Where to next.

[NickS]

Evening everyone,
I was diagnosed in October last year with a surprise HBA1c of 115.
three moths later using Metformin, exercise and diet, I got it down to 52, which I was delighted with.
three moths later, still on Metformin, still eating low carb and sensibly, I was down to 48.
I am still taking the Metformin, still trying up my exercise, and still eating low carb.
However, I have done a few random blood glucose tests in the last few days and the have been between 7.1 and 9.2 depending on when, what I’d eaten,etc.
the lower readings were having not eaten for at least 15 hours and just after doing exercise.
I am quite disappointed as these readings seem to indicate that my HBA1c will be slightly higher when I next get it checked.
Should I be asking for different medication? Do I up my exercise and cut carbs even lower?
im not sure what else I can do.
i have peripheral neuropathy (my only symptom) and it hasn’t improved since my blood sugar has lowered. I have read it can take a while, but is nine months and longer common.
sorry to rattle on.
any advice very gratefully received.
Thank you.
Nick

 

[Leadinglights]

Evening everyone,
I was diagnosed in October last year with a surprise HBA1c of 115.
three moths later using Metformin, exercise and diet, I got it down to 52, which I was delighted with.
three moths later, still on Metformin, still eating low carb and sensibly, I was down to 48.
I am still taking the Metformin, still trying up my exercise, and still eating low carb.
However, I have done a few random blood glucose tests in the last few days and the have been between 7.1 and 9.2 depending on when, what I’d eaten,etc.
the lower readings were having not eaten for at least 15 hours and just after doing exercise.
I am quite disappointed as these readings seem to indicate that my HBA1c will be slightly higher when I next get it checked.
Should I be asking for different medication? Do I up my exercise and cut carbs even lower?
im not sure what else I can do.
i have peripheral neuropathy (my only symptom) and it hasn’t improved since my blood sugar has lowered. I have read it can take a while, but is nine months and longer common.
sorry to rattle on.
any advice very gratefully received.
Thank you.
Nick

Those readings do seem a bit higher than ideally you want to be seeing, 2 hours after food no more than 8mmol/l would be preferable and 4-7mmol/l before meals.
How many grams of carbohydrates per day or per meal do you think you are having as that might be where to be looking to reduce a bit more, less than 130g per day is where many need to be and some do go less than that.
A bit of strategic testing of some of your more carby meals may be worthwhile to see if any particular foods are a problem.

 

[Mare]

Hi Nick, I stopped taking Metformin after 1 year on the maximum amount of 2 X tablets because it caused my Neuropathy. I am very upset. I blame myself because I was so happy to be off the insulin injections I did not do enough research. Metformin causes a B Vitamin deficiency. I still have the tingling in my feet after two months of not taking it and I am taking B Vitamins which improved it at first, but I believe this is permanent now. Please google this. I am sorry I don't have a link right here. I have an appointment tomorrow and I am going to have to hold my anger and dismay in.

 

[AndBreathe]

Hi Nick, I stopped taking Metformin after 1 year on the maximum amount of 2 X tablets because it caused my Neuropathy. I am very upset. I blame myself because I was so happy to be off the insulin injections I did not do enough research. Metformin causes a B Vitamin deficiency. I still have the tingling in my feet after two months of not taking it and I am taking B Vitamins which improved it at first, but I believe this is permanent now. Please google this. I am sorry I don't have a link right here. I have an appointment tomorrow and I am going to have to hold my anger and dismay in.

Have you tried R-ALA (R-Alpha Lipoic Acid) for your neuropathy. You can buy it over the counter but it must be R-ALA, not just ALA.

R-ALA is prescribed in placed like Germany for neuropathy but not here (yet?).

I know a number of folks who have used it, with improvements observed. I used it myself when I found myself with post-surgical neuropathy on my ribs. The neuropathy improved, but that could also just have been the passage of time and deep healing.

This is a file often posted by @Pattidevans , but I'll copy it over for you.

 

[Mare]

Have you tried R-ALA (R-Alpha Lipoic Acid) for your neuropathy. You can buy it over the counter but it must be R-ALA, not just ALA.

R-ALA is prescribed in placed like Germany for neuropathy but not here (yet?).

I know a number of folks who have used it, with improvements observed. I used it myself when I found myself with post-surgical neuropathy on my ribs. The neuropathy improved, but that could also just have been the passage of time and deep healing.

This is a file often posted by @Pattidevans , but I'll copy it over for you.

Oh, thank you very much. I will be ordering that supplement on Amazon toute-suite. There is so much to learn and understand about this disease. I am so glad I found this forum. I have been so isolated and lost since my diagnosis 6/2022. It is a chronic disease, true, but we can learn from each other to prevent its' progression, I believe.

 

[Leadinglights]

Hi Nick, I stopped taking Metformin after 1 year on the maximum amount of 2 X tablets because it caused my Neuropathy. I am very upset. I blame myself because I was so happy to be off the insulin injections I did not do enough research. Metformin causes a B Vitamin deficiency. I still have the tingling in my feet after two months of not taking it and I am taking B Vitamins which improved it at first, but I believe this is permanent now. Please google this. I am sorry I don't have a link right here. I have an appointment tomorrow and I am going to have to hold my anger and dismay in.

You may need Vit B12 injections as oral supplements or dietary B12 will not be absorbed properly. My other half has to have as he has low B12 from taking esomeprazole.

 

[NickS]

Thanks everyone. Interesting answers as always.
Has anyone come across any research in to pancreatic beta cells? There seems to be differing opinions as to wether they can be repaired.

 

[Mare]

I hear that! It never fails to amaze me how differently we all may react to a different medication, food, people, Heck, everything. Glad it is working for you. It is one of the oldest and best medications on the market.

 

[Mare]

You may need Vit B12 injections as oral supplements or dietary B12 will not be absorbed properly. My other half has to have as he has low B12 from taking esomeprazole.

Thanks..I will talk to my Dr. about that tomorrow. When I was a kid in NYC all my Grandparents and their friends would get monthly B-12 shots as a matter of course like having a Bagel or playing Bingo...

 

[AndBreathe]

Oh, thank you very much. I will be ordering that supplement on Amazon toute-suite. There is so much to learn and understand about this disease. I am so glad I found this forum. I have been so isolated and lost since my diagnosis 6/2022. It is a chronic disease, true, but we can learn from each other to prevent its' progression, I believe.

Mare, I believe that for many living with Type 2 diabetes, progress can be a 2-way street. In my own case, I was asymptomatic when diagnosed (in 2013) and was able to get my blood sugars down well into the non-diabetic ranges within a few months. I have managed to maintain that since and have a good life. T2 does not govern my life and doesn't stop me doing anything I want to.

Of course, not everyone's bodies are able to repair and recover as mine so fortunately did, but many do.

 

[AndBreathe]

Thanks everyone. Interesting answers as always.
Has anyone come across any research in to pancreatic beta cells? There seems to be differing opinions as to wether they can be repaired.

That's a tricky one, but quite a few people living with T2 are able to get their bodies into a much healthier place but making lifestyle adjustments, and in some cases, with additional pharmaceutical support.

I would urge you to look for improvements and a healthier body, with or without rejuvenated beta cells. Not everyone's body can back-track to a fully healthy state and there's no benefit in setting up for disappointment. Again, I'd urge you to set smaller targets for yourself. They can always be modified along the way.

 

[mikeyB]

Fascinating thread, this. Let’s introduce some clinical facts.

Metformin can, very rarely, cause B12 deficiency, but B12 deficiency is a sight more symptomatic than just a cause of a feeling of pins and needles. It is not a permanent neuropathy. You get significantl lethargy, lack of energy and a collection of symptoms that go away on treatment.

B12 is made by bacteria in the colon in humans and most mammals, and stored in the liver. For years. We get most of it in food.Any excess that isn’t needed by the body passes out in the urine, and that includes B12 supplements. That’s why it’s a waste of money unless you have blood tests to check for B12 deficiency,

With regard to R-ALA, a large, four year survey showed it was no better than placebo in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy, and it’s only used in Germany for that purpose. Nowhere else. That’s not a big secret by the pharmaceutical industry, who would be delighted if they could sell a cheap supplement at inflated prices that could transform the life of folk with diabetes who have neuropathy. That’s because it makes no difference to diabetic neuropathy, which is caused by excess glucose, and inadequate control of diabetes, for whatever reason.

 

[Mare]

Yes, very helpful thread for me. So, I don't think it was BGL that caused the tingling in my feet because I lowered my A1C from 6.9 to 6.1 presently. But... I will ask my Dr. when I see him in August. I do know since taking a B full spectrum the tingling is very slight. I think the Pancreatitis I had 2 years ago which nearly killed me wiped out a lot of beta cells. So now, I have to do the best I can. My BGL goes so freekin' high when I eat that I am always hungry. We all suffer like this at times, methinks.