new and confused

Hi Camille,
There's nothing really confusing about the carbs issue, apart from the absolutely criminal advice that is given to diabetics by some of the medical profession. Have a good look around the forum at the various threads covering diet and carbohydrates and you will find a common theme:

high carbs = uncontrollable blood sugar levels and the need for more and more insulin

reduced carbs = controlled BS, less medication, and no need to move on to insulin injections.

The simple fact is that it is carbohydrates that create blood sugar. The more carbs you eat then the higher the blood sugar will be. Gliclazide is a medication that forces your pancreas to produce insulin. By having a diet that is high in carbohydrate, you will need higher and higher amounts of gliclazide to produce enough insulin to counteract the high sugar levels. With a diet containing less carbs, you will not only find your blood sugar levels reducing but you will need less and less gliclazide, which can only be a good thing because gliclazide is one of the meds that can cause hypos. Unfortunately it does have a longer-term side effect in gradually burning-out your pancreas.

Nearly all type-2s have some degree of insulin resistance (i.e. the insulin that you do produce is prevented from working efficiently). Unfortunately the two types of medication that can counter insulin resistance are not suitable for anyone with decreased liver functionality. So in your case it makes even more sense to reduce the carbs to ensure that your body doesn't need to produce as much insulin.

You will have to let us know how you get on. I was in a mess when I found this site and was advised of the low carb so I made the change, I had nearly immediate sucess.