It has been 4 years since I was diagnosed with T2 diabetes although I think that I probably had it for much longer. I am over weight by about 1 1/2 stone and struggle to lose weight. It’s been a bumpy ride with some success and failure. I was initially prescribed Metformin and after slight upset stomach things were fine and blood glucose levels dropped. However at the same time as being diagnosed as T2 I was told that I had a small amount of fat on my liver and gall stones. My Gall bladder was removed and after that I have had the worst stomach upsets ever (think food poisoning). I started to realise it may be the Metformin - GP prescribed slow release but after a couple of weeks same reaction. I then went on to Gliclacide and that was ok whilst taking half a tablet but eventually when dose increased 1 tablet problems began. I decided probably wrongly that the tablets made me more ill than my illness (well in the short term). My doctor agreed I could try with exercise and diet but must stay in touch. 18 months later I had moved home and registered with a new Doctors. They checked my diabetes and things haven’t gone well - my Hb1C was in the 90s my blood pressure was high and so was the collestrol (can’t remember the reading). I was referred from the nurse straight to a GP. I was told off for a second time and I explained about the painful debilitating problems with the tablets. I said that I thought I might be lactose intolerant as things like ice cream cause bloating and sometimes worse. He prescribed me a different tablet which he said would get rid off the excess sugar in my urine. I asked would it make me urinate more because I drive for a living and it would not be possible to get to the toilet more. He said No. I also asked if the tablets contained lactose as I noticed that Metformin and Gliclazide do and that might be the problem. He said “I don’t know”! With such high readings and 2 telling offs I took the prescription and left. At the Chemist (Asda very good) I was asked if I had taken the tablet before and was I new to diabetes. I quickly explained the situation and was told that the tablets did contain lactose and could make me prone to utinsry tract infections (the leaflet inside also said may need to urinate more)! The chemist said that lactose is used to bind the ingredients for tablets but that Metformin could be taken in medicine form without lactose. I called the doctors surgery and a new prescription for the Metformin Medicine was done. I was supposed to take 1tsp (5ml) a day for week one, two at 2, and 3 at 3. Somewhere between 2-3 the bad stomachs (poisoning) practically incontinance was back and I Couldn’t drive/work. The good points were weight was coming off and blood strip readings were dropping from 16 something to around 10. The bad fact is the side effects are intolerable and not something I can live with. The GP and nurse at my new surgery say that diet and exercise are not enough and won’t work (my old GP had a more open mind). I joined here but found the food diary thing crashed and didn’t work well so now use MyFitnessPal. I read other people having success and it makes sense if you don’t eat sugar then it’s not there to be got rid off. However, I think that I may need some modern medicine to help with the process. So after all the above - Does anyone know of a diabetic drug for T2 that may be gentle on my stomach (not make urinate or poo) but bring my blood sugars down. At the moment I am trying 1 tsp a day to see if I can tolerate that. I’m guessing you might say back to the GP and I know that’s right but I didn’t find them particularly understanding so would like to go back armed with as much information as possible.
Sorry for the long message