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New to Metformin

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J

Jessy

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi all, I've been diabetic for about 4 years now but have managed to keep it under control until late last year and was put on 500 mg Metformin a day. Coped not too bad but blood glucose went up so they doubled it to 4 tablets each day (1000). T then started getting really bloated with bad indigestion. They have now put me on the slow release type two daily.
Any suggestions please.
 
Hopefully the slow release will suit you better, I believe it is better to take them with food to minimise the effects but stomach issues are a well known side effect which affects some people but it should settle down. If it doesn't then there are some alternatives. Alternatively depending on how high your blood glucose is you could try looking seriously at your diet reducing carbohydrates, to see if that would be sufficient to pull your levels back into control.
 
I have been taken the medication with food. Without medication it's around 10. With the 1000 it's been down to around 7.4
 
Hi @Jessy I hope that the new meds will make things easier.

What strategies did you use before you switched to meds.? Alongside the meds have you changed your diet at all, in particular with a focus on the amount of carbs you are eating? All the carbs we eat get changed into glucose once inside us, and for those with Diabetes we do not have enough (or any for T1) insulin to match the carbs we eat.

Some on here have found that a brutally honest food diary can help, with a record of the amount of carbs along side. The information about carbs can be a bit awkward to work out for some ingredients, but there are apps like Carbs and Cals that can help. Once you know how many carbs you are eating you could consider doing swaps and/or reducing portion sizes.

Keep in touch and let us know how you get in.
 
Good morning all. I do carbs count and have started s good diary again. I have the book carbs and Cal's. I don't eat potato, rice, cheese(allergic), pasta, which are all high. I do eat bread but brown seeded and sliced so you can see though it. How long should I give the tablets to work before going back to diabetic nurse. BG on waking up was 9.4 at 7. Now 10 O'clock and it's 10.9. I had one slice of toast and s glass of milk (only milk I have during the day).
 
The rise from your breakfast looks like what you had was satisfactory. It seems high because you are still at a quite high starting point but as others say the waking level is often the last one to come down. So good you have the Cars and Cals and you are keeping a food diary as that will stand you in good stead to move forward. If you start to feel hungry before your next meal you could add something with a bit of fat or protein for your breakfast.
 
Welcome to the forum @Jessy

Hope the new medication begins to settle things after a while.

Good that you are checking your BG levels before and after food, and that you are reducing your carb intake to try to improve your post-meal numbers.

Keeping a food diary should really help too 🙂
 
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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
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