Newbie - Gluten intolerant, lactose intolerant, IBS, bowel cancer survivor - struggling with medication

[OFJ]

Hi there - I was diagnosed with type 2 on 29/11/21 Hba1c - 84 and started on metformin, tried it for over a month but suffered side effects which only got worse. It was like being on 5Fu chemo again. Have been taking Sitagliptin for 11 days and I am having the same abdominal pain, cramping and many, many visits to the loo again. I suffer from low anterior resection syndrome (despite having a high anterior resection for bowel cancer 5 years ago) and have a pretty restricted diet due to IBS, I'm gluten intolerant, lactose intolerant and mainly follow a low FODMAP diet.
Are there any diabetic meds which do not affect the bowel? I'm usually a very positive person but 2 months of gut pain and misery is starting to take its toll...
Hubby has been type 2 diabetic for 7 years so I'm aware of the ideal diet to follow. Hopefully I can find some advice from people in a similar situation on here

 

[Christy]

Can't help answer any of your queries but just saying hello and welcome🙂

 

[Leadinglights]

What was your HbA1C as if it wasn't particularly high you may be able to get it down by following the same dietary regime
as your hubby although you are obviously going to have to take your intolerances into consideration and ditch the oral meds.
Gluten free often fits the low carb regime and lactose free full fat dairy if you tolerate that. You have to start with the foods you can eat and choose the lower carb options.
There are a few people here with similar issues so they may chip in with some suggestions.

 

[OFJ]

What was your HbA1C as if it wasn't particularly high you may be able to get it down by following the same dietary regime
as your hubby although you are obviously going to have to take your intolerances into consideration and ditch the oral meds.
Gluten free often fits the low carb regime and lactose free full fat dairy if you tolerate that. You have to start with the foods you can eat and choose the lower carb options.
There are a few people here with similar issues so they may chip in with some suggestions.

84 so a bit high - thanks Leadinglights

 

[OFJ]

Thanks @Christy 🙂 xxx

 

[richardmillar11]

Just to say from your short story u r a survivor. Well done u for all you are dealing with daily. I am new here also I don’t have answers to your questions but others will. You can do this. Try to avoid even gluten free bread I’ve found it still spikes my sugars. Try to stick to chicken fish and green veg fruit and Greek yugart if u can take it. I’ve done this for 3 months since my diagnosis with a walk most evenings and it has significantly reduced the hba1c without medication which was much higher than yours. So be encouraged U can do it !

 

[gll]

I cant tolerate metformin (normal or slow release) but tummy is fine with what's listed in my signature (although both list tummy issues as side effects).
sglt2 inhibitor and sulphonylurea are the drug classes if you want to look them up.

I found this PDF buried in some nhs sites and seen it used on some local online clinical documents. Seems to be the pathway I've been offered 🙂
LINK

Might give you some places to start looking at what options are there for T2s.

While I don't have the history you have, I do understand the horrors metformin can bring.

 

[OFJ]

Thanks @richardmillar11 and @gll - diabetic nurse is ringing back tomorrow so hopefully will have options looking at the pathway xxx

 

[gll]

let us know how you get on tomorrow and good luck 🙂

 

[richardmillar11]

Thanks @richardmillar11 and @gll - diabetic nurse is ringing back tomorrow so hopefully will have options looking at the pathway xxx

yes let us know how you get on

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi there - I was diagnosed with type 2 on 29/11/21 Hba1c - 84 and started on metformin, tried it for over a month but suffered side effects which only got worse. It was like being on 5Fu chemo again. Have been taking Sitagliptin for 11 days and I am having the same abdominal pain, cramping and many, many visits to the loo again. I suffer from low anterior resection syndrome (despite having a high anterior resection for bowel cancer 5 years ago) and have a pretty restricted diet due to IBS, I'm gluten intolerant, lactose intolerant and mainly follow a low FODMAP diet.
Are there any diabetic meds which do not affect the bowel? I'm usually a very positive person but 2 months of gut pain and misery is starting to take its toll...
Hubby has been type 2 diabetic for 7 years so I'm aware of the ideal diet to follow. Hopefully I can find some advice from people in a similar situation on here

OFJ, I think the issue is not what others can tolerate, but what you can tolerate. These things tend to be very personal; especially where you have other actors in play.

How are you doing on your diet? Are you testing your blood sugars at home?

i'm wondering if by watching your eating, along with finger prick testing, you could learn to manage this thing without meds. Was that discussed with your Doc at all?

Many GPs don't encourage self testing for those living with T2, but to be frank, it was the single thing that made most difference to me learning to live healthily with my T2. If I tested after eating and the number was higher than desirable, I knew that food didn't work too well for me. In that circumstance, depending on the number, Id either try eating less of that food, or if really rather high, I'd give it up, for a while at least.

On that regime, I reversed my T2 within 4 months and have maintained it since. I was diagnosed in Octobe 2013.