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Hello Confused Newbie

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foxes

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Type 2
Hello All
I was diagnosed type 2 last September, this came out of left field for me, I had lost 3 stone and had no symptoms, I had a blood test to check if I was entering the menopause. It was a shock when I got a call to say they had also done a Hba1c as part of a full suite and I was type 2 diabetic. My reading was 89, it was deemed my diet and exercise (I walk 10,000 steps a day and ride my Peleton bike) was in pretty good order and I was placed straight onto Metformin. I take 1000mg in the morning and again at teatime. My Hba1c reading in December was 66. Don't get me wrong I'm not perfect, I could do with losing a stone and a half as well.

I hate the Metformin including the slow release as this upsets my tummy on a very regular basis, I have been sticking with it as instructed to see where we get to.

No matter what I do my readings are not coming down any further, I do the finger prick test regularly as I am trying to build up a picture of what good days and bad days look like. It seems that the readings are always around the same between 9 and 11 whatever I do. This is now becoming very demoralising and I seem to be getting nowhere, this is also not helping to be motivated to lose more weight. I stopped the Metformin for a few days to give my tummy a break and my readings were still the same, I have no confidence the Metformin is doing anything other than creating other issues.

I have my next Hba01c in the next couple of weeks and my follow up appointment to try and get this sorted, I have been doing research regarding drugs available etc. I have just come back from Canada on holiday and on the TV adverts they are widely advertising a drug called Semaglutide, I have looked at this online and it appears to look a good option with a once a week pen injection.

Is anyone else using Semaglutide, if so what do you think.

Any other suggestions and ideas are more than welcome as I really want to get on top of this but I am struggling.
Many thanks in advance for your help
 
Welcome to the forum.
Before your diagnosis were you losing weight without effort although I know you said you want to lose weight it could point to Type 1 not Type 2.
On the other hand you may just not have made enough reduction in the carbohydrates you are having, those high levels suggest that may be the case. Low carb dietary regime is less than 130g per day but people find they may need to go lower than that.
You may find this link helpful.
lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk
 
Thank you for your help 🙂

I lost 3 stone by cutting down the big carbs and starting to walk 10,000 steps a day, I stopped eating rice, potatoes, pasta and bread and still don't eat these items. I substitute with cauliflower rice, courgette spaghetti tendersteam broccoli and asparagus. Along with eating protein, dairy and berries.

This is why I find all of this a struggle as a good diet and max dose Metformin I am still not getting my blood sugars low enough. I'm finding it so hard to understand as I feel I can do no more than I am currently doing and the upset tummy and bloating on Metformin is not helping.

This is why I have been researching other drug types and possibilities to have a good conversation at my next appt with the diabetes nurse.

All suggestions are very gratefully received
 
foxes said:
Thank you for your help 🙂

I lost 3 stone by cutting down the big carbs and starting to walk 10,000 steps a day, I stopped eating rice, potatoes, pasta and bread and still don't eat these items. I substitute with cauliflower rice, courgette spaghetti tendersteam broccoli and asparagus. Along with eating protein, dairy and berries.

This is why I find all of this a struggle as a good diet and max dose Metformin I am still not getting my blood sugars low enough. I'm finding it so hard to understand as I feel I can do no more than I am currently doing and the upset tummy and bloating on Metformin is not helping.

This is why I have been researching other drug types and possibilities to have a good conversation at my next appt with the diabetes nurse.

All suggestions are very gratefully received
Click to expand...
You certainly seem to be doing all the right things and doing exactly what the advise would be from many people here.
There are people who gave up on the metformin because of stomach issues and have been given alternatives which suited them better. So worth speaking to your nurse as you shouldn't have to put up with the stomach problems.
You may be being a bit impatient as it can take a while to get levels down and although disheartening is better reducing slowly as you are less likely to get eye or nerve issues.
 
Sorry to hear your levels are remaining stubbornly high, despite all the effort you are putting into your dietary approach, and your level of activity.

I am struck by the rapid onset of your diabetes, and the weight loss you were experiencing. Have you ever had your cPeptide level checked? This is a substance which is produced alongside naturally produced insulin, and measuring it can give an indication of how much insulin you are able to produce.

There are forms of T1which develop slowly and often later in life, such as LADA, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults, which can look like T2 to begin with, and respond to T2 meds, but as beta cells in the pancreas continue to be lost, oral meds cease to be effective as insulin replacement becomes necessary.

Might be worth asking if your diabetes may not be as straightforward as was first thought?
 
@foxes - I've only just seen this thread, but now realise it is about a month old. How are you getting on - have your blood sugar levels come down at all? Reading your initial post I agree with the others who have posted that it sounds as though you may have been misdiagnosed as having type 2 when you really have type 1, so I hope you are able to get tests for type 1 done to make sure one way or the other. The tests to ask for are GAD antibody test and C-Peptide test. If you do turn out to be type 1 you will not be able to get your blood sugar levels down without insulin, and the sooner you get that the better. It is very common for adults with type 1 to get misdiagnosed as having type 2, as GPs, who are not diabetes specialists, tend to assume that adults (especially adults who could do with losing a little weight) are likely to be type 2.

@everydayupsanddowns - this thread really seems to be two different threads - would it be possible to split them? - as I think that way both foxes and Gspgirl might get more replies.
 
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