• 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.
  • We seem to be having technical difficulties with new user accounts. If you are trying to register please check your Spam or Junk folder for your confirmation email. If you still haven't received a confirmation email, please reach out to our support inbox: support.forum@diabetes.org.uk

Just Joined need advice on medication or no medication

Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
T

Toonito96

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi guys, Got diagnosed with T2 when the pandemic started, started managing, got the virus, and fell back to my old ways. Restarted in December with food monitoring (myfitnesspal) and regular exercise (2-3hrs walking daily) but haven't been able to lower my blood sugar to regular levels.
I would like to lower from 8mmol/l before food to about 6 or 5 using metformin but have been advised to just keep to diet and exercise. Is that wise?
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome. What was your HbA1c at diagnosis?
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome to the forum. My instinct is always to work with the professionals unless they are clearly incompetent and their advice is doing you noticeable harm and in that case its best to change the professionals.

The general experience seems to be that some pros would recommend medication for you and some would recommend as yours have done, that the first port of call is to work on diet and exercise. Personally I would go with what your pros are suggesting with some clear goals agreed between you so that progress can be reviewed to see if it is being successful. Diet and exercise can work as many of our members have shown but only time will tell if it would work for you.

Does the "diet" part of the advice include losing some weight?
 
"Does the "diet" part of the advice include losing some weight?"
Yes it does but I've only been able to lose 2kg in a month. but need to losed at least 30 to reach a healthy weight
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome to the forum nobody wants to ever join! But join it you have and that's a huge step in managing your diabetes.


Has your GP given you a review date for checking your HbA1C and weight etc? Did they mention that medication etc would be reviewed at some point in the future?

You've lost 2kg which is a good start, and you identify you've got 30 to drop. Who's told you the target is 30kg?

Has anyone mentioned that dropping 15kg will have a huge impact on BG levels? That may be a less daunting target than 30kg. I know I tend to apply micro targets to things like weight loss. At the moment I'm happy when I move into the next lower half kilo range.

What changes to the things you eat have you made?

What advice did the GP or diabetes nurse make?
 
ColinUK said:
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome to the forum nobody wants to ever join! But join it you have and that's a huge step in managing your diabetes.


Has your GP given you a review date for checking your HbA1C and weight etc? Did they mention that medication etc would be reviewed at some point in the future?

You've lost 2kg which is a good start, and you identify you've got 30 to drop. Who's told you the target is 30kg?

Has anyone mentioned that dropping 15kg will have a huge impact on BG levels? That may be a less daunting target than 30kg. I know I tend to apply micro targets to things like weight loss. At the moment I'm happy when I move into the next lower half kilo range.

What changes to the things you eat have you made?

What advice did the GP or diabetes nurse make?
Click to expand...
Next HbA1C review is 09/03/2021
I gave myself the target of 30 as I was at 130 when I started so wanted to drop to an even 100.
I have read that simply dropping 5% would yh but I tend to work better with direct targets than small goals but I guess I could give that a try
I basically stopped eating cakes and cookies swapped white rice for brown rice or beans or couscous. Little to no bread veggies/salad with each meal. And slowly reducing my daily caloric intake from 2300 to 1500 (currently at 1750).
The GP adviced to keep the diet and exercise going rather than jumping into medication. I just wanted a quicker method of reducing my blood sugar
 
Your GP gave sage advice. There are issues associated with dropping BG levels too quickly - mainly impacts sight I think.

Has anyone mentioned testing your BG levels yourself and keeping a food diary to see which foods you can better tolerate and which you should perhaps seek to minimise in your diet?
 
ColinUK said:
Your GP gave sage advice. There are issues associated with dropping BG levels too quickly - mainly impacts sight I think.

Has anyone mentioned testing your BG levels yourself and keeping a food diary to see which foods you can better tolerate and which you should perhaps seek to minimise in your diet?
Click to expand...
Yes. It's because I test my BG levels that I sought out metformin. I use my fitness pal to track my food and have started using it to weed out certain foods that raise my sugar like plantain for example
 
Looks like you are getting a good grip on things @Toonito96. Getting the weight off is likely to be the key to getting things under control and as @ColinUK suggests, steady and sustainable is better than crash and burnout.

One thought for you is that if reducing your calorie intake can be combined with reducing your carbohydrate intake you can tackle the high blood glucose levels from two directions. Bit more work when it comes to meal planning but probably worth it in the long run.
 
I really appreciate the help and advice. I'll try and implement a meal plan moving forward.
Thanks
 
Toonito96 said:
Yes. It's because I test my BG levels that I sought out metformin. I use my fitness pal to track my food and have started using it to weed out certain foods that raise my sugar like plantain for example
Click to expand...
I'm guessing that brown rice, couscous and beans may be an issue too but only you know for sure.
 
Toonito96 said:
I really appreciate the help and advice. I'll try and implement a meal plan moving forward.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Lots of us on here are also on this journey with you don't forget. And it's a huge learning curve for us all I think. Certainly is for me.
Also, even though I am increasingly aware of which foods I tolerate better and which I should avoid it doesn't mean I'm a saint. I do still eat things which cause me issues but just significantly less of them and much less frequently.
What I'm saying is that small changes make a big difference over time so don't lose hope. And we're here to listen when you want or need to just vent too.

You have this.
 
Hi. To me it seems you are doing really well and your Gp giving you that advise is like a breath of fresh air to me, many seem so ready to medicate us asap .

Sadly Metformin and other T2 meds come with a whole list if side effects , no not everyone gets them I know, I tolerated Metformin very well, but some poor folks spend hrs on the loo and the loo roll manufacturers in profit .

I suggest giving yourself more time before considering meds .
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome from me as well. As @ColinUK says small targets are less daunting and more motivational as they are easier to hit. You've lost 2Kg so the next nice round number would be 2.5Kg
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome to the forums.
You are very young to have Type 2 diabetes, though some do get it even younger.
So one thing that most advise is that you track of your BG levels because any unexplained increase could mean that youre not just a plain ordinary Type 2, but that perhaps your beta cells are under stress and you are starting to produce less insulin.
Having said that (and assuming that the doctors checked for non-Type 2), you have 2 things in your favour:
1. You are young and so haven't been sliding into T2 undetected for decades - as is the case with many in their 50's and 60s.
2. Your HbA1C isn't so very far into the diabetic range which starts at 48. Several newly diagnosed have initial HbA1Cs much higher (even over 100).

I see that you have a BG meter, are you monitoring that effect of each meal aiming for no more than a 2.0 mmol increase between before a meal to 2hrs after first bite.
Many (but not all) find that cutting down on Carbohydrates (eating to your BG meter) can make the weight drop off at a sustainable rate without cutting down on calories. Indeed if you go Low Carb, which means increasing both Protein and fat, then cutting calories may just harm your metabolic rate for no extra gain.
 
Hi @Toonito96 and welcome. I'm in the process of reducing my HbA1c through diet and exercise alone and it is totally possible assuming you are a straightforward T2 (see above). My BS levels are currently sitting solidly in the T2 accepted range (5.7-6.3 and 5.7-8.5 post prandial) but not the non-diabetic and am hoping that further weight loss will shift them further down. Keep plugging away at it.

I'm vaguely watching my carbs and managing portion sizes eg 1/2 recommended portions of basmati or spaghetti and using smaller plates and bowls. I'm finding pulses a bit tricky to manage but 1/4 canned kidney beans for example seem to be just about ok for me. Everyone has their own tolerance levels (and they can vary slightly day to day).

You sound like you're well on the way to figuring you out - so keep up the good work!

If you are doing a lot of cardio/high intensity training, this may up your sugar levels as the liver dumps fuel into your system to help it out - although this should drop. Many find low impact but longer works for them eg long brisk walks. When are you testing?
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @Toonito96 🙂

You're the opposite to me, there's no way I want to go on meds. I take enough drugs as it is. 🙄
 
Ditto said:
Hello and welcome to the forum @Toonito96 🙂

You're the opposite to me, there's no way I want to go on meds. I take enough drugs as it is. 🙄
Click to expand...
You're like me. I'd do almost anything in my power to get off the metformin.
 
Status
This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
Back
Top