My doctor said I was type 2 diabetic and put me on metformin. 500 mg twice a day with food. I have been monitoring my blood glucose levels closely. My waking level is 150-170, pretty high and as high as 200 an hour after meals. I follow a strict diet of no/low sugar, no white carbs. lean proteins and lots of vegetables. I messaged my doctor that I was concerned that my levels were still high ON Metformin. He has not messaged back. Any ideas? God help me I don't want to go on Ozempic...it makes you puke...
I need datalounge medical advice!
by Anonymous | reply 39 | December 11, 2022 9:42 PM |
Call him, my husband died due to complications from diabetes. Don't fuck around. If he doesn't respond, find another doctor.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | November 30, 2022 11:59 PM |
The Ozempic side effects calm down after a few months, OP. š
by Anonymous | reply 2 | December 1, 2022 12:00 AM |
OP, keep a close eye on your liver. My husband never drank alcohol and cirrhosis killed him.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | December 1, 2022 12:04 AM |
OH OH OH don't go on Ozempic you will never get that damn jingle out of your head and you will go crazy.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | December 1, 2022 12:07 AM |
Poor big fat thing, I condole you.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | December 1, 2022 12:12 AM |
It looks like erysipelas.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | December 1, 2022 12:14 AM |
Ever heard of cardio?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | December 1, 2022 12:15 AM |
Keep a food diary . Detail times , amount of portions consumed, etc. record all bs results . Journal all your exercise ā times, what you did, etc.
If you have any unusual symptoms during the day , record as well.
While your at it, take blood pressure four times a week, at different times.
If your doctor has the MyChart bullshit you can send it there but chances are it wonāt be read.
Bring two copies to your office visit. Find a doctor or nurse practitioner who will review it with you in detail . Maybe you are eating fruit at night ā high sugar . Also see nutritionist to review your food plan.
I know itās a pain in the ass but you must be your own advocate .
by Anonymous | reply 8 | December 1, 2022 12:42 AM |
[quote]Keep a food diary.
Water. Water. Water w/lemon Water Tic-Tac Water Water Water Water
by Anonymous | reply 9 | December 1, 2022 12:46 AM |
What's your A1C, OP?
by Anonymous | reply 10 | December 1, 2022 12:49 AM |
Get off your ass and start walking for at least a half hour every day.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | December 1, 2022 12:49 AM |
Trulicity works similarly to Ozempic. It cut my appetite a little, and lowered my A1C. No nausea, just less desire to overeat. I lost around 12 lbs on it.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | December 1, 2022 12:51 AM |
OP here. I should have put it in there but I am 180 lbs about 20 pounds over my ideal weight but not morbidly obese by any means. I have seen a nutritionist and it's why I am on the food I am. I only eat three times a day, and follow the plan religiously. We did a full test of my glucose reactions to the things I eat. I do get a temporary increase with sweeteners but nothing sustained (Stevia seems to be the best, oddly monk fruit raises it the most). I work out five times a week split cardio (stairs machine) with weight training (my ass still gets compliments lol. My family has a history of high BP which I am on medication for (amlodipine with a diuretic in it). Type 2 is new at my levels he said I was borderline pre- but just called it type 2 because of my BP issues. I should also add I have a high resting heart rate - 90 sometimes 80 but usually in that range. I have a stress test scheduled in a few weeks. I never monitored my heart rate when I exercise and have a Galaxy 4 watch on order for that but I have not dropped dead from cardio yet and have been doing it for years.
There is a history of cardiac issues in my family though - my blood uncle was healthy his whole life but had 90% blockage in his 60s, and my 30-year-old cousin dropped dead from a fully blocked corotid. I am just wondering if the Metformin takes some time to get BS down if I was living like that for a while or if it should work faster?
by Anonymous | reply 13 | December 1, 2022 2:22 AM |
If one eats a lot of sugar long term, but exercises and remains trim, can they still get type 2? Is it directly correlated to sugar consumption?
by Anonymous | reply 14 | December 1, 2022 3:03 AM |
"corotid"
Oh, dear!
by Anonymous | reply 15 | December 1, 2022 3:09 AM |
R6- Thank you Dowager Countess
by Anonymous | reply 16 | December 1, 2022 3:10 AM |
Susceptibility to diabetes is at least partially genetic. Some people can process sugar/carbs better than others (of course, in the caveman starvation days it was probably those of us whose bodies put on padding very easily who were the luckier ones).
by Anonymous | reply 17 | December 1, 2022 3:14 AM |
[quote]My husband never drank alcohol and cirrhosis killed him.
Too much fruit/fruit juice with fructose can cause cirrhosis too.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | December 1, 2022 3:14 AM |
Op/R13, you left out your height. Your weight alone doesn't tell the whole story.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | December 1, 2022 3:34 AM |
Donāt sell your kidney cheaply.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | December 1, 2022 3:35 AM |
I looked it up and Medformin starts working after a week but takes two months for the full effects to set in.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | December 1, 2022 3:37 AM |
Yes, Datalounge is THE place to come for medical advice. I remember back in 2014 I cam here for gall bladder advice and I was able to my own gallbladder surgery at home, saving me around 30k.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | December 1, 2022 4:12 AM |
[quote]and I was able to my own gallbladder
how embarrassing for you r22
by Anonymous | reply 23 | December 1, 2022 4:14 AM |
Make an appointment first thing in the morning with another doctor. Get a second opinion. Fuck it. Print shit out and walk in with folders if you have to. Get as smart as you can about your own medical issues. No one else is watching. At all. Please don't think your doctor spends one minute thinking about your/your health other than when he is in front of you.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | December 1, 2022 5:18 AM |
Metformin is generally first line for type 2 diabetes. I think it's reasonable to give it a month or two with the medication, diet and exercise before adding another medication or increasing the dosage. Metformin is generally well tolerated and can help with weight loss. One negative is that it usually decreases testosterone levels. Probably won't significantly on the dose you are on, but might be worth checking in a few months and especially if you increase the dose.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | December 1, 2022 11:05 AM |
My Husband is diabetic and takes the same medication in the same dose. He had this problem too, with his sugar running high. What helped was exercise and being extra vigilant about what he was drinking and eating. He had to cut bread out almost completely and boy, that was painful for him. Carbs are as bad as sugar in your diet. Be careful because this disease is no joke, it messes with your vision your overall health.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | December 1, 2022 11:26 AM |
Diabeetus
by Anonymous | reply 27 | December 1, 2022 11:36 AM |
I take 1000mg of metformin 2X day and it works great at keeping my A1C in check. My PCP and I are really pleased.
Best of all it's generic and practically free -- $4 for a 90 day supply.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | December 1, 2022 11:44 AM |
You still havenāt told us your A1C level(s) but have said youāre not diabetic, youāre pre-diabetic. Thereās a considerable difference. Itās not type 2 unless your fasting blood sugar results from a lab are consistently over 160 and your A1C (an average of blood sugar levels for the past three months) is more than 6.5. (Different labs have slightly different ranges, but will be close to these numbers.)
There are meds - Farxiga among others - that treat both elevated blood pressure and high blood sugar. If youāre not on one, either the diabetes is minimal or you need more integrated care for both conditions.
by Anonymous | reply 29 | December 1, 2022 11:45 AM |
Ozempic side effects not only subside over time, they don't impact every user. I've been on it for almost two years. Very easy to use and almost immediately I lost 30 lbs. No joke. And no, I wasn't a fat whore eating whole pizzas - the previous diabetes drugs I took ironically caused weight gain. The lost weight was what I had put on when I started with those. Anyway, Ozempic also lowered my A1C to about 6, when it was almost 8 when I started. And yes, it's mainly genetic.
BTW, the actual fat whores (fraus and 'mos) have made Ozempic nearly impossible to fill now. They take it solely for cosmetic results while those of us who need it to, you know, live, have to wait for supplies to return to normal.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | December 1, 2022 11:45 AM |
OP here. 5'10" tall. my A1C is 6.2. My morning levels are 160ish. My Doctor messaged back saying the same thing - that it takes about a month or two and to not panic. Just take my levels a few times a day and report to him and we can check my a1c in a month.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | December 1, 2022 2:13 PM |
OP, perhaps your doctor doesn't like to give free advice (which is what your text is asking for). Make an appointment! If it's a medication follow-up they'll triage you pretty well.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | December 1, 2022 2:21 PM |
r32 haha on you :D - he replied just took a day. He increased my dosage and told me to monitor over the next week or so and if that does not come down we can change my medication.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | December 1, 2022 11:35 PM |
How long have you been on Metformin, OP? Medicines can take a bit to settle in.
You doc can up the Metformin dose if you're not getting the results you want. There's also a couple Rxs that can be added to Metformin before you go straight to injectibles like Ozempic.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | December 2, 2022 10:57 AM |
Avoid starting on sulfonylureas (glyburide/glipizide). They cause weight gain and ultimately exhaust the beta cells in your pancreas. Okay to up your metformin since you were only taking 500mg bid, but would suggest waiting a month between dosage adjustments as your blood sugar isn't really that high (not acutely anyway).
by Anonymous | reply 35 | December 2, 2022 11:29 AM |
R35 - Agreed. I gained 30 fucking pounds on a Glimipiride and it did shit for lowering my sugar. Doc switched me to Ozempic, and I immediately dropped the weight and my sugars/AC1 are now good. Of course everyone is different, but I would always warn people about taking Glimipiride. I'd love to get off Metformin too.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | December 3, 2022 1:48 PM |
Op here - I took r35's advice. I have not tested yet but staying on the metformin increase. I changed my workout to up my cardio which has helped to drop my resting heart rate. One thing I added was red light therapy for my BP. Holy shit. My ranges are now normal. It looks ridiculous (I put a small probe up my nose and this device on my wrist and it uses red light for 30 minutes, three times a week) but my hand to god it works. I may look into a red light panel..it sound hoaky but damn it if don't work.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | December 11, 2022 2:48 PM |
Lot of self-righteous assholes on this thread. Yes, exercise and eating healthy are a good start if you find out youāre diabetic. But not everyone who is type 2 diabetic is an enormous lazy slob sitting on a couch eating bon-bons. Iām 5ā10ā, 160, walk a lot and have always been active, participating in sports and going to the gym. Diabetes runs in my family. My mother, uncle and grandmother all had it.
Metformin did nothing for me, but the fucking medical insurance companies force you to start out with that and wonāt let you move on to better drugs until your doctor vouches for you. Iām on several drugs now including Ozempic, Tresiba and Synjardy. I fought taking so much at first, but Iām feeling better than I have in ten years. My A1C is now 6.0-6.5.
by Anonymous | reply 38 | December 11, 2022 4:45 PM |
R38 - Congratulations. And yes, Metformin has a strangle hold on diabetic drugs. There's got to be something up with that. To look at me, no one would think I was diabetic but yup, sure am. Runs in my family too. It's also more prevalent among Black and Latino peoples, and I think also Pacific Islanders.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | December 11, 2022 9:42 PM |