Newbie

[Justmoz]

Hi Maureen here,
Type 2 diabetes just had 1st annual review awaiting results at 4th August appointment with diabetic nurse. I have really painful hips for a couple of months now which I put down to age and maybe arthritis (64) but am beginning to wonder if could be nerve damage as last two days left leg is tingling down to foot or am I just over thinking. Blood pressure a bit high at review so monitoring at home fir a week. Any advice would be welcome. Not on any medication at all yet, diagnosed 2018 but with moving house and covid I put off any past reviews.

 

[trophywench]

Don't assume anything - painful hips is NOT a symptom of diabetes of any type, even if your blood glucose isn't quite as wonderfully managed as you'd like. Complications of diabetes are absolutely NOT inevitable either. Neither are you ancient, woman! For goodness sake - get to the docs with them! Don't wait till you see the nurse - she can't diagnose what's going on, her nursing degree doesn't go that far and anyway should you need either blood tests or Xrays etc, she can't order any.

 

[Cherrelle DUK]

Hi Justmoz, welcome to the forum.

Glad that you've been able to get your review in as it's helpful to see how far you've come.

I'd get your hip pain checked out as they're not typical side effects of diabetes. Could be nothing but it's always worth getting things seen to early to avoid future complications.

 

[Justmoz]

Thank you for the replies.

 

[Justmoz]

Here is my journey from my review onwards.
Hba1c 120 DN had meds ready 2x metformin per day and was going to give me gliclazide but after I told her how much fruit juice (pineapple) I was consuming changed her mind about the gliclazide, she gave me a monitor and asked me to check fasting BG. because it was 15.2 changed the Metformin to 500mg 4x daily by week 4.
Day 1 15.2
Day 2 14.2 day 1 of starting metformin 1x daily first week
Day 3 10.2
Day 4 11.1
Day 5 10
Day 6 8.8
I am currently carb counting and aiming for less than 100 per day and seem to be making progress. On day 5 I tested my BG in the evening around 8.30pm and it was 7 the only thing I ate and drank after that was 5 walnuts 1 strawberry and water with fresh lemon, what could have caused the rise to 8.8? I take the Metformin 10am with BP tablet.

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Here is my journey from my review onwards.
Hba1c 120 DN had meds ready 2x metformin per day and was going to give me gliclazide but after I told her how much fruit juice (pineapple) I was consuming changed her mind about the gliclazide, she gave me a monitor and asked me to check fasting BG. because it was 15.2 changed the Metformin to 500mg 4x daily by week 4.
Day 1 15.2
Day 2 14.2 day 1 of starting metformin 1x daily first week
Day 3 10.2
Day 4 11.1
Day 5 10
Day 6 8.8
I am currently carb counting and aiming for less than 100 per day and seem to be making progress. On day 5 I tested my BG in the evening around 8.30pm and it was 7 the only thing I ate and drank after that was 5 walnuts 1 strawberry and water with fresh lemon, what could have caused the rise to 8.8? I take the Metformin 10am with BP tablet.

Thanks for the update @Justmoz

Great news that you are finding moderating your carb intake is helpful. And those numbers are looking much easier to live with more recently. Hopefully you are feeling better as a result.

I would guess that the rise from 7 in the evening to 8.8 in the morning was not driven by the food you mention. It could easily be ‘dawn phenomenon’. This is the body’s natural rhythm of hormone release overnight (or on rising) to ‘fire up the burners’ for the day. Forum lore has it that it dates back to our cave dwelling forebears who needed a bit of a boost to get up and at the woolly mammoths for their breakfast.

Everyone experiences it to a greater or lesser degree, but obviously it’s more evident when your metabolism struggles to regulate glucose dumps from the liver.

 

[Justmoz]

Thank you @everydayupsanddowns I do feel a lot more energetic
I seem to be stuck in the 8s at the moment day 7 of taking slow release Metformin not sure how long it takes to have any effect, guess I may need to reduce carbs even further.

 

[Leadinglights]

Thank you @everydayupsanddowns I do feel a lot more energetic
I seem to be stuck in the 8s at the moment day 7 of taking slow release Metformin not sure how long it takes to have any effect, guess I may need to reduce carbs even further.

I can take a while for metformin to be fully effective and I expect you are still building the dose up anyway.
How many grams of Total carbs are you currently having?
It is better to reduce your carb intake gradually as it is less of a shock to the system and can avoid issues with your eyes and nerves. The suggestion is you work out what you were having pre diagnosis and reduce by one third for a couple of weeks, then another third for another couple of weeks until you get to where you need to be. As you have your monitor you can test where that will be. For some people it will be below 130g per day and others as low at 50g per day but you will have to see what suits you.

 

[Justmoz]

Mostly 100gm or less of carbs BG readings up and down during the day if I get a big spike I try to go for a walk or get busy at home which seems to work as they drop after exercise, guess this must be my body adjusting to new regime still stuck in the 8s mostly 1 evening reading of 6.3 back in the 8s in the morning though. I plan to stay with 100 carbs for a few more weeks until I am on full dose of Metformin but I really don't want to stay on the full dose for longer than necessary.

 

[Leadinglights]

Mostly 100gm or less of carbs BG readings up and down during the day if I get a big spike I try to go for a walk or get busy at home which seems to work as they drop after exercise, guess this must be my body adjusting to new regime still stuck in the 8s mostly 1 evening reading of 6.3 back in the 8s in the morning though. I plan to stay with 100 carbs for a few more weeks until I am on full dose of Metformin but I really don't want to stay on the full dose for longer than necessary.

It might be worth doing some strategic testing so test before you eat and after 2 hours and check the increase in no more than 2-3mmol/l to see if there are any particular foods that are a problem. Keep a good record of the readings and carbs in that meal.
Normally blood glucose rises and falls throughout the day so random testing doesn't actually tell you much. The timing of the testing in relation to food can be very informative and allow you to make changes.

 

[Justmoz]

Just wanted to give an update on my current Hba1c of 44 mol so pleased and cannot thank this site enough. Got an appointment with DB nurse on Tuesday 22nd November to discuss results.