T2 Newbie

Arvon

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all, my name is Arvon 68 year old male and recently diagnosed as T2 having recognised symptoms maybe for the past 8 months.. I'm currently taking four Metfromin tablets per day. I'm in a bit of turmoil coming across all the social media reports claiming the use of Metformin only treats the symptoms of diabetes and not the cause that is described as a clogged Pancreas that could be unclogged with tablets and concoctions such as Blood Guard and/or cinnamon mixture. Can the members share any experiences or shed some information on these claims? TIA
Regards
Arvon
 

JoKalsbeek

Expert
Messages
6,264
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
Hi Arvon,

Thank heavens you're here... Blood Guard is snake oil (the very real doc who supposedly recommends it, did no such thing, but anything can be faked now), and cinnamon's nice, but not going to help. Your pancreas isn't clogged. There might be some fatty tissue around it, and around your liver, but you're making plenty of insulin. That's the problem for a Type 2: We make so much of it, we've become insensitive to it. That takes me to the metformin: You're right, it doesn't tackle the cause. It just treats the symptoms, because at this point, there is no known cure for T2. There are ways to control it, there are ways to become asymptomatic, and there are ways to avoid complications, but there's no magic pill that'll make it go away. Big pharma would have a field day if that were real. Metformin makes you a little bit more sensitive to your own insulin, and it keeps your liver from dumping too much glucose, which is something it tends to do in the morning, when you're stressed, sleepless, sick, give that liver any excuse and it'll dump glucose into your bloodstream. Do excuse it, it's just trying to help, the little deluded soul.

If you want to try and get your blood glucose under control, https://josekalsbeek.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-nutritional-thingy.html covers some of the basics. I wrote it a couple of eons ago, but it still holds true. Almost all carbs turn to glucose once ingested, so you basically just... Eat fewer carbs. Fewer carbs, less glucose to process, less for your body to contend with. Sounds simple, and it pretty much is. I responded badly to metformin, -brutal side effects- and I didn't do well on gliclazide either, so yeah... Just a dietary change for me. And it's kept me in the normal, non-diabetic range these past 7, almost 8 years. Without medication. So that's maybe an option: diet, diet and meds, just meds... It's all up to you. But do yourself a favour and don't invest in anything other than a blood glucose meter (sadly there's too many T2's for the NHS to hand them out, it's a rare client that gets one), so you know what your blood sugars are doing and how you respond to certain foods, and just go over your grocery list. Anything else is basically a waste of money and hope, when it's as relatively simple as just letting the spuds and buns be.

You're asking the right questions. You're going to be fine. ;)
Jo
 

Antje77

Guru
Retired Moderator
Messages
20,234
Type of diabetes
LADA
Treatment type
Insulin
I'm in a bit of turmoil coming across all the social media reports claiming the use of Metformin only treats the symptoms of diabetes and not the cause that is described as a clogged Pancreas that could be unclogged with tablets and concoctions such as Blood Guard and/or cinnamon mixture.
Hi @Arvon , welcome to the forum.

Those social media reports are usually written by the same people who sell the stuff, or get paid to post good reviews.

It's a sad world where people make money by scamming people with a chronic illness, but it's the world we live in.
Here's another thread on Blood Guard: https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/blood-guard.203308/
 
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derekhansen

Active Member
Messages
31
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
And please be very wary about advice on Social media such as Instagram, FB, TikTok etc. So much poorly informed information and opinion. There are well informed people giving sound advice but its like looking for diamonds in the dirt.

I have been using the forums on this site since I was diagnosed T2. I have found the information here invaluable.
 
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Paul_

Well-Known Member
Messages
501
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
And please be very wary about advice on Social media such as Instagram, FB, TikTok etc. So much poorly informed information and opinion. There are well informed people giving sound advice but its like looking for diamonds in the dirt.

I have been using the forums on this site since I was diagnosed T2. I have found the information here invaluable.
I'll add Reddit into that list of sources to be wary of too. It's a real mixed bag of advice on there and moderator capability is questionable in terms of keeping people safe.

This forum is the best resource for diabetes management in my opinion.
 
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