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newbie in distress

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
mally

mally

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
i have been diagnosed with type 2 and put on metformin my dr just threw the pills at me and that was that, i have no idea what im doing and to make things worse he said i have a enlarged liver, which is giving me some pain in my stomach and side, the horrid thing is iv been taking the Metformin and i have had really bad diarrhea 3 times a day and sick feeling through out the day, someone told me to cut the pills down to 1 a day for the first week then 2 for the second week and so on until my body is used to them, i have cut down to 1 tablet but the sickness feeling is still hounding me on and off throughout the day, can anyone help im desperate, ps there are so many other things i would like to know but for now stopping the sickness is top of the list, thanks for any help you can give.
 
Welcome to the forum, mally, sorry to hear about your problem with Metformin.

Personally I never had any problems but I'm sure that someone will be along shortly who can offer advice. One thing I have heard about is to take the Metformin with food.
 
Hi, I'm new but have had similar experiences to you, I'm 3 months since DX and the doctor told me pretty much nothing, I started on one metformin a day for week 1 building up 1 extra each week, I only take them after a meal and so far have been fine. Maybe cut back but do only take after food. Hope you feel better soon.
 
thanks for the advice Gooner9 i have cut to 1 tablet will try that for a week then up it, and yeah i have been taking them after food
 
mally said:
i have been diagnosed with type 2 and put on metformin my dr just threw the pills at me and that was that, i have no idea what im doing and to make things worse he said i have a enlarged liver, which is giving me some pain in my stomach and side, the horrid thing is iv been taking the Metformin and i have had really bad diarrhea 3 times a day and sick feeling through out the day, someone told me to cut the pills down to 1 a day for the first week then 2 for the second week and so on until my body is used to them, i have cut down to 1 tablet but the sickness feeling is still hounding me on and off throughout the day, can anyone help im desperate, ps there are so many other things i would like to know but for now stopping the sickness is top of the list, thanks for any help you can give.
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Welcome Mally. Your experience unfortunately isn't unusual but it could be that you'd do better with the slow release form of Metformin which is said to be easier on the stomach. Maybe worth discussing with your doctor. A fatty liver is sometimes associated with type 2 diabetes but it can be improved with a good, low carb diet and losing weight if you need to. I had the same diagnosis.
Are you struggling with knowing what to eat and are you testing at home because I've found that helps and guides enormously (even though the doctors often won't supply meters and strips).
Just throw in some specific questions and people will be happy to try and help. Don't feel desperate, if I can do this, you can! 🙂 You will work it out but you need to get on top of the sickness first. I gave up on Metformin and am doing it diet and exercise only but don't attempt that without medical advice. I don't know what your levels are. Good luck! Amigo
 
thanks for the welcome Amigo, i weigh 11st 5lbs i was 12 st up to last week, im eating chicken, salad's lots of veg , eggs , granary bread, cheese, raw onions and cut down from 10 cups of tea a day to 0 and on flavoured bottle water, i bought a meter on ebay with strips etc will get that Wednesday but what im looking for i have no clue , i ended up in hospital a few days ago for something else and they tested my sugar level which was 8 they didnt seem concerned so nor was i, but i have no clue what i am suppose to be doing
 
mally said:
eating chicken, salad's lots of veg , eggs , granary bread, cheese, raw onions
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Apart from the bread it's looking good, though my wife wouldn't thank me if I ate raw onions.
The big thing is to cut way back on starchy foods like potatoes, pasta, rice etc
 
HI - I am a newbie too, so not perhaps the best to advise you, but the forum have been a great support for me. Told me to get a Codefree blood glucose meter (as they have the cheapest test strips) test before/then 2 hours after started eating breakfast and dinner - keep a record of what is eaten during each meal. You could try the Low carb/HIGH fat/no added sugar way of life (lots of books on it now), and it is starting to work for me - just 4 weeks in. I may not now have to go on Metaformin at all at this rate, and I am losing weight slowly too. All the carbs are said to give us 'fatty liver' which means simply the blood glucose can't be controlled by just our own insulin as we get 'insulin resistant'. LC/HF diet changes that - I have just put on a new thread tonight of my first few weeks, so this may be helpful to you - if you care to look at it? Hope to hear you're more confident soon and finding your own way forward. Regards, Alison
 
i was told granary bread was ok as it had 0 carbs and 0 sugars , im lucky im not hooked on chocolate or cake so guess that helps but im finding it hard to know what i can and cant eat, and being the pills are making me feel sick on and off all day and night i dont want to eat but iv lost alot of weight in a week already
 
heya Alison, iv bought a meter from ebay, iv just stumbled on this group so was not clued in about the meter, iv had so many different things been said when i search on google and every site saids different things and contradicts the other so i am clueless to what i am suppose to do and how to help myself
 
Mally - that really is total bollards about the bread having zero carbs - most seedy/granary bread has around 18g of carbohydrate per SLICE.

If you make anything with FLOUR (wheat flour, with or without the roughage LOL) - it has carbs. The only thing being 'brown' does in it's favour is that it slows the speed at which the carbs from that flour, hits our bloodstream, (Same thing with brown rice) However - the carbs are definitely still there.

There are a couple af alternatives if you MUST eat bread - Burgen Soya & Linseed at about 12g a slice or Lidl protein rolls - but we don't have a Lidl so I haven't tried them and can't tell you the carb value.

BG numbers - if you weren't diabetic, your BG would usually be around 4 or 5, but may increase a bit soon after a meal.

So - 8 wasn't a disaster - except it is too high to be sat at for long periods, cos it's the highs that knacker up the things like kidneys, eyes, the nervous system, etc.
 
Hi Mally - if you read my earlier new thread on may be help to other newbies you will see what I have been doing. Most people around you won't understand how to tackle eating for diabetics (think you just cut down on sugar probably); by following the LC/HF 'way of life' one reads THE CARBS on each packet of food, bread, pasta, etc., but most are VERY high - most breads are 23-40+ and way too high. I only allow myself half a LIDL High Protein roll each morning (if I have bread) and you must read up on this diet - or look around for something which better suits you. Great the meter is a must (as other forum members advised me); then rocord what you eat in a notebook and see how your meter readings were before, then 2 hours after starting eating - to see which foods push the levels up. The book I suggest on my earlier thread was told to me by other forum members and it is a good starting place. There are lots of books on LC/HF - recipes online, books, articles, lectures on u-tube. Look and read, then see what appeals to you. I must say it costs me a lot less to live on the LC/HF diet/eh 'way of life' but one can't eat all those gorgeous breads and cakes and rice and pasta and limited potatoes/root vegetables etc...... but one has to make a choice to do something to fight back!!! Keep asking questions of everyone on the forums, and find the right way forward for you. Regards, Alison
 
hello trophywench, love the name , so how many carbs am i able to eat a day ? and what do i need to stay away from
 
yikes iv been having 2 tuna sandwiches one in morning and one in evening in between my dinner
 
mally said:
how many carbs am i able to eat a day
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Difficult question, it depends on how aggressive you want to be in getting your BG under control... I see a lot of people aiming for 130, some of us low-carbers look for under 100 (myself I look for under 50, yesterday was probably 10-15). Now the thing is that you don't want your BG fluctuating wildly (then you really will feel ill).... My advice is to start reducing carbs until you get your meter then you will be able to test & learn what foods you tolerate & what you can't. As a general rule of thumb, if it's packaged food & labeled diet/heart healthy/diabetic friendly then throw it in the trash.
Made from scratch food is best, replacing starchy foods with fresh vegies (ideally the green "above ground" varieties.
 
Ha ha - eat the cans of tuna in oil with full fat cream cheese or other good FF cheese, salad (no potatoes or bread). I'm trying for around 50-60 carbs per day (remember just one bag of crisps is about 55 carbs), and bread is usually high carb - only Burgen seeded soya and linseed is lower, and maybe the Lidl High Protein rolls which weigh about 115g and have about 9.8 carbs each roll - I find them VERY filling (even without a filling), so I have half a roll with egg, bacon, full fat cream cheese/other FF cheese, avacado, ham, salad, salmon, etc..... Low carb/high fat is not boring - as long as you like cheese, egg, meat, oily fish, FF milk and yoghurt, mixed seeds/nuts/berroes, most green vegetables. To eat low carb you have to have good protien and vegetables and butter/cream cheese/cheese and some fruits - but cut out the starchy/sweet carbs. Theres good books on 'Carbs & Calories which gives photos of carb content per each meal/serving size. It takes a lot of getting ones head round and past the 40 years being told to eat Low fat and plenty of carbs - seems they have had it wrong all along, and only been about 2 years since they realised; well SOME have realised their errors!
 
Well trying to get as low bg as possible is our aim - but one can't expect it overnight, or real soon. If you took to the LC/HF diet - it is said to take about 10 weeks to be fully effective, but I'd say I noticed a difference from about 3 days, then got a meter; now I onto week 4 and things are definitely improving and my bg readings are coming down nicely; I do not feel hungry hardlyh at all (only if I didn't get the meal balanced right), then I ewat a few nuts or cheese or FF plain yoghurt. So give it time; decide what your plant of action to find a way forward is. Ask questions, read, look at u-tube lectures, and keep fighting back. Regards, Alison
 
PS sorry about the typing mistakes there! Just thinking I need to do my 2 hours after dinner test, as I had late dinner!!!!
 
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