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Type 2 - intermittent fasting on meds?

E

Electric Daisy

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Carer/Partner
Hey all,

My partner has Type 2 and his HBA1C has been going up.
Diet could be better, there are definitely things we can change.

He is considering intermittent fasting and we are wondering if anyone has any experiences they can share on this?
He is on metformin and glicazide.

I have done intermittent fasting before so am familiar with it, just not in conjuction with medicated diabetes.

Please share any experiences and tips, TIA
 
Best talk to your GP about fasting with Gliclazide. It can cause low blood sugar as it increases insulin secretion.
If he does fast, he'll probably have to monitor levels and adjust the dose to prevent hypos.
Not something you should do without supervision, IMHO.

I used to fast when I was on Metformin without a problem - but Metformin doesn't generally cause hypos.
 
I tried fasting 22 hours a day, then at 5pm I had a slimming shake and made a small meal.
My HbA1c, which had been in the low 40s for years went up to 48.
I was astonished, but suspect that the carbs in the shake were too easily accessible and maybe I was getting dawn phenomenon all day.
My usual routine is eating at around 12 hourly intervals, but that has proven difficult to resume.
 
Electric Daisy said:
Hey all,

My partner has Type 2 and his HBA1C has been going up.
Diet could be better, there are definitely things we can change.

He is considering intermittent fasting and we are wondering if anyone has any experiences they can share on this?
He is on metformin and glicazide.

I have done intermittent fasting before so am familiar with it, just not in conjuction with medicated diabetes.

Please share any experiences and tips, TIA
Click to expand...
The problem with fasting is the amount of glucose that is released by the actions of the liver..... explained in link below.
That's a lot of carbs.
 
It's not a problem.
Without the that mechanism we'd die in our sleep. We effectively fast overnight.

The problem is that T2D means the mechanism is broken and it keeps running all the time (And the body can't clear it very quickly due insulin resistance). In someone without diabetes, it switches off (But is always releasing a bit) when levels rise.

In people with an insulin resistant liver, fasting can help improve insulin sensitivity by reducing liver fat and helping with weight loss.

For the original poster, whose husband is on Gliclazide, it shouldn't be done without supervision from the GP/Nurse due to the risk of hypoglycaemia.
 
Welcome to the forum @Electric Daisy

I think @harbottle raises a very important point about the interaction between any meds your partner is taking, and any possible diet you are considering. Particularly a glucose-lowering med like Gliclazide which increases insulin output, and can potentially reduce glucose levels too much if not balanced with an appropriate amount of carbohydrates.
 
harbottle said:
It's not a problem.
Without the that mechanism we'd die in our sleep. We effectively fast overnight.

The problem is that T2D means the mechanism is broken and it keeps running all the time (And the body can't clear it very quickly due insulin resistance). In someone without diabetes, it switches off (But is always releasing a bit) when levels rise.

In people with an insulin resistant liver, fasting can help improve insulin sensitivity by reducing liver fat and helping with weight loss.

For the original poster, whose husband is on Gliclazide, it shouldn't be done without supervision from the GP/Nurse due to the risk of hypoglycaemia.
Click to expand...
It's a problem for me...I'm not overweight maybe that's why I can't.
The link I gave is the one my GP gave me when I questioned him about it...it made sense to my issue.
 
You also need to be cautious of taking Metformin on an empty stomach, so may need to adjust dose time of that in order to take it with food.
 
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