I have only discovered this forum in the last few days, but have been a type 2 diabetic for a few years, and was pre-diabetic for a long time before that. I have really had no help, advice or support from my gp practice except an occasional blood test and a once a year foot check and retinal scan. I got a call last week from the doctor, who said my blood sugar was too high, and he was increasing my meds and adding in another one. That was it, no advice or support. Anyway, to cut a boring story short, I have decided to take control of matters, and put myself on a no sugar/low carbohydrate diet to see if I can help matters. The question I have for all you people with more experience is, if I do succeed in losing weight/lowering my blood sugar, will the medications I am taking have a harmful effect on me? I will add I am 4 days into the diet and am feeling quite good….I have about 15kg to lose to put my BMI into the healthy range, and one of those has gone already!
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- Thread starter CarolA
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I take 2x500mg metformin twice a day for my diabetes, and they plan to put me on Gliclazide next week. I take a lot of medications for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease….plus pain relief for osteoarthritis.I will observe that since giving up sugar, I have not had to take any pain medication!
Inka
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Tell them you’re about to start a low carb diet before they put you on the Gliclazide. Gliclazide can cause hypos if you don’t eat enough carbs for your dose, so don’t let them base any prescription on your previous diet. Be clear about what you plan to eat.
Lucyr
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This isn't true and is really unsafe advice. Some medications, like gliclazide, increase the amount of insulin your pancreas produces and can cause hypos. Reducing your food intake drastically to no carbs and losing weight as Carol plans to do, at the same time as starting gliclazide, and without having any useful advice from the GP, means you can experience hypos
Therefore it's always best to change your diet gradually to prevent any sudden changes causing hypos, and make sure you understand the signs of a hypo and how to treat them
@CarolA Also please be aware that eating Low Carb will likely reduce both your weight and your Blood Pressure in addition to your Blood Glucose. When Dr David Unwin first went Low Carb he was surprised that he needed to reduce his Blood Pressure medication. Until he reduce his dose, he kept feeling faint every time he was at his desk and stood up to greet a patient.
Do you have a BG meter in order to test the effect your meals have on your BG? That is a good way of deciding how much you need to cut back on carbs, since there is no point in cutting back harder than you need to. Some do well on around 120gms of carbs per day, but others like me have to flirt with keto level of carbs (around 20gms per day) in order to achieve remission.
Do you have a BG meter in order to test the effect your meals have on your BG? That is a good way of deciding how much you need to cut back on carbs, since there is no point in cutting back harder than you need to. Some do well on around 120gms of carbs per day, but others like me have to flirt with keto level of carbs (around 20gms per day) in order to achieve remission.
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Good luck with your new attempts to manage your diabetes more actively with your menu.
Most members here who take meds for their diabetes or other conditions seem to find that there is a balance to be struck between medications and overall dietary approach. Meds can’t work effectively in isolation, and various factors interweave and interact together, so it’s important to keep your nurse or Dr updated with changes you are making.
Metformin isn’t generally considered to cause risk of hypos - it works more in the background to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce glucose output from the liver. But other meds like Glic can directly reduce BG levels and carry a risk of hypos.
Let us know how things go, and keep us posted with how you get on. Have you got a follow-up appointment with your Dr or nurse any time soon? Covid pressures have made these more tricky to access for many of us.
Most members here who take meds for their diabetes or other conditions seem to find that there is a balance to be struck between medications and overall dietary approach. Meds can’t work effectively in isolation, and various factors interweave and interact together, so it’s important to keep your nurse or Dr updated with changes you are making.
Metformin isn’t generally considered to cause risk of hypos - it works more in the background to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce glucose output from the liver. But other meds like Glic can directly reduce BG levels and carry a risk of hypos.
Let us know how things go, and keep us posted with how you get on. Have you got a follow-up appointment with your Dr or nurse any time soon? Covid pressures have made these more tricky to access for many of us.
Thank you all for your useful input! I have spent quite a bit of time today reading around this website, and have learned a lot of things! Firstly, I think it is worth really working hard at losing weight and getting a much better hold on my diet, and not starting on gliclazide. It has taken me many years to get to this point, a few more weeks is not going to make any difference. I am, of course, willing to try something new if this doesn’t work. My doctor is really not very engaged with patients, and the nurse only ever says “I don’t know”, so I have been very much on my own (me and mr Google). I will update when I know what the Dr says!
Leadinglights
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I would think some attention to your diet would help you to lose weight and help with lowering blood glucose without immediately going onto gliclazide. This link might give you some ideas for a low carb approach which has been successful for many. https://lowcarbfreshwell.co.uk/ is a low carb regime with real healthy food.
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