Type 2 issues with my blood sugar drop

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Decko66

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
I have been real good the last 16 weeks and got my readings down from 16/20 to between 6 and 8 but although losing weight as well, my stomach still feels like a drum at times and blown up - also i keep feeling weird and hot maybe its the change from being high sugars for ages and now the drop - my food now consists of hardly any carbs just Veg/Meat - Nuts - Porridge - eggs - does anyone get these symptoms when I test I'm never low or high
 
Are you on any medication for your diabetes or otherwise?
 
I got massive bloating with metformin to the point of pain and feeling like I was going to pass out.
You could call the GPs and ask to try slow release metformin as it tends to be gentler with less side effects for most people.

well done on the reduction too!
 
Well done on your fantastic progress. That is a fantastic reduction in BG levels.
When do you take the Metformin in relation to food and is there any correlation between when you take the tablets and when you feel bloated? Do you suffer with any of the usual Metformin side effects of wind/indigestion/diarrhoea? I wonder if you might discuss a reduction in the Metformin dose with your nurse/GP since your levels are now much lower and see if that helps with the discomfort you are experiencing. Your change in diet will be having a much bigger effect in lowering your levels than the Metformin anyway, so trying a reduced dose shouldn't have very much impact and you can always increase the dose again if it does.

Have you had your thyroid function checked? I believe that can affect temperature regulation.

Can you explain what the glucose eye drops are and what they are for. I haven't heard those mentioned before.
 
Hi
I see that bloating is a known side effect of that medication that I have never taken, but ...

My bloating was due to lactose intolerance that I was not aware of

Just another possibility?

Would be easy to test

Nuts are famous for gas too

Could be exacerbating (thank goodness for spell check 🙂 ) side effects?

or not 🙂
 
The Glucose eye drops are for me due to the diabetes affecting my eyes one drop every day , I shall enquire ref the metformin causing bloating I didn't know that plus check lactose intolerance situation overall I'm ok but just feel very tired and exhausted i feel from lack of sugar/Carbs no energy because I was high sugar for so long ?
 
Decko66 said:
The Glucose eye drops are for me due to the diabetes affecting my eyes one drop every day , I shall enquire ref the metformin causing bloating I didn't know that plus check lactose intolerance situation overall I'm ok but just feel very tired and exhausted i feel from lack of sugar/Carbs no energy because I was high sugar for so long ?
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When you reduce blood glucose quickly by the combination of diet and meds then eyesight can be affected as the environment changes back for being 'sugary' to the normal 'salty' so the shape of the eye changes and alters the focal length. I assume the drops are to try to maintain the sugary eye environment. Were they prescribed by an optician?
The eyesight would normally return to normal as it is usually a temporary thing until the eye adjusts after a few weeks unless more damage has occurred and you have something else going on. Nobody has ever mentioned having drops before.
It maybe you have gone a bit overboard on the reduction in carbs without increasing protein of healthy fats so that could explain your tiredness. You may need to get your vitamin B12 checked if low could be causing the tiredness.
 
Ok thanks ill get a B12 check - the eye drops are for glaucoma that i now have due to diabetes and that's what the eye drops are for i don't think i made that clear before and that was done by the hospital - is there a food that can give you a boost - with no sugar/carbs and keep the levels low ?
 
Decko66 said:
Ok thanks ill get a B12 check - the eye drops are for glaucoma that i now have due to diabetes and that's what the eye drops are for i don't think i made that clear before and that was done by the hospital - is there a food that can give you a boost - with no sugar/carbs and keep the levels low ?
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meat, fish , eggs, cheese, full fat dairy are all zero or low carb with plenty of veg.
 
Metformin can reduce your ability to absorb Vit B and going low carb can reduce the amount of Vit B in your diet since bread and breakfast cereals are two of the main dietary sources, so it could well be a Vit B deficiency causing you to feel weary. Taking a supplement may not help if the Metformin is inhibiting it's uptake so you may need injections if you are low. My cousin has recently started needing Vit B injections and he says it is a bit like having flu when he is getting low before the next injection is due... He has no energy and just feels really rough. In fact he felt so bad he was begining to think he had cancer as he was also losing weight, but much better now.
If this is your problem then there is nothing we can suggest to eat which will fix it, but if it is just a general lack of calories due to reducing your carb intake, then a bit more fat in your diet should help. I have cream in my morning coffee instead of milk.... Cream is lower carb than milk and higher fat of course.... and tastes delicious. Full fat Greek natural yoghurt, cheese, avocado, eggs, nuts, cooked meat.... I often roll a slice of ham or salami up with full fat coleslaw(usually cheese coleslaw) and salad leaves in the middle, like a little wrap but with the meat instead of bread, as a snack. I also eat lots of olives usually with feta or manchego cheese or any other nice cheese I have, but I appreciate olives are an acquired taste. Pork scratching are a mixture of fat and protein generally with no carbs, so they make a low carb savoury snack if your teeth can handle them..... Interestingly my teeth are so much stronger since I changed my diet to low carb that they can thankfully now cope with the challenge of pork scratchings.
 
I was curious about the observation that @Decko66 made linking glaucoma and diabetes.

There's a lot of DM in my maternal family; my paternal grandfather went blind from glaucoma and my sister has had 'procedures' for both eyes after years of observations and drops. I was discharged from the glaucoma clinic last month, after years of being under observation - many yrs before my DM in Feb 2020.

I wasn't aware of glaucoma and DM being linked. Should I have paid more attention?
 
It seems that I haven't made things completely clear (no pun intended). My sister, who had glaucoma and now sorted does not have any DM; my late brother was T2 and of course my DM was from PC surgery.

Should I have paid more attention before letting the Consultant discharge me?
 
@Decko66 I wonder, having reduced your BGs from high double numbers to more normal levels, if you are experiencing “false hypos” because your body has become used to the high numbers and now thinks it’s going low, so sends out hypo symptoms. If you are also having bloating from the Metformin it could be confusing and cause you to link the two together, instead of realising there are two different causes.

As others have already said, if you are feeling hungry then increase the fat and protein content of your meals. Also a lot of diabetics cannot tolerate porridge and that might be sending BGs swinging.
 
Pattidevans said:
@Decko66 I wonder, having reduced your BGs from high double numbers to more normal levels, if you are experiencing “false hypos” because your body has become used to the high numbers and now thinks it’s going low, so sends out hypo symptoms. If you are also having bloating from the Metformin it could be confusing and cause you to link the two together, instead of realising there are two different causes.

As others have already said, if you are feeling hungry then increase the fat and protein content of your meals. Also a lot of diabetics cannot tolerate porridge and that might be sending BGs swinging.
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Thanks for this information ill check especially the porridge issue
 
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