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Hi horrible_al glimepiride is a anti diabetic drug and you're not being a miserable sod it's just being diabetic is a lot to to get your head round I'm afraid i cant help much I'd like to but I'm type 1 on insulin but I'm sure someone on the forum will be able to help you so keep watching all the best for now.

Hello @horrible_al and Welcome to the Forum . Tagging @daisy1 who will provide you with some basic information that all new members receive on joining the Forum.

Sweetcorn is a high sugar cereal - not a good idea.
If they do not spike your glucose levels the Lidl protein rolls are great - fill them up with cooked meat, or cheese - sweet pickle such as Branston is good - I add coleslaw - the creamy one, not low fat.
sometimes I eat bacon and eggs - I add mushrooms, sweet peppers, and tomatoes. I also like scrambled eggs with cheese and finely sliced tomatoes - when the eggs are almost cooked take them off the heat, add the cheese and stir, drop in the tomatoes and put on a lid for a couple of minutes - the residual heat just softens the tomatoes and a lot of people who don't like tomatoes either raw or fully cooked find that they are OK with the in between ones.
Try experimenting with cauliflower or celeriac - either as mashed potato substitute or chopped and cooked with spicy foods as a rice substitute. There's also the option of leeks instead of lasagne, or mince with onions and spiralized courgettes as a substitute for noodles.
If low carb veges just don't suit, then some frozen berries and cream after an all meat main course might.

Hi again @horrible_al - Are you taking the Standard Metformin? If so, then there is a Slow Release version of Metformin that is much kinder to your stomach and bowels. It might be worth asking your GP for this S.R. version.
Also a lot of Forum Members follow the LCHF Diet (Low Carb High Fat) it helps to lower Blood Sugars, HBA1C and loose weight. Take a look at the following links:

http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/60-seconds
Http://www.dietdoctor.com/LCHF

Or go to the top of the page and click on the word Forum, then scroll down to FOOD and NUTRITION and take a look at some of the diet threads to see what other members eat.

Hi. Metformin is well-known to cause bowel issues for many for a few weeks unless you are prescribed the SR (Slow Release) version. You should have the SR version if your bowel issues continue. Glimepride would normally be prescribed for those with LADA i.e. oncoming T1 as it stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin. The normal advice here is to have a low carb diet with higher proteins and fats. Veg and fruit are always good.

@horrible_al

Hello and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you want and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 147,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a free 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.

Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. They're all free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.

Thank you, that's all useful to me as I was diagnosed a month ago, no meds yet, I wasn't offered any blood glucose monitoring supplies but have been referred to an education programme

Hi @horrible_al .. and welcome
Sorry that you're having such a rough time, but I'm sure you'll find help and support here ..

Managing and controlling your diabetes through exercise, diet and testing your Blood Glucose seems to be the best way forward. For me, committing to an LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) lifestyle and testing 3-5 times a day, seems to be working .. I have lost a stone and a half since my diagnosis and my BG levels are down from 12.5 to around 6. There is a wealth of info, relevant advice and positive support about LCHF on the forum .. so ask your questions and be assured that you will receive the answers that you need ..

I see above that you have already been contacted by @ daisy1 and, as others have said above, I would suggest that you read up on the Low Carb Program in the valuable information that she has sent you. You might also find the discussion on the Low Carb Diet forum helpful .. and the following websites ...
Low Carbs in 60 Seconds
Low Carb 10-week Programme

If you are considering self-testing, try the website at: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/ for the SD Codefree meter or: http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-blood-glucose-meter/ who distribute the TEE 2 meter, which is free. The costs of testing comes down to the ongoing charges for test strips and lancets. I'm testing 3-4 times a day which works out at around £10 to £12 per month for the two packages above but, more importantly, I now know what my BG levels are .. and I will be able to manage them
Hope this helps

Hi @horrible_al and @Ali@1965 and welcome to the forum.

horrible_al said:

Just joined tonight, was diagnosed about 2 and half years ago, and have really struggled with all this. My doctor does nothing but play hell with me, but never tells me anything useful. I have real issues with vegetables, (can only stomach carrots, peas, sweetcorn and occasionally a bit of broccoli. I am a total salad dodger, I cannot abide any of that stuff. The very thought of it makes me feel sick. I'm taking Glimepiride, Metformin, and Atorvastatin. I don't really know what the 1st is for, I think the statin is supposed to be for cholesterol,,(but can't recall ever being tested for that. The Metformin is giving me dreadful diarrhoea. So much so that last Nov I ended up having a colonoscopy. which found nothing wrong. The rest of the time I think I'm keeping the manufacturers of Immodium going single handed. On top of all this for the last year I've been living with Sciatica, tinnitus and arthritis. All the doctor does is offer me a referral to a dietician, which I've done before and it's all salads and veg. I've told him this but I'd get more response from my pet cat. So far the only thing I've found recently that has any good effect is low carbs.
I'm sorry for being such a miserable sod. If anyone out there has any useful ideas I 'd be pleased to hear.
Thank you, horrible al

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I've been on insulin for ten years. You get used to it. There will be bad days and good, some highs and lows. I've never been on Metformin, it sounds like a real downer! I was put on Mixtard 30/70 insulin after diagnosis, but had to switch to Novorapid and Lantus after the Mixtard failed to control the glucose levels. Don't forget.....you are not alone! We are here with you.

Ali@1965 said:

Thank you, that's all useful to me as I was diagnosed a month ago, no meds yet, I wasn't offered any blood glucose monitoring supplies but have been referred to an education programme

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Fingers crossed all goes well!

Do some research on the side effects of statins. They can produce chronic side effects for some people including memory loss. See http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/poll-side-effects-from-statins.58409/. The benefits of statins are slight and should only be taken by people who have had heart attacks, not people with slightly high cholesterol. You may want to review if you need to take statins after your research.

Metformin does lower blood sugars slightly. Roughly 1 point for 1,000Mg and about 1.2 points for 2,000Mg, so not a lot of extra benefit for the higher dosage. It can have negative side effects including vitamin B12 deficiencies as well as diarrhoea. Many people have stopped taking it because of the dire side effects. A much more effective way of reducing your blood sugar is using the Low Carb High Fat diet. Get a blood glucose meter to check which foods spike your blood sugars. There are lots of low carb recipes over on dietdoctor.com.

Hi and welcome!

If Metformin isn't suiting you, then there are other options. There is a well established list of drugs starting with Metformin, and rising to insulin (with lots of others in between). So there is absolutely NO REASON for your doc to keep you on Met when there are other options.

Every drug has side effects, and you seem to have bad ones with Met. You may not get side effects with a different drug, or you may get more bearable ones. But they are worth trying... you may have to be insistent though.

As for the veg... if low carbing is working for you, then I would have a look at the DietDoctor.com website and some of the recipes there. Do you cook? I think they are low veg (a lot less veg than I am used to!) so they might be something you can tolerate. And they are often smothered with butter, cheese or mayo, which makes anything more bearable, doesn't it?

Good to have you join us. Keep reading, keep posting. It may be the best thing you have ever done to help control your diabetes.

I could detect no effect at all when I stopped taking Metformin and the statin I was prescribed - other than the dreadful itching went away, and the painful and explosive dire - rear, the aching muscles have reduced to nothing much after a couple of months, but the mental alertness I used to have and the ability to enjoy doing Sudoku puzzles seem to have gone for good, or are getting better only very very slowly.
The sad thing for me is that all I needed was to go back to the diet I love, disregarding what the doctor told me, and my diabetes seems to be irrelevant.

Hello @Ali@1965 - Welcome to the Forum .

welcome here horrible_al