• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2026 Survey »

Problems with medication

Peachypie

Peachypie

Newbie
Messages
1
Location
Lancashire
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi All,

Looking for a bit of help. I was diagnosed a T2 almost 2 years ago and I cannot find a tolerable medication.

I initially started on metformin which played havoc with my irritable bowel syndrome and left me so ill I could not go out. The doctor then switched me to slow release version, which had the same affect. So I drifted for about 6 months without any meds.

I then tried gliclazide which also gave me bad stomach cramps and the runs so again I could not take it.

Eventually after a few more months of non treatment I did some research as asked for victosa (liraglutide). As nothing else worked the specialise diabetic nurse prescribed it and I thought this could be it. Unfortunately I also had a bad reaction to the Victosa as it paralysed my stomach for 18 hours, causing food not to digest and I had very frequent disgusting egg smelling burps that stunk the house out and kept me awake all night. It was so bad the gas that I had to wake up every 15 minutes during the night to do a really big smelly burp (sorry for details). So I tried taking omezaprole with the victosa and that didn't work, the only think that worked was pepto bismol which is expensive and not for long term use.

At my last appointment the nurses told me to try victosa again, and I have but I just can't tolerate it. They have told me now my next option is insulin. I'm scared of taking insulin as I will gain more weight, I am already 18 stone.

Are there any other treatment options I could ask them to consider?
 
I could not tolerate metformin in any form and after seeing consultant he changed me onto Vildagliptin (Galvus)
I have not had any problems with this medication in the 5 years I have been on it and my last ha1bc was 39 so it's working well.
Gliptins are a whole family of drugs so maybe with having a look via goggle to see if the would suit you.
Best of luck
 
The biggest improvement to my Hba1c came about by cutting down on carbohydrates. I too had bad reactions to every pill prescribed and if I put up with it they still didn't do much to lower my blood sugar. I knocked 20 points off my Hba1c and lost about 12Kg by just being careful what I ate.
 
Hi. First as another poster has said do discuss taking one of the Gliptins with the DN. They minimise sugar spikes and have few side effects. I took Sitagliptin for a few years before insulin. Weight reduction needs to be a high priority and I will tag @daisy1 to post her very helpful advice for newbies. If you can get the weight down thru low-carbing, the need to go onto insulin may be avoided. Note that insulin itself doesn't cause weight gain but enables excess carbs to be stored a fat. I control my (fairly low) weight now I'm on insulin by keeping the carbs down and having as much protein and fat as I like. Believe it or not you do get used to doing without a lot of carbs unless like my wife you are one of those whose food hunger control mechanisms are poor and that just needs ongoing will power. My Son went from 19 stone to 11stone last year in around 6 months thru serious low-carbing and is very happy with the result!
 
@MrsLPanda

Hello and welcome to the forum :) Here is the information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. It will give you details about carbs and a link to the Low Carb Program which you might like to try. Ask more questions and someone will be able to help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

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
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)
  • Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l
Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)
  • Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
  • 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l
However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

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.
 
Diet adjustment is extremely powerful in controlling T2, even more so than exercise, so if you can do that, you may find that your need for medication is hugely reduced. We have had a number of success stories on the forum where this has happened, and for those who stay on medication, the doses are often very reduced.

I know that sounds like a sweeping statement, and I am sure it doesn't work for everyone, but carb reduction and eating to your meter is almost certain to reduce the high blood glucose spikes that come from eating carbs. The success stories testify to this all over the forum.

- however, switching to reduced carbs, or low carbs is a pretty steep learning curve, so you may find the diabetes.co.uk Low Carb Programme very helpful in making the transition.
Here is a direct link to it:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/lowcarb/
 
Back
Top