From insulin to metformin

[Smorg14]

The ketone test itself is no problem. Do you have urine sticks or Blood ketone strips for your BG meter? I am actually rather impressed that your nurse gave you a means of testing for ketones as Type 2 diabetics don't normally have a problem with ketones so aren't given a means of testing for them. Ketones develop if you are not producing enough insulin and most Type 2s produce excess insulin because they have become insulin resistant. ie their body is less responsive to the insulin they produce, so they have to produce more insulin to do the same job.
Obviously it is a worry if you do develop ketones in any significant amount and you need to seek medical care if that happens but I had a reading of 27 one night and no ketones and certainly regular readings in the mid teens in the early days of diagnosis and didn't get ketones, so don't worry that it will happen if you get readings in the mid teens, just that there is a slight possibility that you might produce some.
I too had a rather bad diet pre-diagnosis so it was certainly easy to understand how I had developed Type 2 diabetes and my HbA1c was 112 but it subsequently turned out I was Type 1. I wonder if they had started me on insulin straight away, if it would have preserved more of my beta cells.

Anyway, just saying to keep an open mind about your diabetes type and be prepared to push for additional testing (C-peptide and GAD antibody tests) if your levels do start to skyrocket when you come off the insulin, despite a low carb diet with or without what is unaffectionately referred to as "Metfartin" 🙄

Hi Barbara, metfartin LOL oh god I've got all this to come! Just in time for the family coming to stay at Christmas! Great timing I'll be getting a nickname. When you say GAD are you referring to generalised anxiety disorder? I do actually have this and when stressed it massively influences my readings and manifests physical symptoms too. I will google the GAD antibody test, I've never heard of it before or yhe C peptides. I've had one physical face to face appt since first being diagnosed, the rest are all telephone appts and the information can be overwhelming in a 10 minute phone call but my nurse is great and so is my GP, I consider myself really lucky to have moved and got a really good surgery, I always feel so much better after speaking to them. I'm clueless on the subject , like you've mentioned the above tests, never heard of them so I will research. My way of coping with the diagnosis is to keep things as simple as possible, not look into too much otherwise I get overwhelmed. I live on my own and not being able to voice fears etc to someone when you need to can make things get over dramatised, so keeping up simple. It's going well so far. Sue.

 

[Smorg14]

Hi Sue, I was only diagnosed just over a month ago and have never been on insulin.
I'm afraid I've not taken any blood sugar readings yet, I've booked in with the diabetes nurse next week so she can do the first one with me to make sure that I'm doing it right, but mostly because I'm a bit of a coward and don't like seeing the needle going into me, I'm hoping it's easier with her there.
My HbA1C was 80mmol/mol when I was diagnosed, fingers crossed I'll have got that down using diet and exercise when I have my three month diabetes review in the new year.
@rebrascora Metfartin . I will be using this as an excuse in the future.

Good luck on your readings in the new year. It was a double edged sword for me at the beginning as I was getting very apprehensive about what the results were going to be, but as time went on I became in control and that did a lot for my anxiety on it. I could see by the scales the weight was coming off, and my readings were mainly within the range, I was excited for my 3 month HBA1c , as by that point I considered it a challenge and that I was definately going to get a handle in it. Sue

 

[rebrascora]

No, GAD antibody test isn't to do with anxiety. It is to check for the antibody's which can exist as a result of your immune system attacking the beta cells in your pancreas which are responsible for making insulin. The C-peptide test is to check how much insulin you are able to produce yourself. As mentioned, Type 2 diabetics tend to overproduce insulin so levels are quite high, whereas Type 1 diabetics have had many of their beta cells killed off by their immune system, so a low C-peptide result and some GAD antibodies would indicate Type 1. Hope passing wind is the only problem you have with Metfartin, sometimes you have to be careful before you let rip, if you know what I mean 😡 .... (embarrassed rather than angry emoji)

Don't get too hung up on the why's and wherefores at the moment though. I was just mentioning those tests and possible Type 1 as something to keep in the back of your mind rather than needing to research at this stage. I knew nothing about all this until the good people of this forum told me about it. The important thing is that you have BG testing strips and ketone strips and you know what you are doing with them and your low carb diet, so just see how you get on and we are here to help you interpret the results and support you if you need us. No need to be anxious, just take it one day at a time.