Suggested i take Gliclazide

[etaf]

i saw the dr a week ago and he suggested i go onto Gliclazide, not happy about having read some info on the tabs
Diabetic since 2010 , all controlled by metformin 4 tabs a day and diet
had pancreatitis in 2017/18 and also moved to new drs and diet was suggested to change to the small plate system , eat what you want
since then my blood has been quite high 20 week average 10.8/9.8/10.2/
Dr has limited range of drugs due to Pancreatitis, so this is last stage before Insulin

so decided to take back control on what i eat last thursday and set a baseline over the weekend using cambridge diet , which i used in 2010
average of 9.0 Thu-Mon
As of tuesday now revisiting diet, and just looking at giancarlo caldesi book

I wondered what people's experience of using Gliclazide was like

 

[Docb]

Works for me in combination with lowish carb diet.

 

[etaf]

any side effects, problem with hypos ?
which is the bit i'm concerned about and driving - once a week I do a 1.5hr drive there and back next day, can be longer if traffic

 

[Ljc]

Hello @etaf , welcome to the forum. I was on Gliclazide had no problems it .

I have just very quickly checked out the Cambridge diet. TBH though it is very low in calories it looks quite high I. Carbohydrates,which we with T2 are not able to tolerate well.

Many with T2 here restrict carbohydrate intake not calories and lose weight on it quite easily while also lowering their blood glucose levels.
We reduce or cut out the starchy carbohydrates, potatoes, pasta, rice and bread, we often need to be careful with fruit, anything with berry I. It’s name is often tolerated better, breakfast cereals can be high in carbohydrates , fruit juice is full of fruit sugar.

We are usually fine with protein and good fats, but I am not sure how this would work for you as you have had Pancreatitis .

Sorry got to go hopefully others will be along soon with more advise

 

[etaf]

Brilliant Thanks for looking, the reason for the cambridge diet was I went on a few years ago and my blood was 5/6 which we put down to the diet and so thought it would be a good place to get a baseline for a few days
Also understood it to be a carb free diet
I'll have another look at it again
Bread I changed to Burgen Soya & Linseed years ago & just sweet potatoes, no rice - BUT recently let that slip
cheers for the info

 

[Docb]

any side effects, problem with hypos ?
which is the bit i'm concerned about and driving - once a week I do a 1.5hr drive there and back next day, can be longer if traffic

No. I started on a high dose, but as my BG came under control I reduced the dose to make sure that I kept away from hypo territory. If you have been prescribed gliclazide then you should have been given a meter and a prescription for test strips. A bit of regular testing will give you a good feel for what is going on and you will soon be able to drive with the confidence that you are not running a hypo risk.

 

[etaf]

Thanks

 

[grovesy]

I found I was quite sensitive to Gliclazide even when changed to Slow Release version. I found some of the hypos I got whilst on it were always the same. I came of it as was having too many hops and my HBA1C had fallen. I personally would be reluctant to go back on it.

 

[etaf]

I guess thats my feeling , before i even start , and why I'm now looking at weight loss and food intake all over again - maybe a wakeup call again

This morning I was 9.0 , just had some seeds, yougut & berries for breakfast , at around 9:15 and now at 11:15 blood is 10.3

need to revisit the slow release figures and re-learn this stuff again

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.
I didn't have any problems with Gliclazide and if the alternative is insulin, which has a much higher risk of hypos, then it is the better option..... and of course many of us use insulin and still drive regularly, we just need to check our levels before we drive to make sure we are above 5 and every 2 hours thereafter, if it is a long journey.
That said, I too would recommend eating very low carb (rather than Cambridge) to see if you can get things back under control before you take that step. I would also recommend you self fund a Blood Glucose meter if you don't already have one, so that you can monitor the effects of what you eat on your levels and tailor your diet to suit your diabetes. Sweet potatoes can spike you more than ordinary ones (although they may not.... hence self testing), so whilst they might be a healthier option for non diabetics, they are not necessarily a better option for us. That said, I eat them more frequently than normal spuds these days but I keep the portion very small and I have insulin to inject to cover the glucose they release.
The thing about a low carb diet is that you increase your natural fat intake. Fat takes longer to digest and therefore keeps you fuller for longer and provides slow release energy so that you don't feel hungry or have cravings like you do with a more restrictive diet and whereas the Cambridge diet is just a short term calorie restricted diet, Low Carb Higher Fat (LCHF) is an enjoyable and therefore lifelong sustainable way of eating..... and most people still lose weight on it.
I know the idea of eating more fat is against everything that we have been taught for the whole of our lives but there is a growing school of thought (in quite eminent scientific circles) that the low fat advice which we have been following for the past 50+ years was based on flawed and cherry picked research and may in part be the reason why we are now suffering a diabetes epidemic, because less fat in our food has led to more carbs and we are more hungry because carbs are quickly broken down leaving us ready for more, so we overeat. I know I eat a lot less now that I eat more fat and I enjoy my food. So my cabbage/kale/spinach gets cooked in a little butter or served with a dollop of cream cheese, I eat nuts and avocados and eggs and cheese and creamy Greek natural yoghurt without concern and I eat fatty cuts of meat and oily fish which have so much more flavour than the lean options and I have cream in my morning coffee. I cook ratatouille with half a cup of olive oil rather than just a tablespoon and it tastes heavenly, so I no longer feel deprived that I am not eating bread or pasta or potatoes or even cakes and biscuits and sweets because I feel quite decadent eating these other lovely foods.
I hope that makes a bit of sense. Increasing fat intake is an individual choice and I needed to do quite a bit of research online before taking that leap of faith in going against health care/government advice even though intuitively I felt it was right and 8 months down the line I feel much better for it because my diet is enjoyable and sustainable.

 

[etaf]

Thanks Barbara,

I do have meters 2 in fact, onetouch and Nexus
And used to test a lot in order to discover the effects of various foods for me.
However, I have let a lot of things slip since pancracitus & also the advice from my new Drs to eat whatever I like, and was given a small plate type theory handout card....

The cambridge diet products was just to get a baseline and let my blood sugar level down over weekend, as it had been good in the past, so I could start from a baseline today and hopefully achive as before a level of 5/6, and then start eating as before carefully and see how it all goes.

Thanks for the responses and all the advice , appreciate it

 

[Drummer]

I did work on the packaging and storage of the prototype Cambridge Diet back in the 1970s - Dr Howard came to the pilot plant in Market Harborough where I was working.
The reason for the higher than necessary carbohydrate content is that doctors threatened to boycott the hospital department where it was being trialled if the carbs were not increased.
I took quite a lot of the lowest carb variant home - it was a jelly, in chocolate, strawberry and peach flavours - it didn't get through to the diet of today, unfortunately, but it was very good.
For a type two diabetic eating a low carb diet is usually very effective at lowering blood glucose levels.
Rather than go onto Gliclazide, which drags the glucose out of the body, not putting it in in the first place seems like a better idea.
As protein and fat are the essential macronutrients, and it seems OK to eat fairly small amounts of salad and vegetables for their micronutrients and also variety, flavour etc. I'm quite happy to stick to LCHF for the rest of my life.