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Newly diagnosed

H

herefordruby

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello everyone

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2, so was a bit of a shock, however I am taking statins (atorvastatin) and ramipril, I did have breast cancer 4 years ago and now take anastrozole, the pharmacist told me that my type 2 was because of the anastrozole as its well documented that it can be triggered by taking this medication fortunately its only for another 18 months, however they have prescribed me dapagliflozin, just wondered if anyone else takes this and what your thoughts are on it ..... thank you
 
herefordruby said:
Hello everyone

I have just been diagnosed with Type 2, so was a bit of a shock, however I am taking statins (atorvastatin) and ramipril, I did have breast cancer 4 years ago and now take anastrozole, the pharmacist told me that my type 2 was because of the anastrozole as its well documented that it can be triggered by taking this medication fortunately its only for another 18 months, however they have prescribed me dapagliflozin, just wondered if anyone else takes this and what your thoughts are on it ..... thank you
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum.
There are quite a few people who do take that medication which is usually added when diet or diet and metformin are not sufficient to keep blood glucose well managed and HbA1C does not go down.
It is a medication which encourages the kidneys to excrete excess glucose via urine so it is important to drink plenty to avoid becoming dehydrated. Many will have already made dietary changes to reduce carbohydrates but it is advised not to go below a suggested 130g carb per day when taking that medication.
There is also a small risk of UTIs in some people.
I am sorry to hear of your cancer and hope you are in recovery and the medication is doing it's job. The statin is to manage cholesterol and the ramipril for blood pressure which are quite common meds.
Can I ask what your HbA1C is that has given you the Type 2 diagnosis, it will be a number over 47mmol/mol which is the diagnostic threshold.
There are many side effects listed with anastrozole but the risk of Type 2 diabetes is not one of them.
 
Hello leading lights, thank you for answering so quickly, if I remember correctly my HbA1C was 57, I wonder if that's why I was given dapagliflozin instead of metformin, I understood metformin was the most common drug that people take, I am finding it all very overwhelming at the moment and am trying to get my head around everything..... I must say I didn't seen this coming am 66 and have always enjoyed good health until recently, just shows it should never be taken for granted.
 
herefordruby said:
Hello leading lights, thank you for answering so quickly, if I remember correctly my HbA1C was 57, I wonder if that's why I was given dapagliflozin instead of metformin, I understood metformin was the most common drug that people take, I am finding it all very overwhelming at the moment and am trying to get my head around everything..... I must say I didn't seen this coming am 66 and have always enjoyed good health until recently, just shows it should never be taken for granted.
Click to expand...
It could be that metformin is not compatible with the anastrozole but as you say that is usually the first medication prescribed. But even with an HbA1C of 57 many have managed to reduce it by sufficient dietary changes, was that suggested to you. It is certainly worth looking at your diet anyway as it is no good taking a medication to get rid of excess glucose and still eating more high carbohydrate which convert to glucose foods than the body can cope with despite the medication. This link may help to with some ideas for modifying your diet, it is based on a suggested 130g carbs per day .
 
Hi there @herefordruby

I’ve taken the liberty of splitting your posts and replies into a thread of your own so that posts to you don’t get lost in the other thread.

Sorry to hear about your diabetes diagnosis, there do seem to be a number of meds which are important for other things, but which can increase the risk of developing diabetes :(

There are some other threads and posts where members are sharing their experiences of dapagliflozin here which might be of interest?

forum.diabetes.org.uk

Search results for query: Dapagliflozin

forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk
 
@herefordruby welcome to the forum. I'm a similar age group to you. I asked to be tested last June and my reading was 69. I was put on metformin for 3 weeks then metformin was reduced to two tablets and I was put on dapaglifozin ( 10mg)
i have high blood pressure and it was sold to me as good for cardiovascular health. I felt a bit knocked sideways as i had been eating 90 to 120 carbs a day and losing 2lbs a week. I couldn't get clear information as to what level of carbs i needed. Some say 130 is enough but l keep panicking and adding more! My surgery have given me ketostix to test my urine if I feel ill for ketones. I havent used them yet as I haven't felt ill. By December my reading was 44and I assume dapaglifozin has helped. You need to keep hydrated as you pee more. I have found it am peeing more at night.
I was given the option recently of reducing metformin or dapaglifozin I chose to reduce metformin because I was nervous about my cardi health and am on steroids pending an eye op so thought I should be cautious.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum @herefordruby
Most people are in shock when newly diagnosed. It takes a while to get your head round it all. Posting on this forum really helped me.
I was prescribed metformin initially, however I wasn't taking any other medication or living with any other long term health issues. Your doctor will have taken that into account when prescribing dapaglifozin for you.

The good news is that if you don't get on with it there are alternatives.
Have a look at the Learning Zone on this website. It breaks the information down into modules you can read at your own pace. The folks on here have decades of experience collectively of living with diabetes. They are always happy to answer any questions you have and share their knowledge. No questions considered trivial or silly.
I also recommend having a browse around the forum, particularly the Newbies pinned threads. You can use the search function to look up specific topics.
There will be other folk along far more knowledgeable and experienced than me who can give you support and non medical advice.
 
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