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Another Newbie

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Crispycrystal

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Type 2
Hi, I am a 66 year old man, who just found out from the results of a blood test that I am diabetic. The doctor told me I scored 68 on a scale where 42 to 48 was normal. I am seeing him again tomorrow to get the result of a fasting blood test and HbA1c test. I’ve bought a finger prick test meter and watched my early morning results slowly go down from 9.3 to 5.9 whilst my weight has reduced from about 84 to 81kg. BMI of about 28). The day of my last doctors visit ( Monday) I stopped taking sugar in drinks, stopped drinking beer, severely reduced potatoes, rice and portion sizes. I’m drinking sparkling spring water (2litres) a day, and walking around 10000 steps a day. Before last Monday, I was having pretty big portions of food at mealtimes, including potatoes, rice, eating a lot of sweets and snacking most of the evening on cake, peanuts etc. And drinking 1 or 2 bottles of beer most days. I’ve read the 8 Week BSD diet book by Michael Mosley, and I want to try to get Blood sugar levels back to normal by following his advice. I’m pretty sure my doctor will start me on Metformin tomorrow. My question is, should I try to persuade him to delay that for a few weeks to see what my change in eating habits can achieve, or take the tablets whilst adopting the change in eating habits, maybe getting to the point where I can stop? My father has been taking Metformin for about 40 years, but eats normally still at 91. 2 of my grandparents were type 2 diabetics and my sister is type 1. Any advice also will be gratefully received.i think I am still in a bit of shock!
 
Crispycrystal said:
The doctor told me I scored 68 on a scale where 42 to 48 was normal. I am seeing him again tomorrow to get the result of a fasting blood test and HbA1c test.
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68 is in the range of HbA1c, and 42-48 as normal also matches that. (Though 42-48 is the slightly nebulous "pre-diabetic" range rather than normal. Below 42 is also in the range of normal.)

Surely can't be that much of a shock given that half of your grandparents and your father had type 2? But what you're doing seems sensible. I imagine metformin is rather attractive to GPs: it's widely used (so safe, albeit with some known side effects), cheap, and pretty effective.
 
Hi @Crispycrystal
It is all a bit of a shock when you are first diagnosed , but it sounds like you are making the changes to your diet that you need to reduce your blood glucose levels.
Are you self testing your blood sugars daily so you know if your dietary changes are having the desired effect and reducing your blood sugar levels.
My advice would be to accept the Metformin if your GP advises it, to help get your blood levels down at first, you can always reduce them afterwards, thereby reducing your chances of some of the complications of diabetes
 
Hi @Crispycrystal , welcome to the forum. You seem to have a good handle in this condition already but please do ask any questions you have about diabetes as we have some very knowledgeable people on here.

Yes your Hb1ac of 68 is high but many of us were higher at diagnosis , I was over 100, that was years ago now , at that level I needed to go straight into Metformin.
We do have a number of people on here who have been able to put their T2 into remission, I hope you are able to join them.

Do discuss with your Gp about possibly delaying medication for a few months and see what he says. If you do start Metformin you can always stop or reduce it as your levels come down .
 
Thank you for your replies, and the advice.
Yes I am monitoring glucose levels, BP and weight every morning, before dinner and at bedtime. That’s just for the first week or until I get a better handle on daily trends, then I will just do the morning ones. I am also recording food, drink ( only water for now) and steps. This way I have a reasonable record to show the doctor today.
 
Ljc said:
Hi again. Many of us use our meters to find out how the various carbohydrates affect us . I know you are going to try to get into remission but though5 you might find these links on here helpful.
Apologies if you have already read them
maggie-daveys-letter-to-newly-diagnosed-type-2s
test-test-test by Alan S

You’ll find the above and lots more on this thread which is at the top of the newbies forum
useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes
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Thanks again for your advice. This seems like a very welcoming forum!
Having looked at your signature, I wonder why you changed meds a couple of times. Do you have a link to another page where you might have shared this before?
 
Crispycrystal said:
Thanks again for your advice. This seems like a very welcoming forum!
Having looked at your signature, I wonder why you changed meds a couple of times. Do you have a link to another page where you might have shared this before?
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Yes it’s a great forum with so many people sharing what has helped them .

For some of us T2 is progressive. I was diagnosed in 94 by accident, I had no symptoms ,went to doc for one problem came out with the problem I originally went in for plus diabetes, I sure don’t like doing things by halves lol. So my Diabetes was well advanced, they believed I had been diabetic for at least ten years.
I had to come off Metformin a few years ago due to my kidney function plus it wasn’t Woking as well as they used to, the Gliclazide I was put on didn’t work.
I am now very happily on insulin.

When dx I went low carb + the Metformin, this worked very well for many years , I also ignored the low fat advise, still do.
 
You might find that stopping the beer is a good excuse for not going onto medication.
I took tablets for a few weeks, but they made me very ill, and as I was eating a low carb diet I did not need them anyway. The problem is the sugars and starches in the modern diet - cutting down or substituting lower carb foods can work wonders.
 
Just left the doctor with a script for Metformin. My Hb1Ac result from last week was 81, up from the 68 I had in October. I also discovered that it had been 48 in 2015, but that was buried in my medical file and I didn’t know!
Anyway one tablet 500mg per day for a week then 2 a day. Getting a Pancreas Scan sometime and an appointment with the diabetes nurse next week. He liked that I could show him charts of wait, BP and blood sugar daily checks
 
Hello and welcome to the forum. You sound like you're very organised. 🙂
 
Well I was warned that the side effect of Metformin was diarrhoea, but I didn’t expect it to hit 3 hours after I’d taken the first tablet! Can I take Imodium safely?
 
Well as safely as taking Imodium ever is ….. danger with it is always going the opposite way. Denatable which is worse!

The tummy probs often wear off after a week or so but don't for heaven's sake add an extra one until the effect subsides as it's just as likely you'd have the same prob again and have to work your way through it again and it's exactly the wrong time of year to be wanting to do that!

Sometimes this side effect doesn't wear off in which case get back to the docs asap - cos there's a slow release version which is less unkind to the digestive system but of course it's more expensive so they always try the cheaper one first on the basis that so many people just don't have any problems with it - I mean though we'd all like a Rolls Royce, a Lada would still get us where we want to go! LOL

(Personally I've never actually wanted a RR, just would have liked to be in a position where I was able to seriously consider the choice!)
 
If it hit that soon I'd advise going really low carb - checking after meals - and arguing for no medication at all - I lost over a month of living trying to persevere with the tablets, did so much laundry and cleaning up, and spent the rest of my time in the bathroom. The most galling thing was that I never needed the tablets in the first place. After 80 days on low carb I was no longer in the diabetic range, at 6 months I was just at the top of normal, and have stayed there.
 
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It can help to take the Metformin with a significant amount of food (evening time is probably best in that respect) and take it mid meal, so that the tablet travels through your digestive tract surrounded by food. The side effects sometimes ease after a few days/a week or so, but if not then go back to the GP and ask for the slow release version and/or go very low carb. Good luck with getting your BG levels down.
 
Drummer said:
If it hit that soon I'd advise going really low carb - checking after meals - and arguing for no medication at all - I lost over a month of living trying to persevere with the tablets, did so much laungry and cleaning up, and spent the rest of my time in the bathroom. The most galling thing was that I never needed the tablets in the first place. After 80 days on low carb I was no longer in the diabetic range, at 6 months I was just at the top of normal, and have stayed there.
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That is a great result for you. Did you read the 8 week diet book by Nuchael Mosley - he supports low carb and exercise
 
Anitram said:
I didn't have diarrhea when I was put on Metformin - quite the reverse - but I did start to suffer severe stomach cramps. Stopped taking it after six weeks, with DN approval, and like Drummer found out that I hadn't needed it anyway. Last Hba1c in August was 41 after the best part of 5 months managing by diet alone.

However, I was diagnosed at 114 so hardly surprising that I left with a prescription...!

Pancreas CT scan should be automatic for someone diagnosed at your age so I wish you well with that. Mine was clear, which was a great relief.

Martin
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Thankyou yes I am waiting for a letter for a CT Scan. Congratulations on sticking successfully to your diet
 
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