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Please Remember: Members are only permitted to share their own experiences. Members are not qualified to give medical advice. Additionally, everyone manages their health differently. Please be respectful of other people's opinions about their own diabetes management.
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- Thread starter ecole62
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adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @ecole62 Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you come to be diagnosed, are you on meds and do you know what your HbA1c was at diagnosis? It will all help people to tailor responses to any questions you have to your situation. I'm sure you have lots of question so feel free to fire away
Hi,
As part of w well woman check I was diagnosed as Type 2.
25/03/21 103k HbA1c 7.1%, 54 mmol
25/03/21 started on Metformin
Daily prick tests since then has been ranging from 7.1 mmol to 9.7 mmol.
How long does metformin take to kick in and do the finger prick tests track BG for the previous 24 hour period, ie how accurate are they in monitoring sugar consumption of the previous 24 hour period or do they show a snapshot of the BG at that moment in time - early days and slightly confused.
As part of w well woman check I was diagnosed as Type 2.
25/03/21 103k HbA1c 7.1%, 54 mmol
25/03/21 started on Metformin
Daily prick tests since then has been ranging from 7.1 mmol to 9.7 mmol.
How long does metformin take to kick in and do the finger prick tests track BG for the previous 24 hour period, ie how accurate are they in monitoring sugar consumption of the previous 24 hour period or do they show a snapshot of the BG at that moment in time - early days and slightly confused.
trophywench
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Fingerprick tests literally tell you your BG in that drop of blood, that minute. End of message.
Thank you Jenny
adrian1der
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hi @ecole62 Your HbA1c is an average over approximately 3 months while your finger prick is instantaneous level at that moment in time. Most of us test first thing in the morning to get an approximate fasting BG level. If you test before you eat and then two hours after eating you can see what effect the meal had on you. Ideally you are looking for no more than a rise of 2 or 3 with a value below 8.5 two hours after eating.
Metformin helps to lower insulin resistance. After diagnosis I was started on 1xmetformin a day and it took me about 6 weeks to get below 6 but everyone is different in the way they respond.
Metformin helps to lower insulin resistance. After diagnosis I was started on 1xmetformin a day and it took me about 6 weeks to get below 6 but everyone is different in the way they respond.
Thanks Adrian
SB2015
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
Welcome to the forum @ecole62 . Glad that you have joined, and that you are keen to get to grips with your new diagnosis. It is well worth reading around the various threads on the forum, as there is plenty of practical experience to draw on.
There is also a useful section pinned at the top of the Newbies with advice for those newly diagnosed. There is useful advice on making effective use of finger prick testing in this document test-review-adjustby Alan S.
For a bit more background information, the ‘useful links’ thread is a mine of helpful information - useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes
Members on here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letterand Gretchen Becker’s book, as very helpful starting points.
Do fire away with any other questions you have. Noti is considered silly on here. Just ask.
There is also a useful section pinned at the top of the Newbies with advice for those newly diagnosed. There is useful advice on making effective use of finger prick testing in this document test-review-adjustby Alan S.
For a bit more background information, the ‘useful links’ thread is a mine of helpful information - useful-links-for-people-new-to-diabetes
Members on here frequently recommend Maggie Davey’s Letterand Gretchen Becker’s book, as very helpful starting points.
Do fire away with any other questions you have. Noti is considered silly on here. Just ask.
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Welcome to the forum @ecole62
I’ve never taken metformin, but my understanding is that its effects build up over a number of weeks as the medication soaks into the body. It doesn’t have a direct impact on blood glucose levels on a ‘per meal’ basis, but works by gradually reducing insulin resistance, and lowering the amount of glucose that the liver gradually trickles out 24 hours a day, which means that your body has a better chance to cope well with the food you are eating.
You’ve had some great suggestions and links to extra information already, but do fire away with any questions you may have 🙂
I’ve never taken metformin, but my understanding is that its effects build up over a number of weeks as the medication soaks into the body. It doesn’t have a direct impact on blood glucose levels on a ‘per meal’ basis, but works by gradually reducing insulin resistance, and lowering the amount of glucose that the liver gradually trickles out 24 hours a day, which means that your body has a better chance to cope well with the food you are eating.
You’ve had some great suggestions and links to extra information already, but do fire away with any questions you may have 🙂
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rebrascora
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
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- She/Her
Hi and welcome from me too. One thing that I picked up on was you mention sugar quite a lot in your second post but all carbohydrates break down into glucose and get absorbed into our blood stream, so if you are trying to lower your BG (Blood Glucose) levels through diet, then you need to be aware of all the main sources of carbohydrate in your diet and reduce portion sizes of those too, not just sugar and in fact even sugar turns up in many surprisingly healthy foods like fruit in all it's forms ie fresh, dried, frozen and juiced and milk (lactose) and interestingly, skimmed milk actually contains more lactose than whole milk, so many of us use blue top milk and/or cream instead. My morning coffee now always has cream in it and it is one of my daily luxuries. Reducing all sources of sugar, however natural will help. Emphasis on reducing, not cutting out altogether.... so one portion of fruit a day but maybe have some berries which are lower carb rather than a banana which is much higher carb. There is a book and an app called "Carbs and Cals" which will give you a pictorial idea of how many grams of carbs are in many everyday foods and drinks.
Carbohydrate rich foods are things like bread, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes in all it's many forms but mash particularly is nearly as bad as straight sugar for hitting the blood stream. Breakfast cereals are often full of sugar and starch and even "healthy" porridge which is often recommended to diabetics is too high in carbs for some of us.
Obviously the cakes and biscuits and sweets and milk chocolate and stodgy puddings are all full or sugar and starches too so best cut out as much as possible.
Using a BG meter really helps to show you what your body can cope with and what is just too much and will help you to tailor your diet to your individual diabetes. The testing before eating and 2 hours afterwards will show you how you responded to the food you ate. Keeping a record of those readings along with a food diary detailing portion size of the main carbohydrates on the plate ie 2 slices of bread, 1 small Yorkshire pudding, 2 roasties, 1 spoon of mash, 2 serving spoons of rice etc. will help you to slowly change your portion size to lower your levels.
Good luck with your diabetes journey. There are a few of us who actually find that our diagnosis was instrumental in giving us the kick up the pants we needed to improve our diet and lifestyle and feel slimmer, fitter and healthier as a result. I should also say that there are lots of lovely low carb foods that we can eat plenty of (cheese being my new chocolate along with a little glass of red wine occasionally) and cream in my coffee on a morning as I mentioned. Little luxuries that make up for the other stuff that we need to cut back on or give up. Finding those low carb foods that you enjoy is key to coping with the diet change... or at least it was for me.
Carbohydrate rich foods are things like bread, pasta, rice, couscous, potatoes in all it's many forms but mash particularly is nearly as bad as straight sugar for hitting the blood stream. Breakfast cereals are often full of sugar and starch and even "healthy" porridge which is often recommended to diabetics is too high in carbs for some of us.
Obviously the cakes and biscuits and sweets and milk chocolate and stodgy puddings are all full or sugar and starches too so best cut out as much as possible.
Using a BG meter really helps to show you what your body can cope with and what is just too much and will help you to tailor your diet to your individual diabetes. The testing before eating and 2 hours afterwards will show you how you responded to the food you ate. Keeping a record of those readings along with a food diary detailing portion size of the main carbohydrates on the plate ie 2 slices of bread, 1 small Yorkshire pudding, 2 roasties, 1 spoon of mash, 2 serving spoons of rice etc. will help you to slowly change your portion size to lower your levels.
Good luck with your diabetes journey. There are a few of us who actually find that our diagnosis was instrumental in giving us the kick up the pants we needed to improve our diet and lifestyle and feel slimmer, fitter and healthier as a result. I should also say that there are lots of lovely low carb foods that we can eat plenty of (cheese being my new chocolate along with a little glass of red wine occasionally) and cream in my coffee on a morning as I mentioned. Little luxuries that make up for the other stuff that we need to cut back on or give up. Finding those low carb foods that you enjoy is key to coping with the diet change... or at least it was for me.
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