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Type 2 for 12yrs New Member.

bikerbrian

bikerbrian

Member
Messages
21
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all,
I have just joined the forum, and am a little confused. For some years I have been on Metformin, 2 in morning and 2 evening. I have recently been told that my last blood test was high (8) and my nurse prescribed lingaliptin/metformin 2.5/1000mg, twice a day. I have been told I can't have test strips because they are too expensive, so have paid for my own. How am I going to see if things are working otherwise? I have been taking them for two months, and my tests are showing average 8/9, lower after excersise on my treadmill (6/7). Do I need to wait a little longer for them to kick in, or should I make another appointment? I am 71 and 15 stone.
 
Hi and welcome. The only extra med you are having is Linagliptin. The Gliptin family works by extending the output of insulin after a meal but as you get near to the right blood sugar it's effect reduces hence you won't have hypos. It may be that the Linagliptin is working a little but will have most effect if your blood sugar goes a lot higher? The other popular med, Gliclazide, always works but can send you hypo if the dose is wrong. Your weight of 15 stone sounds alittle high? Do you need to lose some weight? If so you need to reduce the carbs in your food and this will have more effect than any tablets.
 
Hi @bikerbrian and welcome to the forum.

A lot depends on what you eat when trying to control your diabetes.
You may find that if you get your diet right then you will need less medication.

Try letting us know a typical days menu for yourself and people will try and help with better choices or it may be fine.

Have you read the basic information that @daisy1 supplies to newly diagnosed? There may be something there that will help.
 
most use the sd codefree because of the cheap strips.
it normally takes 3 weeks for metformin to kick in.
as cath said, it's diet. I would cut the major carbs.., grain, grain product, bread, pasta, cereal. ,,potato..sugary stuff inc, fruit/juice. and see what you can get your bg to. this may tell what your insulin resistance is and what pancreas function is left
This gives a simple overview to how it works
For me, the more carbs we eat the more carbs we want. They don’t give up easy and it’s biochemical



a long page and a few good video’s
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/lowcarb101/a/firstweek.htm


From the @Southport GP who posts here
http://www.practicaldiabetes.com/Sp.../March 2014/PP Unwin final proofs revised.pdf
 
@bikerbrian

Hello Brian and welcome to the forum :)

Some good advice already. Here is the information we give to new members, including advice on carbs, and I hope you will find it useful. Ask as many questions as you need to and someone will be able to 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.
 
Hi, thanks for the replies so far, I haven't been too good with the carbs and sugars for around a year, but have decided to cut them to a sensible level as from now. I'll be checking regularly now and see what works for me, yes I do need to lose an ounce or two! Hopefully cutting down on the carbs will help. Interestingly, although I have been type two for twelve years, it is only recently I have learned more about the condition. Up to recently, the diabetics nurse has been very negative with not too much help. I attended a forum last year, and had loads of interesting and helpful information given to me. So I'll hang on a little while longer before booking an appointment. I am really glad I found this forum everyone is so helpful, I don't feel on my own any more.
 
Hey Brian, It's pretty much all been said above. Slash those carbs hard, by the time you do that plus combined with your continued treadmill you'll have super duper control with low numbers to match.
 
Hi bikerbrian,

I am almost 72 and like you exercise on the treadmill. Started out about two years ago trying to reduce weight and BG levels. Needed to relearn portion sizes and how to do LCHF. After much effort everything improved, weight down from around 110 Kg to under 70 Kg. FBG down from 120 mg/dl to around 80 mg/dl ie from 6,67 mmoles/l to less than 4.5 mmoles/l and better. wont bore you with more .......
Anyway the message is the we old guys can still do it ,and get very good results. Best wishes for your efforts.
 
Hi & welcome.
Well seems the low carb higher fat life style is going to work for you much better than the Nhs advice of the Eat well plate.
Read around loads to be found from those that live with it & know what works.
 
bikerbrian said:
Hi, thanks for the replies so far, I haven't been too good with the carbs and sugars for around a year, but have decided to cut them to a sensible level as from now. I'll be checking regularly now and see what works for me, yes I do need to lose an ounce or two! Hopefully cutting down on the carbs will help. Interestingly, although I have been type two for twelve years, it is only recently I have learned more about the condition. Up to recently, the diabetics nurse has been very negative with not too much help. I attended a forum last year, and had loads of interesting and helpful information given to me. So I'll hang on a little while longer before booking an appointment. I am really glad I found this forum everyone is so helpful, I don't feel on my own any more.
Click to expand...

Definitely no need to feel on your own, it's a big gang (and getting bigger unfortunately).

Welcome.
 
Welcome to the forum.
You will soon see your levels going down if you cut the carbs.
All the best.
 
After two full days of cutting carbs using the carbs and cals book, I have been exhausted today, is this a side effect of starting out?, I had salads yesterday with hardly any carbs at all, and today, I had Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast and a cheese and tomato sandwich, on brown for lunch.
 
Hi @bikerbrian and welcome.

You have made a great start and will get all the help you want here. Hang in there, you will feel better soon.
 
Thanks jack412 and KateA, reading up on recommendations, I appear to be having a 'carb crash!'
 
Welcome to the forums Brian, yes carb flu is horried .. But soon passes .. Do remember to dump all your low fat foods and replace with full fat ones .. Fruit is another one that can be a problem .. I stick to berrys now.. Most of us T2's have to self fund our own test strips.. So your not alone with this .. If you avoide the main carbs of bread, pasta, rice and potatoes it will soon become normal .. I have around 30gm of carbs a day. And feel great, but after just over a year do still crave carbs .. But the wife has taken control of the kitchen ..
 
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