Hi

[Izzi]

Very recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, started with metformin and had none of the side effects mentioned on the enclosed leaflet, instead I have severe constipation and am drinking twice as much as I did before taking it so I'm up half the night for a wee. Help!

 

[Inka]

Welcome @Izzi 🙂 Do you know what your result (ie number) was when you were diagnosed? Drinking a lot could be due to high blood sugar, and that will dehydrate you and affect your bowel too.

Can you give an example of a day’s food for you? Have you changed your diet massively? Do you test your own blood sugar at home?

 

[Izzi]

8.6, I haven't been required to test at home. I've cut most fat and sugar right down, only wholegrain bread, branflakes and skimmed milk in the morning as I've been doing for years. The main change is no chocolate, biscuits etc and I've cut down a lot on carbs. But lots of fruit and veg. I have a fitness app on my phone and was not drinking anything like as much before I started metformin. I'm still hungry too which is a bit of a blow lol

 

[Inka]

Hmm, strange then. Perhaps the lack of fat is contributing a bit? You said the constipation was severe. If you still can’t get relief, perhaps a chat with a pharmacist or your GP would make sense.

Although you’ve not been told to test at home, many Type 2s find it useful to do so as they can then see what meals work for them blood sugar-wise. Just something to consider once you’ve sorted your digestive issues out.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Good that you are eating lots of veg - that should help with your fibre intake. Especially leafy veg I think? Nuts and seeds can be good in that respect too. Some forum members add a sprinkle of psyllium husk (sp?) as a fibre substitute when they reduce their intake of grains.

Fat won’t affect your BG levels, so depending on your weight-loss goals a slight increase in fats can be very helpful as it increases the sense of fullness.

You may find that wholemeal bread and cereal in the morning might be really hiking up your BG levels (breakfast time can be when people are most resistant to insulin). Perhaps an alternative breakfast option might start your day with lower BGs which may help?

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Izzi]

Hmm, strange then. Perhaps the lack of fat is contributing a bit? You said the constipation was severe. If you still can’t get relief, perhaps a chat with a pharmacist or your GP would make sense.

Although you’ve not been told to test at home, many Type 2s find it useful to do so as they can then see what meals work for them blood sugar-wise. Just something to consider once you’ve sorted your digestive issues out.

Thank you, I've already spoken to the nurse as I was having to take senna and it was a bit uncomfortable to say the least. I think you're right, probably down to the lack of fat, although I've tried to have some olive oil on salads, probably not enough though. It's been pretty cold here so salad hasn't been my first choice! I did ask the nurse about testing, she said they would provide me with a kit if I really wanted but she preferred to wait until my next test in June to see how I got on with diet etc. I aim, if at all possible, to get into remission ASAP. Thinking I should maybe go back to Slimming World as that may help.

 

[Izzi]

Good that you are eating lots of veg - that should help with your fibre intake. Especially leafy veg I think? Nuts and seeds can be good in that respect too. Some forum members add a sprinkle of psyllium husk (sp?) as a fibre substitute when they reduce their intake of grains.

Fat won’t affect your BG levels, so depending on your weight-loss goals a slight increase in fats can be very helpful as it increases the sense of fullness.

You may find that wholemeal bread and cereal in the morning might be really hiking up your BG levels (breakfast time can be when people are most resistant to insulin). Perhaps an alternative breakfast option might start your day with lower BGs which may help?

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Thanks, that's helpful. I'll maybe swap my lunch and breakfast food choices around. What would you recommend as a good breakfast?

 

[Inka]

@Izzi Olive oil is good and gentle. You don’t need to have a salad to have it. You can drizzle a dessert spoon or so over any hot meal. A few days of that should help. That is, you have it as a treatment not a salad dressing.

 

[Izzi]

I'll try that. Don't want too much though as have a lot of weight to lose. But I know this needs to be a permanent way of eating and not just a diet. I'm pretty happy with fish, Mediterranean type food etc so don't think it'll be that much of a hardship but actually hadn't realised how much fat I had in my diet even though I grill everything and always cut the visible bits off... It was more real butter and toast. The one thing I'm missing is white bread and lurpak lol

 

[Ljc]

Hello Izzy.
We are fine with protein in all it’s forms, good fats are ok too so long as you don’t have a condition that requires you to go low fat.

Sadly most Gp practices won’t prescribe glucose meters or test strips unless you are on medications that can cause hypo’s ( low blood glucose) Metformin normally doesn’t .

If you would like to test your blood glucose (BG) levels to see how the various carbohydrates affect us so we can make informed choices , as we are all different in this respect.
we Test ourselves just before eating then two hours after the first bite , if you are no more than 3.0 higher ,then that meal was fine , if not then you need to reduce those carbs or cut them out.
It the difference between the two that’s important rather than the actual figure , ie
Pre meal 11.0
2 hrs after 14.0
Yes both are high but that meal was fine fir you its just because your ore meal level was high ,
This level will gradually come down.

Now as I said earlier it’s unlikely they will provide a meter and test strips.
Many here use this meter as it’s strips are £8 for 50 rather than £15 to £25 that meters sold in chemists use.
Gluco navii
If you decide to self test you will need to buy , more pots of test strips, I suggest you start with two pots and a box of lancets. , you needn’t buy the other things in there unless you really want to.

I hope this helps.

 

[zuludog]

Hello Izzy
I've just posted about constipation, surprisingly enough in the Thread 'Constipation' in the Weight Loss Section

You seem to be doing all the right things, and there is lots of good advice in this forum, so hopefully things will get better
Have a look at old Threads and Posts, most of your problems and questions have probably been answered before

You probably realise by now that cutting out carbohydrates includes starchy foods like pasta, spuds, rice, bread, and cereals, as well as the obviously sweet things like cakes, biscuits, and sweets, not forgetting sugary fizzy drinks

If you think about it, carbohydrates are often associated with cheap hard fat, salt, and sugar - yes, sugar is a carbohydrate, but sweet food like cakes & biscuits give you a double dose from the flour and the sugar

People often take the onset of D as motivation to cut out a lot of fatty food & meat, processed meat, and junk food in general, and change to more veg, olive oil, fish; in fact all the healthy stuff we hear about

You sound as though you're doing the right thing with the Mediterranean sort of stuff, and if you look after D you may well find that things like blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight improve as well

There's another thing that isn't often mentioned
Many people with D often have a feeling of being anxious, or melancholy, or not quite right, so as well as improving the physical symptoms like weight and tiredness, you will feel brighter & livelier
Hopefully your constipation will get better once you've settled into your new regime
Feel free to ask again; no question is silly, we've all started at the beginning!

 

[Izzi]

Hello Izzy
I've just posted about constipation, surprisingly enough in the Thread 'Constipation' in the Weight Loss Section

You seem to be doing all the right things, and there is lots of good advice in this forum, so hopefully things will get better
Have a look at old Threads and Posts, most of your problems and questions have probably been answered before

You probably realise by now that cutting out carbohydrates includes starchy foods like pasta, spuds, rice, bread, and cereals, as well as the obviously sweet things like cakes, biscuits, and sweets, not forgetting sugary fizzy drinks

If you think about it, carbohydrates are often associated with cheap hard fat, salt, and sugar - yes, sugar is a carbohydrate, but sweet food like cakes & biscuits give you a double dose from the flour and the sugar

People often take the onset of D as motivation to cut out a lot of fatty food & meat, processed meat, and junk food in general, and change to more veg, olive oil, fish; in fact all the healthy stuff we hear about

You sound as though you're doing the right thing with the Mediterranean sort of stuff, and if you look after D you may well find that things like blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight improve as well

There's another thing that isn't often mentioned
Many people with D often have a feeling of being anxious, or melancholy, or not quite right, so as well as improving the physical symptoms like weight and tiredness, you will feel brighter & livelier
Hopefully your constipation will get better once you've settled into your new regime
Feel free to ask again; no question is silly, we've all started at the beginning!

Hi. My blood pressure and cholesterol are fine, the only carbs I've had since diagnosis have been my trusty bran flakes and 1 slice of wholegrain bread a day, although I do admit to one small potato yesterday with my dinner. I love pasta and have bought wholemeal pasta in preparation, but haven't had any yet. Its only been 3 weeks and I think I'm still panicking a bit. Actually I'm just thinking, I've been having wholegrain crackers as a snack at times, because they're 24 cals each and I'm trying to monitor my intake. The nurse I see at the GP surgery is great but I haven't spoken to a dietician yet... I know the reason I'm so overweight is from binge eating, all of my life really, and apart from the binges my diet has always been pretty good. I dislike sugary fizzy drinks, I don't drink alcohol apart from a glass, just one, on my birthday and one bucks fizz on Christmas day. So it's been the chocolate and buttery toast. We have sugar in the house for visitors to have in their tea or coffee but I don't take it. However, with little carbohydrates I'm finding I'm hungry...

 

[Izzi]

My nurse says she's happy to prescribe a test kit if I want one

 

[Lucyr]

My nurse says she's happy to prescribe a test kit if I want one

Wow that’s good to hear. I’d take her up on it whilst the offer is there!