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the doctor hasn't suggested it yet. he wants me on the meds for a month then get another blood test then. still not exactly sure what foods to eat either. the admin at the office said she'd put me in touch with a nutritionist to make an appointment.
as far reversing, i have heard of situations where type 2 was reversible. not saying that's my case but one guy told me that he had high trigs that was causing him issues and his doctor told him to just change his diet and get his trigs down and he should be fine. not sure how that worked out or if its even true but that's what he told me.
You shouldn't wait for the doctor to prescribe a meter, because the way to figure out what you can eat is to test before and after you eat so you can see what different foods do to your bg. Trying to figure out how to take care of your diabetes without a meter is like shooting in the dark.
Walmart has a generic meter for $16 and strips for $9 for 50 strips. I use those because the ones my doctor prescribed would cost me $25 (my copay) for 50 strips, and I'd still run out before the end of the month. You have to buy a $5 lancing device too.
Diabetes is for life until a cure is found for the disease. One may we well controlled and consider the condition reversed, but that is not how Diabetes works. Hopefully in our lifetimes a cure will be found, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. My personal opinion is a cure could have already been found for Diabetes. You can fill in the lines on that statement with your own views.
As far as Metformin goes. Many do have side effects and for some reason some don't. I will tell you though if one finds they are not tolerating regular metformin properly. Try the Extended Release form of the drug. It seems to be much easier on the system than the regular form.
I also feel that at least a certain segment of Diabetics are predisposed to this disease. Such as a family tree of Diabetics in families. I know in my case both my parents and one set of grandparents were Diabetics. None of us fit the criteria of a lifestyle that would cause Diabetes. Yet I have met so many people in my life, that are overweight and eat a poor diet. Yet have no signs of Diabetes. Very strange disease.
I did not do well on Metformin (even with my insulin my A1c kept around 9 percent), so my doctor switched me to a new medication, Kombiglyze, which is a combination of Metformin and Saxagliptin. Really helped with no adverse side effects. Last few A1c's have been around 6.5 (plus I became real serious two years ago about cutting out carbs in every form).
just curious - when you say 'did not do well' do you mean it just didn't do much good in lowering your A1c or that you had bad side effects?
When I first started taking metformin, I had an upset stomach and loss of appetite for about 6 months. It was really quite awful, but then I got used to it and have had no problems with metformin at all since then. It keeps my fasting blood sugar in a good range.
As for reversing diabetes, if you truly do have diabetes, I don't believe you can reverse it. Even though my diabetes is well controlled, my weight is normal, and my A1c is below 6, my body still doesn't know how to use carbs...sugar stays in my blood instead of going into my cells to be used for energy.
My body will never be able to handle sugar like a nondiabetic's body does.
just curious - when you say 'did not do well' do you mean it just didn't do much good in lowering your A1c or that you had bad side effects?
It simply did not help control my blood sugar levels. I also take insulin, and the Metformin is, according to my understanding, supposed to make the cells more receptive to receiving insulin.
After a few years with my A1c stuck around 9 or 10 percent, the doctor made the switch. Taking the same amount of insulin (Lantus and Novolog 70/30) my A1c for the past year has been around 6.5 percent.
I do not recall having any adverse side effects to Metformin, although I did gain weight (although it is hard to quantify that it caused it), and I did lose some weight after switching over to Kombiglyze.
Ive been on metformin Extended Release for 4 years now. My a1c is 7.8 now its 5.1...I am very ultra sensitive to all Meds, and it worked great for me I didnt have any side effects and I have side effects to EVERY medication recently still trying to figure that one out...I lost alot of weight on it as I also changed my whole way of eating..As of This week Dr took me off of Metformin, I was taking 500mg 2x a day then they dropped it about 1 year ago to 1x a day now im Off it.
Im glad you found that it is working for you good luck
Headache is a side effect of metformin, irrelative of whether you are taking it for diabetes or polycystic ovaries.
Other known side effects of metformin are listed below.
Get emergency medical help if you have any of these symptoms of lactic acidosis: weakness, increasing sleepiness, slow heart rate, cold feeling, muscle pain, shortness of breath, stomach pain, feeling light-headed, and fainting.
Stop using metformin and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects: feeling short of breath, even with mild exertion; swelling or rapid weight gain; or fever, chills, body aches, flu symptoms.
Less serious side effects may include: headache or muscle pain; weakness; or mild nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gas, stomach pain.
This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.
I am a person who had terrible side effects from Metformin, and at the same time it didn't lower my A1C at all. There were times I felt like I had symptoms of diabetic acidosis (this was on the ER version, too!) My heart would slow and beat erratically, I would feel weak and like I was going to pass out, slightly dizzy and nauseous,etc. Right now because I am so otherwise healthy, my doctor is letting me see if I can lower it with my diet, exercise and certain supplements (which have previously helped). I am one who is very, very sensitive to any meds, I cannot even take aspirin, I have severe side effects (swelling, hives, etc.)
Metformin can take a couple of months to become effective. And your blood glucose has to be lower for a couple of months to show a change in your A1C.
Sometimes just getting used to lower BG can make a person feel pretty bad.
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