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New meds on top of old

A

AJRimmsey

Member
Messages
13
Hi
I believe this sent me into AE a week ago,recently got sent to UHW and they put me on a new pill >
EMPAGLIFLOZIN 10MG - ONE DAILY

was already on >
GLICLAZIDE 80MG -- 2 TWICE DAILY ----- N/D
ASPIRIN 75MG -- ONE DAILY ----- D
ATORVASTATIN 80MG -- ONE DAILY ---- N
RAMIPRIL 5MG -- ONE DAILY ---- N
BISOPROLOL 5MG -- 1 TWICE DAILY ---- N/D
SITAGLIPTINE 100MG -- ONE DAILY ---- D
METFORMIN 500MG -- TWO TWICE DAILY ---- N/D
OMEPRAZOLE 20MG - 1 TWICE DAILY

i was told nothing about what might happen,just sent away with a prescription.
suddenly i awoke in hospital.

anyone else had a bad experience on this drug ?
 
So that's 3 hypo inducing medications

EMPAGLIFLOZIN 10MG - ONE DAILY
GLICLAZIDE 80MG -- 2 TWICE DAILY ----- N/D
SITAGLIPTINE 100MG -- ONE DAILY ---- D
plus the metformin
METFORMIN 500MG -- TWO TWICE DAILY ---- N/D

Had they already warned you about hypos (I know the gliclazide induces them)? You should also be given a glucose testing meter with that cocktail of meds.

And most important, have they now changed your medication?
 

i have a meter,but the meds stay the same,levels are all over the place,trial and error is what i am doing now,but the anxiety is constant,as well as wierd cold sweats for no reason and the shakes.

have to wait for diabetic nurse appointment which is a month away,but i honestly dont think my GP knows what hes doing with diabetes.

wasnt informed by hospital diabetic clinic or GP about the dangers,or even how to use the meter and what levels were supposed to be maintained,it all just scares the hell out of me as what happened had no warning signs,and if my spectrum daughter had not found me i dont think i would be here now,as i was totally out of it.

NHS cuts is why they took the meter off the prescription years ago,which i think is how i ended up in such a state and went from 2 to 1 on the diabetes scale
 
AJRimmsey said:
as well as wierd cold sweats for no reason and the shakes.
Click to expand...

Have you tried doing a blood test when these happen, as that can be a symptom of hypoglycemia.

I do feel that your medical team has let you down. They shouldn't send you out of the hospital without some sort of indication of what you should do about your medication.

Most of the T2s on here move to a low carb high fat diet in order to reduce or even eliminate their medications, but given your extreme hypo this isn't really an option till your meds change. Can you get an emergency appointment with your doctor so as to review the medication?

And when you say your readings are all over the place, what do you mean?
 
That's a horrible outcome.

I would be asking for a c-peptide test to see how much insulin you are producing. By the sounds of it, you may have to explain what the test is.

If you are already producing enough or as is often the case, way too much is being produced then it makes no sense to be put on all those hypo inducing drugs that make the pancreas secrete even more insulin.

The fact you are given no instruction on how to test and they are piling more drugs on top of drugs with close to a near fatal hypo as a result (You are very lucky someone was found you) is imo nothing short of appalling care and negligence.

I know it's easier said then done, but is it possible to find another GP?

As mentioned by @EllieM if you want to try reducing glucose numbers with a low carb diet, then you will need to inform someone medically that you plan to do so in order to get the drug issue sorted out. I'm pretty sure low carb and all those drugs won't be get along at all and put you a even greater risk of hypoing.
 
Oh my, that is a LOT of medication!

Statins drive bloodsugars up. I don't know if you absolutely need those or if you were perscribed them when you were diagnosed a diabetic. (It's kind of the standard, what your levels actually are doesn't seem to matter, and it's not exactly w wise course of action, as it turns out). Then there's a lot of stuff pressing your bloodsugars down, so hello hypo's! This is a rather extreme cocktail you're on, by the looks of it, and when you say you think your GP is clueless about T2, I tend to agree! I'm just not sure what you mean by going from 2 to 1 on the diabetic scale....? (Sorry if I'm being dim, but being Dutch, sometimes I misread/misunderstand things) You're not a T1, you'd be on basal and bolus insulin if you were. So...

If your GP doesn't know what they're doing, it's time for you to educate yourself, because this is just plain dangerous, as you've already experienced. Go read this: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ And whatever you do, do NOT implement anything you read there right now because you will be back in hospital again if you do, with your current meds. But it is a starting point. If this resonates with you, get Dr. Jason Fung's The Diabetes Code for more in-depth information, as well as dietdoctor.com (no need to sign up, a lot on there's free), and this forum's webpage, diabetes.co.uk (not.org) for even more info. Take it a bit at a time as it's a lot to take in, but when you understand this condition, you can have more of an active role in treating it, and deciding what meds to discuss coming off of with your doc. Also, testing is something you do when you feel a little off, as well as in the morning, before bed, before a meal and 2 hours after the first bite. Those numbers will tell you more than a random test somewhere in the day. It's a lot of testing, i know, but it's worth it.

Again, educate yourself... It's a steep learning curve, but if the doc's not taking care of you, you'll have to do it yourself, I'm afraid. (You could also ask for a referral to an endo?)

Best of luck!
Jo
 
replying to a,, 3 answers above...

i was T2 for years,thats when the drugs got doubled each time i had a bad blood test,recently to T1 and sent to main hospital who put me on the EMPAGLIFLOZIN and sent out into the world totally ignorant.

blood tests all over the place range from 3.8 mmol to 12 mmol,before and after eating,with nothing i can figure causing it yet.

Getting a new GP in the UK is hard now as our porker party has been whittling it away so they can privatise it and feast at the trough.
I see it as a production line system now,we are pushed along as fast as possible with little to no after advice.

Educating myself slowly now,as someone above said,its a messy business because of the sheer amount of drugs i am on,its doesnt help that everything i have to do for the heart issues is contrary to the diabetes,20 years of no fats or sugar helped the heart but ruined the diabetes side,which is the latest hill to push a rock up.

Time to start reading,and reading...thanks for the replies,more here than years from so called experts in the field.
 
Can I clarify.

You say recently to type 1. Does that mean they did tests like GAD antibodies or c peptide? Or is that because they decided you’d got worse and needed different meds?

type 2 does not ever become type 1. They are two different illnesses, with different causes. Very occasionally someone with type 2 might also get type 1 or have been misdiagnosed in the first place more commonly.

There is a misconception that if a type 2 “exhausts” their pancreas with years of over production of insulin and those cells stop producing much or any insulin and it is required from external sources then they become type 1. They don’t, but the treatment is similar.
 

this is exactly how it went....

I go to GP and have a prick test,he then sends me to the main university hospital as type 1 after being type 2 for years.

university diabetic doctor then reads a file and hands me a prescription for EMPAGLIFLOZIN and sends me on my way,with a warning the pills cause thrush.

and the rapid progression downhill starts,as i have never reacted well to any pill i put it down to usual side effects that seem to plague me whatever pill i take.

a week or 2 later i feel wierd,if you had asked me to add 2 and 2 i couldnt have.
call ambulance that arrives 5 hours later and i am then in an awful state,3 glucose tabs later i am lucid again.

a week later my daughter finds me on the floor and rings 999,as shes autistic this was amazing.

thats when the hospital said slight problems with pancreas and i needed to monitor my bloods closely.

i return to GP who gives a meter and sends me away to figure it out myself.

i cannot control the anxiety,which due to heart issues panic me,as all those signs are heart attack signs.
back to a different GP,who weighs me,asks how i am eating and suddenly puts me in for an emergency endoscopy,which takes another month,i think this GP didnt put together the meds,my heart and diabetic issues,instead she went for rapid weight loss,no appetite as cancer warning signs.

jesus wept this reads like a comedy of errors ????

addendum : right now i wait on a diabetic nurse as the endoscopy requires 6 hours no intake,i tried this as a test and at 2 hours all the symptoms started,so awaiting the nurses opinion as to how i fast without collapsing again for the endoscopy.
 
You were diagnosed type 1 on a finger prick test? Is that what you are saying?
 
Tophat1900 said:
You were diagnosed type 1 on a finger prick test? Is that what you are saying?
Click to expand...

yes,went in type 2,left type 1

i thought i was going to get the insulin jabs,didnt like that idea as i hate needles...which is daft as i am stabbing my fingers red raw anyway

incompetence is old news for me,20 yrs ago my GP told me i was drinking too much tea...4 days later i had a triple bypass and 2 stents...and was dropped from that GP practice like a hot tato
 
Rokaab said:
A simple finger prick test cannot differentiate between Type1 and Type2, no matter what the GP thinks
Click to expand...


seems to be my brick wall,GP`s dont have expertise in everything,which i dont blame them for,except the one who couldnt diagnose high blood pressure and coronary issues.

sent out emails to a few diabetic sites for someone who can review me and the meds,as i am seriously considering dropping all these pills to see if its the cause of all my problems.
 
Don't just quit everything.

Point one, you're not a T1. You'd need insulin if you were, and the medication you're on has been wringing insulin out of your pancreas for years now. So it IS still producing, you don't need insulin from external sources, so you are not a T1. And otherwise you wouldn't've had a hypo on these meds. So forget about being a T1 or Double Diabetic for now. Not the issue. What is the issue, is that you've been treated, so far, by idiots. I am beyond livid right now about everything you've been put through! (Feel free to join in). Honestly, read the Dr. Jason Fung book, stay on your meds for the moment, and learn how to use your meter effectively before you make any changes. Because if your bloodsugars are all over the place, that's not doing your ticker any favours either.

Learn about food, and what it does to your bloodsugars, specifically. Use that meter! You don't want to see a rise of more than 2.0 mmol/l between the pre meal prick and the one 2 hours after the first bite. Then slowly adjust your meds to fit the food. Not the other way around. Doing this with a professional's help would be wonderful, but I'm guessing that's not quite an option for you? Just, you know... Test a lot, learn, and please do not mix low carb with all the medication you're on now. Be careful. But DO take control of this, because the people who should've been taking care of you damned near killed you. I really, really am shocked. I've read some horrible stories on here, but I think you just took the cake.

*great big hugs*
Jo
PS: The pills don't cause all your problems, and while they are helping up to a point, there's too many of them and some work against one another, or work too much together... If you can't talk to a doc, get an appointment with a pharmacist. You need to weed some stuff out.
 

You have no idea how much that makes me feel better,its like walking the edge of a cliff ,but i am finally learning.

i have been using the meter to gauge what food is doing what,it seems my heart diet is totally at odds with a diabetic diet,so its going to be a slow road.

I still dont blame the GP`s,as they at some point went from caring doctors to bean counters working a production line,but thats the pigs in the UK trying to get at the NHS trough,so they have been hacking away at it for years.
I feel like a parcel in the pass the parcel game,shove the problem to someone else.

As a single dad of an autistic daughter i need to live as long as possible,which is what gives me the night horrors.

I need a diabetic expert to review the whole bucket of pills thing as the meter is telling me its meds that are the problem,i feel fine at some points but as soon as those pills go down things go nuts.
 
You need a referral to an endo at the hospital. maybe you can call the GP and ask for one through the assistant? Mention the hypo's and that might help get things rolling. And the heart diet and diabetic diet can be combined. There's 3 macro-nutrients, carbs, fats and protein. When one goes down, another must go up.... So if you cut carbs, and can't up the fats, just up the protein instead! Meat, fish, eggs, low fat dairy, broccoli, nuts, mushrooms, avocado, berries... You're not the only one who has to take multiple conditions into account in this place. Some people here are on the spectrum and can't stand the texture of certain foods. Others have issues with gluten, dairy, or food triggers -like in my case- migraines and rheumatism flare-ups. There's usually a work-around. Does it mean there's even more you can't safely eat? Yeah. But it would mean getting your diabetes under control, which in turn would please your heart to no end as well. So a relatively small sacrifice to make.

I do hope everything'll turn out alright. You have enough to contend with, with your own health and the care of your daughter. (She did one heck of a job getting you help!).
More hugs,
Jo
 

Right now its a bit of a rollercoaster,been dodging so many things for years.

so far its porridge in the morning,fish midday and night time is still trial and error,as thats when i take that new pill thats stripping the glucose,but chocolate is doing well battling that one.

one important thing i found is moringa powder drops the levels way way too far and too fast,so stopped that and will put up with the arthritis pain.

one good thing..chicken curry and chips is superb,keeps levels stable for so long i am finally sleeping more than 2 hours a night,first time in 20 yrs.
i had forgotten how good that tastes
 
Ha, well, everything you mention practically is a diabetic no-no, but right now, if it's keeping you from going hypo, it's good.
 
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