Trying to turn things around

Really annoyed with myself this week. Had a really good weekend away last weekend and whilst I was a bit naughty I thought I'd done ok ... but this week has been a real struggle. Slipped back into some bad habits eating wise and levels have snuck back up and I'm feeling ****. Know how good I've been feeling since Christmas but it's like I've got to press the self-destruct button and spoil all the hard work.

Thanks for the support guys. Not quite back to square one, I know. Line drawn and moving on!

Well, it's been a tough couple of weeks. Work's been rather stressful with an office move last week plus I've been struggling to motivate myself with other things (and haven't been in here much as a result) but I've reached a new post-Christmas low with my weight today (down to 17 stone 8 after about a month stuck around 17/11) and levels are looking good. Waving goodbye to April and hello to May with renewed enthusiasm! Even started tidying up the cottage!!

Best day in a while level wise: 7.1 before breakfast, 7.2 two hours after, 4.3 before lunch, 7.0 two hours after, 4.8 before evening meal and 5.8 two hours after. Back to work tomorrow after a four day weekend.

Bit of a red letter day today!

6.2 before breakfast, 5.7 two hours after, 4.9 before lunch, 6.9 two hours after, 4.3 before evening meal and 6.0 two hours after.

First day in a very long time that every reading has been under 7

Injecting quite small doses as well - 2 units of novorapid at breakfast (yogurt), 3 at lunchtime (ham sandwich and a yogurt) and 4 with evening meal (fish, mash and peas).

Thought I'd dust this thread off - can't believe how long it is since I last posted in it ... and therein prehaps lies part of the problems I've been having recently.

Stopped coming on here for about eighteen months and maybe got complacent and took my eye of the ball. Actually, there's no maybe about it - I did. Then went through a crazy period at work - probably the most complex and stressful case that I've ever dealt with and ended up working 10 to 12 hour days every day for nine months without a break. Leaving home at 6 am most days and not getting home until gone 8, not eating the right sort of things and blood sugar levels not coming down sufficiently by the time I got to bed with the result that they were too high the next morning. I wasn't getting enough exercise either and my weight was back around the twenty stone mark.

Finally got the case sorted at the end of September and looking forward to a decent break and then I went and developed an abscess in my groin. Trip to see the emergency GP one day, admitted to hospital the next day to have it drained, and left with a 7 cm deep wound that had to be packed every day. One way of getting a break I suppose.

The wound healed well at first, but then the healing slowed and finally stopped ... but the wound's still weeping. So off I go back to hospital again next week to see what they're going to do about it (GP and practice nurses are of the view that it needs opening up, cleaning out and stitching up, but obviously that's up to the consultant).

The flip side to all this is that it's given me time to get my act together again and refocus and I've now got my weight back down to just over seventeen stone and my blood sugar levels have reached the point where for the last week I haven't been taking any bolus insulin and have, with reasonable success, been controlling them by diet (see https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/reducing-insulin-injections.132481/#post-1689973).

I'm seeing my GP practice's diabetes specialist tomorrow afternoon to talk about progress and how best to manage things going forward (she's the same doctor who encouraged me with the low carb diet last time) and have my annual health check early next month at which I'll get my latest HbA1c and cholestorol results.

So, that's been a rather big blip, but subject to getting the wound sorted out and getting back to work, I'm looking forward with renewed optimism.

Onwards!!

ickihun said:

Just an idea. Are you taking multivitamins @david1968 ?
Low carb is good but can give some deficiencies if not on it properly longterm.

That wound needs intensive TLC and any infection removed. Any antibiotics throughout?

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I'm not taking anything else at the moment, Vicky, but I'm conscious that low carb can leave some needs unaddressed, so will be raising that with the GP tomorrow.

As for the wound, I'm seeing the practice nurses every other day and have already had a couple of courses of antibiotics. From what they've said so far, the problem seems to be that it's tracking to the site of the abcess I had following my colostomy operation.

Bluetit1802 said:

I don't take any supplements at all. Some of the essential stuff is shown on our kidney function tests (potassium and sodium) and some need their own blood tests (vitamins, ferritin and iron mainly). You can ask for these tests to be done. I asked for them and my GP obliged. As I was shown not to be deficient, and also as I had no symptoms, I know I don't need to supplement. I get all I need from my food. Low carb does not necessarily lead to deficiencies.

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Thnaks for this @Bluetit1802 - as far as I know I was doing OK when I was low-carbing before, but no harm in getting things checked out.

ickihun said:

Only if not done properly. I only had Vit D but others were low but not deficient so was advised multivitamins and minerals and Vit D in preparation of my operation. Vit D doesn't come from food much, mainly from sunlight.

Vit E and C all good for healing and immune system with zinc.
Keep topped up and it helps. I was only ill with laryngitis because I stopped my multivitamins recently, never again.
Your body needs what it needs to aid healing. Sleep too. Are you sleeping well?

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I hear what you're saying Vicky, and thanks for your input - will see how I go and how I'm feeling.

As for sleeping, I've been sleeping pretty well once I get off - problem is with being off I'm not using the brain as much as I usually do and it's taking a while to get to sleep. That said, I didn't sleep that well last night - half awake at about half past four and tossing and turning for the rest of the night, though I think it might have been down to having forgotten to put the central heating on timer and the radiator in the bedroom having been on all night!

Interesting session with my diabetes GP this afternoon. She was impressed with the blood sugar levels I've been getting the last few months and that I've been getting whilst not taking any Novorapid, but like me she noted that my levels had been creeping up in the last few days.

Having regard to what I've been eating and that I'm off work at the moment (so not subject to the usual stresses and strains) she was concerned about the long term sustainability of managing things by diet alone, so whilst she's happy for me to come off insulin altogether (both Novorapid and Levemir) she's suggested that I try slow release metformin for a month or so (500mg of Sukkarto SK once a day) and see how I get on with that.

I'm slightly concerned about the possible side effects given that I've got a colostomy, but she's said to let her know if there are any problems and we can look at other medication.

Depending how things go, there's the possibility that I may have to go back onto insulin at some point, but I'm determined to keep on losing weight and watching what I'm eating and hopefully I won't have to.

One thing I did find very interesting was what she said about low doses of insulin - that she didn't think there was any point in taking doses of less than eight units - yet I was set there with my diary which showed that I'd been getting really good results when I was still taking 2 or 3 units of Novorapid.

Anyway, back to see her in a month's time by when I'll have my latest HbA1c result. In the meantime I'll keep posting as to progress.

archersuz said:

Hi @david1968 I've just read this thread from the beginning and I would like to say a very big well done on everything. I admire you. Good luck with your next HbA1c and please do keep posting

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Thank you. I will.

Well, that's the first 24 hours on metformin done and it seems to have gone quite well.

I'm slightly concerned about how my insides might be reacting to it (my stomach was gurgling away like anything after my evening meal yesterday and again after lunch today and my first couple of movements since taking the first tablet were more watery than normal - oh the joys of a drainable colostomy bag) but hope that it will start to settle down over the next couple of days (there's been nowhere near as much grumbling after this evening's meal).

As for my blood sugar levels, they been really good so far:

FBG 5.5 ... post breakfast 6.9 ... pre-lunch 5.8 ... post lunch 6.9 ... pre-evening meal 5.8 ... and post evening meal 6.7.