Hi all, my name is Jacob, i am 22 years old and recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.I have changed my lifestyle drastically, especially given more time with this lockdown here in the UK. My range is 49 so not far off being pre-diabetic. My GP basically forced me onto metformin 500mg but i have severe anxiety over swallowing pills. I was meant to go on anti depressants years ago but found myself having panic attacks and my mental health got worse as a result, it is crazy i know. I woke up this morning knowing i had to take my first dose of metformin (im new to this) and i just started sweating, my breathing sped up and all these things rushing through my head. I'm going to let down my GP, i'm letting down myself. I don't know what to do. Any help would be very much appreciated.
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- Thread starter jacob.p
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- Relationship to Diabetes
- At risk of diabetes
Hello @jacob.p ,
Thank you so much for joining the Diabetes UK community forum. I am so sorry to hear about the anxiety you are struggling with and I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. You may find it helpful to take a few breathes first and speak to a close family member to ease your concerns first. The GP knows you are recently diagnosed and it takes time for people to adjust from their diagnoses to fitting into their new normal routine.
You also may find it helpful to speak to our helpline if you are concerned about your health. We are open Monday -Friday 9am-6pm and our advisors would be more than happy to speak to you about your diabetes.
Thank you so much for joining the Diabetes UK community forum. I am so sorry to hear about the anxiety you are struggling with and I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you. You may find it helpful to take a few breathes first and speak to a close family member to ease your concerns first. The GP knows you are recently diagnosed and it takes time for people to adjust from their diagnoses to fitting into their new normal routine.
You also may find it helpful to speak to our helpline if you are concerned about your health. We are open Monday -Friday 9am-6pm and our advisors would be more than happy to speak to you about your diabetes.
Drummer
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
I find it really strange that I was prescribed one tablet of Metformin to start off with, and my Hba1c was 91 - yet you are to take two and you are barely in the diabetic range.
As it turned out, I did not even need to take that one. When it made me feel ill I stopped taking it and relied on reducing my carbs to control my glucose levels, which worked quite quickly.
Do you have a glucose testing meter?
That might help you see how to lower your numbers by altering what you eat rather than taking tablets. I would have thought that your GP would have been more considerate of your feelings than to try to force them on you - mind you I have been equally unlucky in my choice of GP.
You can get glucose meters on Amazon quite cheaply. I went to Spirit Healthcare and ordered a Tee 2 and strips directly from them. Testing after eating should show you how to avoid spikes - if you don't mind getting a drop of blood from your finger.
As it turned out, I did not even need to take that one. When it made me feel ill I stopped taking it and relied on reducing my carbs to control my glucose levels, which worked quite quickly.
Do you have a glucose testing meter?
That might help you see how to lower your numbers by altering what you eat rather than taking tablets. I would have thought that your GP would have been more considerate of your feelings than to try to force them on you - mind you I have been equally unlucky in my choice of GP.
You can get glucose meters on Amazon quite cheaply. I went to Spirit Healthcare and ordered a Tee 2 and strips directly from them. Testing after eating should show you how to avoid spikes - if you don't mind getting a drop of blood from your finger.
Sorry all. Im useless at replying. Since this message i have had a conversation with my GP regarding my medication and not being able to swallow it. He feels i have a phobia of swallowing pills which is apparently not uncommon. He has given me liquid Metformin instead which is excellent as i can take it without anxiety, no side affects and it actually taste really nice haha
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ah that‘s great @jacob.p
So pleased you have a supportive GP, who is helping you with the challenges you have around taking medication - it certainly sounded like a very unpleasant anxiety reaction.
Hope the medication works well for you.
How did your diagnosis come about? Do you have family members with diabetes? Was it a rapid onset? Or had you been feeling ill for some time?
Hiya,
I had been ill for some time with binge eating disorder, fainting spells and stuff like that. It was picked up during a standard blood test. It does sadly run in the family. I struggled heavily with depression so used to eat a tonne of rubbish and I didn't exercise much so one thing led to another and here I am.
I had been ill for some time with binge eating disorder, fainting spells and stuff like that. It was picked up during a standard blood test. It does sadly run in the family. I struggled heavily with depression so used to eat a tonne of rubbish and I didn't exercise much so one thing led to another and here I am.
Toucan
Forum Host
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hello @jacob.p
Good to see you on the forum, and thanks for telling us about how you got to find out about your Diabetes.
You certainly have had some difficult problems to deal with, but good to hear that the GP has helped by giving you liquid metformin.
It sounds as if you are really doing well on getting things under control with your lifestyle, and achieving a reading of 49 is a good step forward.
What sort of eating plan are you following, and are you managing to get some exercise? Controlling both of these will be a big help.
If you need any more information here are some links that may help:
If you want to know more about the Low-Carb way of eating then Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem.
If you are considering getting a glucose meter as @Drummer suggested then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
Please keep posting and let us know how it is going, and we will always try to answer any questions.
Good to see you on the forum, and thanks for telling us about how you got to find out about your Diabetes.
You certainly have had some difficult problems to deal with, but good to hear that the GP has helped by giving you liquid metformin.
It sounds as if you are really doing well on getting things under control with your lifestyle, and achieving a reading of 49 is a good step forward.
What sort of eating plan are you following, and are you managing to get some exercise? Controlling both of these will be a big help.
If you need any more information here are some links that may help:
If you want to know more about the Low-Carb way of eating then Maggie Davey's letter, shows how this lady approached the problem.
If you are considering getting a glucose meter as @Drummer suggested then SD Gluco Navii is one that many people use, and test-review-adjust gives information on how to go about testing.
Please keep posting and let us know how it is going, and we will always try to answer any questions.
Hello Toucan,
Sorry for the slow reply. I have been really busy.
I just clicked on the link to the glucose checker and I have that exact one. I have been using it once to twice a day and keeping a record. It is coming in really useful to not only track patterns but to also become more mindful of what I am putting in my body. In terms of exercise. If I'm not going out for my daily 2-3 hour walk around the countryside local to where I live I use youtube for home workouts. I tried cycling but just wasn't for me. I've got a cross-trainer being delivered next month which I'm really excited about because I used to go to the gym but due to the current pandemic I can't.
I am not following a particular food plan. Just avoiding carbs as much as possible and just simply being more mindful of what I'm eating and drinking.
Sorry for the slow reply. I have been really busy.
I just clicked on the link to the glucose checker and I have that exact one. I have been using it once to twice a day and keeping a record. It is coming in really useful to not only track patterns but to also become more mindful of what I am putting in my body. In terms of exercise. If I'm not going out for my daily 2-3 hour walk around the countryside local to where I live I use youtube for home workouts. I tried cycling but just wasn't for me. I've got a cross-trainer being delivered next month which I'm really excited about because I used to go to the gym but due to the current pandemic I can't.
I am not following a particular food plan. Just avoiding carbs as much as possible and just simply being more mindful of what I'm eating and drinking.
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