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weight gain

D

dunalyz1

Newbie
Messages
1
Location
scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all was started on gliclazide 2 and half months ago only on 20mg and put on 5.5pounds in that time and i was devastated i'm only 5 foot 2 and that was a huge amount for me and was not eating anymore than usual my weight was always stable before starting on gliclazide but have now told DN i was going to stop taking it which i have done but i can't shift the weight this has really upset me and has affected my confidence, i know in the grand scheme of things this may sound trivial but it a big deal to me, any.I looked up side effects of gliclazide before my review and asked about weight gain and DN told me no i would not put on weight on i would probably lose weight feel lied too just so i would take the tablet
 
As someone else who is ‘vertically challenged’ I sympathise. When I was diagnosed Type 2 I was morbidly obese. I commenced a low carb diet primarily to control my blood sugars but a happy side effect was weight loss.
I'm guessing you’re DN wasn’t happy enough with your HbA1c so wanted you on Gliclazide? So a low carb diet may help you with both blood sugar control and weight loss.
I notice this is your first post here, so welcome to the forum and here’s a link to our useful info post which you might find helpful:
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/basic-information-for-newly-diagnosed-diabetics.17088/
Have a read and come back with any questions you might have.
 
I do understand your frustration, especially if you were told something that is not correct...

Would you consider your diet to be very healthy as it stands? Before i was diagnosed my weight was pretty stable, all be it quite heavy.

My diet was awful and i was eating things that in the past had made me gain weight, i now understand that what was maintaining my weight was my very high blood sugars (87!) which would have had it not been for my condition been converted into fat rather then being evacuated via my bladder!

One of the side effects of Gliclazide producing more insulin which helps reduce the blood glucose levels, is that this can mean that calories that would have other wise been removed from the body are stored.

It will make you gain weight if your taking in more food then you need, because your better are using it then before. But the bonus is that your blood sugars are lower. I think if your already at a very healthy weight and eat a very healthy diet it can also increase weight slightly as it can make you store a little more glucose then normal.
 
Everyone is different so your nurse advising Gliclizide may have worked well for you. Not everyone adds your percentage of weight gain.
Go back to your medical team and advise your findings. The earlier the better.
Mine worked to reduce my hba1c due to diet amendment too. Then it had no effect at all when I started with seeded bread and fruit smoothies.
I may hv burnt out insulin making cells but it's not proven either way, nor about Gliclizide adding to the speed of that.
Many other meds available with weight loss as a side effect.
Go back and be forthright.
 
Hi. Can you tell us more about your diet. Note that neither Gliclazide nor insulin in themselves cause weight gain but what they do is enable the body to metabolise carbs from the insulin they provide or generate. I can only guess that your carb intake needs to be reduced but I may be wrong so do let us know more about your diet.
 
dunalyz1 said:
Hi all was started on gliclazide 2 and half months ago only on 20mg and put on 5.5pounds in that time and i was devastated i'm only 5 foot 2 and that was a huge amount for me and was not eating anymore than usual my weight was always stable before starting on gliclazide but have now told DN i was going to stop taking it which i have done but i can't shift the weight this has really upset me and has affected my confidence, i know in the grand scheme of things this may sound trivial but it a big deal to me, any.I looked up side effects of gliclazide before my review and asked about weight gain and DN told me no i would not put on weight on i would probably lose weight feel lied too just so i would take the tablet
Click to expand...
You either gain weight and have controlled bloodsugars, or you lose weight and have your bloodsugars all over the place, with complications headed towards you. That's basically the options you're being given, then? Oh boy. *shakes head*.

Go over your diet. (What do you eat in a typical day? Can you tell us? Then we can let you know which goods spike your bloodsugars and get stored as fat.) The traditional "less fats, more carbs" is exactly the opposite of what a T2 needs. Also, you want to steer clear of fruit. All the advice that's usually given goes out the window when you have a metabolic disorder like we do. It's a steep learning curve, but I do believe you can both lose weight AND get your bloodsugars down. Without medication. I know I did. And many here with me. https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/blog-entry/the-nutritional-thingy.2330/ is my own little quick-start guide, but there's loads more sources on the web, like dietdoctor.com and this forum's website diabetes.co.uk (not .org!). It's a lot to take in, but it's nowhere near as hopeless as your DN made it sound. You have options. Healthy ones.

Good luck!
Jo
 
One of insulin's primary roles is to activate/facilitate de novo lipogenesis - the creation of new fat from unused glucose. It quite literally deactivates fat burning and activates fat storage. If you already have too much circulating insulin - typical of type 2 while the pancreas still works - then anything that stimulates or provides further insulin is likely to promote weight gain and further the progression of the illness. Insulin testing should be performed on individuals before offering these kinds of medications, but it rarely is. Most doctors paper over the cracks of diabetes by targeting blood glucose without the due diligence of understanding the patient's existing insulin profile.

Clearly it won't necessarily result in weight gain for everyone, but it shouldn't be a surprise to any HCP if it does. I very much doubt that the average diabetes nurse will understand or agree with any of this, though.
 
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