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Reading of 20 regularly!

suggs108

Active Member
Messages
36
Location
South Shields
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Dislikes
Liars
Hi.
Could someone try and help me please? For a long time my BG readings were 4-9 mg however over the past month or so they've risen to 15-20 which is a massive jump. I haven't changed my diet at all. I'm on 1 x 500 mg Metformin a day and i ve tried my best to reduce it. I've even tried Cinnamon to see if it reduces. It seems like everything I do is ineffective. I'm in the UK.

Any help appreciated. I'm seeing my GP this week.
 
Hi Sugs, no idea how you were diagnosed, any chance you are not type 2 and are in fact type1? Your numbers should not have shot up that amount if you had been controlling well until now and no change to routine.
 
Mrsass said:
Have you made any changes to your diet?
Click to expand...
Hi. No change whatsoever. I'm not eating 100 per cent healthy I must admit. Drink Lager n Gin. But I did that back then when my readings were low. Totally puzzled me. Even my GP joked " you have strange diabetes !'.
It's crazy because my hba1c tests have all been in the 30 s.

Stumped
 
CarbsRok said:
Hi Sugs, no idea how you were diagnosed, any chance you are not type 2 and are in fact type1? Your numbers should not have shot up that amount if you had been controlling well until now and no change to routine.
Click to expand...
Totally puzzled.
See above reply.
My mother and father are both type 2 if that makes any difference???
 
Your GP is well and truly out of his depth, you need to insist you are transferred to hospital care so your problems can be sorted before any permanent damage is done.
Edited to add your GP should not be telling you that you have strange diabetes it does not install confidence.

Think I have misread your A1c result so it not high at all. (Sorry) He does need to act and so do you as the jump in numbers is not acceptable if you have changed nothing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I've just managed to get an emergency appointment booked for tomorrow. I hope it ain't my liver or kidneys or something
 
CarbsRok said:
Read my above as edited it don't worry.
Click to expand...
Thanks all for your prompt replies. I've read somewhere on the forum that 20 BG level means a urine test for ketones. I've been feeling tired at night also and getting up on a morning has been a killer.
I'll keep you updated tomorrow.

Thanks in the meantime...
 
Hi Suggs108 Don't panic you will get it sorted out my reading in Jan this year was 19.3 I was tired too and hard to get out of bed thought it was the flu. The doctor said I had had it for 6 years and didn't know. You have to eat healthy could be as you said you have not been eating healthy.
 
I also think you should ask for your care to be transferred to a hospital as what your doc has said is completely unhelpful and as @CarbsRok has said above it will not fill you with confidence, you need to know you have a care team you can rely on for helpful advice!

Good luck for tomorrow!
 
Hello Suggs108.

Have you tried altering yr diet to get yr bg to drop a bit like reducing the carb content in yr meals?
Also, 1 x metformin 500mg per day might need to be used with another oral bg medication. I don't drink alcohol that much anymore but alcohol doesn't do anyone's health a lot of good even though it's really enjoyable so do cut
down or stop.
 
Thank you for all your replies. I appreciate it. Well, I went to the Doctors - the Doctor who specialises in Diabetes in the Surgery, And he suggested doubling my Metformin. So I started this morning with 2 x 500mg slow release tablets and checked my BG levels at 12 pm today. 8.6! Brilliant! Just hope with a little more common sense at mealtimes and alcohol cutdown, it improves further. Feel a lot better now!
 
Brill. Hope it works out from now on.
 
I have been Type 2 for over 25 years and for the largest part I survived on Diet and exercise and wine. A glass of red wine taken with a meal does wonders for the BG readings. Enjoy life even with diabetes and get on with living - life is too short
 
In the early stages of my Type 2 diabetes, I was on 3 1/2 850 mg tablets of Metformin, but as they produced significant kidney damage, my consultant stopped them completely.
Surely, if this is a known side effect they should be prescribed with more care and patients also made awaare of this likelihood in order to be able to make an informed decision?
 
It looks like you have plenty of good answers already from these replies. If you have low weight inexplicably or have lost weight then it is quite likely you are actually type 1. Get a specialist referral and also perhaps get advice from a dietician in conjunction.

I have a friend in Australia whose son (in his early 30s) and was losing weight while eating like a horse not knowing what his problem was. The GP he was seeing at the time negligently failed to spot an abnormal super high random blood GC in an exploratory blood pathology test. Fortunately he was taken to hospital, quickly diagnosed and stabilised. You must avoid developing Ketoacidosis with constant high BGC levels as it can be life threatening.
 

Actually, suggs108, you should test for ketones as soon as your blood glucose level reaches 14.0 mmol/l. To be honest with you, I'm really surprised that your doctor hasn't told you that.

Your doctor MAY suggest increasing your Metformin dose or increasing the number of times that you take Metformin each day. S/he MAY also suggest supplementing your Metformin with another oral medication.

Hopefully, whatever decision your doctor arrives at, your blood glucose levels will come down again soon.

I'd just like to reinforce what CarbsRok was saying about not worrying. It's prolonged higher than 'normal' blood glucose levels that causes damage. i.e. it would take years before complications began to develop.
 

Oops! I knew I should have read the rest of this page. I've just posted a comment about your doctor MAYBE increasing your dose of Metformin, or supplementing the Metformin with another oral medication, then came back to the page to see that your doctor HAS increased your Metformin.

It's great news that your blood glucose levels are coming back down, nearer to a 'normal' range, sir. I may not know you personally, but I'm truly glad that you're feeling better now.
 
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