Intolerant of Medication

[Janemarie71]

Hi, I have been diabetic for 15 years (T2) and I am pretty sure I’ve tried every medication going. I don’t seem to be able to tolerate anything! My latest HbA1c was 113. I had to stop all my diabetic medication due to illness recently and on starting the Metformin SR again, I feel terrible. I don’t know what to do anymore as I’m constantly ill. The only time I have felt ok is when I’m off all medication. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Have you any suggestions? I’m at my wits end with it all. Thanks in advance xxx

 

[Inka]

That sounds very stressful @Janemarie71

I’m not Type 2 so I don’t know all of the various meds available, but if you could list the ones you’ve tried and what problems each one gave you, it might help you get good feedback from others.

Have you tried insulin? Has that ever been considered if not?

 

[Ljc]

Hello @Janemarie71 , welcome to theforum. That sounds horrible .
What symptoms are you having.
Are you taking your Metformin with , during or directly after a meal as that can help ease digestive tract problems which Metformin is well known for.
Sometimes switching to a slow release version helps, apologies if you have already done these.

I was thinking the same as @Inka about insulin, if they do mention Insulin to you, please do not be afraid of it, I can honestly say it’s good stuff, I’ve been on it a couple of years now.

My advise is to contact your team/ nurse ASAP and explain in no uncertain terms what is happening to you. If you are not already under them perhaps a referral to a specialist nurse (DSN) at the hospital would be in order.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Why arn't you on insulin?

 

[KARNAK]

Hello @Janemarie71 welcome to the forum.

I reiterate what @Ljc & @Pumper_Sue says why are you not on Insulin?
@Inka says have you tried insulin? back to DSN me thinks sometimes you
have to get aggressive but not nasty with your Diabetes team and tell them
you are really struggling.

113 is very high and you should be pushing for a C peptide & GAD test which
should confirm what type of Diabetic you are, please keep in touch we are here
for you.

 

[ianf0ster]

I find it strange that you say that the only time you felt OK was when off all medication. This implies that you don't suffer much from high Blood Glucose levels. But an HbA1C of 113 tends to rule this out.
Do you have a Blood Glucose meter? If so what are your typical re-meal and post-meal readings?

If they aren't too high then you could probably control your BG by diet and lifestyle alone without any medication.
I was fortunate to learn about Low Carb in the other forum in between my confirmatory HbA1C tests for T2D diagnosis. Thus I was never on any medication, since I had lost 21lbs and got a pre-diabetic HbA1c before 3 months and next (3rd) HBA1C check.

 

[Drummer]

I also felt really ill on Metformin and Atorvastatin, but fortunately discovered that I did not need them if I kept away from high carb foods. By dropping down to 50 gm of carbs a day I soon got back to normal, with a bonus of weightloss.

 

[Ljc]

I find it strange that you say that the only time you felt OK was when off all medication. This implies that you don't suffer much from high Blood Glucose levels. But an HbA1C of 113 tends to rule this out.
Do you have a Blood Glucose meter? If so what are your typical re-meal and post-meal readings?

If they aren't too high then you could probably control your BG by diet and lifestyle alone without any medication.
I was fortunate to learn about Low Carb in the other forum in between my confirmatory HbA1C tests for T2D diagnosis. Thus I was never on any medication, since I had lost 21lbs and got a pre-diabetic HbA1c before 3 months and next (3rd) HBA1C check.

@ianf0ster , I believe @Janemarie71 meant she stopped feeling so ill after she stopped taking diabetic meds , rather than her BG improving .

 

[DaveB]

Hi. What sort of diet are you having? Is it low-carb? If you do have excess weight then if you are able to reduce that by low-carbing you may not need any diabetes medicine? Although there are some T2s taking insulin, in general it may not help much. T2 is generally the result of insulin resistance and resulting excess insulin production. Injecting more in that situation may not help much.

 

[Gwenda]

Hi, I have been diabetic for 15 years (T2) and I am pretty sure I’ve tried every medication going. I don’t seem to be able to tolerate anything! My latest HbA1c was 113. I had to stop all my diabetic medication due to illness recently and on starting the Metformin SR again, I feel terrible. I don’t know what to do anymore as I’m constantly ill. The only time I have felt ok is when I’m off all medication. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Have you any suggestions? I’m at my wits end with it all. Thanks in advance xxx

I’m on 1 gliclazide 80mgs in morning and 2 metformin slow release after tea at night and I can truthfully say I’m ill,I waken up at night feeling nauseated and sluggish throughout the day...any suggestions

 

[ianf0ster]

@Gwenda, Your nausea etc. could be due to either or both of those medications.
Taking the extended release Metformin and taking both medications with food is about all you can do to minimise this side effect.

Fortunately I have never needed them because I immediately went on a Low Carb (higher Protein and higher natural Fats) Way Of Eating i.e. not cutting Calories - just Carbs. But I know of several Type 2 diabetics in both this and in the other forum who came off both those medications by going Low Carb. and are now in remission/well controlled.

Alternatively if you prefer to stay on the medication route, then perhaps its time to switch to taking Insulin like Type1's do.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry to hear you are finding various diabetes medications don’t suit you.

I am also wondering if a revised diet alongside perhaps insulin if you haven’t tried that yet maybe worth considering.

Certainly an HbA1c in the 100s is likely to be making you feel pretty sluggish, lethargic and grim in itself