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Stomach friendly meds?

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newbie2015

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hi, just joined. Was warned after an HbA1C borderline test last Sept so made some drastic lifestyle changes as had gained a lot of weight due to the thyroid packing up. Managed to lose nearly 4 stone now, which is hard work with no working thyroid. Problem is, I've developed Barrett's now through my near starvation diet, and was pretty devastated to learn my HbA1C has gone from 42 to 43. The glucose intolerance was 8.2. Looks like I'm on the same track to Type 2 as my mother. Problem is will I be able to take the tablets without aggravating my stomach problems? I'm on Rantidine. What are you taking, do you get any stomach problems with your medication?
Many thanks
 
Hi, welcome to the forum 🙂 Try not to worry too much, an increase in HbA1c of 1 mmol/mol is really neither here nor there, so it means it has essentially stayed the same. Also, it is well within the 'non-diabetic' range still so you are certainly a long way off needing any medication 🙂 Glucose intolerance is well below the point that diabetes would be diagnosed (11.1 mmol/l). Do you know what your fasting levels are like? Here are details of the criteria for diagnosing diabetes:

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/About_u...itoring/New_diagnostic_criteria_for_diabetes/

I think if you continue the good work you have been doing (well done on the terrifc weight loss!) you will be able to happily control things without medication for quite some time. Metformin is the first line medication that is usually prescribed, which can cause gastric upset, although there is a slow-release version that is kinder on the system - but even if you HbA1c was much higher, you are a long way off needing that (it would probably need to be over 50 mmol/mol).

What modifications have you made to your diet? It can help if you follow a diet that is better for your blood sugar control such as the GL diet - The GL Diet for Dummies is a good introduction 🙂

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have! You are doing very well! 🙂
 
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I appreciate we are all different and react to meds in different ways so it is worth talking to the doctors.

While I was on metformin I should have been prescribed a stomach protection pill, which my GP didn't do, even thoe I went to him on a regular basis with stomach problems.

During one of my stays in hospital with my foot, they sorted my diabetic meds out and I am now on insulin, but they also gave me a stomach protection pill (omeprazole) which they told my GP I needed

In short my advice is chat to the doctors and see what their take on it is as you can't loose anything.
 
Welcome to the forum, newbie2015. Congratulations on your weight loss and good HbA1c.

Sorry to hear about your Barrett's oesophagus. If / when you need medication, and your GP isn't sure about which medication is suitable for you, then you should ask for referral to a hospital diabetes clinic. It's a specific issue, so you need special advice from health professionals.
 
Hello newbie.

I'm sorry you've had some collateral damage, as a result of something I'm sure you were probably doing to improve something else?

I have no experience or Barrett's, and indeed had to look it up. In the search results returned, there was lots of reference to reflux and so on. My comment may be unfounded and not apply to you, so forgive me it that's the case.

But, when I was diagnosed, I decided to reduce my carbohydrate intake, as a means of getting my bloods into order. It worked extremely well. My OH also follows this way of eating, although he has a few more carbs than me, and drinks the odd beer. One comment he made after a couple of months was he had noticed a marked improvement to his gastric reflux which he sometimes suffers, relating to a very long-standing hiatus hernia. His Gaviscon consumption fell off a cliff.

Interestingly, over the longer term this has very much proven to relate to his carbohydrate consumption. When we are apart, he will tend to indulge himself with increased carbs he wouldn't cook for himself if we were dining together, so he has proven the lower carbs improve his reflux, and when he increases them, he needs Gavison again.

I don't know what others on this forum have found, but I know that elsewhere where I am a member, these findings are not unusual.

I don't know what dietary requirements you have relating to your Barrett's, oe what sort of diet you are following, but it could be interesting to try trimming a few carbs off your diet, if you can, and see what happens.

Good luck with managing your pre-diabetes. I wouldn't beat myself up over a +/-1 on an HbA1c at all. You never know, you could have been teetering between the two numbers last time, but got rounded down, and this time rounded up (if you know what I mean).
 
Hi, first off congrats on losing 4 stone - that's a wonderful achievement!!

I was diagnosed very recently with type 2 and put on Metformin immediately however I had awful stomach cramps, nausea and gas! I went back to see the nurse and got put on Metformin prolonged release and I must say the side effects have almost disappeared entirely. No more stomach pains or nausea!

Hopefully you won't develop type 2 but there are different medications if you do. Keep up the good work losing weight and managing it well 🙂
 
Hi everyone, thanks very much for your good advice and sharing your experience. I feel a bit of a hypochondriac now after reading about your conditions. Thank you Northerner for your welcome, it's difficult to get an accurate reading from the receptionists, but the glucose intolerance was a fasting test, and the last result I got for blood glucose was given to me as 5.9 last September by a receptionist, but the doctor insisted it was 6.2. I immediately gave up as many products as I could with sugar in them and have always been on wholemeal bread. I really miss bananas and jam. It's near impossible to find a sugar free yoghurt though, and natural tastes vile to me, so I cheat on that one. I'll try some of your suggestions thanks, and hope you're all well.
 
It's near impossible to find a sugar free yoghurt though, and natural tastes vile to me, so I cheat on that one.

Have you tried the Weightwatchers yoghurts? They are sugar free, low in fat and, in my opinion, actually quite nice...
 
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