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type 2 and weight loss tablets

S

steveo1

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Does anyone know if there is a weight loss tablet on the market suitable fir type 2 diabetics?
 
I wouldn't ever use weight loss tablets- lchf has given me excellent results and I know many others on here also have had the same, doesn't feel like a "diet" and so easy to do !
 
As kimbo1962 has said, the lchf diet works well both for weight loss and for reducing your blood glucose levels.

Do you have specific reason for wanting to take tablets instead of trying a diet?

Robbity
 
rowan said:
There's a low carb forum on here that will help http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/category/low-carb-diet-forum.18/
Also @daisy1 has some very helpful info for new members, hoefully she'll be along with it soon
Click to expand...

Hello @steveo1 and welcome to the forum :)

As you can see, members don't recommend using tablets to lose weight. They prefer reducing carbs. Here in this information for new members is a lot of information on carbs which should help you. Ask questions if you need to and someone will 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 over 140,000 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

Another option is to replace ‘white carbohydrates’ (such as white bread, white rice, white flour etc) with whole grain varieties. The idea behind having whole grain varieties is that the carbohydrates get broken down slower than the white varieties –and these are said to have a lower glycaemic index.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/food/diabetes-and-whole-grains.html

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

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 bloodglucose 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.
 
I was prescribed the weight loss tablets (Orlestat I think the name was) for about a year when I was first diagnosed as diabetic to try and help me lose some weight. They worked fairly well for those 12 months and then seemed to stop. They work by inhibiting the digestion of fat so that you excreted it in your stools instead. The higher your fat intake the more unpleasant the side effects (I won't go into the full unpleasant details).

I do wonder now if one of the reasons they stopped working for me was I adapted my diet to be very low fat (little side effects) but high carb (not good for the BS).

Having tried them I wouldn't want to go back on them, particularly now I have cut my carbs but increased my fats. I have also lost 3 stone last year on what was a fairly moderate low carb diet, (its being a bit more stubborn to come off so far this year but at least it hasn't gone back up) so I would back up those that say you are better giving a low carb diet a try before opting for tablets.
 
rowan said:
I don't know about tablets but lchf works ;)
Click to expand...
Sorry to seem 'thick' but what does ICHF stand for? Also I've lost about 6stone by using Byetta (exanitide) injection. This was given to me by my diabetic consultant. I'm type 2 diabetic.
 
@Gypsyrose51 low carbohydrate high fat. Don't let the high fat bit put you off. It really just means to eat natural full fat things like cream, butter, cheese, lard, animal fats, rather than manufactured low fat products which really aren't that good for us. Nature knows best. If you are hungry it's best to go for higher fat to make you feel more satiated.

Oh and welcome to the forum :)
 
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