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Newly diagnosed type 2 prescribed metformin

Angieleeds66

Angieleeds66

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Hello hope everyone is well, Iv been on slow release metformin for 6 weeks now and finally my stomach problems have eased off . Due to the pandemic Iv had no support with this diagnosis, I would like a rough idea of a day to day meal plan which to follow please? I’m really anxious and feel really sad that Iv done this to my self. I had a stroke 3 years ago and this has reduced my exercise, any advice would be fabulous many thanks.
 
I went low carb on diagnosis, and in spite of eating as much as I wanted within my carb count (ie double cream) I lost a huge amount of weight. I can't exercise and couldn't lose much weight on calorie controlled diets in the past but going low carb to control my diabetes had this great side effect.
There are several good sites to help, I used the lowcarbprogram but others use dietdoctor, etc.
 
Hi @Angieleeds66 and welcome to the forum

Please don’t blame yourself - your diagnosis is not your fault! It sounds like you’ve already made a good start and it’s good that you’re tolerating the metformin.

In terms of food, restricting carbohydrates is the key. The extent to which you’ll need to do that will be personal to you and what your body can cope with.

A good place to look for recipes and food plans is the dietdoctor website. Much of the content is free so there’s no need to go for the paid options (unless you want to).

Do you have a blood glucose monitor? That will be important so you can see the impact of foods on your blood sugars.
 
Aww thankyou both for replying and for the warm welcome x I will certainly have a look on the diet doctor website thankyou. Here’s hoping the weight comes of quickly and safely x keep safe . Ps my practice nurse said glucose monitor isn’t nesasary while I’m on metformin but I’m a visual person and would like to know. I’m going to ask my GP tomorrow xx
 
Angieleeds66 said:
Aww thankyou both for replying and for the warm welcome x I will certainly have a look on the diet doctor website thankyou. Here’s hoping the weight comes of quickly and safely x keep safe . Ps my practice nurse said glucose monitor isn’t nesasary while I’m on metformin but I’m a visual person and would like to know. I’m going to ask my GP tomorrow xx
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The NHS will say that mostly. However, using a self funded meter to see how foods impact your bloods is helpful. By changing your diet (many on here look at lower carb) it is possible to put T2 into Remission

For me it was slightly different in that I had Metformin and bydureon immediately. Over time they controlled my bloods but it reduces and the level of drugs increased (at the end 3 different drugs and an insulin 'intervention' was next). Many nurses will say it's progressive and insulin is the end. But by reducing carbs plus exercise I am now only on 1000mg Metformin and nondiabetic hba1c. Plus 32kg (at last check) weight loss. I was diagnosed in 2008 and it may be very soon I can come off Metformin and be drug free

So I am all for using it to get control to start as high bloods are bad for you, but you may well have options to come off itnin the future. No guarantees in life but personal success story, and I'm not the only one

Oh... I exercised as well so I cannot personally say my weight loss was just lower carb. But I have seen on here people say lower carb lost them weight. So it may have a helpful side effect too
 
NHS policy is to discourage testing in T2s unless they've progressed to the point where they use fiercer meds than metformin. This assumes you won't use your blood test results to modify your diet and is mainly a cost cutting measure as testing strips cost money. Most of us on here would argue that a meter is the first thing you should get, even if you have to self fund.
 
To be honest, if I had not had a meter when I was diagnosed I would not have know what I could and could not eat. I was given a meter when I said I would go on the diabetic course, after refusing meds. I get the feeling that if I had gone on medication, I wouldn't have got a metre :rolleyes: even now I am told that should ONLY test twice a day, to which I am like "oh okay" but I test test test!
 
Hoping you are all getting on ok. I too used a self funded meter as I was concerned about genetic predisposition to T2 - I’m now newly diagnosed as I requested an hba1c because of the results I was getting.
From my research & experiments on myself so far it seems that low carb ( I’m not sure how low yet - but under 100g for many people although I think I may need less) combined with Intermittent fasting are getting lots of good results for people. I find IF ( as recommended by Dr Jason Fung on low carb program & in his books/videos) had really improved my life & energy levels.
Good luck finding what works for you
 
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