[junebug]

Hi... I have just been diagnosed with Diabetes type 2 and am having trouble getting my bg under 200. I have been reading the forums and am so glad to have a place to learn and share. I am on metaformin 500 2x day and in a another few days will increase to 1000 2x day and Lisinopril 5mg per day, although I do not have high blood pressure. The doc said it was to protect my kidneys. Hmmm...not sure what that means. I have been cutting out all carbs and testing. My morning bg has been over 200 every day, and today it was 250. Twice this week during the day I have managed to get it down to about 180. Last night I felt sick and dizzy and panicky and tested, it was 121! Any suggestions on getting these numbers down. Thanks in advance.

 

[moon]

Hi June - glad you joined us.

When you say you cut out all carbs, what do you mean? What is your typical diet?

It takes a while for bg to come down, and you're already experiencing it - congrats! Your shaky feeling at 121 is your body in the process of adjusting to lower numbers. It's a transition - you seem to be doing a great job of it.

There's no magic time for when your bg will stabilize - progress is what to look for and you're making it.

Are you eating enough healthy fats? By healthy I mean not processed, and along the lines of butter, bacon fat, coconut oil, heavy cream ... I've found that invaluable and replaced my carbs with fat not protein.

 

[John.in.France]

Hi... I have just been diagnosed with Diabetes type 2 and am having trouble getting my bg under 200. I have been reading the forums and am so glad to have a place to learn and share. I am on metaformin 500 2x day and in a another few days will increase to 1000 2x day and Lisinopril 5mg per day, although I do not have high blood pressure. The doc said it was to protect my kidneys. Hmmm...not sure what that means. I have been cutting out all carbs and testing. My morning bg has been over 200 every day, and today it was 250. Twice this week during the day I have managed to get it down to about 180. Last night I felt sick and dizzy and panicky and tested, it was 121! Any suggestions on getting these numbers down. Thanks in advance.

:welcome: to the forum that none of us really wanted to join.

There is an automatic assumption on the part of some doctors that anyone who is diabetic is automatically either already hypertensive or will become soon fairly quickly. It's one of many myths you will find in your journey through the management of this condition.

As a primer, can I suggest you have a good look at Blood Sugar 101 and in particular, this bit How to Lower Your Blood Sugar.

Your panic/dizzy situation when you hit 121 last night is probably down to the issue of a "false hypo". You can read an in detail description here Diabetes Update: Type 2s: Understanding False Hypos but the quick explanation is that because your body has become used to running around 200, you get hypo signals at much higher values than you should. On your present medication, you should not normally get a real hypo but if in doubt, test yourself. Only treat your "hypo" to some glucose which will correct the symptoms within a few minutes if you are below 70.

If you do treat false hypos, you are merely putting obstacles in the path of your true aim - getting yourself down to safe levels.

Please feel free to ask all the questions that you want here - most members are happy to share their experience although we can't provide medical advice and you do need to balance our comments against the advice that your doctor gives you.

John

 

[junebug]

Thank you for all the information, John and Moon. !! I guess I am in a hurry to see results. I was glad to my bg down but didn't like the way the false hypo made me feel. Thanks for the info about not treating it. I did have a couple crackers with peanut butter. I have been feeling bad for a long time, like years, but associated the symptoms to problems with my thyroid, and just dealt with them. The symptoms have gotten worse since the beginning of the year, and this month has bad enough that it scared me into going to the doctor.

Yes, I have been eating low carb, high fat as suggested here. I ate cheesy eggs and sausage for breakfast, and a piece of chicken and tomato for lunch. I am finding I am not very hungry and have to make myself eat. I have already lost a few pounds but I am not really overweight for my height. I am 5' 8'' and weigh 153 but I must admit I have been plagued with belly fat and have eaten alot of carbs....bread, potatoes, rice and sweets in my time. I was at 170 at one time but slowly over the last couple years have lost weight without really trying. I have noticed that I have no leg or arm muscles, and that it is an effort to do much and if I do, I experience muscle burning. I also have a lot of tingling and numbness in my hands and feet, and sometimes I can feel it moving up. The doc said is was neuropathy. My eyes are especially sensitive to bright light, and I need to wear reading glasses. I hope all this is just temporary and as my bg becomes normal they will go away.

 

[moon]

June - all I can tell you is that you are a quick study! Seriously. You have grabbed this diabetes thing like nobody's business, and it's going to be a pleasure continuing to watch your progress.

And yes, your vision will stabilize, neuropathy lessen at a minimum, energy increase - all sorts of wonderful things will begin happening

 

[John.in.France]

Thank you for all the information, John and Moon. !! I guess I am in a hurry to see results. I was glad to my bg down but didn't like the way the false hypo made me feel. Thanks for the info about not treating it. I did have a couple crackers with peanut butter. I have been feeling bad for a long time, like years, but associated the symptoms to problems with my thyroid, and just dealt with them. The symptoms have gotten worse since the beginning of the year, and this month has bad enough that it scared me into going to the doctor.

Yes, I have been eating low carb, high fat as suggested here. I ate cheesy eggs and sausage for breakfast, and a piece of chicken and tomato for lunch. I am finding I am not very hungry and have to make myself eat. I have already lost a few pounds but I am not really overweight for my height. I am 5' 8'' and weigh 153 but I must admit I have been plagued with belly fat and have eaten alot of carbs....bread, potatoes, rice and sweets in my time. I was at 170 at one time but slowly over the last couple years have lost weight without really trying. I have noticed that I have no leg or arm muscles, and that it is an effort to do much and if I do, I experience muscle burning. I also have a lot of tingling and numbness in my hands and feet, and sometimes I can feel it moving up. The doc said is was neuropathy. My eyes are especially sensitive to bright light, and I need to wear reading glasses. I hope all this is just temporary and as my bg becomes normal they will go away.

When I was diagnosed, I was about 30 pounds overweight - Six months later, I was down to my current weight of around 150 pounds - eating high fat/reduced carb. However, the spare tyre round my stomach was very slow to go. Yet again, patience is the only answer.

There is one other issue you need to be aware of if you have recently changed to a reduced carb diet.

Your body is a creature of habit. It has to learn to enjoy the fats and for a week or two after you swap to high fat, you are quite likely to have what is frequently called "carb flu" - because that's what it feels like. Aching legs and a bit short of get up and go. Again, it will pass and you'll suddenly find you've got a lot more energy than you remember having for a long time.

You should find that many of the neuropathy issues will reduce as you bring your blood glucose under control but some may not - it all depends on how much damage has already been done.

 

[stewchi]

I am about 2 weeks ahead of you, i started on 500mg of met and the first week got a lot of headaches and dizzy and blurry vision, after the 1st week the prescription increased to 1000mg. I again felt headaches and dizzy, light headed etc for a few days. That first week I felt like I was going to pass out I got so light headed, by BG was 187! I didn't have any stomach issues at all but I am starting get a funny taste in my mouth which is another side effect. My carb flu was great, I felt fine and was able to get my numbers down into the 70s and 60s, but it has rebounded and I am struggling this week to stay below 100, I think my body has figured out I stopped eating carbs and is getting faster at making glucose out of protein.

 

[Shanny]

I think my body has figured out I stopped eating carbs and is getting faster at making glucose out of protein.

Just ask foxl about this . . . she's our resident termite & seems to be able to make glucose out of just about anything . . . sawdust, shoe leather . . . very frustrating! (oops - forget the shoe leather - she's a vegetarian. )

 

[David Burke]

Faux shoe leather then.

Sent from my iPhone

 

[junebug]

Wow, this is wonderful. I got lucky and found this forum and decided I wanted to go with the winners, those that had diabetes and were treating it successfully! Thanks everyone for your input. I see I am going to learn a lot here. I feel better just knowing that I will feel better soon and am on the right path.

Guess I am going thru the carb flu. I am feeling very tired. In fact, I just took a nap. The aches and pains have been there for a while, so I am use to that. Just very tired and weak. I can't wait to feel better....and loose my spare tire. My daughters don't like it either because they inherited spare tires too. I don't seem to have too many problems with the metformin. It did mess my stomach up a little the first couple days, and have had some headaches. Getting ready to increase up to the 2000 tomorrow. I am wondering if I really need that much? I was thinking I will take it for a while until my numbers are right and then try slowly decreasing the amount I take and see what happens. Has anyone done this and had good results?

 

[moon]

Getting ready to increase up to the 2000 tomorrow. I am wondering if I really need that much? I was thinking I will take it for a while until my numbers are right and then try slowly decreasing the amount I take and see what happens. Has anyone done this and had good results?

This is precisely what I have done. I started on 2000 mg Metformin and Glipizide. Not a recommended way to slam one's body, but moving on...

Dropped the Glipizide in a couple of weeks I think, then 1000 mg of the Metformin maybe late last year? Earlier this year? Forget. Got a brief uptick in number but then came back down. A couple of months ago I stopped altogether but got a jump bigger than I was comfortable with, so started back with 500 mg only. Soon I hope to drop that and see what happens.

Definitely doable! But my advice is to stabilize where you want to be first - and if it takes more met to get where you want to go, then personally that's what I'd do.

 

[junebug]

Thanks Moon. Yes, that's what I want to do too but I will wait until my numbers stabilize like you suggested before making any changes. I know sometimes we need medication but if I can manage without it, then that is my goal.

 

[VeeJay]

June, you've done a great job so far in controlling the D beast.

A few things:
1. Re: muscle aches. Are you on statins? They can cause muscle and joint pain.

2. Re: "carb flu" - sometimes temporarily increasing salt intake can ease those symptoms. (Did for me.)

3. Re: sensitivity to bright lights. I went for a long time seemingly oversensitive to sunlight - moreso than others around me. About 2 months into the low-carb diet and having near normal BG numbers I discovered I was no longer grabbing for the sunglasses every time I went outdoors. I would never have guessed that my light sensitivity was a symptom of diabetes.

 

[junebug]

Thanks Vee Jay. No, not on statins. Was not on any medications until diagnosed a week ago. Been having these pains in my hands, feet, legs and other areas for a few months now but they have gotten progressively worst. Maybe from the neuropathy?? I will increase my salt and see how that works. I think I might have read that somewhere else come to think of it. Looking forward to healthy bg's!