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Side effects

A

Ali H

Well-Known Member
Messages
790
Location
Somerset
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
For the last couple of weeks I have been feeling really poorly. My levels went haywire months ago and finally I am getting Cpep and GAD tests done on suspicion of LADA. Been taking metformin SR, gliclazide and Januvia now down to Metformin SR with Victoza pending results as nothing was working.

I have woken up fine but within two hours of brekkie I feel dizzy, headachey, sick and shivery as if somebody has stuck me with a cattle prod and my body has a wave of shivers going through it. This goes on until I wake up next day feeling ok again.

It isn't the Victoza as only started yesterday. Could this be the side effects from metformin or is it wholly attributable to my levels bouncing wildly from 5 to 15 and everything in between, day in, day out?

I am lower carbing but that did nothing to help, even a strawberry greek yoghurt smoothie gives me double figures, grrrr. So anybody else had similar?

Ali
 
Hi Ali,

Obviously I can't tell you what's causing your problems, but I used to get exactly those symptoms during the year I was misdiagnosed with Type 2 and my BGs were ranging from 4.1 to 26 (and possibly beyond). The symptoms eased when I realised what was happening and cut the carbs back to no more than 10g per meal and my BG stabilised beteween 4.1 and 12ish. The symptoms disappeared completely when i went onto insulin. I get a return of those type of symtoms but milder if i get my dose wrong and my BG rises into double figures - very rare for me these days. So, hopefully, your symptoms will go when you get a proper control of your BG. In the meantime, I would still advise you to discuss with your doctor. Have you tested at all for ketones? Just to be on the safe side given that you might have LADA? I certainly had low-moderate levels of ketones when I was diagnosed (and even then it didn't occur to them that I wasn't Type 2 :roll: )

Hi Ali - I should have said, my symptoms got much worse while on Gliclazide.

Take care
Smidge
 
Phew, not just me then! Yes got ketostix and keeping an eye, one was slight response so far. I feel a bit better today minus the metformin sr. Ho hum, roll on tests and results.

Ali
 
Hi,

Apologies if I'm posting this query in the wrong place - I'm new to this web community.
I was diagnosed T2 in 2004.
Initially Metformin (now 4 x 500mg daily) and subsequently Gliclazide (now 2 x 40mg daily).
My question is, are the undoubted benefits of Gliclazide not outweighed by the (alleged) long term damage to the pancreas?

I have read that Gliclazide "forces" the pancreas to secrete more insulin.
Does this not have an additional - adverse - effect?

I'd be interested to hear the observations of other diabetics.
 
Hi slodown

You should have started your own topic as it will get lost in here. It is also a good idea to write something in the greetings and introductions section so you can get the newbies post - which can also be read at viewtopic.php?f=39&t=26870.

Anyway, my experience with Gliclazide is that along with diet changes, gets my blood sugar down to the levels I want it at. I do have concerns that it makes my poor worn out pancreas make more insulin and therefore make its demise come more quickly, but this has to be weighed up against the possible increase in complications like retinopathy and neuropathy that I could get running higher levels.

You may be able to stop taking the Gliclazide if you reduce the number of carbs you eat.
 
My GP said at the outset that it was a fallacy that that is what it does and there is no concrete evidence to prove it but there, who knows! You read so much about so many things and frankly, we are all individuals, and without cloning ourselves and treating one with and one without and monitoring pancreatic function we would have no way of knowing anyway!

Ali
 
Hi Ali! It might actually be the Victoza as I suffered the same reactions within hours of my first injection but also I was vomiting every day,constantly nauseaous and could hardly eat at all and felt really dreadful so I've had to stop it altogether which means Insulin is the thing left for me now as Byetta made me too sick as well,having said this though,the side effects do wear off in a lot of people so hopefully things will work out for you and settle down. :wink:

Paul
 
Aw Paul, that is miserable. Nah all this happened before the Victoza came on the scene hence wondering if it is the metformin sr. Stopped everything else to start the Victoza.

Ali
 
Hi AliH - You"ve just described my symptoms. Only difference is I only get occasional "episodes". Just after Christmas, end Feb, beginning May are the ones I remember (mainly because of events on those days) I've always put it down to alcohol even though I drink very little (I know the Feb one I had a bottle of Magners but then the May one I'd had a salmon salad and no drink, so no rhyme or reason). It normally happens when I got to bed - I'll feel very shivery as if I've got flu or something coming on, with a stomach ache then after an hour or so I"m sick twice then hey presto! I feel fine. I did mention it to my DSN when I saw her this week and she suggested I make an appointment to see a GP which I've now arranged.

I hope you get to the bottom of it. If the GP mentions anything I will let you know
 
Thanks Chris, sadly pretty much tee total so no alcohol involvement here but do please keep in touch. Miserable isn't it! Due on hols in a week's time, feeling like this, meh, not very nice is it.

Ali
 
Hi Ali, I'm off to the doc's shortly so hopefully she can shed some light. Hope you're feeling better in time for the holiday. Have fun! :)
 
Hi Ali, My visit to the GP wasn't too successful. She was a locum and maybe doing her GP training bit. I described the symptom and she said she was puzzled. What did I mean when I said I had bad shivers like a cold coming on (has she never had a bad cold?) any way she was quite sweet and had a bit of a prod around my tummy and said she couldn't feel any lumps that shouldn't be there (did wonder if she would feel anything through the blubber :D ). She said she would speak to one of the doctors who was supervising her and would phone me later which she did. He said he couldn't think of anything that would cause the symptoms so I've got to go and get a full blood count (I've got a history of anaemia as I've got alpha thalassaemia minor) and also an ecg which is booked in for next week. So at the moment no further forward but am having a glass of red wine tonight and keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't set anything off. Oh well, you have to smile or else you'd feel like giving up. Keep well.
 
Oh no! Well lets hope you get some answers from the bloods. I have ear inflammation left over from a recent infection. He gave me stugeron to dull the seasick feeling whilst the ear prob fizzles out.

Take care.

Ali
 
Hi Ali, Hope your ear problem is sorted out by now. I've just been back for my results and my iron levels are 10.8 which are low but pretty normal for me so nothing for that but she did suggest that maybe I'm producing too much acid in the stomach so I've now got Omerprazole capsules to take and guess what the common side effects listed are - that's right "may cause nausea and vomiting". Will take them for the month as suggested and see what happens. I did have a "funny turn" on Saturday night but eventually the stomach ache and nausea eased off, but I felt really tired and washed out. Oh well lets see how the capsules do.
 
Hiya, been on hols for two weeks so took it easy. Still not feeling right and the Victoza has been an epic failure. My fastings are 8.5 to 9.5 which is worse than the januvia/gliclazide/metformin SR combo so I am off it from tomorrow. Blood tests on Thursday then I guess insulin. Glad your anaemia isn't too bad, I take lansaprozole but it does make you laugh when these things have the things you are trying to eliminate listed as side effects.

Ali
 
Poor you. I posted here about the awful symptoms pre diagnosis. One was nausea (sometimes a burning feeling in my stomach) and a "crawling" feeling with a rush of goose bumps, sometimes shiveriness and feeling too cold (but then hot feet at night). My own theory is if it's autoimmune then it's attack on the Pancreas can result in cold/flu like symptoms. Also remember the glucose isn't getting into your cells fully so this in
iself must trigger some of the symptoms.

The sooner you're on the right treatment the better. Good luck.
 
Hi Sanober, yep the proper diagnosis can't come quickly enough now, I just feel horrible all of the time.

Will keep you posted.

Ali
 
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