Admiral Benbow
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- At risk of diabetes
Here's the Joe Rogan clip for reference:
-
Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
-
Learn more about joining the Diabetes UK Support Forum team here: https://forum.diabetes.org.uk/boards/threads/volunteering-opportunities-why-dont-you-join-us.112862/
Another person new to Diabetes
- Thread starter jules748
- Start date
- Status
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ah OK.
I half suspected Aseem Malhotra may have been the cardiologist in question.
I half suspected Aseem Malhotra may have been the cardiologist in question.
Thanks again to everyone for their feedback and support.
I took the 3rd Metformin tab immediately after lunch, so far so good. I suspect some initial discomfort is fairly common, it's changing lots of things, especially in the digestive system and liver. But no, I would not stick with it if it was really bad for same days and showed no signs of improving, I'd ask to switch to the slow release, or something else entirely.
My BP has been high most of my adult life, well since my early 30s, but not where it needed medication until 10 years ago. I went on a diet and went to the gym 3 times a week in my mid 30s, the BP went down by about 2mmHg on both systolic and diastolic. Perhaps it didn't change, that's within the tolerance of BP measurement anyway, but was based on averages of a number of readings. It runs in some people in my family, so I'm guessing it's as much genetic as lifestyle.
The Statins, hmm yes, they are quite controversial. I think it's a bit like many medicines though, they are for 'the greater good' so to speak. Statistically they are shown to help, but for some people the benefits are outweighed by the negatives, or worse! My Cholesterol has been teetering on the edge for at least the last 10 years, it gets checked at least yearly for the BP meds. It finally went over/under some of the limits 3.5 years ago. I'm just above 10 on the QRISK2 (CVD risk) score, which is also something which flags up: prescribe Statins.
But certainly if the lifestyle changes also affect other factors, I might ask about at least reducing the dose of Statins, if not coming off them.
I don't want to take any medication unnecessarily, but I'm not adverse to taking any if I can see a benefit. If I can lose about another 10Kg and that also helps to get my BG under control, I will be looking to get the Metformin reduced, who knows, I might even be able to stop it. But I've been feeling so bad and fatigued by the high BG and swings in it, I'd probably try almost anything 🙂 I feel like I have so much more energy and am sleeping better too in just 3 days, so for me it was a good choice. But I respect that it has to be the individuals choice. Some are happy to to go with the pharmaceutical options, while others will try to avoid them. From my own point of view, I think I'm a bit past the diet/lifestyle/weight loss alone option, at least in the short term.
I took the 3rd Metformin tab immediately after lunch, so far so good. I suspect some initial discomfort is fairly common, it's changing lots of things, especially in the digestive system and liver. But no, I would not stick with it if it was really bad for same days and showed no signs of improving, I'd ask to switch to the slow release, or something else entirely.
My BP has been high most of my adult life, well since my early 30s, but not where it needed medication until 10 years ago. I went on a diet and went to the gym 3 times a week in my mid 30s, the BP went down by about 2mmHg on both systolic and diastolic. Perhaps it didn't change, that's within the tolerance of BP measurement anyway, but was based on averages of a number of readings. It runs in some people in my family, so I'm guessing it's as much genetic as lifestyle.
The Statins, hmm yes, they are quite controversial. I think it's a bit like many medicines though, they are for 'the greater good' so to speak. Statistically they are shown to help, but for some people the benefits are outweighed by the negatives, or worse! My Cholesterol has been teetering on the edge for at least the last 10 years, it gets checked at least yearly for the BP meds. It finally went over/under some of the limits 3.5 years ago. I'm just above 10 on the QRISK2 (CVD risk) score, which is also something which flags up: prescribe Statins.
But certainly if the lifestyle changes also affect other factors, I might ask about at least reducing the dose of Statins, if not coming off them.
I don't want to take any medication unnecessarily, but I'm not adverse to taking any if I can see a benefit. If I can lose about another 10Kg and that also helps to get my BG under control, I will be looking to get the Metformin reduced, who knows, I might even be able to stop it. But I've been feeling so bad and fatigued by the high BG and swings in it, I'd probably try almost anything 🙂 I feel like I have so much more energy and am sleeping better too in just 3 days, so for me it was a good choice. But I respect that it has to be the individuals choice. Some are happy to to go with the pharmaceutical options, while others will try to avoid them. From my own point of view, I think I'm a bit past the diet/lifestyle/weight loss alone option, at least in the short term.
Thanks again for your support etc. I do plan to contribute more to other threads going forward. But I'm so early on this journey currently, I feel I need more experience before dispensing advice and support to others.
So it's time for an update. So I had my 3 monthly blood samples for the tests on Wednesday. They did: HbA1c, Full Blood Count, Liver, Renal (Kidneys), Lipids (Cholesterol) and Thyroid. When the HCA confirmed the tests, I said there were quite a lot, she said this was standard for their Diabetic patients. Most were much the same or improved, the Cholesterol has improved a lot presumably due to the Statin, but the big shock was my HbA1c is now 43, so down from 79 in 3 months! It was a good shock though 🙂 I have an appointment see the DSN in a few weeks, following these tests.
Apart from that, I'm settling on the Metformin IR (Immediate Release), I have been on the full dose for 6 weeks, so 1g with breakfast, 1g with dinner. It's been ok generally, but as I was increasing the dose weekly I did have the runs sometimes. Normally just once after the dose increase, no emergency sprints to the toilet, no carpet cleaning required.
I still feel quite tired and fatigued much of the time, especially 1-4 hours after eating. I'm not really losing much weight, which I find odd, that would have been the one Diabetes symptom I would have been grateful for. I've lost 5Kg, mostly in the first month of the carb reduction, I need to lose about another 10Kg. If I'd gone on this diet 5+ years ago, I feel I would have continued to lose about 1Kg per week, based on previous diet experience when I was younger. Perhaps part of the lack of continued weight loss is my age?
The blood glucose still varies a lot. It's generally 5-8 fasting, generally on the higher side, but goes up by about 4-5 two hours after eating. I'm guessing this is causing the fatigue. Also my body is probably still getting used to the lower BG levels. I have noted all the readings and my analysis shows the carb reduction brought the fasting BG levels down by around 5, the Metformin/exercise by about the same. I've been exercising with a brisk walk at least 30 mins a day for the past 6 weeks. I'm trying to keep the carbs below 100g per day, typically they are around 80g per day. I've also had good support from family, friends and work colleagues, which I'm grateful for.
So it's time for an update. So I had my 3 monthly blood samples for the tests on Wednesday. They did: HbA1c, Full Blood Count, Liver, Renal (Kidneys), Lipids (Cholesterol) and Thyroid. When the HCA confirmed the tests, I said there were quite a lot, she said this was standard for their Diabetic patients. Most were much the same or improved, the Cholesterol has improved a lot presumably due to the Statin, but the big shock was my HbA1c is now 43, so down from 79 in 3 months! It was a good shock though 🙂 I have an appointment see the DSN in a few weeks, following these tests.
Apart from that, I'm settling on the Metformin IR (Immediate Release), I have been on the full dose for 6 weeks, so 1g with breakfast, 1g with dinner. It's been ok generally, but as I was increasing the dose weekly I did have the runs sometimes. Normally just once after the dose increase, no emergency sprints to the toilet, no carpet cleaning required.
I still feel quite tired and fatigued much of the time, especially 1-4 hours after eating. I'm not really losing much weight, which I find odd, that would have been the one Diabetes symptom I would have been grateful for. I've lost 5Kg, mostly in the first month of the carb reduction, I need to lose about another 10Kg. If I'd gone on this diet 5+ years ago, I feel I would have continued to lose about 1Kg per week, based on previous diet experience when I was younger. Perhaps part of the lack of continued weight loss is my age?
The blood glucose still varies a lot. It's generally 5-8 fasting, generally on the higher side, but goes up by about 4-5 two hours after eating. I'm guessing this is causing the fatigue. Also my body is probably still getting used to the lower BG levels. I have noted all the readings and my analysis shows the carb reduction brought the fasting BG levels down by around 5, the Metformin/exercise by about the same. I've been exercising with a brisk walk at least 30 mins a day for the past 6 weeks. I'm trying to keep the carbs below 100g per day, typically they are around 80g per day. I've also had good support from family, friends and work colleagues, which I'm grateful for.
Last edited:
Lucyr
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Just in case you weren’t aware, slow release metformin doesn’t need to be taken twice a day it can be taken all at once, once a day. Might be worth considering once you’re settled on it.
I had my 3 months review yesterday. The DSN was happy with everything, though said she would talk to one of the doctors about reducing the Statin. I later got a text to say it's been reduced to 10mg. I've lost another 3kg, my waist has reduced by 2cm and my BP was the lowest I've seen it for years at 130/70.
I've now been told my next review should now be in 6 months.
I did ask the DSN about the BG variability, she said it's quite normal, even non-Diabetics will have fluctuations. I did know that, but mine seemed higher than I expected. Mine generally goes from around 5 mmol/L to about 9-12 after a meal, depending on what I eat. She also reiterated that I don't need to test it as I'm not at risk of Hypos. I said I test it to gauge how the treatment/lifestyle changes are working and to see which foods affect it most. I showed her a printout of my finger prick test results and a Libre report, which she asked to keep. I don't use CGMs all the time, I just use them occasionally to get more info on my BG. The last Libre 2 I used was after the app update and it was nice not to have to scan it all the time. But I've seen I have to scan it if loses connection to the phone for more than 10 or 15 mins, as it doesn't seem to catch up, you end up with a gap, but scanning 'fills in the blanks'.
I've mainly reduced Carbs, typically now to around 50-70g per day, been exercising at least 30 mins per day and have now lost about 7kg in weight overall. The averages of my fasting BG at different stages are: just before diagnosis: 17.2, after carb reduction: 12.9, after taking Metformin/exercising more: 6.3.
I've now been told my next review should now be in 6 months.
I did ask the DSN about the BG variability, she said it's quite normal, even non-Diabetics will have fluctuations. I did know that, but mine seemed higher than I expected. Mine generally goes from around 5 mmol/L to about 9-12 after a meal, depending on what I eat. She also reiterated that I don't need to test it as I'm not at risk of Hypos. I said I test it to gauge how the treatment/lifestyle changes are working and to see which foods affect it most. I showed her a printout of my finger prick test results and a Libre report, which she asked to keep. I don't use CGMs all the time, I just use them occasionally to get more info on my BG. The last Libre 2 I used was after the app update and it was nice not to have to scan it all the time. But I've seen I have to scan it if loses connection to the phone for more than 10 or 15 mins, as it doesn't seem to catch up, you end up with a gap, but scanning 'fills in the blanks'.
I've mainly reduced Carbs, typically now to around 50-70g per day, been exercising at least 30 mins per day and have now lost about 7kg in weight overall. The averages of my fasting BG at different stages are: just before diagnosis: 17.2, after carb reduction: 12.9, after taking Metformin/exercising more: 6.3.
Last edited:
- Status