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Prescribed Metformin but wondering I can do this on diet alone

The first time I did the paella, and it spiked me 2.7 at 2 hours, I tested again an hour later, and my figures had dropped significantly. But this was a considerably larger meal, and with alcohol. It was pretty much bedtime at the point of the 2 hour test, and given that I was sleeping off a few pints, I didn't think I'd get any meaningful data through the night.

I didn't wake up with a dry mouth, so it certainly hasn't taken me right back to diagnosis. I agree that the Libre would be an interesting experiment, and it's one I was already contemplating. It's expensive, but I suppose you save a bit on test strips while you're using it, so that offsets some of the cost.

I'm currently trying to work out how to get my strips VAT free out of Amazon (I can get them VAT free from GlucoRx, but there's no free P&P option, and that negates the saving unless I buy loads.) Amazon's VAT department is supposedly coming back to me by email. Losing the VAT would make the price of the Libre somewhat more attractive.
 
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I have to say, I still tested through the Libre use, as I found they were variable, in terms of accuracy, however, I would say I seemed to be somewhat at odds with most folks' experiences. It was still excellent for trends and movement shaping, so still very worth it.

I don't know what you pay for your strips, but is this site competitive for you: https://shop.diabetes.co.uk/collections/test-strips/products/glucorx-nexus-test-strips-50 ?

Alternatively, this is the meter and strips I use these days: https://homehealth-uk.com/product-category/blood-glucose/gluconavii-blood-glucose-kit/ As you will see, the strips are very competitive, and Homehealth do bulk discounts (about 7% if I recall, but don't hold me to that number) for purchases of 5 or 10 tubs.

I have been using Homehealth as my supplier for over 6 years and found them to be very helpful and keen to provide a good service.
 
I have an Aviva Nano and buy my strips on e-bay. If you’re willing to go to the wire you can get them quite cheap.
 
I bought the GlucoRx-Q, which I think is the predecessor to the Nexus. I'm paying £10.44 per box of 50 on Amazon, which includes a 5% discount for setting up a repeat order (2 boxes a month right now.) That's currently including VAT.

I'm happy with the price. It's just that if I'm entitled to VAT relief, I'll take it.
 
I had an e-mail back from Amazon. They don't have an automated process for deducting VAT for those of us who are eligible for relief, but I can write or e-mail to claim it back after the purchase. It doesn't seem worth the effort to claim back £2 on 50 test strips, but I might wait until I've had about 10 lots of them, and put in a claim for all of the orders to that date. They haven't actually told me I can do this (accumulate orders and put in one claim for the total) but I'm going to give it a try. That'd be around £20 back, which I'd quite happily take as an Amazon gift voucher.

I think it also amounts to a saving of around £10 on a single Libre sensor. So worth doing it for that.
 
Very confused, this morning.

I woke to a 6.5, which is fairly typical for me. Started feeling a little woozy around 11am, and thought I'd test in case my sugar was low. I got a 7.5 on my first test, which I didn't believe, so I thoroughly washed my hands and got a 7.2 on my second.

I skipped breakfast, snacked on 20g of pork crunch (supposedly very low carb, from the same recommended eBay supplier that says they fry their scratchings in lard rather than veg oil.) And I've had one mug of fairly potent (strong roast filter, made in a moka pot) coffee.

The coffee was about half an hour before testing, and a quick Google suggests that caffeine can raise your sugar significantly. I think the wooziness might actually be more of a caffeine buzz on an empty stomach. Yet I thought the advice was to skip breakfast and have a coffee instead, which is what I just did.

Please don't ask me to switch to decaff
 

you will find that various people give out different advice on skipping breakfast - usually based around what they find works for them.

My advice is to skip or eat breakfast depending on what works for you.
 
Brunneria said:
you will find that various people give out different advice on skipping breakfast - usually based around what they find works for them.

My advice is to skip or eat breakfast depending on what works for you.
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Thanks. That makes a lot of sense. It seems this is about 20% collecting the data and 80% trying to make sense of it

I'm tending to have breakfast (usually a couple of rashers of dry-fried bacon) if I'm hungry, and skip it if I'm not. I wasn't hungry at breakfast time this morning. Munchies kicked in around 10am, which was when I had the 20g of pork crunch.

7.5 is still 'managed', so maybe I shouldn't be fretting over it.
 
There is research that skipping breakfast can lead to diabetes too. So as with everything diabetes related it feels like there is advice either way!

plus I could find an article saying skipping breakfast will naturally lead to an increase for the entirety of the day

it’s what works for you (personally I am not one for eating on the morning, I should really see how it impacts me

I’d feel 7.5 is too high for me, but is also a one off you said. Since I’ve moved to this lower carb my average has substantially dropped to 5.5 but I still get occasional spikes. Sometimes for no apparent reason. Sometimes cause I had a cheat day. As long as my average is still okay, I don’t sweat it too much
 
bulkbiker said:
I'm guessing that would be the case if you then got hungry and filled up with rubbish afterwards..

I'd be quite interested to read the study if you have a link.
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I didn’t say I believed or otherwise. Rather highlighting that for every piece of research saying one thing, the is research often saying the opposite

https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/149/1/106/5167902

I am also not saying this is, or not, reputable research as it’s just something I cane across while browsing

also:
https://www.nhs.uk/news/diabetes/missing-breakfast-linked-to-type-2-diabetes/

which from a quick browse does put question the value of the data used
 
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Nicole T said:
7.5 is still 'managed', so maybe I shouldn't be fretting over it.
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To be honest, especially when first diagnosed, the first reading of the day is the most variable and the last to come down. It’s affected by so many things. Looking back it was several months before mine settled and it’s still, a few years on the first one to get out of kilter as soon as anything is off - illness, lack of sleep, stress, eating too much (not necessarily carbs as I rarely do those), just plain eating a bit too much and up it goes. Wearing a Libre has shown me that unless I consistently eat as close to zero carbs as possible (which I’m happy to do a lot of the time), there will always be a morning rise no matter what else is involved. Zero carb and it’s just a lot smaller rise and shorter lived.
 
Look I hardly get above 6. I've now stopped insulin and my range is 4-5.4 now. I'm running close to hypo readings even after my meal. I've lost 10kg in 4 weeks on the only diet i'm telling you now works. 0 carbs, one small plate of food a day, stay hydrated with water. Here's what to eat. Large or Portobello Mushrooms, green beans, broccoli stems, greens, avocados, and salmon. I'm staying on this for the next 4 months to reach my ideal weight. You have to train your body to burn all your fat cells, my tummy is disappearing and it's visible, no exercise since the experiment and BG is getting lower and lower. sometimes to low for my liking. No snacks, no grazing nothing. just that one meal a day with all the nutrients you need, and your liver starts to produce glucose from burning your fat cells. These fat cells are excess carbs stored normally around your tummy.

Trust me this is working for me, and now i'm off insulin, everything is happening even more rapidly. My aim is total remission. I had 4 cocktails on Saturday, cake on sunday and on both occasions my bg was 4.7. This means my body is able to cope with carbs again, but i must stay focus on burning off the rest of tummy fat, i can see all the way down without my tummy blocking the view down to my feet.

If you can commit to focusing on remission, you can do this. I still go for long walks etc but from a diet perspective, you have to be absolutely commited to it. To the point where you don't feel hunger anymore.

Test, Test, Test. If I can do it then you all can too.
 
type2_2020 said:
0 carbs, one small plate of food a day, stay hydrated with water. Here's what to eat. Large or Portobello Mushrooms, green beans, broccoli stems, greens, avocados, and salmon.
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That is far from "zero carbs" though.. all the veg contains carbs in one form or other.. low carb for sure but certainly not zero.
 


That's impressive, congrats to you on your on going success, but it's certainly not zero carb and your individual approach seems to be very restrictive if that's all you are eating and that won't suit others. The statement that If I can do it then you all can too,' just simply isn't true for all T2's.

Some may never get off all the medication for various reasons, however they can reduce the amount of it being used (Which is a good thing) but it's not a one size fits all condition is what I'm saying. The low carb approach is incredibly successful for remission and medication dependency reduction, so it seems to be a clear winner for you and for me also, but following it doesn't mean you will are guaranteed remission or the same results you are seeing. Everyone is a bit different.
 

Sounds like you’ll be fine. It’s not easy but you’re on the right path. Keep going.
 
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