New to metformin

Bpat20 said:

If caffeine is the cause then yep that's a good shout. Just need to find a decent brand

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If you have a Lidl supermarket near you they sell a decaff which is rather good - certainly for the price they charge for it.

Bpat20 said:

What's it called

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Bellarom

Carte Noir do a great decaff .. not the cheapest though ! I wait til it's on offer and stock up

Bpat20 said:

hi my name is Brian I have been type 2 for approx 3 years now and managing on a diet ......until now. I'm gutted as my sugar levels have almost doubled in a year and as such I have now been put on metformin. I take the first one tomorrow. I have read a lot of the blogs here where people are saying its a good thing if it helps to control sugar levels. I guess I need to be more positive as I really don't want any serious long term effects, but I am still gutted that I could not manage to control this via diet.
It's so hard when every food has some form of sugar content. And then all the healthy foods cost more.....it's a nightmare.
Has anyone ever tried the reverse your diabetes diets? Do any of them work or are they all scams. Any advice would be welcome

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I have started the blood sugar diet since I was getting out of control and wanted a boost, I was having readings of 11 in the morning and now after 4 weeks under 7. I don't manage to stick to the 800 cals every day but keep cals low and carbohydrates lower than 100g per day. Going forward I will keep my carbs low ( I bought myself a monitor and know i'm fine with basmati rice but not with wheat products) and only eat between 10am and 6pm so my body has a period of fasting each day. Walking after meals also helps ( think I went for the throw everything at it approach!) Knowing what effects your body is important.

Hi @Bpat20 I am newly diagnosed 3 weeks ago. I have been an undiagnosed long term diabetic. I have been taking metformin for 3 weeks but I have other health issues and meds effecting my blood sugar I have changed my diet to a low carb low fat low sugar and in 2 weeks I have lost 9lb. Some people are happy to be diet only controlled but the body and illness can effect the body and some who have worked well on diet only are now struggling as I am. See if any of your other meds could be affecting your levels see if there is an alternative that don't cause the problem. Support on here is great.

Bpat20 said:

hi my name is Brian I have been type 2 for approx 3 years now and managing on a diet ......until now. I'm gutted as my sugar levels have almost doubled in a year and as such I have now been put on metformin. I take the first one tomorrow. I have read a lot of the blogs here where people are saying its a good thing if it helps to control sugar levels. I guess I need to be more positive as I really don't want any serious long term effects, but I am still gutted that I could not manage to control this via diet.
It's so hard when every food has some form of sugar content. And then all the healthy foods cost more.....it's a nightmare.
Has anyone ever tried the reverse your diabetes diets? Do any of them work or are they all scams. Any advice would be welcome

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Brian, I feel sorry for you as Ive been T2 for three years or so as well. I was only on a sugar level of 8 but i dont know what it is now... Ive been taking metformin the whole time and i havent done a solid **** since. I have bled from the back passage, and its been Hell. and had many secondary problems. I actually thought at one time that I may have colon cancer at one time and didnt even feel well after a colonoscopy to check which was negative. I feel very reluctant to take the stuff as I have problems acessing toilets where i work as they are at the opposite end of a long site where i work. there have been many close shaves I can tell you. All I can suggest is to eat as healthily as possible, and avoid ALL sweets and treats, etc. its not nice, but something to consider. I just have sugar in my Tea as I cant give that up. try and lose weight like me, and your Glucose level should come down. Good Luck mate.

daisyduck said:

Carte Noir do a great decaff .. not the cheapest though ! I wait til it's on offer and stock up

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B + M have it for £2.99 a jar. That is the cost of a cup of coffee in some coffee shops!

I was diagnosed as Type 2 at the start of the year. I was put on 1 500mg metformin tablet twice a day. I have cut my carb intake down quite a bit and now eat more salad and fruit. I have also stopped drinking, not that I drank much. In doing this, I have managed to lose over 2 stone without really trying. When I was diagnosed, it was a big shock. Once I thought things through, reading advice from on here and using common sense, my diabetes hopefully won't be too much of a problem.

Bpat20 said:

hi my name is Brian I have been type 2 for approx 3 years now and managing on a diet ......until now. I'm gutted as my sugar levels have almost doubled in a year and as such I have now been put on metformin. I take the first one tomorrow. I have read a lot of the blogs here where people are saying its a good thing if it helps to control sugar levels. I guess I need to be more positive as I really don't want any serious long term effects, but I am still gutted that I could not manage to control this via diet.
It's so hard when every food has some form of sugar content. And then all the healthy foods cost more.....it's a nightmare.
Has anyone ever tried the reverse your diabetes diets? Do any of them work or are they all scams. Any advice would be welcome

Click to expand...

Bpat20 said:

hi my name is Brian I have been type 2 for approx 3 years now and managing on a diet ......until now. I'm gutted as my sugar levels have almost doubled in a year and as such I have now been put on metformin. I take the first one tomorrow. I have read a lot of the blogs here where people are saying its a good thing if it helps to control sugar levels. I guess I need to be more positive as I really don't want any serious long term effects, but I am still gutted that I could not manage to control this via diet.
It's so hard when every food has some form of sugar content. And then all the healthy foods cost more.....it's a nightmare.
Has anyone ever tried the reverse your diabetes diets? Do any of them work or are they all scams. Any advice would be welcome

Click to expand...

Hi Brian Like yourself for years I was managing on diet alone and the past year or so my figures doubled and I eventually gave in and took Metformin. However after months of being on the meds and various changes I noticed in myself like headaches, 3 nightmares a night, ear aches, severe depression, anxiety tiredness, heartburn to name a few. I looked at the list of allergic reactions noted in the ;leaflet with the meds and there they were. I seen my diabetic nurse she didn't think it was the cause but she agreed I should come off the tablet and see how I was after a fortnight. But literally 2 days later I was more my normal happy self and in a week I was totally back to being me. She then wanted me to start Gliclazide and to do a NO carb and NO sugar diet. On getting home i thought about it and thought I needed to see how far the diet affected my weights and readings before starting the meds. 10 weeks down the line I have lost 1st 9lbs and my readings (at home) have dropped from 11's to 7-8's. I still haven't taken any meds. It's tough to start with but I found think of exciting things to substitute for carbs and sugar has made it fun and enjoyable. Also 7 weeks ago I signed up for diabetes.co.uk 's Low Carb program. Its free. It's a 10 week course full of helpful information and food suggestions. Worth checking out before you start the meds. I've still never taken a tablet and hope to have a 3 month review in the next couple of weeks, which I'm excited about and hopefully the nurse will be too. I also read an article on diabetes.co.uk that said studies at Newcastle University showed that loosing 13% of your body weight can reduce sugar levels as well. All the best with your journey.

Resurgam said:

I am newly diagnosed and been on Metformin for a week - I have felt better than for a long time, starting next day. I did low carb for a long time and once you get the right foods it is easy and enjoyable too. Look at Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution book for a low carb way of eating. I have gone back to eating low carb - I much prefer it to trying to lower colesterol by diet.

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Hi, I am following low carb on atkins as I need to lose 2st for 2 full knee replacements. in 6 weeks I have lost 12kg and don't need insulin during the day, just the basal. I am t2 insulin

Bpat20 said:

hi my name is Brian I have been type 2 for approx 3 years now and managing on a diet ......until now. I'm gutted as my sugar levels have almost doubled in a year and as such I have now been put on metformin. I take the first one tomorrow. I have read a lot of the blogs here where people are saying its a good thing if it helps to control sugar levels. I guess I need to be more positive as I really don't want any serious long term effects, but I am still gutted that I could not manage to control this via diet.
It's so hard when every food has some form of sugar content. And then all the healthy foods cost more.....it's a nightmare.
Has anyone ever tried the reverse your diabetes diets? Do any of them work or are they all scams. Any advice would be welcome

Click to expand...

Hi mate I got diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes about 12 weeks ago and had my blood tested and I am not diabetic anymore. When I got told I changed my life style. I have Omlete bacon and mushroom or bacon on granary bread for breakfast I have Fish and veg or a chicken lettuce and egg sandwich for dinner. For my tea I have Spaghetti bol but instead of pasta I have spiraled courgettes chicken and Veg chickpea and spinach madras with two chapatis I have two squares of dark chocolate a week and a latte coffee and 2 liters of water a day. I go swimming twice a week and a sauna and steam once a week. I have lost 2 stones. It has worked for me if you need anymore help please message me

I've been on metformin 2 months along with a lower carb diet for one month . I've lost 2 stone and I feel better than before . I could do with losing another 3 stone at least so hoping the weight loss continues.

andcol said:

Hi @Bpat20 nobody has answered your other question about reversing. If you are thinking about a simple solution of pay this amount for the special snake oil then yes it is a con. It is possible to reverse type 2 for some; I am one of them. I did fasting for a period of a few months and am now T2 free (medically they say I am in remission at present). If you look in my signature there is a link to my 3 month journey which took me from an HbA1c of 91 down to 40 mmol/mol. Please also have a read of the material from Newcastle University's Professor Roy Taylor http://www.ncl.ac.uk/magres/research/diabetes/reversal.htm

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I believe this diet has around a 70% success rate. For me personally it has not yet totally successful but it has got my HbA1c down and my GP has halved my medication. My carb intake is well down and I have lost about 4 kg, my wife who is not diabetic but eating the same diet has lost about 9.5kg.My aim is HbA1c of 40 or less and to get off medication. So close but yet so far.

SusanMonk said:

I have started the blood sugar diet since I was getting out of control and wanted a boost, I was having readings of 11 in the morning and now after 4 weeks under 7. I don't manage to stick to the 800 cals every day but keep cals low and carbohydrates lower than 100g per day. Going forward I will keep my carbs low ( I bought myself a monitor and know i'm fine with basmati rice but not with wheat products) and only eat between 10am and 6pm so my body has a period of fasting each day. Walking after meals also helps ( think I went for the throw everything at it approach!) Knowing what effects your body is important.

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I found on 800 cals I had no energy and had to up it to around 1200. Weekdays I can usually keep the carbs down to 80 grm or less week ends 150 or less.