Weight Loss

Hi. I must admit I don't quite understand some of your points. Metformin cannot by itself cause hypos or sub-normal blood sugar as it doesn't directly affect the pancreas. You say you have a reading of 3.2 on a regular basis. If this is actually the reading in mmol you get on your meter 2 hours after a meal then I would query your diabetes diagnosis; also most people's readings vary on each test. I can understand that exercise is difficult for you but diet is usually the key to weight loss and reduced insulin resistance. Have you reduced your overall daily carbs to 200 gm or a lot less and kept them low-GI? Please give us some more information.

I was 21st 4lbs at diagnosis in April 2010. My physical problems aren't as bad as yours, but I have lumbar spinal stenosis and some osteoarthritis, which prevent me walking too far. The only piece of gym equipment I'm allowed to use is the exercise bike to help strengthen my legs (when I can afford to go!); I have some core body exercises from the physio, which I do lying on the bed, and I also do armchair exercises. I am able to garden in the summer, with frequent rests.

Since diagnosis I have lost 60lbs, and am now just under 17 stone. I would have lost more if I'd stopped drinking wine . My cholesterol/blood lipid profile is fine, and my blood pressure is about 120/80. My blood glucose readings are within the non-diabetic range most of the time (except Christmas ). Almost all of this has been done by diet + 3 metformin daily (1 with each meal).

Metformin really doesn't make a great deal of difference to your blood glucose levels - I mean, it doesn't drop you by as much as 3 or 4 points, more like 1 or 2 at the most. With me, it helps keep my appetite under control. You may find that it has less effect on you if you take it with food - ie, at meal times - spread through the day.

The diet I use is a Sticky Thread on the Low-carb Diet section of the forum - Viv's Modified Atkins Diet. It may not suit you, and I would advise you to think very carefully about it if your BG readings are swinging, but it's a good basic list of low-carb foods, and you can always add in a few more carbs to keep you stable. The first time I followed the diet I lost 5.5 stones in 18 months.

I would really suggest that you get a Carb Counter book (Collins have one in their Gem series) so you can work out how many grams of carb you are eating every day. Also get yourself a glucose test meter and test strips, if you don't already have one, and test just before each meal and 2 hours after. Keep a record of what you have eaten, and you'll soon see which foods send your blood glucose too high. Type 2 diabetics should be between 4 and 7 mmol/l before eating, and less than 8.5, 2 hours after.

Have a really good look around the site - there's plenty of good information on here, most of it from the personal experience of diabetics, so it's tried and tested.

It really is possible to lose weight without doing much exercise - it just takes a bit longer! So stick with it - and do come back with any questions you like - we're here to help!

Viv 8)

What do you eat for breakfast, by the way? I have a 2-egg omelette cooked in butter every morning, which lasts me nicely until lunch-time without any hunger-pangs or unstable blood glucose. I can't take cereal or toast - hits me too fast and then I'm starving by mid-morning.