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Shirl1946

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Type 2
Hello everyone
My name is Shirley I was diagnoses with type 2 in 2006 although I was glucose impaired for a number of year before that.
my problem is I have been on Metoformin for a couple of years when I started to feel a little unwell feeling sickly at first I though I had a stomach bug but realised it was the tablets after stopping then for a couple of days.
my GP took me off them and put me on a different one which made me feel worse. my sugar levels are between 17-20 my GP says he doesnt want to put me on insulin because you put weight on and I am a little over weight because of steroids. my cousin who is also diabetic has better sugar levels than me and has been on insulin for some time. my last reading 2 hrs after my meal last night was 20.3 my fasting this morning was 7.8.
I am on no medication and my reading are just going up and up.
and I dont seem to be able to tolerate the pills
any advice on what to do next please
thanks
 
Hi Shirley, welcome to the forum 🙂 I'm very sorry to hear about the problems you are having, it must feel pretty terrible much of the time having levels like that :(

Your GP has many other potential treatments available, some of which don't necessarily involve weight gain. There are some injectable medications called Byetta, Bydureon and Victoza which can help in place of insulin, so it would be worth asking your GP about these if he doesn't want to try insulin. They can have side-effects, but as there are different types you may be able to tolerate one of them well and it should help to improve your blood sugar levels.

The other thing to consider is your diet, to see if there are any areas there where you might be able to improve things. As you probably know, diabetes is all about carbohydrates - these are what will have the greatest impact on your blood sugar levels. Interestingly, the thinking is now coming round to the idea that it is actually an excess of carbohydrates that is causing the various problems once associated with fat, so you may find that including less carbs (bread, potatoes, rice, pasta, sugary foods and drinks etc.), and including more fat can actually help to improve levels and possibly also help you to lose some excess weight. I would suggest starting a food diary and writing down everything you eat and drink each day, including the amounts, in grams, of carbs. Then you can look for places where you might be able to replace some of the carbs with other, more diabetes-friendly items e.g. fewer potatoes and more green vegetables. Unfortunately, the steroids will also be contributing to your higher than desired blood sugar levels - is this a permanant thing for you, or for a limited time?

Finally, any regular exercise you can do should help to sensitise you more to the insulin you are producing, and help with your levels.

You are more than welcome to ask us anything you want if you're not sure, and we will do our best to help you - no question is considered 'silly'! 🙂
 
Welcome Shirl. If Insulin made you put on weight what do you think after more than 48yrs would do to you ? I used to race catamarans & used to have to carry bricks on my boat to compete (because to light) I have all my life been about 11 stone or less. In the past I have heard a few folk on about those tablets you are on. Might be time for a change Good luck. 😉
 
Thank you for your reply Hobie.. I can imagine how horrid it has been for you with having type 1.. I see you are from my neck of the woods I like in Durham.. take care x
 
Hi Northerner
Thank you for your reply and advice.. I will make an appointment to see my GP and go over my medication, I am on long term steroids and I also have MS so unfortunately I cannot exercise or even go for a walk ( sods law ) I am a couple of stone overweight so maybe I need to see the dietitian although I do eat lots of veg and I think I have a quite healthy diet.. I will let you know what my GP says... take care x
 
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Shirl1946 said:
Hi Northerner
Thank you for your reply and advice.. I will make an appointment to see my GP and go over my medication, I am on long term steroids and I also have MS so unfortunately I cannot exercise or even go for a walk ( sods law ) I am a couple of stone overweight so maybe I need to see the dietitian although I do eat lots of veg and I think I have a quite healthy diet.. I will let you know what my GP says... take care x
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I hope the appointment goes well Shirley 🙂
 
Welcome to the forum Shirl1946 🙂
 
Hi Shirl
Welcome to the forum, sorry you're having such a hard time at the minute. I think a trip back to the GP might be in order. You shouldn't be left with blood sugar that high, and there are other treatments available to try. Hope you get it sorted and start to feel much better soon 🙂
 
Hi Shirl, From the best part of the county 😎😱. The people at Durham Duk group are a nice bunch. I have given a talk there & am not what you call a public speaker but was looked after by a good lot. I gave a talk about Motorbike trip for Duk & at the end walked back to my car with a lovely lady in her 80s. Who really enjoyed talk ! She told me her father used to sell BSA bikes in the early days. Me not expecting her to be into "Bikes". How wrong 😉
 
High sugar Levels

Hi Everybody
thank you for the welcome and supportive replies.
I see my GP on Thursday so see what happens.
took my readings twice today both have been 19.2 19.8 maybe thats why I feel so tired. I have other health problems which don't help the situation.
If he does put me on insulin this time are there any side affects that I should be aware of. I take quite a lot of medication for heart problems and am on long term steroids.. I hate pills and don't tolerate them easily.. the last tablet my GP put me on for diabetes was called Dapagliflozin I felt sick for days so I stopped taking them and the nausea went.
I will let you know what my GP says ( he is also my Diabetic Dr)
 
Shirl1946 said:
Hi Everybody
thank you for the welcome and supportive replies.
I see my GP on Thursday so see what happens.
took my readings twice today both have been 19.2 19.8 maybe thats why I feel so tired. I have other health problems which don't help the situation.
If he does put me on insulin this time are there any side affects that I should be aware of. I take quite a lot of medication for heart problems and am on long term steroids.. I hate pills and don't tolerate them easily.. the last tablet my GP put me on for diabetes was called Dapagliflozin I felt sick for days so I stopped taking them and the nausea went.
I will let you know what my GP says ( he is also my Diabetic Dr)
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Levels like those will certainly be making you feel lethargic Shirl. Insulin doesn't really have any side-effects, apart from the possibility of your levels falling too low (hypoglycaemia). If that happens though, you just need to eat (or drink) some fast-acting sugar, like jelly babies or full-sugar coke/lucozade etc.

It's unfortunate that so many medications seem to have nausea as a side-effect. It's hard to feel that you are any better off if your levels improve but you feel sick all the time :(

I hope that they are able to find something that you can tolerate well and that helps bring those levels under control 🙂
 
Just thought I would let you know that I have to start on insulin
my Hb1 was 79 have to see the diabetic nurse asap. he says my pancreas is starting to give up the ghost.. it has jumped from 52 to 79
Oh well such is life and maybe I will get a little energy back.....
 
Shirl1946 said:
Just thought I would let you know that I have to start on insulin
my Hb1 was 79 have to see the diabetic nurse asap. he says my pancreas is starting to give up the ghost.. it has jumped from 52 to 79
Oh well such is life and maybe I will get a little energy back.....
Click to expand...

Hi Shirl, it may seem daunting, but it really isn't so bad once you get to grips with things - and it will almost certainly make you feel much better 🙂 Have they said which insulin you will be on? Remember, if you have any questions, we are happy to help!

I hope things go well for you 🙂
 
Thanks Northerner
He said the diabetic nurse would sort things out for me. I am a couple of stone overweight because I cannot get any exercise due to MS and heart failure
he is worried that the insulin might put on more weight, its sods law isn't it
I will let you know which type of insulin.
 
Remember to keep yourself Hydrated Shirl. I drink gallons of Diet tonic water 😉
 
Thanks Hobie I will remember to do that, I have been really thirsty lately so have been drinking more.... take care x
 
Starting me on Insulin

Hi everyone
I know I have been feeling rotten lately to the point of not even wanting to get out of bed and would have taken anything that would help me feel better I never thought that it was the diabetes that was making me feel like that.
my GP has stated me on insulin today because my Hb1 had shot up
It is called Humulin1 and i'm stating on a low dose of 8 at bedtime then going up every couple of days until my fasting is around 5 or 6
I know you lot on here will know all about these things but I am finding it a bit daunting even though I have been diabetic for a number of years.
any info on this insulin would be appreciated.. I just hope it helps me feel human again
Thanks
 
Hi Shirl, it can be daunting when your treatment changes, but I am sure you will feel much better once your levels start to improve and you get the hang of things.

I haven't used Humulin I myself, but I know some of our members have so hopefully they will be able to give you the benefit of their experiences. From what I know, it's an 'intermediate' acting insulin that involves one injection a day and should last the whole day to help keep your levels under control. Do you drive? If so, you will have to let the DVLA know. Hopefully, the doctor will have given you plenty of test strips and information about how to treat hypos, should they occur. Make sure you carry some fast-acting sugar with you at all times so you can treat a low if you have one (it's unlikely to happen for a while, I think, since your levels are generally high and you have been started on a low dose, but best to be prepared! 🙂) As your levels start to come down you may experience 'false hypos', where you get the symptoms of a hypo without actually being low - this is because your levels may fall lower than you are used to, but as you get used to the lower levels you should only get hypo symptoms when you are much lower. Always treat something below 4.0 with a couple of jelly babies or something similar 🙂

Let us know if you have any other questions, and please let us know how you get on 🙂
 
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