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New to Gliclazide

Yai

Well-Known Member
Messages
67
Location
Norfolk, UK
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hello all, I have been Type 2 for over 28 years, and Hba1c levels usually around 53. Cut carbs in 2019 and lost some weight. Over the last year, Hba1c risen considerably (to 75), which was addressed firstly with Anagliptin (no effect) then Jardiance ( no effect and made me I'll). After 2 weeks Metformin only, primarily to see what my blood glucose was doing (most readings between 11 and 14), the nurse prescribed Gliclazide. In fairness she didn't try to push the Eatwell Plate, but she did say I should make sure to eat regularly and include a little carbohydrate with each meal. I have been mostly not eating between 8pm and 8 am, and eating keto porridge, avocado, meat and nuts etc. Still with me? Anyway, am on first week of Gliclazide. So far have felt unwell twice, when blood glucose was around 6 .4, whilst this is not low, it is considerably lower than recent readings. I note the medicine literature states I should have carbohydrate, and under "What causes hypos?" Lists "delayed or missed meals" and "Eating less starchy foods than usual".

I am just throwing this into the Community for any comments/advice on a slight increase in carbohydrate and being ok to have 12 hours without eating. Thank you so much for your time.
 
Hi @Yai and welcome to the forums.

While gliclazide can indeed cause hypos as it works by increasing your insulin production, a hypo technically only occurs once your blood sugar goes down to below 4.

However, if you have been running high for some time you can get hypo symptoms when your blood sugar drops below the (high ) levels you are used to. Look up "false hypo" on the forums or on google. (Disclaimer, I am not a doctor and that is not a diagnosis). My understanding is that you just have to wait this out but hopefully some more experienced T2s will post soon to advise.
 
I’ve used glic for a few years and not felt unwell with it but have experienced hypo symptoms even though blood sugars are above 4. I believe it was because I wasn’t used to blood sugars at that level. Like you they’d been running a lot higher for a while. Low carbs about 50 per day for me have meant that my blood sugars are now more constant and don’t vary as wildly and my blood sugars have gone as low as 3.7 without any hypo symptoms (not sure that’s a good thing), they are now between 4-7. I regularly go for a while fasting at the most 16 hours and haven’t been affected adversely. I did take advice before low carbing along with the glic and have managed to reduce dosages drastically. Good luck!
 
Reactions: Yai
Just to share: Diabetic complications: what causes them, how to prevent them, how to reverse them
Dr Berstein is the Doyen in the field of diabetes treatment, he invented Blood Glucose Self Monitoring, basal and bolus injection for insulin. Almost 89 years old now.

Many medical doctors and so called diabetic experts selectively copied his ideas without giving him credit e.g. Blood glucose self Monitoring and that Type 2 has excess endogenous insulin and it is the insulin resistance that causes hyperinsulinemia and finally resulting in Type 2. and posit that the least insulin you used the better you will be.

One of his key principle to avoid diabetic complication is to normalise blood glucose (BG) which is keep BG in a very narrow range if possible around 83mg/dL round the clock.

Many people believed in the American Diabetes Association (ADA) guideline that blood glucose will rise for about 2 hours after food and it is okay if after 2 hours the BG is below 7.8mmol. The devil is in the details - these are the people without diabetes and are eating the SAD diet. I learnt from my Consultant Endocrinologist about glucose toxicity (when I was a private patient) - beta cells starts dying off when BG went up to 7.8mmol/L .

When I watched the youtube videos of those so called diabetes in remission testing so-called resistant starch where their BG rises above 130mgdL and stay elevated for over an hour or more, I just shake my head. I was one of them who previously believed in the ADA garbage - only when I watched one of Dr Berstein video and understand that in truly non-diabetic the BG never rises above 110mg/dL no matter how much you load with starches. It is easy to understand the wrong things because of the many noises.

Another thing that Dr B avocates is not to use sulfonylureas such as gliclazide or glimepiride as thses drugs forces the remaining beta cells to overproduces insulin such that they get exhausted and apoptosis. Also the dosage of sulfonylureas cannot be precisely determined unlike insulin. There is a large body of research that shows sulfonylureas works for 1 to 4 years and then stop working as there is no more beta cells left!
 
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I shall watch the video - certainly food for thought, but after nearly 30 years since diagnosis and a lifetime of so-called healthy diets, I guess I am just weary - which is not to say that I am giving up on my health and how I can help myself!
 
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