Type 2 and low carb

[Discs]

Hi,
I had type 2 for over a year now, and had to go for yearly check up last week and my hba1c had gone up loads , so the DN and doctor prescibed Glyclizade and gave me 2 monitors(1 large and 1 mini) and a prescription for strips and lancets. I seem to be in a good area for care.Got 2nd telephone appointment tommorrow by the doc to see how I'm gettting on with Glyclizade, I might ask him about low carb diet and see what he says. Fingers crossed.
When 1st told that I had type 2, I cut down on stuff but just carried on with life and not really bothered about type 2, but now just like a lot of people you start relaising that it does matter what you eat, drink and live life, things have to change unless you want face the maker. To be trueful for years I have eaten, drunk whatever I wanted, now I'm having to start looking at foods and drink alot more closely, no doubt I few people here are saying that was me before I was told I had diabeties, so my journey starts NOW!!

 

[Bluetit1802]

Hi and welcome again!

I wish you luck with your phone appointment with the doctor tomorrow if you mention low carb! If he follows the NHS guidance, which is eat carbs with every meal and low fat, that is all you will get from him, but it is not the best advice for us. In fact, it is wrong..

On Gliclazide you do have to be careful with carbs because of the possibility of having a hypo. Gliclazide works by forcing the pancreas to produce extra insulin. The more carbs you eat, the more insulin you need. The fewer carbs you eat, the less insulin you need. If you produce too much insulin you may end up with low blood sugars and a hypo. You have to balance things.

It is perfectly possible to be low carb and on Gliclazide, but you have to test frequently to make sure your levels aren't dropping. You do need to understand what you are doing and be able to judge if your Gliclazide dose needs reducing or eliminating completely, in which events you would need to speak to your doctor. Please don't be put off low carb - it is the best way to regain control and prevent yourself from ending up on stronger drugs and insulin. All carbs convert to sugar in the system, so we need to eat less carbs.

I am tagging @daisy1 who has a useful introductory post for newcomers, and meanwhile have a good read round the forum and ask questions.

 

[Guzzler]

Well done for deciding to take the bull by the horns and be proactive about your health.

 

[daisy1]

@Discs

Hello Discs and welcome to the Forum Here is the Basic Information we give to new members and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will try and help.


BASIC INFORMATION FOR NEW MEMBERS

Diabetes is the general term to describe people who have blood that is sweeter than normal. A number of different types of diabetes exist.

A diagnosis of diabetes tends to be a big shock for most of us. It’s far from the end of the world though and on this forum you'll find well over 235,000 people who are demonstrating this.

On the forum we have found that with the number of new people being diagnosed with diabetes each day, sometimes the NHS is not being able to give all the advice it would perhaps like to deliver - particularly with regards to people with type 2 diabetes.

The role of carbohydrate

Carbohydrates are a factor in diabetes because they ultimately break down into sugar (glucose) within our blood. We then need enough insulin to either convert the blood sugar into energy for our body, or to store the blood sugar as body fat.

If the amount of carbohydrate we take in is more than our body’s own (or injected) insulin can cope with, then our blood sugar will rise.

The bad news

Research indicates that raised blood sugar levels over a period of years can lead to organ damage, commonly referred to as diabetic complications.

The good news

People on the forum here have shown that there is plenty of opportunity to keep blood sugar levels from going too high. It’s a daily task but it’s within our reach and it’s well worth the effort.

Controlling your carbs

The info below is primarily aimed at people with type 2 diabetes, however, it may also be of benefit for other types of diabetes as well.

There are two approaches to controlling your carbs:

• Reduce your carbohydrate intake
• Choose ‘better’ carbohydrates

Reduce your carbohydrates

A large number of people on this forum have chosen to reduce the amount of carbohydrates they eat as they have found this to be an effective way of improving (lowering) their blood sugar levels.

The carbohydrates which tend to have the most pronounced effect on blood sugar levels tend to be starchy carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread, potatoes and similar root vegetables, flour based products (pastry, cakes, biscuits, battered food etc) and certain fruits.

Choosing better carbohydrates

The low glycaemic index diet is often favoured by healthcare professionals but some people with diabetes find that low GI does not help their blood sugar enough and may wish to cut out these foods altogether.

Read more on carbohydrates and diabetes.

Over 145,000 people have taken part in the Low Carb Program - a 10 week structured education course that is helping people lose weight and reduce medication dependency by explaining the science behind carbs, insulin and GI.

Eating what works for you

Different people respond differently to different types of food. What works for one person may not work so well for another. The best way to see which foods are working for you is to test your blood sugar with a glucose meter.

To be able to see what effect a particular type of food or meal has on your blood sugar is to do a test before the meal and then test after the meal. A test 2 hours after the meal gives a good idea of how your body has reacted to the meal.

The blood sugar ranges recommended by NICE are as follows:

Blood glucose ranges for type 2 diabetes

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 8.5 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (adults)

• Before meals: 4 to 7 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 9 mmol/l

Blood glucose ranges for type 1 diabetes (children)

• Before meals: 4 to 8 mmol/l
• 2 hours after meals: under 10 mmol/l

However, those that are able to, may wish to keep blood sugar levels below the NICE after meal targets.

Access to blood glucose test strips

The NICE guidelines suggest that people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes should be offered:

• structured education to every person and/or their carer at and around the time of diagnosis, with annual reinforcement and review
• self-monitoring of plasma glucose to a person newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes only as an integral part of his or her self-management education

Therefore both structured education and self-monitoring of blood glucose should be offered to people with type 2 diabetes. Read more on getting access to blood glucose testing supplies.

You may also be interested to read questions to ask at a diabetic clinic.

Note: This post has been edited from Sue/Ken's post to include up to date information.
Take part in Diabetes.co.uk digital education programs and improve your understanding. Most of these are free.

• Low Carb Program - it's made front-page news of the New Scientist and The Times. Developed with 20,000 people with type 2 diabetes; 96% of people who take part recommend it... find out why
  
  
• Hypo Program - improve your understanding of hypos. There's a version for people with diabetes, parents/guardians of children with type 1, children with type 1 diabetes, teachers and HCPs.
  

 

[Olufisayo]

I watch whatever goes into my , yet I still find myself in this condition. Anyway my mother was diabetic and she lived to be 83. I respected her for her discipline.

 

[miahara]

When first diagnosed I was put on gliclazide and my BG did fall, but when I adopted a LCHF diet it fell even further to the extent that my Doc has now stopped the gliclazide as she reckons I'm "Diet Controlled" I'm keeping a close eye on my BG and will have another HbA1c test in three months.

 

[ringi]

I started Low Carb aggressively while on Glyclizade, including testing my BG often. Clearly, while my BG was still in high double figures (over 15) I had no risk of Hypos! After 10 days I had my first BG reading that was below 5 and ate some carbs (an apple) to stop the hype, I had an appointment with the nurse the next day, she told me that I must have carbs with each meal and between meals to prevent hypos. The nurse said that as my fasting BG was still high, I still needed the Glyclizade but that she would phone me after talking to the GP.

As I did not get a phone call, and by then understood that carbs were killing me (due to insulin poisoning), I decided myself to stop the Glyclizade (as we are not doctors we can't tell you what to do, just what we did). My BG went up but was still mostly under 7. Within two weeks from then, they were nearly always below 6 due to low carb. (Maybe I should have halved the dose by cutting the tablets in half.)

So be very careful with low carb while taking Glyclizade, check your BG often including before and when driving, but remember it's your life, so you get to decide what you put in your body.

PS, I am happy to take metformin for life, as I don't get the side effects. But it is low carb not metformin that gives me normal BG levels. (I just have had a big meal and my 2hr most meal reading was 4.9, it took me many months of low carbs before I got that low.)

 

[bamba]

The instructions I was given was to stop taking the Gliclazide when blood glucose got down to 5.

Best to ring your GP practice or 111 and ask.