diagnosed 18 days ago type 2

[cheddar]

Hi all I have been taking one 500 mg Metformin once a day since being diagnosed. Today I have seen the DN and my results have come back as HbA1c 49 ..high cholesterol ..high BP...Overweight.
I've been given many information leaflets (very useful) & have another appt in one month's time to see the DN again .(feet exam and BP)
I have a GP appt in a weeks time and he wants to put me on Ramipril and a statin. This I am very reluctant to do. I am just getting use to taking Metformin and I feel the side effects of these drugs outweigh the benefits.
Could someone please explain the HbA1c reading of 49? My DN says not to work with percentages any more. I understand that a reading of under 50 is ok but a lower reading would be better.,
Is it commonplace to be put on other drugs when first starting Meformin?
Sorry about all these muddled questions but at the moment although the DN was very helpful I have had difficulty in retaining all the info that she gave me.. Maybe my age is making me a bit Dippy! lol 😱
I am also hypothyroid on Levothyroxine 75mg.
Thanks .

 

[Old Holborn]

Hi Cheddar and welcome.

 

[Mark T]

Hi cheddar,

49 is 6.6%, which is considered to be OK I think (the NICE guidelines aim for 6.5%).

Various diabetes bloggers and book authors will actually recommend to be lower the 6% since below that your risk of heart disease/other side effects is lower (based on the UKPDS study apparently). But it's up to you to choose the target you want to aim for.

Loosing that extra weight will be good if you can, since it will most likely help you with the BP and Cholesterol.

 

[Northerner]

Do you know what the numbers were for your BP and cholesterol? Both can be things that may not be as bad as they seem. For blood pressure, many people find that getting a home monitor is useful because you can take lots of readings and get a truer picture of how your blood pressure is on 'normal' days i.e. when you are not having it taken 'officially' by sthe doctor (also known as 'white coat syndrome'). I use an Omron M2 Basic Blood Pressure Monitor which is clinically approved, and by showing the readings from this to my GP she decided I did not need to increase my BP medication.

As for cholesterol, whilst the total can be important, it can also be split down into two parts - HDL and LDL - which give more information. For example, my total cholesterol is higher than the standard level normally looked for in a person with diabetes (4 or below), but my HDL (the 'good' cholesterol) is very good so my GP agrees that I do not need to take statins.

It is quite common to be put on other drugs, such as BP and statins, as they help treat different problems. Your HbA1c of 49/6.6% is very good (you'll find a lot of people still only think in percentages and have to convert before the numbers become meaningful! 🙂)

 

[Steff]

Chedder hi and a warm welcome

 

[daisymoo84]

Hi Cheddar,

Welcome to the boards! I can't offer much advice as still new to this myself but everyone here is really friendly so ask as many questions as possible!

🙂

 

[GlucoseGary]

Hi Cheddar,

49's not quite ideal but quite honestly it's very much at the milder end of things (for comparison, I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 108😱). However, that doesn't mean it's not important, you're just very lucky to have had your Insulin Resistance (IR) picked up in time that you have a great chance to manage it, especially with all the great information and encouragement people on this board can bring, and to avoid all the horrid effects of this rotten disease - so take that as a positive.

I was given my prescriptions for metformin and statins (for a total cholesterol of 7.1) at the same time, but told to hold off taking the statins for 2 weeks so that I could tell whether any side effects were from one or the other. I've had a few muscular pains (as did my Dad and aunt who were both on the same combo) but the statins did their job and my total cholesterol came down to 4.5 in 3 months, and that's worth the odd twinge in my book.

Good luck and stick with it: the Met' side-effects do ease off, honest!

 

[macabee]

Hi Cheddar and welcome to the forum.

You will find an enormous amount of helpful people round here, as we all have the same goal, in how to manage and control our diabetes.

Good luck🙂

 

[mcdonagh47]

hi there,

its very important for T2s to tackle hypertension and hypercholesterol aggressively.
T2, high bps, overweight and high chols form a serious axis called the 'Metabolic Syndrome'.
T2 diabetes itself is just the most visible of the problems you are facing. The ACE Inhibitor ( anything ending in "pril") will bring down bps and protect the Kidneys. The statin will act to protect you heart (80% of T2s die of heart disease) and also stabilise any atheromas you may have starting. When it comes to cholesterol the most important figure is not the total chol or the balance between the hdl/ldl but the absolute level of LDL.
T2 is progressive and invasive and affects all the organs of the body through microvascular and macrovascular damage so you need to come at it with all guns blazing.

 

[senco1]

Hi the people on here are great give you lots of help. I myself began this journey in October and by doing 30 mins a day light exercise and watching portion sizes lost 15 pounds. My cholesterol was borderline high and after 7 weeks the last test showed normal readings. Give it a go. It is really confusing but we will get there.

 

[cheddar]

hi there,

its very important for T2s to tackle hypertension and hypercholesterol aggressively.
T2, high bps, overweight and high chols form a serious axis called the 'Metabolic Syndrome'.
T2 diabetes itself is just the most visible of the problems you are facing. The ACE Inhibitor ( anything ending in "pril") will bring down bps and protect the Kidneys. The statin will act to protect you heart (80% of T2s die of heart disease) and also stabilise any atheromas you may have starting. When it comes to cholesterol the most important figure is not the total chol or the balance between the hdl/ldl but the absolute level of LDL.
T2 is progressive and invasive and affects all the organs of the body through microvascular and macrovascular damage so you need to come at it with all guns blazing.

Thankyou mcdonagh! You share the same views as my GP! Very positive answer. My thoughts are about the side affects of these drugs. I have just become a near border-line T2 & wondered whether maybe I could postpone the BP and Cholesterol drugs until I make progress with the Metformin. I feel very fortunate (Maybe the wrong word!) to have my condition detected so early-but didn't realize all the different drugs that I will need (esp. when I feel quite healthy! ) I hear what you are saying (that diabetes is a "silent killer" so to speak!)
I am also hypothyroid and can't begin to imagine how all these tablets will know what part of my body to tackle- lol!
Thanks again for your input.

 

[Graeme]

Hi Cheddar

For the last few months I have been on the metformin 2 x 500mg and have since went on to the Ramipril 1 x 2.5mg. No effects I know of encounterted taking them both. I was on another "-pril" (perindopril 4mg, and it knocked me a bit) however a visit to the docs to change to Ramipril and I'm fine. 😉

I personally have found taking the metformin during food I haven't suffered any of the unpleasant side effects

I still have to go to the doctors next week for a blood sample to confirm & and hopefully BP check to confirm it's heading down or at least not up!

Luckily my cholesterol wasn't too bad, and I have been focusing on portion control, what food I'm eating, checking blood sugars, and more exercise to my life. (not been so good the last few weeks for a lot of reasons) but getting myself sorted out again Managed to lose 1.5 stone so far and feeling better for it.

Good luck with it all..

G

 

[cheddar]

Hi Cheddar,

49's not quite ideal but quite honestly it's very much at the milder end of things (for comparison, I was diagnosed with an HbA1c of 108😱). However, that doesn't mean it's not important, you're just very lucky to have had your Insulin Resistance (IR) picked up in time that you have a great chance to manage it, especially with all the great information and encouragement people on this board can bring, and to avoid all the horrid effects of this rotten disease - so take that as a positive.

I was given my prescriptions for metformin and statins (for a total cholesterol of 7.1) at the same time, but told to hold off taking the statins for 2 weeks so that I could tell whether any side effects were from one or the other. I've had a few muscular pains (as did my Dad and aunt who were both on the same combo) but the statins did their job and my total cholesterol came down to 4.5 in 3 months, and that's worth the odd twinge in my book.

Good luck and stick with it: the Met' side-effects do ease off, honest!

Thanks Gary Always good to hear from a fellow Devonian!

 

[Newtothis]

Thankyou mcdonagh! You share the same views as my GP! Very positive answer. My thoughts are about the side affects of these drugs. I have just become a near border-line T2 & wondered whether maybe I could postpone the BP and Cholesterol drugs until I make progress with the Metformin. I feel very fortunate (Maybe the wrong word!) to have my condition detected so early-but didn't realize all the different drugs that I will need (esp. when I feel quite healthy! ) I hear what you are saying (that diabetes is a "silent killer" so to speak!)
I am also hypothyroid and can't begin to imagine how all these tablets will know what part of my body to tackle- lol!
Thanks again for your input.

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear of the problems you currently have. However, there are so many more serious conditions than diabetes and if managed and controlled there is nothing to say anyone with diabetes cannot have a long and healthy life.

 

[Sheilagh1958]

Hi Cheddar welcome to the forum 🙂