Hi and help

[Andy84]

Hi all, just signed up. Struggling at the mo with my diabetes. Type 2.

I was put on metformin years ago and thought I had terrible IBS for 2 years but it was the Metformin. Was on Dapagliflozin for a while but that gave me constant thrush. Tried Trulicity which worked well, but gave me diarrhoea, made me vomit and horrendous burps and wind.

I’m now on Rybelsus 7 mg, started on 3 mg, four months on now and I’ve got horrendous diarrhoea again. I’ve put up with the bloating and smelly burps and the horrendous wind at night. But I’ve rang the Drs and told them I’ve stopped taking it.

Sorry to go on, but has anybody on here been through the same and managed to find a medication that works without diarrhoea and vomiting?

Thanks

Andy

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Andy84 🙂 Sorry to hear about your stomach problems. That sounds unpleasant. How high is your HbA1C?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear you are struggling so much with side effects from diabetes medication. Knowing what your HbA1c is and what if any dietary changes you have made would be helpful.

It may help to know that dietary changes can be more powerful than many of the oral medications you have taken, provided that you make the right dietary changes but unfortunately the NHS dietary advice often isn't particularly helpful and online advice can be very contradictory which means that people are left confused and demotivated.
Here on the forum we encourage people to use a BG to test just before and 2 hours after meals so that they can see which foods cause their individual body a problem and make dietary changes according to the information those results show them. It might sound a bit complicated and involved at first but once you get into a routine of it, it becomes quicker and easier and after a few months of intensive testing you can usually ease off a lot because by then you should have devised a number of meals which don't make your blood glucose levels too high and then you just test the occasional new food or meal.

If you are having such awful problems with medication then it may be easier to make some dietary changes to bring your levels down and manage your diabetes just through diet and perhaps increased exercise/activity but it depends what dietary changes you have already made and how high your hbA1c is. Ultimately insulin is unlikely to give you digestive upset, but it comes with it's own set of issues, so not something to consider unless you have exhausted other options.

 

[Andy84]

Welcome @Andy84 🙂 Sorry to hear about your stomach problems. That sounds unpleasant. How high is your HbA1C?

It’s been in the 80’s down to mid 50’s and back up to the 80’s again.

Thanks for replying

 

[Andy84]

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear you are struggling so much with side effects from diabetes medication. Knowing what your HbA1c is and what if any dietary changes you have made would be helpful.

It may help to know that dietary changes can be more powerful than many of the oral medications you have taken, provided that you make the right dietary changes but unfortunately the NHS dietary advice often isn't particularly helpful and online advice can be very contradictory which means that people are left confused and demotivated.
Here on the forum we encourage people to use a BG to test just before and 2 hours after meals so that they can see which foods cause their individual body a problem and make dietary changes according to the information those results show them. It might sound a bit complicated and involved at first but once you get into a routine of it, it becomes quicker and easier and after a few months of intensive testing you can usually ease off a lot because by then you should have devised a number of meals which don't make your blood glucose levels too high and then you just test the occasional new food or meal.

If you are having such awful problems with medication then it may be easier to make some dietary changes to bring your levels down and manage your diabetes just through diet and perhaps increased exercise/activity but it depends what dietary changes you have already made and how high your hbA1c is. Ultimately insulin is unlikely to give you digestive upset, but it comes with it's own set of issues, so not something to consider unless you have exhausted other options.

Hi, thanks for replying. My HbA1c has been in the 80’s down to mid 50’s and back up to the 80’s again.

I’ve joined a gym just recently, and my diet is up and down. I can eat healthy and unhealthy.

Chocolate has always been my weakness but I have cut down on it.

I’ve cut out alcohol completely the last three months.

I don’t test my blood levels, I was told o don’t need too as I’m type 2‍♂️

 

[Inka]

It’s been in the 80’s down to mid 50’s and back up to the 80’s again.

Thanks for replying

It might be a good idea to get a blood glucose meter so you can keep an eye on things @Andy84 I’m Type 1 and don’t know much about Type 2 meds, but I wonder if something like Gliclazide would be gentler on your stomach.

 

[stephenS50]

Hello there @Andy84 and welcome to the forum...sorry to hear about your rather unpleasant problems regarding your stomach and the diabetes medication you're taking...I hope everything improves regarding this.

 

[rebrascora]

What do you call eating healthy? What is healthy for a non diabetic person may not be healthy for a diabetic.
Unfortunately many diabetics have little understanding of what the food they eat does to their Blood Glucose (BG) levels and this is why home testing can be so helpful as it enables you to see which foods are a problem for you and which you can get away with and is can really help to discourage you from eating the stuff that causes you a problem when you see it sending your levels into orbit and encouraging when you find meals that hardly impact your BG.
The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates break down into glucose in the digestive system and are absorbed into the blood stream where it is used to provide energy for all your bodily functions and any surplus should be stored as fat for later. If you have diabetes then that glucose sits in the blood stream for too long and over time it risks clogging your blood vessels. One of the simplest ways of reducing BG levels is to put less carbohydrates into your body, because they produce the most glucose, so not just sugar and sweet stuff but bread and pasta and pastry and breakfast cereals and rice and anything made with or from grains and starch veg like potatoes. Not saying not to eat any of these things but reducing your portion size of your favourites and replacing others with lower carb alternatives, like mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes or celeriac chips instead of potato or cauliflower rice. Changing to wholemeal and wholegrain in itself doesn't make much difference as whole meal as almost as many carbs as white but a bit more fibre. Reducing your portion size and bulking your meals out with other lower carb foods will make a significant difference to your levels. Even oats/porridge which is considered healthy and an ideal breakfast for diabetics by some health care professionals is high in carbs and it sends my BG levels into orbit so I had to give it up. Testing is the only way to find out if porridge is good for you or better left off the menu and how many potatoes your body can cope with and if a few chips or couple of roasties are actually better for your diabetes than a baked potato. Bread is my nemesis and I have mostly cut it from my diet as it spikes me too much. That was a really big deal for me as I loved bread and of course it is a convenient carrier for so many foods, so finding ways to eat without it was mind boggling at first but 5 years down the line it doesn't really bother me at all and the odd social occasion when I have a sandwich (funerals buffets etc) I actually wonder what the attraction was. There are some lower carb options which some people find works for them along with reducing how much they consume. To put it into a little bit of context, a single slice of medium wholemeal bread contains about 15g carbs and a teaspoon of sugar is 4g carbs so one slice of bread has the same amount of glucose as 3-4 spoons of sugar, so your average sandwich of 2 slices of bread equates to 7-8g sugar. Having something like an omelette for breakfast or creamy natural Greek yoghurt with a few berries and chopped nuts and/or mixed seeds can be just as filling and be far less carbs than 2 slices of toast or a bowl or cereal. Even bacon and eggs and mushrooms, which you might consider unhealthy has almost no carbs and will be unlikely to inflate your BG levels, whereas a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with half a tin of baked beans might seem like a really healthy choice but you have the carbs from the bread and the carbs from the beans themselves and then the sugar in the sauce, all totting up to a very high carb count. At diagnosis, I was eating 4 slices of wholemeal toast with a whole tin of baked beans for lunch and thinking that was a good healthy choice..... I shudder to think how many carbs I was consuming! What I am trying to illustrate is that you need to be able to see which foods raise your BG too much in order to manage your diabetes well, particularly if medication is upsetting your system, but dietary changes are necessary even with medication because the medication alone will not keep it well managed long term and you will need progressively stronger and more medication to keep a lid on it.

I should also say, that it isn't all sack cloth and ashes! Many of us have cream in our coffee instead of milk on a morning because cream is lower carb and more filling. We have meat and fish and eggs and cheese and veg or salad, we just reduce or cut out the high carb foods. So I have a big bowl of chilli with a big dollop of full fat coleslaw on a bed of cooked shredded cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower.... you can buy it grated and ready to zap in the microwave I believe) If it is a special occasion I will have a nice ribeye steak with mushrooms and salad and coleslaw and celeriac chips and that is still a low carb meal.

 

[Leadinglights]

You have some good ideas there from @rebrascora but if you prefer something more structured to give you a start with suitable meals than have a look at this link as there are menu plans to suit various tastes and budget. But if you prefer to do your own thing there are some basis principals to guide you.

Freshwell Low Carb Project - Home

lowcarbfreshwell.com

 

[Drummer]

I was really ill taking Metformin and Atorvastatin.
After 5 weeks of misery I decided to stop taking them and rely on diet alone, Christmas 3016.
I started with HbA1c of 91 and dropped to 47 at the first retest, 41 at 6 months.
To keep my blood glucose low I don't eat any grain, avoid anything over 10% carbs except for some high cocoa chocolate, but I only have one square a day at the most.
Testing my blood glucose after meals showed me that the 50gm a day maximum I set myself had brought my numbers down to normal and it pinpointed peas and beans as a problem as I can extract more than the listed amount of carbs from them.
Two meals a day is more than adequate for me these days, I am never hungry so I am perfectly happy to eat low carb from now on.

 

[SB2015]

Welcome to the forum @Andy84
Sorry to hear that things are not going so well with your diabetes.

It sounds like you know what you need to do, having got your HbA1c into the 50s before, but I agree with others that having a blood glucose meter will help you to identify the impact of what you are eating. Most GPS tell people with T2 that this is unnecessary, but I think that that may be down to the cost of strips and not having the funding to prescribe them. However there are cheap options and they can be very helpful to help you make adjustments to your meals. Otherwise it is like driving blindfolded to the next destination (next blood test) so you have no idea what is happening in route.

As others have said the glucose in your blood is coming from any carbohydrates that you eat. So it can be a useful start just to find out how many carbs you are eating at present. This info is on the back of packets but can involve a bit of head scratching too when cooking from scratch.

Keep the questions coming.

 

[Felinia]

Metformin gave me unpleasant side effects, so I can only tolerate one pill a day. I now take Linagliptin which does not seem to give me side effects. Gliclazide is another diabetic medication, but it does require testing before driving as it can cause hypos, so I refused it.

 

[Andy84]

It might be a good idea to get a blood glucose meter so you can keep an eye on things @Andy84 I’m Type 1 and don’t know much about Type 2 meds, but I wonder if something like Gliclazide would be gentler on your stomach.

Hi Inka,

Sorry for late replies I’ve been away. Well, I’ve been put on Glicazide. Which I’m starting this week. I’ve now got a blood glucose meter and had the shock of my life which was probably needed. Went out for dinner and had pudding and thought id check my bloods. 17.1 was a shock. Pizza and ice cream is a no go from now on

 

[Andy84]

Welcome to the forum @Andy84
Sorry to hear that things are not going so well with your diabetes.

It sounds like you know what you need to do, having got your HbA1c into the 50s before, but I agree with others that having a blood glucose meter will help you to identify the impact of what you are eating. Most GPS tell people with T2 that this is unnecessary, but I think that that may be down to the cost of strips and not having the funding to prescribe them. However there are cheap options and they can be very helpful to help you make adjustments to your meals. Otherwise it is like driving blindfolded to the next destination (next blood test) so you have no idea what is happening in route.

As others have said the glucose in your blood is coming from any carbohydrates that you eat. So it can be a useful start just to find out how many carbs you are eating at present. This info is on the back of packets but can involve a bit of head scratching too when cooking from scratch.

Keep the questions coming.

Hi SB2015,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, total rethink of the direction I’ve been going to be honest. I got a glucose meter and I’ve started doing my bloods. Had a shock of 17.1 reading after going out for a meal and having pudding. Not started new medication yet. But that reading was a real eye opener.

 

[Andy84]

What do you call eating healthy? What is healthy for a non diabetic person may not be healthy for a diabetic.
Unfortunately many diabetics have little understanding of what the food they eat does to their Blood Glucose (BG) levels and this is why home testing can be so helpful as it enables you to see which foods are a problem for you and which you can get away with and is can really help to discourage you from eating the stuff that causes you a problem when you see it sending your levels into orbit and encouraging when you find meals that hardly impact your BG.
The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates break down into glucose in the digestive system and are absorbed into the blood stream where it is used to provide energy for all your bodily functions and any surplus should be stored as fat for later. If you have diabetes then that glucose sits in the blood stream for too long and over time it risks clogging your blood vessels. One of the simplest ways of reducing BG levels is to put less carbohydrates into your body, because they produce the most glucose, so not just sugar and sweet stuff but bread and pasta and pastry and breakfast cereals and rice and anything made with or from grains and starch veg like potatoes. Not saying not to eat any of these things but reducing your portion size of your favourites and replacing others with lower carb alternatives, like mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes or celeriac chips instead of potato or cauliflower rice. Changing to wholemeal and wholegrain in itself doesn't make much difference as whole meal as almost as many carbs as white but a bit more fibre. Reducing your portion size and bulking your meals out with other lower carb foods will make a significant difference to your levels. Even oats/porridge which is considered healthy and an ideal breakfast for diabetics by some health care professionals is high in carbs and it sends my BG levels into orbit so I had to give it up. Testing is the only way to find out if porridge is good for you or better left off the menu and how many potatoes your body can cope with and if a few chips or couple of roasties are actually better for your diabetes than a baked potato. Bread is my nemesis and I have mostly cut it from my diet as it spikes me too much. That was a really big deal for me as I loved bread and of course it is a convenient carrier for so many foods, so finding ways to eat without it was mind boggling at first but 5 years down the line it doesn't really bother me at all and the odd social occasion when I have a sandwich (funerals buffets etc) I actually wonder what the attraction was. There are some lower carb options which some people find works for them along with reducing how much they consume. To put it into a little bit of context, a single slice of medium wholemeal bread contains about 15g carbs and a teaspoon of sugar is 4g carbs so one slice of bread has the same amount of glucose as 3-4 spoons of sugar, so your average sandwich of 2 slices of bread equates to 7-8g sugar. Having something like an omelette for breakfast or creamy natural Greek yoghurt with a few berries and chopped nuts and/or mixed seeds can be just as filling and be far less carbs than 2 slices of toast or a bowl or cereal. Even bacon and eggs and mushrooms, which you might consider unhealthy has almost no carbs and will be unlikely to inflate your BG levels, whereas a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with half a tin of baked beans might seem like a really healthy choice but you have the carbs from the bread and the carbs from the beans themselves and then the sugar in the sauce, all totting up to a very high carb count. At diagnosis, I was eating 4 slices of wholemeal toast with a whole tin of baked beans for lunch and thinking that was a good healthy choice..... I shudder to think how many carbs I was consuming! What I am trying to illustrate is that you need to be able to see which foods raise your BG too much in order to manage your diabetes well, particularly if medication is upsetting your system, but dietary changes are necessary even with medication because the medication alone will not keep it well managed long term and you will need progressively stronger and more medication to keep a lid on it.

I should also say, that it isn't all sack cloth and ashes! Many of us have cream in our coffee instead of milk on a morning because cream is lower carb and more filling. We have meat and fish and eggs and cheese and veg or salad, we just reduce or cut out the high carb foods. So I have a big bowl of chilli with a big dollop of full fat coleslaw on a bed of cooked shredded cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower.... you can buy it grated and ready to zap in the microwave I believe) If it is a special occasion I will have a nice ribeye steak with mushrooms and salad and coleslaw and celeriac chips and that is still a low carb meal

What do you call eating healthy? What is healthy for a non diabetic person may not be healthy for a diabetic.
Unfortunately many diabetics have little understanding of what the food they eat does to their Blood Glucose (BG) levels and this is why home testing can be so helpful as it enables you to see which foods are a problem for you and which you can get away with and is can really help to discourage you from eating the stuff that causes you a problem when you see it sending your levels into orbit and encouraging when you find meals that hardly impact your BG.
The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates break down into glucose in the digestive system and are absorbed into the blood stream where it is used to provide energy for all your bodily functions and any surplus should be stored as fat for later. If you have diabetes then that glucose sits in the blood stream for too long and over time it risks clogging your blood vessels. One of the simplest ways of reducing BG levels is to put less carbohydrates into your body, because they produce the most glucose, so not just sugar and sweet stuff but bread and pasta and pastry and breakfast cereals and rice and anything made with or from grains and starch veg like potatoes. Not saying not to eat any of these things but reducing your portion size of your favourites and replacing others with lower carb alternatives, like mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes or celeriac chips instead of potato or cauliflower rice. Changing to wholemeal and wholegrain in itself doesn't make much difference as whole meal as almost as many carbs as white but a bit more fibre. Reducing your portion size and bulking your meals out with other lower carb foods will make a significant difference to your levels. Even oats/porridge which is considered healthy and an ideal breakfast for diabetics by some health care professionals is high in carbs and it sends my BG levels into orbit so I had to give it up. Testing is the only way to find out if porridge is good for you or better left off the menu and how many potatoes your body can cope with and if a few chips or couple of roasties are actually better for your diabetes than a baked potato. Bread is my nemesis and I have mostly cut it from my diet as it spikes me too much. That was a really big deal for me as I loved bread and of course it is a convenient carrier for so many foods, so finding ways to eat without it was mind boggling at first but 5 years down the line it doesn't really bother me at all and the odd social occasion when I have a sandwich (funerals buffets etc) I actually wonder what the attraction was. There are some lower carb options which some people find works for them along with reducing how much they consume. To put it into a little bit of context, a single slice of medium wholemeal bread contains about 15g carbs and a teaspoon of sugar is 4g carbs so one slice of bread has the same amount of glucose as 3-4 spoons of sugar, so your average sandwich of 2 slices of bread equates to 7-8g sugar. Having something like an omelette for breakfast or creamy natural Greek yoghurt with a few berries and chopped nuts and/or mixed seeds can be just as filling and be far less carbs than 2 slices of toast or a bowl or cereal. Even bacon and eggs and mushrooms, which you might consider unhealthy has almost no carbs and will be unlikely to inflate your BG levels, whereas a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with half a tin of baked beans might seem like a really healthy choice but you have the carbs from the bread and the carbs from the beans themselves and then the sugar in the sauce, all totting up to a very high carb count. At diagnosis, I was eating 4 slices of wholemeal toast with a whole tin of baked beans for lunch and thinking that was a good healthy choice..... I shudder to think how many carbs I was consuming! What I am trying to illustrate is that you need to be able to see which foods raise your BG too much in order to manage your diabetes well, particularly if medication is upsetting your system, but dietary changes are necessary even with medication because the medication alone will not keep it well managed long term and you will need progressively stronger and more medication to keep a lid on it.

I should also say, that it isn't all sack cloth and ashes! Many of us have cream in our coffee instead of milk on a morning because cream is lower carb and more filling. We have meat and fish and eggs and cheese and veg or salad, we just reduce or cut out the high carb foods. So I have a big bowl of chilli with a big dollop of full fat coleslaw on a bed of cooked shredded cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower.... you can buy it grated and ready to zap in the microwave I believe) If it is a special occasion I will have a nice ribeye steak with mushrooms and salad and coleslaw and celeriac chips and that is still a low carb meal.

What do you call eating healthy? What is healthy for a non diabetic person may not be healthy for a diabetic.
Unfortunately many diabetics have little understanding of what the food they eat does to their Blood Glucose (BG) levels and this is why home testing can be so helpful as it enables you to see which foods are a problem for you and which you can get away with and is can really help to discourage you from eating the stuff that causes you a problem when you see it sending your levels into orbit and encouraging when you find meals that hardly impact your BG.
The fact of the matter is that all carbohydrates break down into glucose in the digestive system and are absorbed into the blood stream where it is used to provide energy for all your bodily functions and any surplus should be stored as fat for later. If you have diabetes then that glucose sits in the blood stream for too long and over time it risks clogging your blood vessels. One of the simplest ways of reducing BG levels is to put less carbohydrates into your body, because they produce the most glucose, so not just sugar and sweet stuff but bread and pasta and pastry and breakfast cereals and rice and anything made with or from grains and starch veg like potatoes. Not saying not to eat any of these things but reducing your portion size of your favourites and replacing others with lower carb alternatives, like mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes or celeriac chips instead of potato or cauliflower rice. Changing to wholemeal and wholegrain in itself doesn't make much difference as whole meal as almost as many carbs as white but a bit more fibre. Reducing your portion size and bulking your meals out with other lower carb foods will make a significant difference to your levels. Even oats/porridge which is considered healthy and an ideal breakfast for diabetics by some health care professionals is high in carbs and it sends my BG levels into orbit so I had to give it up. Testing is the only way to find out if porridge is good for you or better left off the menu and how many potatoes your body can cope with and if a few chips or couple of roasties are actually better for your diabetes than a baked potato. Bread is my nemesis and I have mostly cut it from my diet as it spikes me too much. That was a really big deal for me as I loved bread and of course it is a convenient carrier for so many foods, so finding ways to eat without it was mind boggling at first but 5 years down the line it doesn't really bother me at all and the odd social occasion when I have a sandwich (funerals buffets etc) I actually wonder what the attraction was. There are some lower carb options which some people find works for them along with reducing how much they consume. To put it into a little bit of context, a single slice of medium wholemeal bread contains about 15g carbs and a teaspoon of sugar is 4g carbs so one slice of bread has the same amount of glucose as 3-4 spoons of sugar, so your average sandwich of 2 slices of bread equates to 7-8g sugar. Having something like an omelette for breakfast or creamy natural Greek yoghurt with a few berries and chopped nuts and/or mixed seeds can be just as filling and be far less carbs than 2 slices of toast or a bowl or cereal. Even bacon and eggs and mushrooms, which you might consider unhealthy has almost no carbs and will be unlikely to inflate your BG levels, whereas a couple of slices of wholemeal toast with half a tin of baked beans might seem like a really healthy choice but you have the carbs from the bread and the carbs from the beans themselves and then the sugar in the sauce, all totting up to a very high carb count. At diagnosis, I was eating 4 slices of wholemeal toast with a whole tin of baked beans for lunch and thinking that was a good healthy choice..... I shudder to think how many carbs I was consuming! What I am trying to illustrate is that you need to be able to see which foods raise your BG too much in order to manage your diabetes well, particularly if medication is upsetting your system, but dietary changes are necessary even with medication because the medication alone will not keep it well managed long term and you will need progressively stronger and more medication to keep a lid on it.

I should also say, that it isn't all sack cloth and ashes! Many of us have cream in our coffee instead of milk on a morning because cream is lower carb and more filling. We have meat and fish and eggs and cheese and veg or salad, we just reduce or cut out the high carb foods. So I have a big bowl of chilli with a big dollop of full fat coleslaw on a bed of cooked shredded cabbage or broccoli or cauliflower rice (grated cauliflower.... you can buy it grated and ready to zap in the microwave I believe) If it is a special occasion I will have a nice ribeye steak with mushrooms and salad and coleslaw and celeriac chips and that is still a low carb meal.

hi Rebrascora,

Hi Rebrascora,

Thanks for the reply. And the amazing advice. I really appreciate it. I need to change my whole diet. I love bread also, and just smashed a whole pizza and ice cream out for dinner tonight. But I have a blood glucose monitor now and doing it before when I got home definitely put it in to more perspective. My reading was 17.1 which really shocked me. Ok I haven’t started my new medication yet but still.

But you’re spot on diabetics don’t have much of an idea on what’s best to eat. I have bran flakes for breakfast or brown bread/toast thinking it’s the right thing. I love pasta but do healthy ones which aren’t really healthy.

I’ll be honest, my next plan is to go full protein diet. Meat, eggs, fish, avocado etc and see if that works.

Thanks again for the reply.

 

[Andy84]

Metformin gave me unpleasant side effects, so I can only tolerate one pill a day. I now take Linagliptin which does not seem to give me side effects. Gliclazide is another diabetic medication, but it does require testing before driving as it can cause hypos, so I refused it.

Hi Felinia

Hello there @Andy84 and welcome to the forum...sorry to hear about your rather unpleasant problems regarding your stomach and the diabetes medication you're taking...I hope everything improves regarding this.

Hi Stephen

Thanks for reply, and hope you’re well?

 

[Inka]

Hi Inka,

Sorry for late replies I’ve been away. Well, I’ve been put on Glicazide. Which I’m starting this week. I’ve now got a blood glucose meter and had the shock of my life which was probably needed. Went out for dinner and had pudding and thought id check my bloods. 17.1 was a shock. Pizza and ice cream is a no go from now on

Hopefully the Gliclazide will be gentler on your stomach @Andy84 Yes, pizza then ice cream is a fair old whack of carbs, and sometimes ice cream in a restaurant has added sugary sauces too.

 

[Andy84]

Metformin gave me unpleasant side effects, so I can only tolerate one pill a day. I now take Linagliptin which does not seem to give me side effects. Gliclazide is another diabetic medication, but it does require testing before driving as it can cause hypos, so I refused it.

Hi Felinia

Thanks for reply,

Metformin really messed me up it’s horrendous isn’t it? Glad Linagliotin is working for you, I might see if that is an option if my new one doesn’t work.

 

[snowball12]

Hi Rebrascora,

Thanks for the reply. And the amazing advice. I really appreciate it. I need to change my whole diet. I love bread also, and just smashed a whole pizza and ice cream out for dinner tonight. But I have a blood glucose monitor now and doing it before when I got home definitely put it in to more perspective. My reading was 17.1 which really shocked me. Ok I haven’t started my new medication yet but still.

But you’re spot on diabetics don’t have much of an idea on what’s best to eat. I have bran flakes for breakfast or brown bread/toast thinking it’s the right thing. I love pasta but do healthy ones which aren’t really healthy.

I’ll be honest, my next plan is to go full protein diet. Meat, eggs, fish, avocado etc and see if that works.

Thanks again for the reply.

Please be careful of a full protein diet as you are taking glicazide. You could have hypo's. Glicazide requires some carbs per day to avoid this. I would speak to your Dr first. Good luck

 

[Drummer]

Hi Rebrascora,

Thanks for the reply. And the amazing advice. I really appreciate it. I need to change my whole diet. I love bread also, and just smashed a whole pizza and ice cream out for dinner tonight. But I have a blood glucose monitor now and doing it before when I got home definitely put it in to more perspective. My reading was 17.1 which really shocked me. Ok I haven’t started my new medication yet but still.

But you’re spot on diabetics don’t have much of an idea on what’s best to eat. I have bran flakes for breakfast or brown bread/toast thinking it’s the right thing. I love pasta but do healthy ones which aren’t really healthy.

I’ll be honest, my next plan is to go full protein diet. Meat, eggs, fish, avocado etc and see if that works.

Thanks again for the reply.

My blood glucose level was 17.1 when the blood test was done which resulted in diagnosis.
It is the sort of level a type 2 has when eating a 'healthy' diet of high carb foods - I was following a diet sheet given to me by the GP at the time.
There days - coming up to 8 years from diagnosis, I eat a low carb diet, and have been classed as in remission for some time, but my blood glucose levels went down to normal soon after the diagnosis as I was eating no more than 50 gm of carbs a day. I avoid foods with over 10% carb, so I can have salads, stir fries, mixed veges and low carb desserts such as berries in sugar free jelly with yogurt or cream. I have two meals a day at 12 hour intervals, approximately - or sometimes just one if I get busy. I find that I eat much less these days and I did read recently that a high fibre diet can result in nutrients not being absorbed, which I suspect could be true.
I was really overweight at diagnosis - due to all the carbs, and my weight has been reducing and my shape changing over the years since then. The doctors started going on about eating 'healthy' carbs when I was 18 and I was diagnosed at 65, so it took a long time for me to put on all that weight, so I am perfectly happy to allow it to depart naturally - I have seen oh so many crash diets work really well for a few months and then the weight just seemed to pile back on relentlessly no matter how hard people tried.
Each time I change my clothes between winter and summer I find that I need to either alter or replace some of them.
With Gliclazide you run the risk of hypos if you go low carb. I find that I can stay in normal numbers without medication, and eat things like steak and mushrooms for breakfast.