Help Type 2 diabetes

Hi

I have had type 2 diabetes for 16 years and have been on Metformin and insulin for several years. You surprised me when you said that when you were diagnosed you were put on 4 x 500mg tablets a day as the usual starting dose is two, going up to three if needed but four sounds wrong. At least you are now down to two tablets a day. Do they affect your stomach? I know that when I went on to three tablets a day I was rushing to the loo far more often but I soon got used to it.

I know it says that you're not supposed to have hypos with the tablets and maybe you're not, especially if your readings are 4.4 - 5.1, i.e. "normal" blood sugars. At diagnosis my levels were 22 and I was put onto tablets straight away (not Metformin) and the levels came down but even when my levels were 12 or so I was getting hypo symptoms because my body had got so used to high sugar levels. The advice is to try and stick with it and even though the false hypo symptoms aren't very nice you have to resist the urge to try and treat them with sugar until your sugar levels are down to normal levels.

Do you think that perhaps your sugar levels are going fairly high and when they come down to normal readings you get hypo feelings as if you really were hypo? You obviously aren't hypo if your readings are 4.4. - 5.1 or maybe it's stress that is making you feel like you do. I should know about stress, I think I'm the world's greatest worrier and that affects my readings. What perhaps you should do is to do quite a few blood tests for a few days, both before and two hours after meals for say two or three days. This will hopefully give you an idea of what your levels are throughout the day. If your levels are good, i.e. within normal levels then you're not going hypo so you have to look at other things. Stress and anxiety can give all sorts of horrible feelings but with me I don't usually feel hungry, quite the opposite in fact! I do remember that when my sugar levels were very high I felt VERY hungry, I mean really hungry not just a fancy for something to eat, it was a sick feeling hungry. Of course, high sugar levels can also give you hypo feelings - a sugar rush is usually what it's called. I remember one day when I had eaten a bun with a coffee and not long after I felt hypo, feeling slightly not quite with it or "up with the fairies" as I put it and was really surprised to see that my sugar levels were 15 and not the 2.5 or so that I thought they were.

I know you're scared that you're having hypos and "what if" you have one while on public transport or just out in public but as long as your sugar levels are within normal ranges then you're not likely to black out or whatever it is that you're scared of. Anxiety on the other hand can make you feel light-headed and shaky, two of the symptoms of a hypo. I used to get quite worried about having hypos and have had low sugar levels at various times, the lowest being around 1.5 when I was on holiday in a foreign country, but thankfully I haven't got that low since but 2.5 can be fairly common with me. My advice is to check your sugar levels over two or three days and especially if you are having a funny turn, just to check if you are hypo. If your levels are normal then it might be anxiety which, I'm sure you know, isn't good for your diabetes. Remember, if your sugar levels ARE normal then you aren't hypo and therefore nothing bad will happen to you.

Yes In Type II , hunger and itching are most common symptoms. 4.4. - 5.1 nowhere indicate hypo. But other symptoms of temporary loss of memory and shaky feeling are uncommon. It seems that metformin stronger dose was prescribed. May be doc felt situation quite severe when this was diagnosed. I suggest one needs to take supplementary nutrition along with metformin to the maximum.

Dacey Son

Nutrition consultant

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I was diagnosed with T2 in 1993, read an article in 1998 in The Glade an Archery magazine, and changed my diet to low carb high fat. My BG and A1c have been in the normal range ever since. And no drugs!

I have just found a new site at www.curediabeteswithdiet.org, which I think is by the man who cured my T2 fifteen years ago. I can recommend it.

I asked my doctor, if my BG and A1C are always normal, am I still diabetic? All he said was Thats an interesting question!!!

I don’t think I can be now. My latest A1c was 5.4 for example.

It actually got better in the early on when I stopped eating cereals and bread, but cutting right back on fruit was more effective. Because it seems that fruit sugar is also bad. See www.curediabeteswithdiet.org/fructose-harm.html

That website you link to t2dnomore is very ill informed to what diabetes actually is and there's is no cure for actual diabetes. If your diagnosed with type 2 a good diet and healthy living can alleviate the symptoms but won't 'cure' you. Type 2 diabetes is difficult because it is something that develops over time and is progressive.

To the original poster, a change in your medication will take time to take effect and you will get odd symptoms sometimes, as your taking metformin you are at minimal risk of hypo's if your eating regular. Your body is still producing insulin and the metformin is helping it work so your sugar levels may go high if your eating pattern is not small and often but it is very unlikely that they will drop enough to cause a hypo.

Make sure you eat small amounts of food rather than 3 meals a day, eat 6 smaller portions spread out, make sure you drink plenty of water as you will dehydrate quicker on metformin ( a more likely cause for your symptoms) and excercise more.