[andrews]

Hi all,

As you know, i'm pritty new to the whole diabetes thing and was diagnosed just before Christmas with type 2.

At the moment i am really, really struggling with my energy levels, as i am constantly drained of energy. My diet has improved massively cutting cards right down.

I'm on 2 metaformin per day one in the morning and one at night, which i have been on since being diagnosed, however i am gaining more and more worried after reading many threads on here that type 2 is progressive and at some stage, i will need to go over to insulin.

My worry is, i got zero energy all the time, cant exercise as i am physically drained with no get up and after couple of months on Metaformin my morning blood sugar ia still on average 7.8 to 8.2.

How do i get my energy back to exercise and should the metaformin be working more??????? i am extremely worried about my health, Please all help and ideas welcome.

 

[onaughmae]

Hi all,

As you know, i'm pritty new to the whole diabetes thing and was diagnosed just before Christmas with type 2.

At the moment i am really, really struggling with my energy levels, as i am constantly drained of energy. My diet has improved massively cutting cards right down.

I'm on 2 metaformin per day one in the morning and one at night, which i have been on since being diagnosed, however i am gaining more and more worried after reading many threads on here that type 2 is progressive and at some stage, i will need to go over to insulin.

My worry is, i got zero energy all the time, cant exercise as i am physically drained with no get up and after couple of months on Metaformin my morning blood sugar ia still on average 7.8 to 8.2.

How do i get my energy back to exercise and should the metaformin be working more??????? i am extremely worried about my health, Please all help and ideas welcome.

For starters...its good to be concerned to a point, but not to the point that it causes you undue stress. Stress can raise your blood sugar too! Type 2 diabetes tends to be progressive, but not everyone progresses to the same point. There are T2's that live their entire lives with only diet and exercise. You are already taking metformin. If your doctor thinks that might not be enough, you dont have to go straight to insulin. There are other oral meds you can try that work just fine for some people. I took a combination of oral meds (Metformin and Glyburide) for many years. You dont always have to go to insulin.

Are you sure you have cut back enough on carbs? How many grams do you try to keep to at meals? You might just need to tweak your diet a bit more.

I know its hard to exercise when you have no "get up and go". Try starting small. Even just a short walk back and forth on the driveway at home. Once you start moving around you actually start to feel better and have more energy. You dont have to runa marathon right away

Its true that diabetes is a life long disease....but it can also be managed. It isnt a death sentence. Many diabetics are in better health than a lot of other people because they pay attention to their body and take better care of it. I intend to die *with* diabetes....not *because* of it

 

[Shanny]

Another thing to remember Lee, is to be sure you get enough to eat. Cutting back on carbs doesn't have to mean cutting back on volume, and be sure to include enough fats in your meals to provide energy. As long as you aren't going hungry, your energy level should improve. Super-athletes may need to carb-load to maintain their rigorous training routines, but the rest of us can usually function vigorously on mostly proteins & fats.

Would you want to post some of what your usual diet is like? I know just the stress of worrying can take a lot out of us, and as Pam says, it can raise our blood sugars too. Keep us posted on this & maybe there's someone here who's had the same problem and was able to work out a solution.

take care & hurry back, Lee.

 

[andrews]

Thank you both, right bare with me and here goes...lol.

Breakfast:
Musli or porrige made with skimmed milk and coffee made with skimmed milk and one silverspoon sweetener.

Medication: 1 x Metformin tablet 500mg.

Supplements:
1 x Milk thistle 150mg
1 x Aleo vera 1200mg
1 x Zinc 15mg
1 x Magnesium 300mg
1 x Chromium Picolinate 200ug
1 x Coenzyme Q10 30mg all taken with tap water

Snack:
Handfull of pistachio nuts or fruit. (mid morning or mid afternoon, sometime both times if i'm hungry).

Dinner: Varies massiverly, but i'm pritty careful. If i have to have sandwiches its made from whole meal bread with a sensable filling to a sunday dinner ( more veg than potatoes) but various, however i am carefull not to go overboard or binge.

Evening Meal:
(Meal replacement) 4 - 5 times a week i take (maximuscle)Promax diet milk shack, made with half skimmed milk and half water. (Low GI) instead of a meal or
I alway try to aim for a High protein meal based around tuna, turkey, chicken, red meat or omelette (high protein, very low or zero carbs as my last meal).

Medication: one Metformin tablet 500mg
one Simvastain 40mg (for cholesterol)

Supplements:
1 x Zinc 15mg
1 x Milk thistle 150mg
1 x Magnesium 300mg all taken with a glass of tap water.

I try not to eat after 8pm and drinks thoughout the day are either coffee, squash no sugar, tap water or if out bottled water or pepsi max. I dont smoke or drink, my only sin is i might have a takeaway on the weekend usually a chinese which is noodles, chicken balls (peel the batter off) small amount of rice, chicken curry and a small amount of chips... sorry

Hope this helps.

 

[Shanny]

Since you don't have a weight problem, I think you could go a little less on the skim milk thing. Since you're diluting it with water anyhow, just use heavy cream & dilute that with water. Then you'll be cutting a lot more carbs. I'm not at all familiar with the meal-replacement shakes, so can hardly form an opinion. I just think bacon & eggs for breakfast might be more filling and less carby.

For my own diet, the porridge, fruits, whole meal bread, potato, noodles, rice, etc. (even in reduced amounts), would be dragging me down. For those of us not taking insulin, we sometimes have to be a little stricter in counting our carbs. Carbs will put me to sleep in a split second . . . is that how you feel when you say you lack energy?

How often are you checking your blood sugar? Have you been able to get it down any lower, especially during the day after meals?

I hope you'll be able to relax a little more about this, because while it is a progressive condition, it is within our ability to control, and with good control there's no reason to think you'll be anything but fine for many years. The worry and stress can zap your energy too. Have you ever had trouble with depression? That's another energy zapper.

We're sure here to support you, so keep asking questions & letting us know how you're doing.

 

[onaughmae]

Some people can tolerate more carb than others and still be in range. What I would suggest is to check your sugar before you eat, then again around 2 hours after you eat. By two hours post meal your bg should be back to normal. If it isnt. then you know that the meal you had was too many carbs for your body to handle. You will either need to cut back carbs more...or you may need another med that directly stimulates your pancreas. But I would at least start with that and see what happens.

 

[andrews]

thank you again for all your help x. Please all hints, tips or help would be greatly received.

 

[andrews]

Quick question.

Is there any natural way to boost the activity in my pancreas, i suppose its the multi million pound question.

I also see that there are a lot of very helpfull people from the USA and many thanks, thank you.

 

[Shanny]

Quick question.

Is there any natural way to boost the activity in my pancreas, i suppose its the multi million pound question.

I also see that there are a lot of very helpfull people from the USA and many thanks, thank you.

There are drugs (like sulfonylureas) that will stimulate your beta cells to put out more insulin, but the tradeoff is that they wear out & die quicker. When we're in this for the long haul, it seems the better option to rest our weary beta cells if we can, so they can live to produce more insulin another day. Once they die, they're gone forever.

 

[onaughmae]

Quick question.

Is there any natural way to boost the activity in my pancreas, i suppose its the multi million pound question.

I also see that there are a lot of very helpfull people from the USA and many thanks, thank you.

There is no "natural cure" for diabetes. As Shanny said, there are drugs that can stimulate your pancreas if you need them. There are drugs that help lower insulin resistance. There are drugs that are a combination of both if thats what is needed. The only drug-free options there are is to get regular exercise, lose some weight (if you need to), and count, count, count your carbs.

 

[andrews]

Thanks.

I think i will stick with Metformin and try to look after my beta cells and count the carbs.

My weight is a small concern as at the moment i am about 18st 10lbs which is not bad as i was 19st 11lbs when diagnosed. I could loss weight faster but i would rather loss it slowly and keep it off.

My energy levels are really, really low and this morning my blood sugar was 7.7 and still not moving or coming down.

Thanks again.
Lee

 

[Shanny]

Try cutting back on your carbs & see if it doesn't start moving downward. If you can sharply reduce or eliminate the potatoes, pasta, rice, and bread for a few days - just see how it works. Be sure to test after your meals as Pam mentioned. If you want to test twice, you can test at one hour after eating and you'll see how much of a spike your meal gave you. Then as she said, test at two hours after your meal and you should be coming back down to nearly normal. If this isn't happening, then continue to reduce your carbs until it DOES happen.

Don't go hungry! Eat plenty of protein (meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, etc) and plenty of fibrous carbs (leafy greens, cabbage, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, artichoke hearts, nuts, avocados, etc.) and be sure you're getting enough fats to keep things moving along - butter on your hot vegetables, full-fat dips for your raw vegetables, real cream in your coffee, etc. Be really careful of low-fat products, since they are often loaded up with carbs ti replace the fat that's been removed. Be careful of milk because it's loaded with lactose - another sugar. Low-fat and skim milk is even worse than whole milk. If you must have milk, use whole milk or half & half. You're a diabetic now, and the fats are your friend - they help retard the absorption of what carbs you do eat.

Read labels closely and avoid anything with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) or any other corn products like corn syrup solids or starch.

You can do it, Lee . . . I know you can do it. Keep testing and adjusting your diet. If your metformin isn't causing any gastric side effects, your doctor might consider increasing it to three times a day.

Do keep us posted. We all want you to succeed here!

 

[andrews]

Hi all,

Thank again for all your help, i really do appreciate your advice. I realise now that i need to adjust my life style, diet and mindset more than i thought.

However, i am tempted to make an appointment with my doctor to boost my Metformin form 2 to 3 per day, is there any other medication that you recommend that i can get from the NHS or private which will help me control this burden on us.

Thanks again.
Lee

 

[breezeonby]

Hi all,

Thank again for all your help, i really do appreciate your advice. I realise now that i need to adjust my life style, diet and mindset more than i thought.

However, i am tempted to make an appointment with my doctor to boost my Metformin form 2 to 3 per day, is there any other medication that you recommend that i can get from the NHS or private which will help me control this burden on us.

Thanks again.
Lee

Hi Lee! When I was diagnosed 10 years ago, T2, my doctor prescribed Metformin, but it made me sick, too many gastro side effects so my doctor put me on Glipizide XL 5MG. It worked for 5 years along with diet & exercise, then I needed to go on insulin. I am once again using it along with Actos & insulin. Glipizide is not very expensive. Enjoy your day!

 

[andrews]

Thanks.
For all you help.

I am totally lost in that i am slowly starting to loss weight, my wife is on the Lighterlife diet plan where she puts here body in to Ketosis to loss weight.

These few couple of days i have cut my carbs right down to a point after a urine test that my body is also near the Ketosis state of very very low carbs in my system showing 0.05 which very low.

The problem is i tested my blood this morning and it is up to 8.6, i'm struggling to understand how the hell do i get the readings down?

 

[onaughmae]

Thanks.
For all you help.

I am totally lost in that i am slowly starting to loss weight, my wife is on the Lighterlife diet plan where she puts here body in to Ketosis to loss weight.

These few couple of days i have cut my carbs right down to a point after a urine test that my body is also near the Ketosis state of very very low carbs in my system showing 0.05 which very low.

The problem is i tested my blood this morning and it is up to 8.6, i'm struggling to understand how the hell do i get the readings down?

If I am remembering correctly...you are taking metformin only? How are your sugars after you eat also? If you are still having problems getting control and you are curbing your carbs and taking your metformin as you are supposed to...you might need some other medication also. Check your bg after meals also...see if you are staying high then as well as in the morning. If you are still running high and have cut your carbs down as you say then you may need to talk to your doctor about adding something else.

 

[andrews]

Thank you Onaughmae.

I have cut carb down, i have many times gone to bed hungry as i am worried about my morning blood sugar reading.

When i take a reading before meals they are usually around the 8.0-8.7 mark, after food it spikes around 11 to 12 mark and takes over 2 hours to come down.

Thanks

 

[onaughmae]

Thank you Onaughmae.

I have cut carb down, i have many times gone to bed hungry as i am worried about my morning blood sugar reading.

When i take a reading before meals they are usually around the 8.0-8.7 mark, after food it spikes around 11 to 12 mark and takes over 2 hours to come down.

Thanks

It sounds to me if you are eating low carb and your readings are still that high after eating you most likely need more medication. I would keep a log of all your readings, what you ate (number of carbs) and take this info to your doctor. If you are doing everything you can and still cant get control then your body just needs more help. Metformin alone is probably not enough for you.

 

[Shanny]

And Lee? Going hungry won't help either, because when your body needs food, your liver dredges up some glucose & dumps it in your bloodstream. Eat some cheese or a deviled egg or any other protein-rich food. Shoot! Eat a hot dog, if you have to - just don't eat a bun with it!

I think Pam is right - your doctor needs to see a log of everything you eat and what/when your readings were.

Hang in there, my friend.

 

[breezeonby]

Hi Lee! I agree with Pam & Shanny. I would talk to your doctor about more or different medication. The only thing that I know would bring your blood sugar down is insulin. I would suggest Lantus as the best basal/background insulin. 90% of those who use it only need to take it once a day. Some people take a dose in the morning and a dose in the evening. I take it at 9PM every evening and it works very well. With the right dose, you can achieve the AM blood sugar that you are wanting so badly. Good luck.