Brunneria,
It would be really helpful if you would look up those "anecdotal references" before posting them on a drug where the experience isn't yours but people might follow your advice because you're a moderator. Some people fail to notice that you haven't the same experiences as most of us. I can't quite remember but wasn't it something like you were once diabetic for a a couple year? And reactive hypoglycemic for a longer period ? Or thought you were? Not belittling your experiences, but some of us are really struggling, going no carb is not a good idea for some of us, and the medications we take have to be really cautiously and carefully considered.
I must admit that as the poster that was being responded to. then I too found it confusing to have an opposing POV referring to unspecified others, but without any cross reference. I have taken part in many discussions on Metfartin and the after effects, and yes, there are many who cannot stomach it. Generally the advice is to switch to the extended or SR release, and occasionally posters give the established advice that the med should be taken with food, but I do not have the same recollection that @Brunneria has, so a reference is IMO necessaryRight, you stated that you remembered from somewhere or someone or another. Your gluten challenges are special but the thread did not concern gluten challenges. I was pointing out that as a monitor, people are more likely than not to take your advice as trustworthy, so when it is not your experience and you are kinda sorta recalling it, you have a little more responsibility to track that recollection of someone or another, my opinion.
Right, you stated that you remembered from somewhere or someone or another.
Yes I did respond in that thread as you point out, and I was at that time looking at the possibility that the manufacturers info leaflets may not have been properly reflecting the LC dieters needs and maybe needs updating. I note that through the whole thread in question there is only ONE respondent who states they find high carbs causes gastric distress, but does not elaborate on it so we do not have any real idea of what diet they were following apart from that it is most likely an LC diet of sorts. As I said in an earlier post in the current thread, the content of the LC diet in terms of fat intake, dairy intake, fibre content, along with certain meds can also influence this outcomeAbsolutely! I become strangely less keen to hunt out, cut and paste references when I am accessing the forum from my bed, using my mobile phone's small screen. Such are the limitations of technology.
However, since it is now morning, and I am back at my desk, I have spent a whole 10 seconds typing 'Metformin too many carbs' into Google. Top of the list is this one:
https://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/type-2-diabetes/37241-metformin-carbs/
where the first few posts on the thread demonstrate a whole range of different reactions to Metformin and carbs, including people saying that they find it necessary to keep carbs low, to avoid intestinal upset.
Then further down:
https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/metformin-and-52/
where post #11 states
20 May 16
I spoke to my endocrinologist about this and she said: 1. Metformin is not the kind of drug where you have to take the same dosage every day. So one could skip their metformin on fast days or lower the overall dosage everyday as a way of avoiding the symptoms i was experiencing (day after diarrhea). 2. Eating too many carbs causes the diarrhea when on metformin. I was shocked to hear that.
And a specific search on DCUK yielded this:
Metformin and carb intake
I found this one particularly relevant since it is one of @Oldvatr 's own posts.
low carb diet and metformin
All anecdotal, and either word of mouth, or personal opinion, as I stated in my first post on the subject.
Yes I did respond in that thread as you point out, and I was at that time looking at the possibility that the manufacturers info leaflets may not have been properly reflecting the LC dieters needs and maybe needs updating. I note that through the whole thread in question there is only ONE respondent who states they find high carbs causes gastric distress, but does not elaborate on it so we do not have any real idea of what diet they were following apart from that it is most likely an LC diet of sorts. As I said in an earlier post in the current thread, the content of the LC diet in terms of fat intake, dairy intake, fibre content, along with certain meds can also influence this outcome
And yes I did make an anecdotal reference in that post, but I did not draw any conclusions based on that as evidenee, and was in fact trying to open up the discussion instead. That whole thread was to explore the use of Metformin with LC diets, so it was appropriate to air anecdotal evidence connected with that topic, The thread we are currently in is a general T2D thread and not so specific about Metformin. so unassigned references here are out of context and unclear, hence the confusion.
Nice sentiment, but while the NHS is funded the way it is, then it will always be fighting the fires, and never able to support preventative measures. There are, to be blunt, no resources available to allow doctors either the time or the tools to do this since their eyes are always on the clock like a chess master. Even when presented with opportunities to save the NHS money long term, their short term goals prevent them taking it up.Diabetes, in general, has doubled in the UK for the last 20 years and is likely to triple within the next 20 year. I have been type2 diabetic for the last more than 25 years and one of the major issues under-discussed in the forums I have joined for the purpose of information and support is lack of information in the collaboration between the health service providers, dieticians, psychologist, psychiatrist including others like weight loss etc.Diabetes intervention is better tackled from all areas of human life if the population of diabetics is to come down. Medical doctors must learn how to smaltinously refer their patients to other relevant support systems available with psychiatrist, psychologist, dieticians etc as the patient continues to take medication. The world governments and societies should be involved in the mass education of the importance of treatment and prevention of this killer disease as part of the service they render to humanity.
looking at the figures for Metformin efficacy, then it is clear that Metformin has a limited hypoglycemic effect. i.e. it does Sweet ***** Arbuckle to reduce circulating bgl levels, possibly 1 or 2 mmol/l benefit if at all, no matter how many of the pills you pop.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/insulin/diabetes-and-metformin.htmlIt doesn't reduce blood glucose per se, the effect of metformin is to reduce insulin resistance.
My experience since dropping my Metformin dose by 1 gram two months ago, and my average bgl has jumped by a massive 0.4 mmol/l e.g. from 6.3 to 6.7 so I stand by what I said that Metformin has very limited capability in lowering bgl levels.
I use the following formula to estimate my A1C:
A1C = (46.7 + average_blood_glucose) / 28.7
Coming at this a bit late, but what is that based on? It would give me an imposssibly low HbA1c of 1.78% (assume it’s the % being calculated otherwise I’d be in minus territory).
I believe the units are US based, mg/dl instead of mmol/L
https://professional.diabetes.org/diapro/glucose_calc
According to my DVLA restricted licence a mmol reading below 5 disallows you to legally drive. Seems to be a conflict here.There's 2 types of long term damages to consider.
1) Damages due to glucose spikes or elevated levels.
2) Damages due to insulin spikes or elevated levels.
FBG of 6.5 would still suggest elevated insulin levels...and is considerably higher than the magical 4.6 mmol...
This ruling only applies to people on glucose lowering medications, such as insulin, which puts you at risk of hypos.According to my DVLA restricted licence a mmol reading below 5 disallows you to legally drive. Seems to be a conflict here.
I agree with @Rachox , it is the risk of hypoglycaemic events for people on insulin therapy that this rule applies . My brother, who is on insulin, has to test his blood before he drives. 6.5 mmol/ls is not a particularly high figure. We have the same rule here in Canada. It's a safety issue.According to my DVLA restricted licence a mmol reading below 5 disallows you to legally drive. Seems to be a conflict here.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?