Which Medication Is Best?

[bulkbiker]

Well, cooked a roast dinner today, had pork, crackling, chicken, veg and gravy - No potatoes. Blood was 6.7 before and 11 an hour after. Not sure why it rose so much?? So I Decided to take my 1st Metformin and within half hour it went to 7.1. If I can get away with 1 x 500mg a day until I am back under 46 A1c I’ll be pleased with that but taking pills is not ideally what I want long term. Have any of you managed to come off medication?

Never really started... metformin for 3 weeks... tied to the toilet so stopped them and started intermittent fasting along with ultra low carb.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Well, cooked a roast dinner today, had pork, crackling, chicken, veg and gravy - No potatoes. Blood was 6.7 before and 11 an hour after. Not sure why it rose so much?? So I Decided to take my 1st Metformin and within half hour it went to 7.1. If I can get away with 1 x 500mg a day until I am back under 46 A1c I’ll be pleased with that but taking pills is not ideally what I want long term. Have any of you managed to come off medication?

It could well have been the gravy that caused that spike, in addition to any in the veggies. Which veggies were they? Did you have anything else to eat or drink?

Metformin does not work that way, and takes a while to do anything at all - even then it doesn't do too much. The drop to 7.1 from 11 was just your body doing its job. All Metformin will do is help curb your appetite, and help reduce the amount of glucose your liver produces, and may be help a little with insulin resistance. But all this takes more than one pill, and more than one day. It accumulates in your system. It is not instant, and will not lower post meal levels.

I have never been on any medication. Many on this forum have come off stronger stuff than Metformin very successfully.

 

[MKD75]

Never really started... metformin for 3 weeks... tied to the toilet so stopped them and started intermittent fasting along with ultra low carb.

I do fasting once a week but ultra low carbs? What don’t you eat to be ultra low? I cut out/down bread, pasta, rice and potatoes but still got high levels today from veg?

 

[Resurgam]

I really can't remember very much about that time - I also 'lost' all the songs I used to sing and am having to relearn them. Luckily my daughter asked me to write down and record my songs, or they'd be gone.
I don't take any medication now, not for diabetes. I need Thyroxine as my thyroid stopped working years ago.

 

[MKD75]

It could well have been the gravy that caused that spike, in addition to any in the veggies. Which veggies were they? Did you have anything else to eat or drink?

Metformin does not work that way, and takes a while to do anything at all - even then it doesn't do too much. The drop to 7.1 from 11 was just your body doing its job. All Metformin will do is help curb your appetite, and help reduce the amount of glucose your liver produces, and may be help a little with insulin resistance. But all this takes more than one pill, and more than one day. It accumulates in your system. It is not instant, and will not lower post meal levels.

I have never been on any medication. Many on this forum have come off stronger stuff than Metformin very successfully.

Really?!?! I thought it was some kind of wonder drug which had done it’s work within 30 mins. Had a few carrots, cabbage, swede, runner beans and cauliflower, also had a spoon full of cheese sauce (white flour, may have been that). Been eating loads of salmon and salad lately which don’t touch my levels and was just surprised it rose so high after a potato free roast I friggin hate diabetes

 

[bulkbiker]

I do fasting once a week but ultra low carbs? What don’t you eat to be ultra low? I cut out/down bread, pasta, rice and potatoes but still got high levels today from veg?

At the moment I'm following a mostly carnivore diet so only eating meat, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, coffee, tea, a few nuts and some 85% chocolate as a dessert. I'm having some time away from veg although I would usually eat green above ground vegetables as well. No breakfast just ate lunch and dinner or some days just dinner. I aim (and usually consume) fewer than 20g of carbs per day most of that comes from cream in coffee.

 

[MKD75]

At the moment I'm following a mostly carnivore diet so only eating meat, fish, eggs, cheese, butter, cream, coffee, tea, a few nuts and some 85% chocolate as a dessert. I'm having some time away from veg although I would usually eat green above ground vegetables as well. No breakfast just ate lunch and dinner or some days just dinner. I aim (and usually consume) fewer than 20g of carbs per day most of that comes from cream in coffee.

Ok... what would an example of an evening meal be for you?

 

[bulkbiker]

Ok... what would an example of an evening meal be for you?

Last night I had a roast chicken breast, some cheese and a couple of squares of 85% choc. The night before I had a takeaway curry - lamb tikka starter, chicken tikka main course and a spinach and lamb veg dish that my local does. The night before that I was on the way back from France so I had foie gras to start and a sirloin steak.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Really?!?! I thought it was some kind of wonder drug which had done it’s work within 30 mins. Had a few carrots, cabbage, swede, runner beans and cauliflower, also had a spoon full of cheese sauce (white flour, may have been that). Been eating loads of salmon and salad lately which don’t touch my levels and was just surprised it rose so high after a potato free roast I friggin hate diabetes

Metformin is NOT a miracle drug.

OK. Carrots, runner beans, cheese sauce with flour, and normal Bisto-type gravy (also made with flour for thickening) will all have contributed to that rise. How many grams of carbs were in your meal? Did you count them? You say "a few carrots", but added together with those other carby veggies all add up. Your meter told you there were too many I'm afraid.

The salmon and salads are excellent choices.

 

[MKD75]

Metformin is NOT a miracle drug.

OK. Carrots, runner beans, cheese sauce with flour, and normal Bisto-type gravy (also made with flour for thickening) will all have contributed to that rise. How many grams of carbs were in your meal? Did you count them? You say "a few carrots", but added together with those other carby veggies all add up. Your meter told you there were too many I'm afraid.

The salmon and salads are excellent choices.

Thank you. I don’t really understand carb counting? I just cut out the obvious carbs and anything with flour thinking that’s ok, and up until lately cutting out bread, rice and pasta has been working but it seems now I can’t tolerate potatoes and other bits. It’s quickly dropped back down to 6.2 but hate it anywhere near double figures. Will be buying myself a carb counting book I think!

 

[Rachox]

Will be buying myself a carb counting book I think!

In the meantime, supermarket websites are a good source of nutritional info or apps such as Nutracheck or Carbs and Cals.

 

[Bluetit1802]

Will be buying myself a carb counting book I think!

A very good idea. The one I swear by is Carbs & Cals from Amazon, also available as an app.

You can also us the supermarket websites. Sainsbury and Tesco list all the products they sell and include the nutrient details, including amounts of carbs. This is the Tesco page for loose carrots. https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254638565

Good luck .... you will get there.

 

[Mbaker]

Hi @MKD75 seems like you are betwixt and between with your control. You are missing some of the carbs but are acutely aware of the complications. I do a lot of business networking and there are some brilliant persons who can in my lay persons description help to retrain the brain. As is often said, we are all different, I just needed to not be able to see my daughter clearly, which was enough for me to make my moves; there is something that could "trigger" you in a similar way - a 48 HbA1c is so close to non-diabetic levels, maybe you could look at this type of help.

Many have come off of drugs for diabetes, including me, my view is that we should all be given the facts when diagnosed, why was I put on Metformin when I reduced my readings by 20% in the first week? Clearly I did not need this even with an off the chart HbA1c.

Inbetween Metformin and Insulin are the sulphonylureas, which do lower blood glucose but can also hasten the packing up of the beta cells you have left in your pancreas. Another option is to maybe go Keto, perhaps via a structured course from a reputable source.

 

[bulkbiker]

Thank you. I don’t really understand carb counting? I just cut out the obvious carbs and anything with flour thinking that’s ok, and up until lately cutting out bread, rice and pasta has been working but it seems now I can’t tolerate potatoes and other bits. It’s quickly dropped back down to 6.2 but hate it anywhere near double figures. Will be buying myself a carb counting book I think!

You don't need the book really just check out www.dietdoctor.com loads of low carb recipes and meal ideas there.

 

[MKD75]

Hi @MKD75 seems like you are betwixt and between with your control. You are missing some of the carbs but are acutely aware of the complications. I do a lot of business networking and there are some brilliant persons who can in my lay persons description help to retrain the brain. As is often said, we are all different, I just needed to not be able to see my daughter clearly, which was enough for me to make my moves; there is something that could "trigger" you in a similar way - a 48 HbA1c is so close to non-diabetic levels, maybe you could look at this type of help.

Many have come off of drugs for diabetes, including me, my view is that we should all be given the facts when diagnosed, why was I put on Metformin when I reduced my readings by 20% in the first week? Clearly I did not need this even with an off the chart HbA1c.

Inbetween Metformin and Insulin are the sulphonylureas, which do lower blood glucose but can also hasten the packing up of the beta cells you have left in your pancreas. Another option is to maybe go Keto, perhaps via a structured course from a reputable source.

Thank you. I was 47 last test and like to stay under 48 and get back to under 42. Giving up smoking made it harder for me for a while but so glad I did. Need to educate myself more about hidden carbs.. who knew there were carbs in carrots

 

[MKD75]

You don't need the book really just check out www.dietdoctor.com loads of low carb recipes and meal ideas there.

This site is great! Thank you.

 

[Alexandra100]

cooked a roast dinner today, had pork, crackling, chicken, veg and gravy - No potatoes. Blood was 6.7 before and 11 an hour after. Not sure why it rose so much??

What vegetables did you eat and roughly how much of them? Were you pogged afterwards? (Dr Bernstein says that you can spike your bg by eating sawdust or pebbles if you eat enough of them.)

 

[Alexandra100]

Thank you. I was 47 last test and like to stay under 48 and get back to under 42. Giving up smoking made it harder for me for a while but so glad I did. Need to educate myself more about hidden carbs.. who knew there were carbs in carrots

Well done for giving up smoking! If you could do that, eating lower carb should be a doddle for you. I too was ignorant at first about the carbs that infest so many innocent seeming foods. We live and we learn!

 

[Alexandra100]

I Decided to take my 1st Metformin and within half hour it went to 7.1

I doubt very much that the Metformin was responsible. It is said to have more of a cumulative effect, not instant action. And 500mg is a very small dose that makes no difference at all to most people's bg even when taken regularly.

 

[britishpub]

Such as? Which other medications will help keep levels down?

No idea.

I try to avoid drugs personally, so have no knowledge beyond Google or reading stuff on this forum.