Reducing dosage while experimenting with foods

[Yoshi]

Hello 🙂

I'm on x2 Glicazide a day. I'm going to speak to the GP about trying a SR Glicazide as depending on what I eat, my BG can drop too much but mostly it's been 'phantom-hypos' because I guess I'm not used to normal levels.

I'm quite new to giving my t2 and foods the hyper-focus I should've long applied before now and the diabetes team I work with aren't very helpful. When I've asked about medication while trying to figure out what works for me and what doesn't spike my BG, they don't really answer or advise. So I feel I'm on my own with this really.

If I'm opting for lower-carb, low GI foods while I work out what works for me and what doesn't spike my BG, I wonder what impacts Glicazide might have. I don't want to risk an actual hypo, but as I said, the diabetes team haven't been helpful. It's almost as if they don't know a thing about diabetes. They never have any answers or even basic guidance to start with. I've asked previously about the mix of medication and low-carb but again, they didn't really advise, they did say I could reduce the amount of medication but I guess I thought it would be under more guidance and that there would be a plan in place. Is this how it works? Is there autonomy on medication dosages? This is what I'm trying to establish as I always read that you should consult your team or GP before embarking on any changes. I assumed there would be more of a monitored plan - I want to make sure I'm doing it the right way.

I didn't take a Glicazide this morning because I thought my choice of jumbo oats and raspberries wouldn't spike (according to my web searching anyway) but it was 15.8 90mins after and now I wish I'd taken the damn Glicazide. Am I wrong about oats then? I'm still very much learning...

Thank you in advance

 

[Inka]

Oats (and raspberries to a lesser extent) have carbs so would put your blood sugar up. How many grams of carbs did you have? If you count the carbs in your meal, it should help you see how many you can deal with without the Gliclazide.

 

[grovesy]

I found I still got hypos whilst on slow release Gliclizide.

 

[Yoshi]

Oats (and raspberries to a lesser extent) have carbs so would put your blood sugar up. How many grams of carbs did you have? If you count the carbs in your meal, it should help you see how many you can deal with without the Gliclazide.

Ah, I see - It was about 40g carbs in total - Is that too much then? How much should I be aiming for per meal for low carb?

 

[Yoshi]

I found I still got hypos whilst on slow release Gliclizide.

Interesting - Thank you for the info

 

[Inka]

Ah, I see - It was about 40g carbs in total - Is that too much then? How much should I be aiming for per meal for low carb?

Why were you prescribed the Gliclazide? Did you have a go with diet only first? You say you’re mostly suffering from false hypos - how often do you have a true hypo?

If you stop the Gliclazide, you’ll have to experiment to see how many carbs your body can manage without it. You’ve learnt that 40g carbs for breakfast is too much. So, try a lesser amount (with no Gliclazide) and see how it goes.

 

[Yoshi]

Why were you prescribed the Gliclazide? Did you have a go with diet only first? You say you’re mostly suffering from false hypos - how often do you have a true hypo?

If you stop the Gliclazide, you’ll have to experiment to see how many carbs your body can manage without it. You’ve learnt that 40g carbs for breakfast is too much. So, try a lesser amount (with no Gliclazide) and see how it goes.

I was originally just Metformin but I wasn't managing the T2 well. They increased the SR dosage to 2000mg a day. My hb1ac was still high so they introduced Glicazide (1-a-day) - Again my hb1ac was still high so they increased it to 2 a day. Admittedly, due to a number of other factors, I was not doing well in managing diabetes. But now I'm much better. I've never had a true hypo. The feeling of a hypo has never actually been a hypo and only experienced with when taking Glicazide. On those occasions my BG is around 5.3 upwards but within normal range.

Thank you - I will try to reduce the carb intake again.