Absolutely Devastated

[Vicsetter]

Whilst I am on Insulin and Victoza, I have recently drastically reduce my injections quantity and my BG levels and am slowing beginning to lose weight by eating the following:

Breakfast: small bowl of grapefruit in it's own juice (morrisons)

Lunch: Lettuce leaves, a few broad beans, a few walnuts, some pieces of cucumber and 4 pieces of sliced ham (Aldi). 1 piece of 85% chocolate (Aldi)

Dinner: some cooked meat, a few veg and a couple of potatoes or equivalent.

I have also been eating a peach or nectarine for desert.
Because I am able to test I will occasionally treat myself to a packet of crisps at lunch if I am too low(down to 4 the other day).
I have a couple of cups of black coffee in the morning and then have diet lemonade(Aldi) for lunch and in the evening.
Robertsons orange squash at my bedside for the evening and morning tablets.
Don't know if that helps, but the low carb diet certainly works a treat.

 

[trophywench]

I wonder why you have cut out eg coffee if you like it? And not bought diet squash if you like that? and you can still drink tea if you like it.

No need to cut out everything fried either - it's deep fried and swimming in fat you need to avoid .... stir fried veg in only enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, then tipped out before you add the veg - are delicious.

If you cut out too much food all at once your body thinks you've hit a famine, so it says to itself, Oh oh, it's a famine. Best conserve all my body fat, cos if I'm getting nowt to eat I shall need something to live on ....

The best way to cut carbs really is to do it gradually. Work out how many grams of carb you eat; then cut down 10% at a time until you can get to a stage where your body can cope and your blood glucose evens out ... otherwise you can get headaches and the grumpies/tears and depression and God knows what.

Protein is quite expensive in comparison to carbs, but we aren't supposed to eat eg a whole cow at a time anyway! - so fill the empty corners with shedloads of veg.

 

[rossie]

thanky your menu suggestions are very helpful to me...i just cannot think what to eat..it should be easy and i dont know why i cannot sort it out in my head what to eat but i ant...i have tears every day as its daunting when you are alone with no support....so thankyou will be at aldis today....and it will be great not to drink omly water....🙂

 

[macast]

oh Rossie... please don't beat yourself up or starve yourself.

I get so angry when I hear about people being diagnosed and not given info 😡

I still eat bread.... but always heavily seeded.... I try not to eat a lot.... so I keep it in the freezer and take out a slice at a time

I still have coffee ... sometimes black... sometimes with milk... but never with sugar

I eat less fruit than I used to (other than berries... I eat more of them).... bananas send my BG very high so I avoid them .... but I find pears are pretty good for me

in place of the fruit I eat loads of veggies... and try to vary them

I've replaced white rice with brown and cut my portion size

if I fancy soup I make it myself .... it is cheaper and more nutitious... and has no thickening added to it... so lower in calories

breakfast is the hardest meal for me as so many foods make my BG levels rise too much..... so I find that grilled bacon is great..... and meat and veg stew (I know it sounds awful but it isn't... but take care if your cholesterol is high)..... one of my fave breakfasts is raspberries and fat free yogurt..... or tinned pineapple (in juice not syrup) with fat free yogurt

for 18 months I used diet and exercise but I've finally had to go on metformin.... my DSN said it isn't my fault.... it is my body.... and not to feel as though I have failed. so I'm telling you the same thing. do your best.... you can't do any better than that.

although the above foods work for me they might not be right for you


oh the best book on the subject IMHO is 'The First Year Type 2 Diabetes' by Gretchen Becker......... I carried it with me for months after I was first diagnosed

I hope this has helped 🙂

 

[itsallgood]

thanky your menu suggestions are very helpful to me...i just cannot think what to eat..it should be easy and i dont know why i cannot sort it out in my head what to eat but i ant...i have tears every day as its daunting when you are alone with no support....so thankyou will be at aldis today....and it will be great not to drink omly water....🙂

I can definitely sympathise with you rossie but as others have said, it will all settle down and metformin's not so bad really. Get the slow release version if you get tummy problems. It does have other health benefits too, read up about it on Wikipedia. Some non-diabetics actually take it as a supplement to get those benefits too.

Just an aside though, if you happen to like grapefruit (which used to be my favourite) you have to cut it out if you take metformin - unfortunately it negates the effect of the drug, apparently.

 

[rossie]

I can definitely sympathise with you rossie but as others have said, it will all settle down and metformin's not so bad really. Get the slow release version if you get tummy problems. It does have other health benefits too, read up about it on Wikipedia. Some non-diabetics actually take it as a supplement to get those benefits too.

Just an aside though, if you happen to like grapefruit (which used to be my favourite) you have to cut it out if you take metformin - unfortunately it negates the effect of the drug, apparently.

thank u for the information...I will def try the stew...and coffee again....hated the water all the time...am back seeing her again tomorrow but taking a friend with me so i dont get pushed out the door in five minutes again....( she is quite outspoken so may have to sit on her a bit )...will report morrow what she says if anything...

 

[Vicsetter]

I can definitely sympathise with you rossie but as others have said, it will all settle down and metformin's not so bad really. Get the slow release version if you get tummy problems. It does have other health benefits too, read up about it on Wikipedia. Some non-diabetics actually take it as a supplement to get those benefits too.

Just an aside though, if you happen to like grapefruit (which used to be my favourite) you have to cut it out if you take metformin - unfortunately it negates the effect of the drug, apparently.

Any suggestion that you cannot eat or drink grapefruit while on Metformin is, as far as I know, based on a 2009 south african study on rats and even that study didn't recommend stopping eating grapefruit whilst on Metformin. I know it's American but the FDA don't list the interaction and this current article backs it up: http://www.drugsdb.com/rx/metformin/metformin-and-grapefruit/

So keep eating grapefruit, like everything else a little in moderation is good for you.

 

[trophywench]

Statins and grapefruit are sposed to be iffy, but I've never ever heard it said about Metformin before. (and I think you have to drink a gallon of fresh grapefruit juice a day or something ridiculous, to make them not work!)

I'd be interested to know where you got the dietary and other mis-information from Rossie because if it got to you, then it could get to others who might not be in touch with people like this forum, who could correct it.

 

[rossie]

Statins and grapefruit are sposed to be iffy, but I've never ever heard it said about Metformin before. (and I think you have to drink a gallon of fresh grapefruit juice a day or something ridiculous, to make them not work!)

I'd be interested to know where you got the dietary and other mis-information from Rossie because if it got to you, then it could get to others who might not be in touch with people like this forum, who could correct it.

just told it from a friend, so followed it as i didnt know what to eat...think she just wants me to loose all my weight a.s.a.p and she says my diabetes will go away. hence water a very little food..xx

 

[itsallgood]

Any suggestion that you cannot eat or drink grapefruit while on Metformin is, as far as I know, based on a 2009 south african study on rats and even that study didn't recommend stopping eating grapefruit whilst on Metformin. I know it's American but the FDA don't list the interaction and this current article backs it up: http://www.drugsdb.com/rx/metformin/metformin-and-grapefruit/

So keep eating grapefruit, like everything else a little in moderation is good for you.

Well I've never gone into the science but it says on the box label 'avoid grapefruit while taking this medicine' (or similar). Like you say though, a little bit wouldn't hurt - I haven't tasted it in nearly three years and I really miss it!

 

[Vicsetter]

Well I've never gone into the science but it says on the box label 'avoid grapefruit while taking this medicine' (or similar). Like you say though, a little bit wouldn't hurt - I haven't tasted it in nearly three years and I really miss it!

Is that the manufacturers label or the prescription details label? If it's the latter then I would ask your pharmacist or doctor why? and read the patient leaflet inside and see if it mentions grapefruit. It's possible that you are on another tablet that doesn't go with grapfruit, famously a statin (except Pravastatin which is OK).

Having scoured the internet and the British National Formulary and the TEVA uk Ltd Metformin Package leaflet. There is nothing to mention an interaction with Grapefruit!. It does say ' Avoid drinking alcohol'.

 

[itsallgood]

Well yes I do take simvastatin as well as metformin, guessing that's the reason for the label. Gonna get me some grapefruit this weekend, just for a treat.

The enclosed information does indeed say avoid alcohol but I steadfastly ignore that advice. We have to have have a bit of release after all..

 

[Vicsetter]

Well yes I do take simvastatin as well as metformin, guessing that's the reason for the label. Gonna get me some grapefruit this weekend, just for a treat.

The enclosed information does indeed say avoid alcohol but I steadfastly ignore that advice. We have to have have a bit of release after all..

Agreed on the drinking, but grapefruit is not allowed with simvastatin the only statin you can take is pravastatin which works slightly differently.

 

[Manicarrie]

Hi, I have been diagnosed a week today, I had got down as far as 10.4, however since yesterday lunch I haven't been able to get below 17.4, luckily I had clinic this morning. The dietician reviewed what I ate, it was none of those things, but she did say it can take a few months to stabilize. in the meantime they have adjusted my meds, maybe that will help. Like you I have been having trouble sticking to the new diet for a week, and when my morning result was 17.4, I almost thought bugger it, I'll have a chocolate if it's gonna be high anyway. But I didn't becuase the only person I was punishing is me.
Cheeky question, are you exercising? I'm not atm for a couple of reasons, I know you say you can't walk, but anything you can do to get the blood pumping round and the sugars being burnt may help. It may even be stress that has spiked you so high

 

[rossie]

Hi, I have been diagnosed a week today, I had got down as far as 10.4, however since yesterday lunch I haven't been able to get below 17.4, luckily I had clinic this morning. The dietician reviewed what I ate, it was none of those things, but she did say it can take a few months to stabilize. in the meantime they have adjusted my meds, maybe that will help. Like you I have been having trouble sticking to the new diet for a week, and when my morning result was 17.4, I almost thought bugger it, I'll have a chocolate if it's gonna be high anyway. But I didn't becuase the only person I was punishing is me.
Cheeky question, are you exercising? I'm not atm for a couple of reasons, I know you say you can't walk, but anything you can do to get the blood pumping round and the sugars being burnt may help. It may even be stress that has spiked you so high

yes i have massive stress these past 4 years...more then ever since january due to my son as for exercise yes every other day i still walk up a hill which should take me 5 mins but takes me 20 mins but i dont give up...my baby sister is a zumba instructor and very fit..i go there once a week but just move around to the music...the class urge me on but 10 mins is the most i can do of moving...its a start...I went to the docs today for my legs and he thinks its nerve damage from the diabetes so having blood test to confirm or look for something else....Fingers crossed its not damage ..x

 

[itsallgood]

Agreed on the drinking, but grapefruit is not allowed with simvastatin the only statin you can take is pravastatin which works slightly differently.

You're absolutely right Vicsetter - the label they stick on the box is on the simvastatin, not the metformin - Doh! It's been a while since I took any notice of the labels and must have got them mixed up in my head.

No more grapefruit for me