[moon]

I was dx'ed just 10 days ago and saw an endocrinologist today.

At the ER they prescribed 1k Metformin 2x/daily, and my endo is keeping me there. I asked him if he thought down the road I might be able to reduce it, and he said there was no reason to because Metformin doesn't bring BS down below where it should be, and there is no downside to taking 2K/day.

I'm so oriented towards 'less is better' with prescription meds, that this surprised me.

Also - a testing question. I wanted a script for more strips than 30/month and he said there was no need to test more than once/day. I said I wanted to know what effect various foods and meals had on my BS, if there were bad spikes, and he said that only matters if one is taking insulin. Since I'm on meds, I can test once/day at various times of day throughout the month.

 

[beefy]

I was dx'ed just 10 days ago and saw an endocrinologist today.

At the ER they prescribed 1k Metformin 2x/daily, and my endo is keeping me there. I asked him if he thought down the road I might be able to reduce it, and he said there was no reason to because Metformin doesn't bring BS down below where it should be, and there is no downside to taking 2K/day.

I'm so oriented towards 'less is better' with prescription meds, that this surprised me.

Also - a testing question. I wanted a script for more strips than 30/month and he said there was no need to test more than once/day. I said I wanted to know what effect various foods and meals had on my BS, if there were bad spikes, and he said that only matters if one is taking insulin. Since I'm on meds, I can test once/day at various times of day throughout the month.

First, the max dosage for Met is 2550mg per day (regular) and 2000mg per day (Extended-Release), if I'm not mistaken. So 2000mg per day is pretty danged near the max.

Many dr's start you on 1500mg daily, 500mg TID (3x per day). If your sugars are out of control, and you're not having major issues with possible side effects of Met, 2000mg certainly isn't a terrible place to start. When you're sugars are better controlled you can always look at reducing the dosage. I know I will be, but that's not for a while yet so I'm happy with my 2000mg daily (ER) for now.

If you're having issues with the side-effects (most people that experience side-effects have gastro-intestinal issues and/or diarrhea - of course, not everyone experiences side effects...) the first step is patience, because it often doesn't last more than a few weeks. If it shows no signs of letting up, you can look at the extended-release versions of metformin which most people find have less side-effects, but is a much more expensive prescription.

As for testing ... I personally believe your Dr. is wrong. Any diabetic, especially in the early stages of controlling sugars, needs to test, test, and test some more. Testing 1x per day will NOT give a picture of what's happening regarding your fasting readings, food spikes, postprandials, etc. And all those need to be looked at to determine overall control.

I'd personally be LOST without testing. Initially I tested 7x a day, now it's anywhere from 3-5 times. I plan on lowering it as I learn more about how things affect me, but I have no problems with testing as much as I do, and am glad that I do.

An A1c will tell your Endo/Dr. how things have been over 3 months... but without multiple tests during the day, you have no way to fix problems that affect the A1c...

 

[Shanny]

As for testing ... I personally believe your Dr. is wrong. Any diabetic, especially in the early stages of controlling sugars, needs to test, test, and test some more. Testing 1x per day will NOT give a picture of what's happening regarding your fasting readings, food spikes, postprandials, etc. And all those need to be looked at to determine overall control.

The crux of the issue is do we want to learn about our disorder? Do we want to gain control by knowledge of how our bodies handle (or DON'T handle!) carbohydrates? Do we want to be at the mercy of docs who aren't terribly well-educated on diabetes and usually aren't diabetic themselves? This is our battle & we need all the information we can lay hands on - the answers are LITERALLY right at our fingertips! So test, TEST, TEST!! Find out what happens when you eat a plateful of spaghetti. Find out what happens when you eat a generous helping of chocolate cake. You need to know these things! So I agree - your doctor is wrong.

 

[breezeonby]

I was dx'ed just 10 days ago and saw an endocrinologist today.

At the ER they prescribed 1k Metformin 2x/daily, and my endo is keeping me there. I asked him if he thought down the road I might be able to reduce it, and he said there was no reason to because Metformin doesn't bring BS down below where it should be, and there is no downside to taking 2K/day.

I'm so oriented towards 'less is better' with prescription meds, that this surprised me.

Also - a testing question. I wanted a script for more strips than 30/month and he said there was no need to test more than once/day. I said I wanted to know what effect various foods and meals had on my BS, if there were bad spikes, and he said that only matters if one is taking insulin. Since I'm on meds, I can test once/day at various times of day throughout the month.

I don't understand the testing issue. You are doing the right thing to be testing to see if a food spikes your blood glucose. And blood sugar spikes that only matters if taking insulin, don't understand this at all. Maybe you could get a meter from Walmart and their test strips, they are cheap and will provide you with much needed information. Maybe your endo thinks that you aren't going to eat any carbs?

 

[ThoseBackPages]

in the beginning, testing often is a MUST.

when i started, i was testing 4 times a day: fasting, and 90-120 min after each meal.

with tight control, i was able to get it down to testing twice a day: fasting and before dinner

you HAVE to test test test, there is no choice in this matter, honestly

 

[jwags]

In the beginning my doctor started me off on 1000mg of metformin. I have increased that 3 times . I now take it 3 x 850 per day and see pretty good results. I've only had a few lower bgs in the 60's and that was after I had drank too much wine. Metformin also has other cancer fighthing benefits so there is no reason to reduce it as long as it is working. In fact most diabetics have to add other medications to it to keep bgs below 100 eventually. Some of us have to add a long acting insulin as well. As far as the testing strips, many of us have to buy our own strips. You can find cheap extra strips at Walmart or on the internet. I buy mine at Amazon since my insurance doesn't cover my strips until I meet a very high deductible. But testing is important but few insurance companies agree with us that T 2's not on insulin need to test a lot. My doctor feels testing twice a weed is more than enough.