hello from a newbie

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harrington1

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Type 2
hello to everyone
I was diagnosed 4 weeks ago with a very high blood sugar and whilst waiting for an appointment with the diabetic nurse had 2 weeks of a sugar free low carb diet which I felt really good on.
After seeing the nurse blood sugar still v high despite everything [17 ] and she started me on metformin once a day for a week then rising to twice a day after that.
I haven't had too many side effects other than feeling a bit sick etc but since starting on the second dose I have got increasingly exhausted. I feel like I'm dragging myself around with no energy at all ?
Do you think this is normal or should I go back to the doctor. They are doing no monitoring on me but told me to go backin January.
BS now between 6.5 and 8
Thanks in advance !!
H
 
Hi Harrington and a warm welcome to the forum, when I was first put on metformin i had the bad tummy and the trips to the toilet to boot.Are you on the slow release?

Your BS sugar readings are excellent.
 
Welcome to the forums harrington1 🙂
 
Thank you for your welcomes !
Steff - not on slow release just regular i think.
Have been trying really hard with diet - trouble is as a veggie I rely too heavily on carbs and since being on here I am beginning to wonder what I can eat....
its just the tiredness and lethargy - has any one else had that ? is it just my body responding to low sugar ? or getting used to metformin ?:confused:
 
Welcome Harrington.

Many people do experience "false hypo" effects when they start on medication, and their bodies interpret lower than previous high levels as being too low. Tiredness, loss of energy etc can be among the symptoms. I'd be tempted to continue for the week on one tablet a day, but check with GP / nurse before increasing dose.
 
Hello Harrington and welcome to the forum. The slow release metformin is called glucophage - does that ring any bells? People find it easier to tolerate than the standard metformin.

Tiredness can be a symptom of high blood sugar.

If I was you I would go and chat with my GP or nurse. They will be able to advise you on side effects. There are other things that can cause tiredness and they may wish to do some blood tests to rule anything else out.
 
harrington1 said:
Thank you for your welcomes !
Steff - not on slow release just regular i think.
Have been trying really hard with diet - trouble is as a veggie I rely too heavily on carbs and since being on here I am beginning to wonder what I can eat....
its just the tiredness and lethargy - has any one else had that ? is it just my body responding to low sugar ? or getting used to metformin ?:confused:
Click to expand...

Hi, your body will still be adapting to a lot of things - the medication, sometimes lower levels than you have been used to and no doubt still getting some highs because you've not worked out the modifications you need to make to your diet. Try to keep active as much as possible, even when you are feeling tired - the exercise will really help with your blood sugar levels 🙂

Have a look at our 'Useful Links' thread for some good book suggestions and links to other reading materials and information - understanding how diabetes works is essential if you are to manage it well 🙂

No reason why a veggie diet should be less suitable than a meat one - the trick is to substitute the carbs that have greatest impact on your levels with ones that don't - the best way to find out is to follow a proper testing regime as described in Test,Review, Adjust by Alan S

Keep asking questions! 🙂
 
Thanks everyone
I am just impatient to feel better I guess ! - and was feeling q good on 1 metformin a day.
I have recently bought a glucose tester kit so may try monitoring levels on just one tablet and see how it goes.
 
Hi Harrington,

I'm a veggie too. Whilst I'm still really new to all this and testing lots I seem to be ok with most pulses, quorn products and cheese/eggs. I've found I haven't really had to change my lunch/dinner much apart from having a lot smaller portions of pasta/bread/potatoes. It's breakfast I'm having the most tuble with!


There's some veggie recipes from a previous post which I'll attempt to paste the link to:

http://www.diabetessupport.co.uk/boards/showthread.php?t=21476

Good luck!
 
Hiya - Frittata with a selection of chopped veg - or d fruit - in it, pre-prepared and slices and kept in the fridge is one thought. Know a T1 who used to have a strawberry omelette for brekkers when she was preggers and struggling re controlling her BS. There's no need whatsoever to limit yourself to 'traditional' breakfast foods. Cheese on a couple of Ryvita, egg on a slice of Bergen toast???

Make sure you get protein though - cos you can go an awful long way on protein, and it keeps you feeling full quite a bit longer than carbohydrate!
 
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