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Newly diagnosed.....

D

DiabeticDi

Well-Known Member
Messages
264
Type of diabetes
Type 1
My husband has just been diagnosed with Type 2 and even though I am Type I don't know much about Type 2. He is currently on 2 tablets of Metformin a day (500mg) and has been told to increase to 3 a day in the next couple of days before he goes back on Wed.. When he initially went to the doctor, he was complaining of dry mouth and a bit of stomach pain and she took his blood sugar and it was 22. I took it later that day and it was 22 and then at bedtime 27 !! How come he felt absolutely fine and has next to no symptoms? If I was 27 I would feel awful. I worry that he has been at this sugar level for ages!

Also do Type 2s get test strips and a meter on prescription? What is the rule on that?

How long before or after a meal can you take Metformin?
 
T2s do not get prescribed a meter and strips unless they are on medication that has a hypo risk (or they have a nice gp).

Tagging @Rachox for metformin timing.
 

As you will read in many places here, a low carb high fat diet is very beneficial for T2s. If he starts that, you will likely be amazed at how quickly the numbers will drop.
 
Metformin works by reducing the amount of glucose releases by the liver and helping a little with insulin resistance. It will not reduce the amount of glucose in your blood from your meal, the advice to take Metformin with food is to try and reduce the unfortunate gastric side effects that the drug can cause.
This blog by joKalsbeek is a good introduction to T2 and should help
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/
 
I had no symptoms which would be put down to diabetes, but there were some indications - though they faded away quite quickly with lower blood glucose levels, along with other features of old age.
A Hba1c should have been done, which might be rather high.
If he is fortunate, eating low carb, with fats, might put everything back into balance.
 
The reason he didn’t have symptoms is probably because his levels have been slowly and incrementally rising for a long time. Possibly a very long time. Do you know when he last had a checkup (including an HbA1c)? He might have shown raised bgs then, but some surgeries don’t bother to tell patients during the pre-diabetes phase.

I would urge him to find out his HbA1c on diagnosis, so that he has a comparison for when he improves his bg control.
Has he got online access to his medical test results?

As you probably realise, the NHS treatment for T2 is very different for T1.
Usially no test kit. Oral drugs gradually escalating to insulin when/if the T2 progresses. No referral to a diabetes clinic unless you have some other condition that makes you a special case.

The general idea throughout the NHS has (until v recently) been that T2 is progressive, so just tell the patient to eat a ‘healthy’ diet full of carbs, and keep taking the pills.

Fortunately, low carb has now hit the NHS (although not every doc knows this!) and it is now considered an acceptable diet path others also try dramatic weight loss, to reduce visceral fat and help the liver and pancreas get back functionality.

I would encourage your husband to join this forum, and learn everything he can about self management. Diet is a far bigger factor in bg control than medication (for most of us), and some are improving their health dramatically, with (or without) accompanying weight loss.
 
Thanks for the tag @Diakat
I take 3 Metformin a day and as it has no direct effect on food eaten at the time you take it (unlike insulin), the advice to take it with meals is more to do with it not upsetting your gastric system. I take two after breakfast and one after dinner, straight after I’ve eaten so I don’t forget.
I don’t have a meter and strips prescribed but choose to self fund.
Here’s some info on meters, and to be clear I have no commercial connections with any of the companies mentioned. For a meter with cheap strips go for the Tee2 + found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-plus-blood-glucose-meter/ with the strips found here:

http://spirit-healthcare.co.uk/product/tee2-testing-strips/


With more expensive strips is the Caresens Dual which I currently use, this one has the advantage of glucose and ketone testing in one machine, it’s to be found here:

https://shop.spirit-health.co.uk/collections/caresens-dual


And to be totally transparent I used to use the SD Code Free which has the cheapest strips available. However I found it to be becoming less and less reliable. Here it is for anyone wanting to give it a go:

http://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/blood-glucose-monitor/

and here for the extra strips

http://homehealth-uk.com/all-products/sd-codefree-test-strips-to-be-used-only-with-the-sd-monitor/

There are discount codes if you buy in bulk.

5 packs 264086

10 packs 975833


Don’t forget to check the box that you have diabetes so you can buy VAT free. (for all meters and strips)
 
 
Thank you very much that is really helpful as my husband is panicking if he doesn't take it within a few minutes of food at the moment. As a Type 1 myself I am pretty shocked that Type 2s aren't prescribed strips, how can they know how their blood sugar is?? Anyway thanks again, a lot of useful info.
 
 
Hi, thanks so much for your detailed reply! Hubby has had a full blood test and an hba1c which is high. No results from resto of tests yet. I feel amazed at the attitude to Type 2, whether that's because Iam a Type 1 and it's all guns blazing with check I don't know but not seen by a consultant? No prescription for strips? How often should he get a check up then? I agree that he has probably been rising in blood sugar for a while and that's why he's not noticed it.

How often do T2s get an hba1c done? If it is regarded as a progressive condition then it should be monitored more closely.

Thank you again.
 
Hi
When I was first diagnosed my GP told me about the forums here. I bought my own meter before looking around at all the information on the site, then found a form letter to give to your GP so that they put lancets and test strips on your repeat prescription. I took it in to my next appointment and my GP told me I needed to test before meals and two hours after otherwise how would I know what was going on. I didn't even have to show him the letter. He also told me at LCHF and originally I was tested every three months but now only six as I seem to be doing mostly the right things.
My beloved was told last year he was pre diabetic, no symptoms and a BMI of 21! This was picked up at his annual review which our surgery does when you hit 60 years old. He's now being chased to book this year's testing by both the surgery and me. Then it'll be a competition to see who has the lowest result! He was also offered a course but as he still works full time he wasn't interested although his employer would give the time off to attend.
I hope your husband signs up as there's a wealth of advice on the forums, and as you are discovering T1 and T2 are treated differently and not all surgeries seem to be as up to date with advice. Tell him he'll be welcome here.
Mell
 
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