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jake0703

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Hi everyone.

I found out that I have diabetes this year in July after being stung by a wasp and going into full anaphylactic shock. The wonderful paramedics that saved my life noticed that my blood sugars were high and recommended that I go for a blood test, which is when I found out that I am diabetic. So the wasp sting actually turned out to be a godsend!

I am on two metformin a day and in 3 months my level has gone from 86 to 52! But I don’t know how unless it’s purely the tablets.

This disease completely confuses me! I am struggling to find out how to make it better. My diabetic nurse tells me to stay away from carbs, but I have asked if I should go on the keto diet and she says NO!!!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Jackie
 
Metformin doesn’t make that much difference, especially on a low dose.

If you have been avoiding carbs, this will have helped.

Well done!
 
Metformin works by improving the way your body handles insulin, but it's the diet/exercise/weight loss combo that has the biggest impact on reducing BG levels, especially the diet element. Many of us have brought our BG down, sometimes to normal, by adopting low carb, ie less than 130g per day. This is way above what a Keto diet would involve.
 
jake0703 said:
Hi everyone.

I found out that I have diabetes this year in July after being stung by a wasp and going into full anaphylactic shock. The wonderful paramedics that saved my life noticed that my blood sugars were high and recommended that I go for a blood test, which is when I found out that I am diabetic. So the wasp sting actually turned out to be a godsend!

I am on two metformin a day and in 3 months my level has gone from 86 to 52! But I don’t know how unless it’s purely the tablets.

This disease completely confuses me! I am struggling to find out how to make it better. My diabetic nurse tells me to stay away from carbs, but I have asked if I should go on the keto diet and she says NO!!!

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Jackie
Click to expand...
Have a look at this link for a more logical approach for low carb, then you are not just guessing. https://www.freshwell.co.uk/
 
Hi and welcome.
It could be that your Glucose levels were very high as a result of the wasp sting, particularly as you reacted so badly to it. So if you haven't changed your diet or doing more exercise since then, that might be the reason for the big reduction, because the Metformin is not generally that effective. If however, you have changed your diet or you are making an effort to be more active, then congratulations and keep doing what you are doing.

As regards Keto or low carb, most of us find low carb is sustainable long term, but keto can be a bit too restrictive. Low carb is under 130g carbs a day. Many members of the forum find that by using a BG meter and test strips they can identify the types of carbs that cause their body the most BG upheaval and limit or remove those foods from their diet. It can also be motivating to see that the changes you are making are having the desired effect, as well as discouraging you from eating the high carb stuff when you see what it does to your levels. Home testing enables you to "see" your diabetes whereas you would otherwise be blind to it. We liken trying to manage your diabetes through diet without a BG meter as akin to driving a car without a speedometer. You can do your best not to exceed the speed limit but it is all too easy to get a nasty speeding ticket or increased HbA1c result despite being careful.
 
Hi Barbara.

I have asked my diabetic nurse about a BG meter and she has said NO! The blood test will tell me what has been happening over the last three months and that is good enough. It was very scary for the first three months not knowing how I was doing. And I was pleased with the results and so was she, so she has now put me on a 6 month review which I think is even scarier.

The paramedics suggested that I wait some time to allow my body to settle after the wasp sting. I was stung in May so we waited until July which was when the result came back at 86 so I don’t think the wasp sting was skewing the data at that point. But I will go back and challenge about the BG monitor.

Thank you.

Jackie
 
Leadinglights said:
Have a look at this link for a more logical approach for low carb, then you are not just guessing. https://www.freshwell.co.uk/
Click to expand...
Hi Martin.

I have only found out tonight about the 130g of carbs despite asking my DN about it. So thank you. I have downloaded a “carb manager” app to monitor as that is the only way I can track anything!

Thank you

Jackie
Leadinglights said:
Have a look at this link for a more logical approach for low carb, then you are not just guessing. https://www.freshwell.co.uk/
Click to expand...
thank you. Very interesting! We have changed our diet this year. We started using GUSTO and my acid reflux disappeared almost overnight. We have kept the recipe cards and making everything from scratch so perhaps we need to review slightly.

Good to see wine is ok!
 
Unfortunately many nurses and doctors discourage home testing unless you are on medication which can cause hypos. This is because they do not understand the benefit of using a BG meter to help you tailor your diet to your body's particular response to foods. Their interest in BG measurements is just to see how the medication is working and to keep people safe from hypos, which you don't need to worry about with you just being on metformin. However changing your diet is far more effective/powerful than most diabetes medication if you do it right, but what is right for one person may not be right for another. BG testing gives you the ability to see which foods cause you problems and which you can get away with and it does vary between one person and another. For instance, porridge is advised by many health care professionals as a good breakfast option for people with diabetes, and whilst some people find through testing that it is a slow release food, There are others of us who find the glucose from it hits our blood stream like rocket fuel and it is very bad choice as a result. Being able to see how you are doing meal by meal gives you more understanding of how your body responds and takes some of the scariness out of what is happening between HbA1c tests, especially when they are 6 months apart.

Unfortunately people in your situation have to self fund if they want to keep tabs on their levels, but most find it an invaluable tool and well worth the investment. A basic BG meter kit is about £15 to buy but it is the test strips which hike up the financial impact, so buying a BG meter which has relatively cheap test strips is the most important thing to look for because test strips are not universal. In fact the manufacturers will sometimes give away the meters because they make their money on the test strips and once you have their meter you are committed to buying their test strips. The two which are most frequently used by members of the forum who self fund are the Gluco Navii and the Spirit Tee2. These two meters have a good reputation and last many years and the test strips are about £10 each for a pot of 50. Most of us reuse the lancets so a box of 200 lancets will easily last me a lifetime. Most of the lancets are universal. You tend to do a lot of quite intensive testing over the first few months to develop a repertoire of meals which your body can cope with and after that it is just about testing new foods.

If you decide to get a testing kit, you would be well advised to order at least 2 extra pots of test strips and a box of lancets with the meter kit as it only comes with 10 test strips and 10 lancets.
 
A good deal at the moment on Amazon at £22.95 for a GlucoNavii monitor, 100 test strips and 100 lancets (many reuse the lancet so should last a long time).
 
jake0703 said:
I have only found out tonight about the 130g of carbs despite asking my DN about it.
Click to expand...

Well done on your great progress so far @jake0703 !

Diabetes UK offer ideas for a low carb meal plan which might give you some inspiration?

Low-carb diet and meal plan

Eating a low-carb diet means cutting down on the amount of carbohydrates (carbs) you eat to less than 130g a day. But low-carb eating shouldn’t be no-carb eating. Some carbohydrate foods contain essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, which form an important part of a healthy diet.
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
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