Diabetes type 2

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jules007 said:
Hi thank you for your reply
I have cut right back on carbs i havent had any sugar or any fizzy drinks for 3 weeks i have been walking too I dont understand why my blood sugar levels wont come down from 10.1 every day ? Any answers to what I am doing wrong. Can eating late make sugar higher ?
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Given what you’ve said about the unintended weight loss, and rapid rise to quite a high level (almost into the 100s), if a low carb menu isn’t reducing your levels it would be worth asking your surgery about getting your diagnosis confirmed.

Often this can involve getting a check for one or more diabetes-related antibodies, and cPeptide (which measures how much insulin you are producing yourself).

Could take a few days measure / look up your food and weigh your portions so that you can tot up your daily total carbohydrate intake (not just sugars). If that is currently less than 130g per day you would expect to be seeing some reduction in your BG levels after a few days/weeks if you are what one member here describes as an “ordinary uncomplicated T2”.

One of the tricky things about diabetes is that there are lots of subtypes and niche variants, and there aren’t really any definitive diagnostic checks for them. Mostly diagnosis is best done on clinical presentation. But that can take an experienced clinician for the atypical cases.
 
Hi
I have been just diagnosed as type 2 3 weeks ago. It has frightened me so I have cut back a lot on carbs and because i read its dangerous to drink wine with metformin and being a drinker i didnt take any metformin. I have eaten 1 slice brown bread in morning wiv advocado and a boiled egg. I have had salads and a portion of meat or tuna for lunch and vegetables and a chicken leg or salmon ect.. i have only 2 potatoes with a sunday meal turkey and broccolli brussles. No fizzy drinks or fruit juices. So I cannot understand why my levels are always 10 or 11?? Am I doing cutting down too quick ? By the way i have lost weight 8 pound but have never been over weight anyway. I dont know why my level wont get to under 9. ? Any ideas please.
 
jules007 said:
Hi
I have been just diagnosed as type 2 3 weeks ago. It has frightened me so I have cut back a lot on carbs and because i read its dangerous to drink wine with metformin and being a drinker i didnt take any metformin. I have eaten 1 slice brown bread in morning wiv advocado and a boiled egg. I have had salads and a portion of meat or tuna for lunch and vegetables and a chicken leg or salmon ect.. i have only 2 potatoes with a sunday meal turkey and broccolli brussles. No fizzy drinks or fruit juices. So I cannot understand why my levels are always 10 or 11?? Am I doing cutting down too quick ? By the way i have lost weight 8 pound but have never been over weight anyway. I dont know why my level wont get to under 9. ? Any ideas please.
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Earlier in your thread there has been some suggestion that high blood glucose and weight loss can be indicative of Type 1 or LADA rather than Type 2. From what you are saying about your meals if that is typical of the carbs you are having I think that may reinforce that thought.
However you are still quite early in your diagnosis and even though you have made some dietary changes it can take some time for your blood glucose to come down and the reading you are getting would not be out of step with an Hba1C in the 90ies.
Reducing blood glucose slowly is kinder on your eyes and nerves.
You could do some paired testing of your meals, before you eat and after 2 hours and see what the difference is 2-3mmol/l indicates your meal is OK.
 
Yes I understand that but I asked doc what type I am and she said 2. Does blood test detect what type you are ? How long roughly does it take for levels to come down ? Does smoking affect levels ? The weird thing is new years eve I did go to ann indian resturant had tandori chicken no rice had bajjis and other bits of curry things No naan bread but had a poppadom also had bottle wine yet next morning it was only 9 which i didnt understand as thats lowest its been ? Any idea why that could be ?
 
You started off at quite a high level and you are addressing that with no medication so it will take months rather than weeks for levels to get into the lower end of the diabetic zone but your dietary changes will be making a difference and your levels will be gradually coming down. An HbA1C of 90 plus would be likely giving finger prick readings in the teens.
A reading of 9 by the next morning is not really reflecting what you ate the night before but testing 2 hours after that meal would likely have shown double figures.
The tests needed for Type 1 are c-peptide which tests how much insulin you are producing and GAD antibodies which tests if you have antibodies which destroy your insulin producing cells in the pancreas. They are expensive test which is why GPs are reluctant to order them and make a diagnosis (which sometimes is wrong) on clinical presentation.
I thing you may struggle to get them to do those tests if you have not exhausted the diet and oral medication route.
A friend recently diagnosed was initially taking metformin and reducing carbs and losing loads of weight, which she didn't need to, gliclazide was added and she was still losing weight and became very unwell and only then did they do the tests and diagnosed Type 1 and put her on insulin.
You should expect an HbA1C after 3 months and see what happens then.
 
jules007 said:
Yes I understand that but I asked doc what type I am and she said 2. Does blood test detect what type you are ? How long roughly does it take for levels to come down ? Does smoking affect levels ? The weird thing is new years eve I did go to ann indian resturant had tandori chicken no rice had bajjis and other bits of curry things No naan bread but had a poppadom also had bottle wine yet next morning it was only 9 which i didnt understand as thats lowest its been ? Any idea why that could be ?
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Alcohol has a glucose lowering effect. I have seen mine be in the 3s following a few drinks the night before (Usually a couple of beers and some spirits.)

How long does it take for levels to come down? It can be very quickly when switching to a low carb, from 3 days to a few weeks. My symptoms went away very quickly (Within 2 weeks) when I started low carb. My hba1c was 83.

It may depend on whether there's any insulin resistance and how much natural insulin the body is producing.
 
harbottle said:
Alcohol has a glucose lowering effect. I have seen mine be in the 3s following a few drinks the night before (Usually a couple of beers and some spirits.)

How long does it take for levels to come down? It can be very quickly when switching to a low carb, from 3 days to a few weeks. My symptoms went away very quickly (Within 2 weeks) when I started low carb. My hba1c was 83.

It may depend on whether there's any insulin resistance and how much natural insulin the body is producing.
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Thankyou mine is always 10 or 11 only once has it been 9. But its only been 3 weeks. The weird thing is i have cut back a lot of carbs and sugar yet iv put on 2 pounds. ?? I am not over weight. May I ask you said you had beers ect were you taking metformin at the time as that is what is stressing me which is why Im not taking it.
 
I am taking 500mg of Metformin, which is very, very dose.
I stopped taking it for a couple of months and it made no real difference. A higher dose of 1500+ seems to make the most difference.

I cut both carbs and calories and didn't drink for 3 months - I lost weight very quickly. (I was quite overweight when diagnosed!)

Have levels come down at all?
 
Do you drink with metformin ? I want to try and bring levels down without it.I do drink but I know loads of people that do too. I dont know if it will work though. I do think the stress of all this is not helping. But I have to remind myself there are hundreds with it. I suppose i have read too much about complications if levels are high. There is so much negativity about it online I dont see many positivity about it. Maybe it will take 3 months for levels to come down ? I just dont know. Should I ask doc to refer me to a diabetic nurse ?
 
jules007 said:
Do you drink with metformin ? I want to try and bring levels down without it.I do drink but I know loads of people that do too. I dont know if it will work though. I do think the stress of all this is not helping. But I have to remind myself there are hundreds with it. I suppose i have read too much about complications if levels are high. There is so much negativity about it online I dont see many positivity about it. Maybe it will take 3 months for levels to come down ? I just dont know. Should I ask doc to refer me to a diabetic nurse ?
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You seem to be avoiding the question about how much you drink but you have to balance not taking the suggested medication and drinking and being more patient about getting blood glucose down. But you can ask to see your diabetic nurse but I suspect she will tell you something similar that you should prioritise getting blood glucose down for the sake of avoiding the unpleasant complications of high blood glucose for any length of time.
 
jules007 said:
Do you drink with metformin ? I want to try and bring levels down without it.I do drink but I know loads of people that do too. I dont know if it will work though. I do think the stress of all this is not helping. But I have to remind myself there are hundreds with it. I suppose i have read too much about complications if levels are high. There is so much negativity about it online I dont see many positivity about it. Maybe it will take 3 months for levels to come down ? I just dont know. Should I ask doc to refer me to a diabetic nurse ?
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Yes. Not very often, though. I can take it or leave it. I don't drink much at home and go out every couple of weeks and have a few beers. If I do drink at home it's usually just a glass of white wine or a bottle of beer, sometimes a low carb light beer or a pilsner.

The GP/Nurse will follow NICE guidelines - start off with medication (Usually Metformin) and lifestyle change, and see if that reduces the hba1c in 3 months. If that doesn't work, they might add another drug, and then after that another one. I know someone who is on three drugs to keep levels down.

Have they set you a target hba1c to aim for? I was told to aim for less than 48.
 
Not avoiding itas you say. But as I say there is nothing but negativity !!! I know people that have had this for 25 years and drink !!!
 
harbottle said:
Yes. Not very often, though. I can take it or leave it. I don't drink much at home and go out every couple of weeks and have a few beers. If I do drink at home it's usually just a glass of white wine or a bottle of beer, sometimes a low carb light beer or a pilsner.

The GP/Nurse will follow NICE guidelines - start off with medication (Usually Metformin) and lifestyle change, and see if that reduces the hba1c in 3 months. If that doesn't work, they might add another drug, and then after that another one. I know someone who is on three drugs to keep levels down.

Have they set you a target hba1c to aim for? I was told to aim for less than 48.
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No I havent even seen a doctor she told me over phone and not given me any advice !!! I cant get an appointment she told me to send her a text on my weight. Thats all.Its discraceful !!
 
jules007 said:
No I havent even seen a doctor she told me over phone and not given me any advice !!! I cant get an appointment she told me to send her a text on my weight. Thats all.Its discraceful !!
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Did they prescribe you anything?
I just had a rushed phone called that went along the lines, "you're diabetic, stop eating chips, lose some weight, go for a walk every day. I've prescribed you Metformin." That's all.

After the hba1c came down to 36 three months later, the Metformin was halved.
 
harbottle said:
Did they prescribe you anything?
I just had a rushed phone called that went along the lines, "you're diabetic, stop eating chips, lose some weight, go for a walk every day. I've prescribed you Metformin." That's all.

After the hba1c came down to 36 three months later, the Metformin was halved.
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The OP has been prescribed metformin but is reluctant to take it because of potential effects of having it when she has wine to drink.
 
I dont eat chips anyway. I am.not over weight Iv lost weight. As you say I wiĺl wait for next blood test. Have cut back carbs ect.. Havent taken metformin yet. Not even seen a doc aĺl been over phone
 
She told me to send my weight on text. And i got appointment with health care ass for bp check.
 
Is there anything positive ? The weird thing is when i eat black bomber cheese on crackers my blood sugar has not spiked !! my partner says I am doing it all too quick ??
 
jules007 said:
Is there anything positive ? The weird thing is when i eat black bomber cheese on crackers my blood sugar has not spiked !! my partner says I am doing it all too quick ??
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Depending on how many crackers you have that is likely lower carb than a sandwich and cheese has no carbs to speak of also fat slows down the digestion of the carbs.
It all depends on what you call a 'spike' and how long it lasts as to whether that would be unusual.
 
Leadinglights said:
Depending on how many crackers you have that is likely lower carb than a sandwich and cheese has no carbs to speak of also fat slows down the digestion of the carbs.
It all depends on what you call a 'spike' and how long it lasts as to whether that would be unusual.
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Hi well I am very pleased as this morning it is 7.5 first time ever. Yet i had a roast dinner wine ect.. confusing.
 
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