General Chat

Ronald the doctor asked my daughter if she ate biscuits and cake etc. She said no she didn't which is true, the doctor then said he would put her straight onto medication. I assume because she had no biscuits and cake to cut out.

Perse many thanks for that I will pass it on, no you are not doubling up. :-)

Glossy Ann..

I will recommend a good book to read on the subject:

Diabetes Type 2 by Dr Sandra Cabot...... (she's an Australian and there is a video of her on the net)

My OH has type 2 and is on metformin....

I came close and was on the border line like he was before ending up as a Type 2..

I got the book from the library and followed it to a certain degree and I have been okay ever since and I am not one to really take too much notice of health books.

Persie

Edit: I didn't read the whole thread so hope I am not doubling up on this info.

:-)

Treating type 2 diabetes
Type 2 may have been considered the 'milder' form of diabetes in the past, but this is no longer the case. For many people, type 2 diabetes can be controlled by diet alone. Medication in tablet form is used when diet doesn't provide adequate control.
The different types of tablets work by one of these methods:
• helping the pancreas to make more insulin
• increasing the use of glucose and decreasing glucose production
• slowing down the absorption of glucose from the intestine
• stimulating insulin release from the pancreas
• enabling the body to use its natural insulin more effectively
Examples of these tablets include:
• Biguanides (eg. Metformin) - these cut down production of glucose by the liver and help insulin carry glucose into muscles more effectively.
• Sulphonylureas (eg. Gliclazide) - these stimulate pancreas cells to produce more insulin as well as helping insulin work effectively in the body.
• Glitazones (e.g. Rosiglitazone). Taken up to twice a day these tablets allow the insulin that the body produces naturally to work more efficiently.
• Prandial glucose regulators (e.g. Repaglinide) - these are not usually a first line treatment of diabetes but work by stimulating the pancreas to produce more insulin. Fast-working, their effect lasts only a short time.
• DPP-4 inhibitors (gliptins) - anewer treatment, which blocks the action of the DPP-4 enzyme that destroys the hormone incretin. This hormone helps the body produce more insulin as well as cutting down the amount of glucose produced by the liver.
• Alpha glucosidase inhibitors (e.g. Acarbose) - this works by slowing down the rise in blood glucose after eating.
All tablets used in the treatment of diabetes have potential side effects such as abdominal pains, diarrhoea, and low blood sugar (hypos), but the majority of patients taking them are able to find one or more that suits them.
Over time, a careful diet combined with oral medication may not be sufficient to keep the diabetes under control. If this is the case then insulin injections may be recommended.
Type 2
Type 2 diabetes develops slowly. It's much more common than type 1 diabetes, accounting for at least 75 per cent of cases. Type 2 diabetes often develops later in life although cases in obese children and young adults are becoming more common. It's strongly related to being overweight.
Although the body continues to secrete insulin, often in large amounts, people who are on the path of type 2 diabetes don’t respond efficiently. This is known as insulin resistance. Later, insulin production declines and this signals the onset of type 2 diabetes. In the early stages, diet and lifestyle measures can often be sufficient to control and even reverse insulin resistance. In the later stages of the disease, some people will need tablets and later insulin injections to manage their diabetes.
You can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Studies show that for overweight people at risk of diabetes, losing just five per cent of your body weight can more than halve the chance of progressing to diabetes. It's worth noting that despite diabetes being a condition of sugar regulation, specific restriction of sugars isn’t necessary, except as part of ensuring a balanced diet overall.
If you're living with diabetes you need to reduce your risk of developing associated diseases such as coronary heart disease, kidney and eye disease. This means losing weight, keeping your blood pressure and blood glucose as near normal as possible and having your cholesterol and tri-glycerides checked regularly

People with diabetes cannot control blood glucose concentration properly. Type 1 diabetes is treated using insulin injections, and type 2 diabetes is controlled through diet and exercise.
Control of blood sugar
It is important that the concentration of glucose, which is a type of sugar, in the blood stays at a near constant level. There are serious consequences if blood sugar concentration goes outside a narrow range.
The consequences are that:
• too little glucose causes confusion, unconsciousness, even coma
• too much glucose causes exhaustion and blurred vision
Processed foods often contain a lot of sugar. This is absorbed easily in the digestive system, causing a rapid increase in the blood glucose level. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that reduces the blood glucose level, ensuring that it remains within narrow limits.
Type 2 diabetes
Who it affects adults, normally over the age of 40; there is a greater risk in those who have poor diets and/or are overweight
How it works the body no longer responds to its insulin
How it is controlled exercise and appropriate diet
If exercise and diet don’t keep diabetes under control then medication in table form is prescribed

Barbara - whoever telling your OH Type 2s dont have hypos doesn't know their job! Anyone can have hypo's!

My wife - she ain't diabetic, completely normal, starts a hypo on occasion, usuall late morning if she hasn't had much of a breakfast. A bar of choc' resolves the prob'.

I was diagnosed 2002 as Type 2, in 2004 (then diet and exercise) had been down to Midlands, missed lunch due funeral started 1230 had sandwich, cake around 3pm, was ill on way back to S Yorks so had meal and pud in Derby. Got home and was very rough, bloods 3.8 wasn't far off passing out - my first hypo, rang A&E for advice - have very milky drink! Didn't, had bar of choc instead-instant relief

Thanks Carol I will tell her. :-)

Yes Ann I take Metformin and Insulin, when I first started the Metformin I had as you say unsociable side effects, but after several months they went away.

Hope your daughter finds the same.

Carol

Thanks Julia. Daughter only has to have an annual blood test and doesn't have to test every day or even week so i guess she is quite borderline at the moment. Apparently the medication won't let her blood sugar go up.

Mummo, the side effects are not too bad and she has told her GP and said she will live with it for now. She thinks it might be when she doesn't have enough carbs.

Good Morning Ann, I'm sorry, but either fortunately or unfortunately, which ever way you look at it, I do not require any medication for my Type 2. so cannot advise you, but I bet there are some posting that can.
I do not have to test my blood on a daily basis either, but when I am in hospital, they do it every 4 hours, to see how my sugars are.

Julia in Derbyshire

Hello Ann, l had some bad side effects with Metformin and diabetic nurse tried me on different tablets but nothing seem to work so l am now on Gliclazide and l have a Byetta pen injection now which l take twice a day and this combination seems to be working for me. I would get your daughter to let them know and l'm sure they will find something that suits her.
Hope your daughter is doing ok and still sending her healing and positive thoughts, x

Back to my daughter. Does anyone else with type 2 take Metformin and find they have unsociable side effects?

We think it is maybe some inbalance in her diet but wondered if anyone had suffered this and solved the problem.

I presume the hypos are because he is on injections as part of his treatment, even though they swear he is still type 2

Ronald - my OH is diabetic (type 2, but on injections and tablets). He is often being told that type 2 cannot have hypos but he knows that this is just not true as he does have hypos but they keep saying he is type 2.

Came on as type 2 would normally, I believe, i.e. first was told diet only, then moved on to tablets and now on tablets and injections (2, a long acting every 24 hrs and a short acting before meals). He was 31 when first diagnosed and is now 58.

Just mentioned the bacon buttie conversation to OH, and he said, it's the bacon, he always feels he wants more after having one, but fights it off, but I have noticed sometimes he needs a couple of biscuits with a cuppa later.

Thanks Iris I will tell her.

why dont you look at the diabetes u/k site , they have loads of recipts on there , it might help you . iris

What I find worrying about type 2 Diabetes is an article I read in The Mail on Sunday- Jan 8th 2012 that " Experts fear thousands of the three million sufferers are misdiagnosed"- might it be worth having a read?- jl

I can agree with Ronald re the bacon butties. I did some for tea last night as I was feeling abit lazy. Later in the evening I felt so tired. After I had some chocolate peanuts, I perked up.
Julia in Derbyshire

I make boiled fruit cake and have found that, if I up the mixed spice a bit, there is no need to put any sugar in it.

Ah TeresaW. If I have bacon I need a cake or such like as not enough sugar in bacon! Honest. Took OH shopping in Hull couple or so years ago. We just had bacon butty and cuppa for lunch as were planning to have main meal in evening. In the afternoon in the shops I was nigh on asleep on my feet. I went off to a caff, was going to have apple pie and custard but none avail' so had piece of lemon merangue! Loverly, within couple of minutes I was wide awake. Funny old world