I'm a new member on here. I've been Type 2 diabetic for the best part of 30 years and been fairly well controlled. In fact, for the past couple of years I've been diet controlled only. However, I've recently been put on 30mg Prednisolone at breakfast and my bloods are all over the place. Fairly normal in the morning but soaring over the day to 18 or more. I understand this is fairly normal. My doctor put me on slow release Metformin 5 days ago. I am taking 2000mg with my evening meal as recommended but wonder if I'd be better off taking it in the morning, with breakfast, so the effect can build up over the day. Any thoughts on this anyone?
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New member. Metformin question.
- Thread starter gurney696
- Start Date
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catherinecherub
Guest
Hi @gurney696 and welcome to the forum.
It can be problematic when taking steroids as control is very difficult to achieve.
Best to speak to your G.P. as nobody here is qualified to answer your question about the timing of your S.R. Metformin.
Edited to add. If the Prednisolone is going to be permanent It might be worth asking your Dr. if he can prescribe SR Metformin 1000mg for both morning and evening as they last approx 10 - 12 hours in your system.
It can be problematic when taking steroids as control is very difficult to achieve.
Best to speak to your G.P. as nobody here is qualified to answer your question about the timing of your S.R. Metformin.
Edited to add. If the Prednisolone is going to be permanent It might be worth asking your Dr. if he can prescribe SR Metformin 1000mg for both morning and evening as they last approx 10 - 12 hours in your system.
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Lamont D
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- Type of diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
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- I do not have diabetes
You say you have control, but it isn't normal for spikes in the high teens. Not for T2s.
It all depends on what you eat and when you test. Are you eating a lot of carbs?
Do you test before and 2 hours after, to give you a general baseline of what is happening?
I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the welcome information.
Do give us more information about what you eat.
The metformin is a long time drug. It helps you over a long period of time and gradually builds up and helps you. There are many varied opinions about when to take it, my doc recommended the wife in the morning or just before she ate.
Hope this helps.
It all depends on what you eat and when you test. Are you eating a lot of carbs?
Do you test before and 2 hours after, to give you a general baseline of what is happening?
I've tagged @daisy1 to give you the welcome information.
Do give us more information about what you eat.
The metformin is a long time drug. It helps you over a long period of time and gradually builds up and helps you. There are many varied opinions about when to take it, my doc recommended the wife in the morning or just before she ate.
Hope this helps.
Lamont D
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- Type of diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
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- I do not have diabetes
He said he understands its normal to have spikes of 18!
That is not normal or good control, no matter the meds!
Or have I misunderstood it again? Doh!
daisy1
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@gurney696
Here is the information which Nosher referred to which I hope you will find useful with the advice on diet and carbs. I realised that you are not newly diagnosed so much of this information you will already know. Ask as many questions as you like 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 over 140,000 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
Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html
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
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
- Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
- Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
- 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
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 bloodglucose 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.
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catherinecherub
Guest
I think the OP is saying that the spikes are normal considering that he is on steroids?
Lamont D
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I've not heard of that, why would anyone be put on drugs that cause such a spike?
It is surely counter productive?
Can anyone corroborate this?
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catherinecherub
Guest
Sometimes they are necessary for other conditions.
My son needed the same steroid for asthma when he was 3. His weight gain over a short period of time was massive. However without them I am certain he wouldn't have lived. Sometimes diabetes has to take a back seat to other more pressing conditions.
Lamont D
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- Type of diabetes
- Reactive hypoglycemia
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- I do not have diabetes
My youngest had chronic asthma when he was a toddler and was on steroids for this until only a few years ago. His son has asthma as well but no steroids. I agree they are necessary for certain conditions.
But I would still rather be in control. Mind you I'm weird!
No you're not weird! I think in an ideal world we would all like control all the time, but sometimes other conditions take priority and it can really shake us up when control goes for a while.My youngest had chronic asthma when he was a toddler and was on steroids for this until only a few years ago. His son has asthma as well but no steroids. I agree they are necessary for certain conditions.
But I would still rather be in control. Mind you I'm weird!
Yes, @gurney696 speak to your GP and tell him/her your concerns. It would be good to know how you are getting on in the future too.
Daibell
Master
Hi. Steroids are a known big problem for diabetics and to be honest there isn't an awful lot that can be easily done. Do check with your GP that the dose can't be reduced and for how long you expect to be on the steroids. Metformin isn't affected much by when you take it particularly if it's the SR (Slow Release) version and sadly it doesn't reduce blood sugar by much. It may be that you need to go onto insulin whilst on the steroids as this should really work and normally has no side effect.
