Diabetic
 

My Dr. just told me that I am diabetic. I am on Metformin but he wants me to back off of it to see if my blood sugar will come up. Frustrating.

Don't know what's next with it. Doesn't do anything for my depression, that's for sure.

Ada

Do you have a glucometer? It would be very helpful for you to keep a diary of daily blood sugars. (including in the middle of the night if possible).

Have you had an HbA1C done? What was the reading?

Hi MrsD.
 

I can always count on you for help.

I haven't done anything yet. I had been really sick for the past couple of months. I knew I was borderline diabetic from being told that a few years back but I see my Dr. here soon and we will decide what to do. As I said he told me to go off of the Metformin to see if my blood sugar will go up some.

I do want to lose some weight in hopes that it will help me with it. We talked about it last night on the phone and I'm sure he's thinking of what to do next for me.

Ada

Metformin does not often cause low blood sugars.

But it DOES deplete B12....in about 40% of patients.

It can also cause acidosis... and my doctor insists on regular kidney tests when I or another of her patients is on it.
A renal panel will show an anion gap or other warnings of kidney function loss. Metformin can build up in the system if the kidneys do not work correctly and the acidosis is more serious then.

If you have insurance, get a glucometer and strips and start doing
fasting glucose in the morning
one reading about 1.5 hrs after breakfast
after lunch
dinner
one reading before bed (to see if you need a snack).
And if your morning fastings are high, do a reading at 1am or so and see what it is then. High mornings can be dawn phenomenon and a reaction to lows during sleep.

Without a 2 week record of your daily cycle, you don't really know what you have! You also need a blood test called HbA1C, to see if you are in the normal range for that still.
I have a handy chart for those readings so when you get that one, you can PM me or post it.

Many type II diabetics respond well to eliminating sugar and most starches. I eat a very high protein, moderate fat (good fats only) and slow carbs (veggies and beans) diet.

You really have to do this, to feel better, and avoid damage to your body from the sugars.

Hi MrsD,
 

I just had some blood work done a month or so ago to check some things. Don't know what though.

Thanks for the diet info. I was just going to look some of it up.

I just went back to using sugar in tea a few months ago due to the fact that I wanted to get away from artificial sweetners. I don't eat starches very much. I don't eat much fat either.

I will get back with you on what we do. I am not a person of habit so testing will be pretty hard for me. I do good to remember my pills and I never take them at the same time of the morning.

Ada

The first week testing is the hardest. But the meters today, are very easy. One Touch has free mini-meter...and I tend to recommend them because their chemistry of the strips is not affected by other sugars you may consume (maltodextrin, maltose, xylitol, etc). The other meters use a system that may read false elevations depending on your diet.

The One Touch mini is free... go to their website. It took 3 weeks for my coupon to come by mail though. So do it now. You will need an RX to claim the email coupon at a pharmacy.

My insurance pays 80% of the strips, and you need an RX for that too.

But really you need to keep a journal showing your food intake and readings later. This makes planning your meals easier. It seems complicated but once you do it, it is not so hard. The new lancets that come with the One Touch mini meter are almost painless...if you use 3 or 4 setting on the spring load.

After a while it is not so difficult. I had some problems for about 3 days. I even dropped the meter once! But it still works correctly.

I really urge you to start to do this...so you can become better aware of your day and what if any contribution erratic blood sugars have to how you feel.

Once you get your diary going, after about 3 weeks, you can back off testing to once or twice a day. Or even skip a day.
You really need to call the doctor's and get your A1C result ...it will tell you ALOT.

Truvia is a new sweetener with Stevia in it. All natural. You can try that. I use Splenda one packet a day in my tea. (I have 2 big mugs with 1/2 packet in them each in the mornings with my breakfast tea). I can't tolerate much more caffeine than that however! ;)

Sorry for your news Ada!!

Hang in there my friend...

xoxox Sandy

Hi Mrs D

Im diabetic too...i take 1000 metformin 2 times a day and glimeride 4mg morning 2 mgr at night. My hubby is also, and at his drs appt the other day his doctor mention a new medicine that you inject but its not insulin. she says it is also used as a weightloss drug http://www.valeritas.com/vgo.shtml
what do you think.

thank you
Lori

I am sorry about this dx too. Could your doctor refer you to a nutritionist who deals with this? Having a plan may help and also the support. Some insurance though not mine will cover a nutritionist if your doc writes an order. Hang in there