Hi Annacat
Because you have posted here, you have missed the welcome that Daisy gives to new people. This is a link to the post that she usually gives
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=26870
The advice here is to cut the amount of carbs you eat and that should lower your blood sugar. You also need to get a meter to find out what your blood sugar is and test before and two hours after meals to find out how food affects you. Try to get your doctor to prescribe you a meter and strips, they are usually very reluctant to do so, but if you tell him that you want to be proactive and adjust your diet, then you may be lucky and get them, otherwise like a lot of people on here you will need to self fund it.
Metformin can be the work of the devil and give you terrible stomach problems, I'm much better with it since I cut out eating wheat, this also has the effect of eating less carbs as I don't replace the bread with anything else.
There are other drugs such as Sitagliptin (Januvia) which will lower blood sugar levels and it dosen't work the same way as Gliclazide, if adjusting your diet doesn't give you enough of a drop in your blood sugar.