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Gilclazide

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SUSAN WARDLE

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Relationship to Diabetes
My husband's sugars remain in the 15 - 20 range despite being very good generally with diet. He was prescribed Gliclazide (half an 80 mg tab each morning) but so far, if anything his bloods are higher. He already takes 4 Metformin a day. The GP says it could take a month but elsewhere I have read the response should be quite rapid. He has lost so much weight in the last 2 months and he wasn't big to start with. I am worried that perhaps he hasn't received the best advice. Any ideas on what to do Please?
 
SUSAN WARDLE said:
My husband's sugars remain in the 15 - 20 range despite being very good generally with diet. He was prescribed Gliclazide (half an 80 mg tab each morning) but so far, if anything his bloods are higher. He already takes 4 Metformin a day. The GP says it could take a month but elsewhere I have read the response should be quite rapid. He has lost so much weight in the last 2 months and he wasn't big to start with. I am worried that perhaps he hasn't received the best advice. Any ideas on what to do Please?
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When was diagnosed? How was he diagnosed?
I personally found Gliclazide to work quickly, in fact very quickly.
 
My doctor also told me that it was a slower acting drug, but as I'm taking it with Metformin which acts quicker, I can't say how quickly it did work for me, only that it took about two weeks before I began to see any decent improvement in my BG levels.
 
SUSAN WARDLE said:
My husband's sugars remain in the 15 - 20 range despite being very good generally with diet. He was prescribed Gliclazide (half an 80 mg tab each morning) but so far, if anything his bloods are higher. He already takes 4 Metformin a day. The GP says it could take a month but elsewhere I have read the response should be quite rapid. He has lost so much weight in the last 2 months and he wasn't big to start with. I am worried that perhaps he hasn't received the best advice. Any ideas on what to do Please?
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your husband's situation Susan :(

How long has your husband been losing weight? And how long has he been diagnosed?

It might also help members offer their experiences if they knew a bit more about what your husband is eating and what 'being very good generally with diet' means. Some people are given very different advice as to what is good to be eating! 🙂
 
grovesy said:
When was diagnosed? How was he diagnosed?
I personally found Gliclazide to work quickly, in fact very quickly.
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About 2 and a half years - through a medical screening and subsequent follow up by his GP. Tried diet control then he has been on Metformin. In the last 3/4 months his fasting sugar levels have been rising.
 
everydayupsanddowns said:
Sorry to hear about your husband's situation Susan :(

How long has your husband been losing weight? And how long has he been diagnosed?

It might also help members offer their experiences if they knew a bit more about what your husband is eating and what 'being very good generally with diet' means. Some people are given very different advice as to what is good to be eating! 🙂
Click to expand...
We rarely have anything sweet. We eat wholemeal everything and try to keep carbs to a minimum. He does like a couple of pints of real ale probably 3 times a week at his local. We have a small glass of wine with our meals in the evening. He eats fruit veg and doesn't snack much between meals. I shop with an eye on sugar levels and we cook most stuff from scratch. Hope that helps.
 
Does he only do fasting bloods? What levels are we talking.
It is not just sugar that affects levels carbahyrates are broken down by the body into sugar.
 
I can only give MY own experience. For years I was on Metformin, but for lots of reasons my BSs started to go up, so I was prescribed Gliclazide as well as Metformin. Sadly over the next year they continued to rise, despite a much better diet plus I had side effects.
I asked my GP about insulin injections - she agreed with me to try it - that was 8 years ago and I have never looked back. Hba1C is usually around 5.5%/ Diabetes T2 a progressive illness with the meds that once suited you, you then require more.

I wish you both good luck on your journey
 
SUSAN WARDLE said:
We rarely have anything sweet. We eat wholemeal everything and try to keep carbs to a minimum. He does like a couple of pints of real ale probably 3 times a week at his local. We have a small glass of wine with our meals in the evening. He eats fruit veg and doesn't snack much between meals. I shop with an eye on sugar levels and we cook most stuff from scratch. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Sounds good. Has he ever tried evaluating different meals, testing immediately before and 1 hour or 2 hours after beginning eating? Many T2 members here find that a useful technique in terms of adjusting carb amounts and types to improve BG outcomes.

To begin with the numbers themselves are less important than the before/after eating differences.

This blog post 'test review adjust' explains in more detail: http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.co.uk/2006/10/test-review-adjust.html
 
With gliclazide it starts working within a day after restarting them as docs try different meds, though we can all react differently to them.

What fruit is he eating as with some fruits they are unfriendly to some of us, bananas are a case where the riper they are the more carbs they contain and some people avoid them altogether. I used to be able to tolerate them when they had just turned from green to yellow, now not had one in months as react to them to much.
 
Hi. From what you say I would suspect your husband may well be T1 and not T2. GPs very often miss this. Being thin and then losing weight unexpectedly and not responding to tablets are all red flags. I've been thru all that. Do ask the GP for the two tests for Late onset T1 i.e. GAD and c-peptide. Gliclazide should start working within a day or so and not longer as it stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin. It does help to some extent with early stages of T1 but not later.
 
I was on Gliclazide and metformin for years i only ever had one meal a day never worked for me always had high levels having said that still have but was put on mixed insulin had better results, but that dosnt mean it wont work for hubby, i would make a diary and give it more time, at least the diary is proof that it isnt working and need another strategy
 
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