Hi, I've just been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes after 2 lots of hba1c blood tests reading at 7.6mmol. I have been prescribed metformin 500mg. The question I have is that as I am only slightly over the recommended level, should I be taking the meds or try lifestyle changes? I didn't feel that my doctor was very knowledgeable when I went to see her!
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Pre diabetic and now Type 2
- Thread starter Ems1206
- Start Date
Squire Fulwood
Expert
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- 6,113
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
That's a decision that you have to make since anything we say might not line up with your doctor's advice. I can tell you that metformin did not make much difference to my blood sugar levels though other people seem successful with it. I recommend the lifestyle changes anyway since they could prove effective and make the need for medication go away.
RoseofSharon
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 3,506
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
Hi I'm in a similar boat to yourself. My figures were only just over the line as well. Always implement the lifestyle changes as they are what will make the most difference on a day to day situation. I monitor my bg's regularly although told I don't have to test regularly (ignore your dr/nurse if they tell you that, you won't know what's affecting you bg's unless you test and eliminate the problem foods). I do take the metformin as I prefer to hit this with everything in my arsenal, once I have it solidly under control with my diet then I'll talk to my Drs to come off the mess again.
Ok enough of my personal story. You have to make the choices as to your own health. This forum has a wealth of good advice and knowledge. Poke around and inform yourself. As has already been said most of what you'll find here is not necessarily what your dr will advise, however remember that what's here is others who have the same condition and have found what works for them.
@Squire Fulwood I too haven't noticed much difference to my bg's on metformin.
muzza3
Well-Known Member
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- 1,789
- Location
- Australia
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Diet only
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- Cauliflower pretending to be rice and any vegetable pretending to be pasta
Hi and Welcome @Ems1206
I have tagged @daisy1 who will post an info pack for newbies. There is nothing wrong with you suggesting to your doctor that you would like to see if you can control your Blood Glucose Levels by making lifestyle/diet change before you start on the meds and see what she thinks.
This is a great forum as has helped me enormously. my advice to you if you want to get in control of this is to get a meter and self test you levels. It will allow you to see how you are progressing and assist you in making decisions on various foods to include or exclude from your diet. You will probably have to pay for it yourself so others on here can advise which is the best value meter etc.
Have a look at the diet forums with many on here using Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) to control there BG levels
Ask any questions you want
Cheers
I have tagged @daisy1 who will post an info pack for newbies. There is nothing wrong with you suggesting to your doctor that you would like to see if you can control your Blood Glucose Levels by making lifestyle/diet change before you start on the meds and see what she thinks.
This is a great forum as has helped me enormously. my advice to you if you want to get in control of this is to get a meter and self test you levels. It will allow you to see how you are progressing and assist you in making decisions on various foods to include or exclude from your diet. You will probably have to pay for it yourself so others on here can advise which is the best value meter etc.
Have a look at the diet forums with many on here using Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) to control there BG levels
Ask any questions you want
Cheers
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi and welcome,
It is your choice whether you take the Metformin or not, but whatever you decide, diet is the key, not Metformin. The Metformin won't help a great deal (although some say it is beneficial in other ways), but reducing your carbohydrate intake will help enormously. What you do need is a glucose meter - a very essential tool. Sadly, most of us aren't prescribed these, so we buy our own. With a meter you can test your BS levels before you eat and a couple of hours later to see what that food has done to your levels. You may get a few shocks, but you will learn which foods are OK and which aren't.
Many of us use the Codefree meter and strips because the strips are the cheapest, and you will need a lot of them. Other meters are available, of course, but beware of the cost of the strips.
Try here for the Codefree meter
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/
Pharmacies don't sell them. There are discount codes if you buy in bulk
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833
It is your choice whether you take the Metformin or not, but whatever you decide, diet is the key, not Metformin. The Metformin won't help a great deal (although some say it is beneficial in other ways), but reducing your carbohydrate intake will help enormously. What you do need is a glucose meter - a very essential tool. Sadly, most of us aren't prescribed these, so we buy our own. With a meter you can test your BS levels before you eat and a couple of hours later to see what that food has done to your levels. You may get a few shocks, but you will learn which foods are OK and which aren't.
Many of us use the Codefree meter and strips because the strips are the cheapest, and you will need a lot of them. Other meters are available, of course, but beware of the cost of the strips.
Try here for the Codefree meter
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/
Pharmacies don't sell them. There are discount codes if you buy in bulk
5 packs 264086
10 packs 975833
daisy1
Legend
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- 26,457
- Location
- Switzerland
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Cruelty towards animals.
@Ems1206
Here is the information we give to new members, as mentioned above, and I hope this will be helpful to you. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 150,000 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 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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
Access to blood glucose test strips
The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:
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.
Here is the information we give to new members, as mentioned above, and I hope this will be helpful to you. Ask more questions if you need to and someone will be able to help.
BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETICS
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 150,000 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
LOW CARB PROGRAM:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/low carb program
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.
amgrundy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,333
- Location
- lancashire
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
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- Being bored
Hi On reading some post on here about Metformin, I see there are a few people who say Metformin doesn't work as well as diet. I am on LCHF diet and take metformin 500mg SR 2 daily. Now I am wondering why do doctors prescribe it then? I am a bit confused with this.
Bluetit1802
Legend
Hi On reading some post on here about Metformin, I see there are a few people who say Metformin doesn't work as well as diet. I am on LCHF diet and take metformin 500mg SR 2 daily. Now I am wondering why do doctors prescribe it then? I am a bit confused with this.
Metformin is the first line treatment as recommended by NICE, so doctors will always prescribe this if the patient has a diagnostic HbA1c over a certain unspecified level. Some doctors will allow a period of diet only before prescribing it if the HbA1c is low enough not to be of too much concern, some doctors prescribe it to all newly diagnosed without putting much thought into it, a bit like they do with Statins. NICE also stresses that Metformin should be considered in patients that are over weight as these people are more likely to see a benefit. (It is an appetite suppressant). What some doctors don't seem to do is warn patients that it is not a miracle drug and will not allow you to eat what you fancy.
Metformin was never mentioned to me when I was diagnosed (HbA1c was 53). I was sent away for 3 months to try diet and exercise. I had never heard of it till I found this forum.
amgrundy
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,333
- Location
- lancashire
- Type of diabetes
- Type 2
- Treatment type
- Tablets (oral)
- Dislikes
- Being bored
Hi Bluetit1802 Thank you for your message, yes I was prescribed it with no explanation. Now I know hoping when I go for my blood tests in mid April if the readings are good he may knock me down to 1 tablet instead of 2. Hopefully.
Daibell
Master
Hi and welcome. I agree with the posts so far. Metformin is a good safe drug but doesn't help a lot. The medics rely on it too much. Diet is always the first stop and do follow Daisy's advice.
