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Support needed

shelley262

Expert
hi all hoping someone may be able to give me advice. As a type 2 diabetic diagnosed 2 years ago with hba of 97 I was put straight on 2 x Metformin 500mg and no dietary advice. I read lots in general and managed with some carb reduction and the met and weight loss to reduce to 42 within 6 months and was advised to stick to Metformin as “most people can’t keep up any changes.”I drifted a bit after this put a stone back on and my hba in May this year was 45 and nurse wanted me on statins. At this point I decided I needed to take myself in hand and get serious I started to research and this summer came across this site and the lCHF approach which I then started. I also mixed in with intermittent fasting and started to get serious results. However my reaction to Metformin was increasingly worse and my new blood glucose meter was showing an average reading of 5.5 so made decision to come off Metformin 7 weeks ago. I did try to ring drs but told unless urgent could not book as so busy so just got on with it. In the last two weeks my average blood meter reading has been 4.8 withoutmetformin and am so well. I have also lost 30 pounds and bmi now 23. My question is about what happened to me today. Went in for hbac1 and saw a health care assistant who took blood, weight etc and I mentioned my blood readings and that I had come off Metformin. Wish I’d taken a photo of look of shock on her face she was really not happy with me and said she needed to book me in with a dr for next Thursday to discuss my results when back as would need a gp opinion on this and may need to go back on them. I really don’t want to but what do others think. I’ve seen posts from people who stay on them for other benefits but I’ve never felt so well off them and with my new way of eating and weight. I do get anxious and would really appreciate some help, support and advice. Feel like I’m waiting to see the headmistress for being naughty! Yes I do have memories of this!
 
Me too! I was a reguler visitor - I still remember my joy when the headmistress told me I was far too intelligent to be in so much trouble and I was able to reply “ you know that, I know that but can you please tell your staff”
Sounds like the nurse is covering all bases and isnt convinced your hba1c will match home readings and it will be out of her clinical comfort zone if they do show the same trend. If it was me, Id take a log of home readings along to the appointment, see what the results are and what the doc has to say, then decide what you want to do
 
I reply not that I am a medical expert and my comments are from sheer personal experience, but I got the same reaction when my Doctor here in spain was informed by myself when he advised my A1C had reduced x 23 % in 4 months, and this was because I had been on Metformin patting himself on the back he had done this amazing thing by giving me the drug in the first place, when I excitingly told him "no not due to Metformin Doctor", as I did not take them no disrespect to himself, but threw them down the toilet, instead, I took charge of my own body, who best to do this, no one knows it better than I and even if under a Doc, always best to get 2d and 3rd opinions for all! I started to walk more, as you started intermittent fasting 2 days 18 hr fast and 1 day 24 hour fast, love it!....have dropped 21 kilos, I eat Keto eating plan real food great recipes on the diet doctor website, have not eaten bread pasta potatoes or rice for 11 months, substitute for other goods which are much better and tastier, and really the look of my Doctors face was amazing, he took the huff, not even a well done, or enquired what I had done in the life style change, he just said "Jennifer listen to me, convince yourself you have diabetes" don't drink coffee stood up and opened the door! Well, I changed my doctor as you can well imagine, a Doc who can not recognise new methods, new avenues of how to treat diabetes or support the efforts you did, is not the right doctor for you.....

Oh by the way, before he closed the door, I said, to him, a suggestion box for you....and all medics worldwide, start treating Diabetes correctly its been treat wrongly, you are all worrying about high sugars this is not the problem, Diabetes is a dietary disease, metformin does not cure this, it simply shuffles the sugars around the body and no doubt destroying other organs inbetween kidneys especially, whereas a change of lifestyle, exercise, diet, intermittent fasting gets rid of sugars naturally, out of the system, so start and treat the CAUSE, which is insulin resistance as sugars is only a symptom of the Cause!!!!

You don't give alcohol to an alcoholic, you don't give insulin to T2 diabetic if insulin is the problem in the first place you focus and treat the problem the casue....

The second look on his face was not to be forgotten but I giggled and chuckled on the way out of the surgery, knowing, I had done the correct thing not taking my metformin, I took only 3 and that was enough the side effects were horrendous, and decided to do my own thing, this is what the good doctors with any medical sense will tell you in the first place before giving medications, change of lifestyle, exercise more, low carb eating and that's it really.........intermittent fasting is the icing on the cake, and it works it really works for me anyway cant speak for others.

You don't have to take Metformin even if prescribed, not all doctors are correct, its not for me to advise you what to do, but you have the ball in your court, seek another doctor or another until you find a Doctor who says...

"Well done, amazingly you are keeping control of your levels, A1C down 23% 4 months no meds, we keep going like this and retest you in 12 months"......that's a pragmatic approach sensible doctor, who acknowledges that other methods other than medication can be a solution and if they show constant good results, why force anyone to continue on Metformin.

I asked my Doc to give leniency when I informed him my good results, he declined saying no, you wont stick to the regime your one he did not have trust in me as his patient, well I had great pleasure to bump into him last week, another look of shock to see my wonderful new body, bouncing down the street, and I approached him to tell him my A1C is now normal levels,
and my fasting, 2hr after eat and random finger testing, is all in the 80mg/dl, wishing him a nice day I bounced by him with a fabulous grin on my face.....

Hope this helps

mallorca
 
Hi shelley262,
I've never had Metformin........IBS and Diverticula Disease do not sit well with Met.........the point is if you don't want to take it........then don't.......neither the HCA, DSN or the GP can force them down your throat, the choice is yours..........its the same if they offer you Statins.......I had a quad bypass in 2002 and was on statins for years till last year when I asked my GP would he take them or give them to his nearest and dearest, after he said no he wouldn't I declined any further tablets........
Besides which they should not make you feel like a naughty child for refusing....if they do this its thier bad not yours.
 
yes, this is a great idea of taking a log of home readings I do this, and it shocks the docs....

They say A1C is gold the best tester its not in my opinion. The real blood testings are for me reality and not false.

I was told, finger tests waste of time, quoting when it shows lower reading it because, you had a lucky day a good day!!!
Sorry, that's not the case.

I took my log, and shows what I ate, what my BPressure reading is and my BS and daily steps generally 10,000 a day.
exercise routine.

I only check my fingers now every 4 months and guess what, From April 2017 up until 29th November 2017 each reading, April, July and Nov, are the same with only one or two points up or down either way, they still say its good luck, for goodness sake,
I use two differnet testers one is normal finger tester contour and the other the amazing wonderful Genteel suction style, both have the same results!!! not all machines can be wrong, and my numbers and constantly, every 4 months consistent and even Nov my lowest ever no medications Fasting always a high for me was 80mg/dl!!!!! how about that one.....

so, my advice, follow ones own rules, and get 2nd and 3rd opinions as not always are the information you received correct, even if those informing are following the rule criteria system, anyway all the cut off numbers are arbitrary set at whim random choice, admitted as that also, not a doctor, but it does not take rocket science to realize Diabetes is a big business too in my opinion and from 3 months of researches from reputable sources not the internet I might add.

so yes, a brilliant and vital necessary thing to do, KEEP A LOG, and thrust it infront of ones doctor or whoever, if they claim your numbers are in anyway not consistent with each A1C and finger tests, especially when they tell you don't take notice of the average blood sugar on the A1C, why do they say this, for example my first A1C showed 8.1% and average sugar of 28mg/dl 8.1% should be around 183mg/dl, then my 6.5% A1C showed average sugar 146mg/dl work tht one out, I did, after 2 months hounding I got confirmation an error on the testing of my A1C had taken place!!! had I not hounded for 2 months my concerns, this would never have been noticed or admitted, yes A1C can have error results and always get a 2nd one if your unsure....I did and the results where amazing.....why I did not accept the first test re

Mallorca
 
Thank you I took log along today but she was dismissive need to take it to the headmistress clearly! You made me laugh with your headteacher experience thank you
 
Thank you very much for both your detailed replies very informative and useful. Lucky for you living in the sunshine we still have ice on ground after recent snowfall nearly fell over on way to drs! I will see what she says next Thursday and if not happy week 2nd opinion. Think it’s the view that they have that of course we will relapse or fail that I find the most discouraging but on the flip side it could make this girl want to show them. After continually been in trouble in early years at school easily done at our girls high school as a coal miners daughter who never had right uniform etc I took this attitude and decided to show them went on to degree and post grad level thankfully as it gave me choices a bit of this grit is called for I think. Thank you again wonderful members on this forum
 
Thank you very much. I too had background I’d ibs and struggled with side effects even violent pains when out walking but put up with it until unbearable when had lowere my blood sugars so much. Will remember your advice that the problem is theirs but wouldn’t it be a nice world if medical staff could look at your efforts and support you seems they only do if they feel they are at the heart of the improvements! My determination is now coming to the fore rather than my anxiety so a big thank you from me
 
shelley262 said:
Wish I’d taken a photo of look of shock on her face she was really not happy with me and said she needed to book me in with a dr for next Thursday to discuss my results when back as would need a gp opinion on this and may need to go back on them
Click to expand...
You have done the unforgivable.. taken control over your own body and confounded the expectation that your Type 2 will get worse. Well done!
 

Your welcome......yes it would be nice........but hey........GO GIRL....... stick to your guns, there's only one person who knows how your body really works.......that's YOU.......
 
Hi and welcome. As you have spotted the GPs and DNs have a belief in Metformin being miracle diabetes cure - it isn't. It only ever has a small effect on blood sugar together with some other small protective properties; it is a very safe drug. I have taken it for 14 years now partly to keep the DN happy (!) and as it has no downside for me. I do have the Slow Release (SR) version but many can tolerate the standard version after a week or two of bowel problems which a few have. I did have a metallic taste for 6 months which I haven't seen mentioned on the forum recently. This happens to a few of us and is part of the appetite suppression mechanism but that fades completely.
 
Thank you for your support and useful info. Yes I was given impression that the first 6 month drop was mainly down to Metformin which is why I struggled on. Maybe some weight loss too in early days was down to being on loo non stop! This did calm down over the two years but came back with a vengeance when I was intermittent fasting alongside lCHF I was doing one low carb meal per day for a month which took blood sugars down really well but triggered such bad ibs symptoms could hardly go out. It was a miracle when stopped taking the Metformin my digestive system is wonderful and I feel so fit and light!
 
The choice to continue or discontinue a treatment is yours and yours alone. No one can force you take a drug that you have decided not to take. I have no problem with a HCA giving very basic advice or doing blood draws etc but further than that is above their pay grade and your HCA seems to have been shocked by the fact that you made a decision off your own bat 'How Very Dare You!'. Seriously, though, you have taken control of your own health and done a sterling job of it, keep it up. Regarding statins, do your homework and then decide if you want to go down that route and take control of that decision, too. It is certainly empowering to be able to be in charge of your own personal health isn't it? Good luck and well done.
 
Thank you very much for your support your how very dare you made me laugh out loud. I feel that unless someone comes up with an argument that convinces me of benefits of Metformin and statins I’m planning on being a refusenik! Having said this if further down the line things do progress despite my best efforts I would of course reconsider. My main motivator is my mum who despite taking Metformin and a good hba of 42 for the 20 years since diagnosis is now moving into renal failure territory so I just want to try and halt the rate of progress! At the moment I’m fine on kidney function and want to try my best to keep it that way thank you
 
Daibell said:
As you have spotted the GPs and DNs have a belief in Metformin being miracle diabetes cure
Click to expand...

Another quirk from the medical profession! why push a pill that clearly doesn't work? As they always say "diabetes is a progressive disease, and you'll eventually end up on insulin". (It's the ££££, I know)

Well done OP and you never know the 'headmaster' might actually be open minded.........................
 
I suspect that the true extent of the misery caused by Metformin will never be known - I told the nurses just how bad I got - no mention of it was put into my file.
With Met and a statin I was becoming fit for a nursing home - my memory is improving a bit now, after a year off them, and I do wonder how many people are being lovingly, carefully, being dosed up with the stuff and then being judged as unfit to look after themselves due to the confusion and unwelcome in family homes due to their incontinence.
 
I saw my cardiologist today for my annual review. He wanted to put me on BP pills as my BP was 135/73. I challenged this and he said there were new USA guidelines (none from NICE yet) which now places anything over 130 as High BP Level 1. This means 77% of the over 70s population have high BP and even those over 50 it's 50%. I wonder who sponsored this new 'research'? So take note, you may have 'high BP' and not realise it!
 
I think it is better to avoid saying “low carb” to any medic until you have a good hba1cresult…… Withholding information is a tool that can be used by us as well as drug companies.

I take metformin and like most people the side effects stopped after about one week, but it’s the low carb that has given me the most benfit. If the side effects of metformin becomes an issue for me, I will just stop taking it without taking to my doctor.

Metformin has been proven to reduce the complications of insulin resistance regardless of BG level.
 
You saw a health care assistant, someone without any qualifications at all other than being told what to do by someone qualified.
I had my regular foot check done at my new surgery (they get paid for it so I couldn’t refuse) with an HCA who pointed out I have some hard skin, a small area of fungal stuff and informed me that as a diabetic, it’s important to treat these things. Had she had the training to know how to take a history and understand that not everybody is a brain dead pleb, she would have found out my 40 year history of both of those minor things and how I deal with them.
She also did the prod test and said ‘now?’ each time she prodded me. When I declined to be weighed, she didn’t know what to do so I told her just to write ‘patient declined’.

They are there to do the stuff that supposedly doesn’t need doing by a qualified HCP. I dread to think what she would have made of the ketones in my wee had she dipped it, the last time it happened was with a diabetic specialist nurse who went white and was just about to dial 999 for me.

HCA’s know almost nothing*, take no notice of her.

*I was one for 20 years and then became a Midwife.
 
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