutting back on the carbs

 

[Paul_c]

I would strongly recommend following the guidance tips found here then:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045524.php

and:

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/18856280.php

it worked for me.

 

[Andy12345]

wholemeal bread or potato waffles wouldn't work for me at all, they make me high for hours.

 

[VW754]

wholemeal bread or potato waffles wouldn't work for me at all, they make me high for hours.

they ok for me,i havent taken glicazide and levels ok

 

[Daibell]

Hi. If your Hba1C is 7.8 then your diet still isn't right and you must reduce the carbs a bit further. Gliclazide stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin and if you eat too many carbs then you will put on weight. I had the full 360gm of Gliclazide for 7 years and just lost weight so it doesn't by itself add weight. By trying to keep my sugars down I had no choice but to low-carb. When my Hba1c reached 8.3% insulin become the solution for me; hopefully Gliclazide will help you a bit (and the diet!)

 

[VW754]

Hi. If your Hba1C is 7.8 then your diet still isn't right and you must reduce the carbs a bit further. Gliclazide stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin and if you eat too many carbs then you will put on weight. I had the full 360gm of Gliclazide for 7 years and just lost weight so it doesn't by itself add weight. By trying to keep my sugars down I had no choice but to low-carb. When my Hba1c reached 8.3% insulin become the solution for me; hopefully Gliclazide will help you a bit (and the diet!)

ive not had gliclazide for 2 days,should i have it then or try get sugars down without it?

 

[Sid Bonkers]

A couple of things jumped out at me, firstly wholemeal bread is no better than ordinary white bread where bg levels are concerned it is still made using refined flour.
Try wholeGRAIN breads and try a small loaf and if your bg levels are OK with that try a large loaf. Burgen Soya & Linseed bread is another type of bread that is kinder to bg levels than white and wholemeal bread. I am pretty well controlled and can eat most foods in some sort of quantity but even I cant eat white or wholemeal bread and stay well controlled.

The other thing is the potato waffle, any processed potato product is going to play havoc with your bg levels, the more potato is processed, ie mashed and reformed into waffles, the higher it will push your bg levels as your stomach doesnt even need to break down the starches that has already been done by the food processor.
Try small amounts of new potatoes in their skins, try two or three and test and then adjust the amount up or dawn as necessary, try a few chips, I find small ones easier to handle and used to eat 6 to 10 chips with a meal, now I am able to tolerate more but start low and build it up :thumbup: Try a roast potato or 2 halves of a roast potato, fried potato takes longer to digest so enters your blood little by little rather than in one big hit as happens with mashed or other highly processed potato.

As a general rule of thumb any food that is highly processed will affect your bg levels more than an unprocessed food so bread with lots of seeds and grains will be much better than white or wholemeal breads and a whole potato will be much better than a mashed on.

Test everything you eat that has carbs in it and adjust the portion sizes so that what you eat does not keep your bg levels too elevated past the 2 hour mark :thumbup:

 

[charon]

I notice there is a new paper out suggesting that statin side effects are scarce and benefits high - could lead to the suggestion that everyone over a certain age should take them again.

I would try cutting out carbs for a week or two and upping the exercise (I started with a short walk or 2 minutes on an exercise bike).
Just before I was diagnosed I was finding it difficult to concentrate and feeling very tired. That caused me to not want to exercise or go out and to stay in eating/drinking bad things. Immediately after stopping sugar/carbs I got a lot more energy and found it easy to continue.

Fruit contains fructose (sugar) so be careful. It has a lot of other good things but it's not free. Eating loads of oranges will push up the BG and cause weight gain - easy to think you can eat as many as you want.

I started off with just bacon and eggs, meat/fish and vegetables (no potatoes - mainly greens).
It took a week or two to really kick in but then the breakfast hardly affected the BG and the dinner peaked at about +1.5. Exercising directly after dinner often gave a 2 hour postprandial lower than preprandial.

I found I had got used to eating bread and potatoes and felt more comfortable after them. I think it might have been due to the high BG stopping the brain from working. Wholemeal bread isn't good - and my highest reading after diagnosis was after bergen bread which is meant to be good, I haven't touched any bread since but aim to try again sometime.

Persevere and I'm sure you'll get things under control but I would try cutting out all carbs and sugar until you find a base reading then you can start trying things one by one and see what affect they have. Treat it as a game and record everything you eat and all readings - and try to explain each one.

 

[brian1956]

I tend to test prior to eating and my son has down loaded the carbs and cals visual guide and calorie counting onto my mobile,this lists most foods which you can calculate carb counting when you are out which is handy,it is not completely accurate for everybody as we all have different problems with our diabetes but you and others may find it handy to add to your mobile and give yourself some insulin whilst you are out,may prevent the highs and lows of which I also suffer from but this has helped me to a degree I have been put on both simvastatin and aspirin late last year,the thing which I am particularly pleased aabout is that they do not or will not put me on is steroids which I believe that many diebetics are on amongst other things they cause wieght gain which in turn can give you further diabetic control problems.
Brian

 

[VW754]

thanks guys,i dont want take loads of meds,thats why i was thinking giving some up,if you have aspirin,it can cause bleeding,which they give you another tablet to take,which ive not got yet,take em all or stop?