Need some advice

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Marko2020

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I'm 44 and have had diabetes for 12 years. I'm type 2.
For the past 2 years, my hbc1a has been 106, and I'm on 2000 metformin and full doze of Glimepiride.

They want me to start a pill called semaglutide and I'm very scared due to my ocd. I've been bed bound for 2 years now as well and currently doing leg strengthening exercises to regain muscle, etc.
I suffer from ocd/anxiety, ptsd and depression .

Has anyone used this pill before as I do want my sugars to go down as I hate feeling this way, and they are reluctant to put me on insilin for some reason. Should I just take the pills as it says can cause gallstones, thyroid cancer, etc? I'm at a loss. I'm tired of my bloods being in the 20s every day despite what I eat.
 
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There are people here who are on or have been on Semaglutide @Marko2020 so hopefully they’ll be along later and give you their experiences. All I can say is that high blood sugar like that makes you feel rubbish physically and can also affect your mood, so anything that helps get it down would be good in theory.

Can I ask why you’re bed-bound? Do you have an injury or disability, or is it connected to your mental health problems? If it’s the latter, I hope you’re getting the support you need.
 
Mental health and they think diabetic neuropathy. I wish I could go out and walk as that would help my blood sugars alot. I'm getting no support for mental health and tried so much. Gp sent referels in and keep getting denied due to funding.
 
Could you use crutches or a wheelchair? If its mental health Bruce Lee had a broken back well before enter the dragon. Bed bound for 6 months and taught himself to walk again. Just giving you an example. Positive mental attitude might help. Hope you can overcome this. Sorry to be so blunt but its up to you i think ?
 
I've just got a walking stick but need to strengthen my legs more the physio said. I was not like this 2 years ago, I use to go for 4 walks a day and long ones, I miss that and do you know how hard it is having ocd and getting told you're a waste of space, no one likes you and many other thoughts due to that illness? No one knows what it's like unless you go through it yourself and I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

I just wanted advice on them pills as I've had them for 3 weeks and been scared due to the awful side effects it says you can get. I couldn't handle more side effects as I'm on 15 pills a day as it is.
 
Don't read the side effects. Everyone dosn't get them. I struggle in a different way. Daughter has ocd so i have an idea. I take a day at least 50 tablets plus 4 injections,plus inhalers. Think thats the new weight drug they are raving about. If your gp has given it to you take it. See how it works for you.
 
Marko2020 said:
Mental health and they think diabetic neuropathy. I wish I could go out and walk as that would help my blood sugars alot. I'm getting no support for mental health and tried so much. Gp sent referels in and keep getting denied due to funding.
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@Marko2020 I’d don’t know if these would work for you but there are various pedal things that you can use sifted in a chair. There are also inflatable cushions that you press down on with your feet to exercise the muscles and help circulation.

I totally understand why you’re concerned about side effects, but you could give the new medication a trial and see how you go. If it doesn’t suit you, then you could try something else, but with neuropathy high sugars only make it worse, so if you can get your sugars down a bit, that should help.

It’s obviously very important you check any supplements are compatible with your medication, but there are some supplements that might help your neuropathy. However, please do check they’re compatible before trying them.

One is Alpha Lipoic Acid. You have to take a largish dose and it’s not cheap, but it’s actually prescribed for neuropathy in Germany. Also, benfotiamine (a special form of vitamin B1) and other B vitamins can help. For the Alpha Lipoic Acid, it’s best to build it up slowly - ie one 200mg tablet a day for a week or so, then two tablets, then 3. You’ll see they’re expensive but they do help.

Regarding your mental health, can you afford to get some private help? Even a few sessions might help you take control of things. I knew someone with severe OCD at uni. He got a lot better over a period of months. It didn’t go away but it became manageable and had much less impact.
 
Inka said:
@Marko2020 I’d don’t know if these would work for you but there are various pedal things that you can use sifted in a chair. There are also inflatable cushions that you press down on with your feet to exercise the muscles and help circulation.

I totally understand why you’re concerned about side effects, but you could give the new medication a trial and see how you go. If it doesn’t suit you, then you could try something else, but with neuropathy high sugars only make it worse, so if you can get your sugars down a bit, that should help.

It’s obviously very important you check any supplements are compatible with your medication, but there are some supplements that might help your neuropathy. However, please do check they’re compatible before trying them.

One is Alpha Lipoic Acid. You have to take a largish dose and it’s not cheap, but it’s actually prescribed for neuropathy in Germany. Also, benfotiamine (a special form of vitamin B1) and other B vitamins can help. For the Alpha Lipoic Acid, it’s best to build it up slowly - ie one 200mg tablet a day for a week or so, then two tablets, then 3. You’ll see they’re expensive but they do help.

Regarding your mental health, can you afford to get some private help? Even a few sessions might help you take control of things. I knew someone with severe OCD at uni. He got a lot better over a period of months. It didn’t go away but it became manageable and had much less impact.
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Thank you very much for your advice. I'll look into those exercising aids. Do you know what they are called? I'm just going to take the pills tomorrow as its the new diet ones that people are talking about and might help.
 
Marko2020 said:
Thank you very much for your advice. I'll look into those exercising aids. Do you know what they are called? I'm just going to take the pills tomorrow as its the new diet ones that people are talking about and might help.
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If you search on the internet for under desk cycler there are lots of different ones at various prices.
It is surprising how quickly you lose muscle strength, I had an accident and had knee surgery so was basically immobile for 3 months.
I was able to do various exercises to strengthen the quads whilst sitting and that helped.
 
Sorry, no, I don’t know what they’re called @Marko2020 A relative had them some years ago and I saw them but didn’t ask their names. The inflatable one is sometimes sold as an exerciser to use on planes to help avoid DVT.

I’ll see if I can find any information online and I’ll post it here if I do.

Good call to take the pills. They might well help you and you know you can stop if you want to. You’re in control and you’ve made a sensible choice to try them.
 
If you Google, you’ll see a few, eg:

www.careco.co.uk

Pedal Exerciser with Digital Display

A straightforward way to get some exercise in from the comfort of your own home. Easy to use for your upper body as well as the lower body, with a digital display showing time, reps and calories burned.
www.careco.co.uk www.careco.co.uk

And


Those are just examples not recommendations. Have a look on Google and don’t go for the cheapest.
 
Welcome to the forum @Marko2020

Sorry to hear what a difficult time you have been having. Multiple conditions of physical and mental health can combine to make things so difficult :(

We have others here who have mental health challenges to juggle alongside their diabetes, including ptsd, anxiety and OCD-adjacent conditions, so you aren’t alone here.

Really great that you are doing leg strengthening exercises, and that you seem so engaged with trying to regain some of the wellness that has slipped away from you for a season.

Hope the semaglutide helps when you try it, and you don’t experience any significant side effects.

As @Inka has said, improving your glucose levels can have a significant positive effect on some of the other conditions and challenges you are facing.

Really hope you start to see some positive impact from your efforts that encourages you to continue.
 
It doesn't make it easy for me as I was put on quite which increases sugar levels and makes you very hungry. I've asked and asked to come off them and no one takes charge now of my mental health pills. These are antipsychotic ones. Ever since I went on them 2 years ago my sugars rocketed from 52 to 106 and have never come back down.
 
Sorry if I annoyed anyone. I was scared to write on here incase someone had a go at me for how bad my diabetes control was.
 
Diabetes is dietary condition, Marko, and from that point of view ingesting medication that doubles your blood glucose is not good. Time for a drugs review with your GP and consultants?
 
Pedant alert @JITR but it does matter for casual readers - some diabetes is diet-related but others aren’t. Type 1, for example, is an auto-immune condition.
 
Inka said:
Pedant alert @JITR but it does matter for casual readers - some diabetes is diet-related but others aren’t. Type 1, for example, is an auto-immune condition.
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And not all type 2 is caused by diet either, type 2 is caused by a much more complicated mix of factors than simply diet. Then type 3 and MODY not caused by diet also
 
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