So I've only been diagnosed with diabetes for a year, My original A1c was somewhere in the mid-50s (7.2%) and I got down to 52 (6.9%) but it spiked up to 69 (8.5%) recently and I think a lot has to do with me developing a new chronic illness (suspect POTS but not yet diagnosed) and I read that it can cause blood sugar to go up. I'm on 2000mg metformin which I've been on all year, and Mounjaro for 3 weeks now (got it prescribed after my last A1c which had the increase.) Now that history is out of the way I'd like some advice on how to manage my diabetes better. Book recommendations are also appreciated!

My biggest hurdle is diet. I am autistic with a history of both restrictive and binging disordered eating behaviours which I've mostly healed but they do get set off if I try to track my eating (I've tried recently). I'm an intuitive eater and somewhat picky with food so if I'm craving something I need to eat it otherwise I won't eat at all (also can't eat anything I don't crave). Luckily I've cut out a lot of the major issues I had with diet (energy drinks, sugary drinks - now sparkling water. Eating more veg/fruit. Less instant noodles.) but I still eat a lot of crisps/chips (1-3 small bags a day), a good amount of sweets and chocolate (not an aburd amount, i buy one bag of each to last me the whole week).

Exercise isn't something that's possible for me due to moderate-severe me/cfs but I do have a physiotherapist to work on small things with me in that department. My bigges issue is diet since I've been reading posts from this sub and everyone's diet is so strict and put together whereas I'm just not taking it seriously enough. I know the advice would be see a dietician but I'm in the UK and the NHS one clearly had no training on autism/mental health and I can't afford to go private.

I went and picked up fresh sourdough bread from a woman who bakes it herself. No added sugar or anything "weird". I had half a slice of sourdough and on it 1.5oz ham and spicy mustard. I also ate half a cucumber dressed in apple cider vinegar. Starting BG was 106 (a little high for me) after 2 hours my BG was 99. After 2.5 hours I am at 93 BG. The highest my BG got during that time period was 111.

Shouldn't I have seen something show on my meter by now?

So I just got this thing, and calibrated in the evening last night while the readings were stable. Got woken up 3 times with low alerts, the first 2 I checked with my verio flex and they were accurate so at 230am I had a half a sandwich, 5am a sip of juice, and 9am (which was the lowest reading at 57) I just ignored and went back to sleep for an hour. I didn't die so I guess I'm fine and I'll calibrate again today at some point. As far as I know these readings are all correct not just compression of the device as they were mostly backed up with blood testing. What can I eat to stabilize me better overnight? Has this been happening all along and I didn't know?

Had a BKA left leg in June. Had the right great toe amputated 4 weeks ago. Now Lisfranc dislocation of right foot with total dislocation of remaining 4 metatarsals, and the cuboid bone. I have Charcot arthropathy btw. Use to not have sugars in check, but 2nd to last a1c was 6.0 and the last a 6.4. I was starting to work on a prosthetic for the left but now in the hospital and a long recovery before I can resume that pursuit. I just feel hopeless, I worry about the mortality rate (I’m 40). And just feel like throwing in the towel because I am a burden with no one to take care of me and no solid anything (car/house/income. Waiting on SSDI as well.

Probably has been covered, But I've been a diabetic(T2) for alittle over a year. My doctor gave me a few CGM's to test and I thought they were great. No more finger stick. And they're $70 A PIECE! Can't get a RX because I'm not on insulin, FINE! Long story short:

Why can't I just buy a CGM?

Thanks.

Recent T2 diagnosis, on metformin (500 once daily) with an A1C of 6.3. Have been running longer distances, and I find that I feel really different in the days I take metformin be for my run vs afterwards. (I feel better, can maintain my regular pace more easily if I wait to take it.) considering starting a glp-1 in place of the metformin as I’m struggling with food noise and overeating in a big way. (I’m a woman in my 50s) Distance runners, can you share your experience on ozempic/mounjaro/similar? I want to sign up for a half marathon and a marathon, and am trying to figure out how the switch might change my training plans. TIA for advice & suggestions!

So, I have prediabetes and ALL the markers of Metabolic Syndrome...working to control through exercise and medication. The part that puzzles me is diet....for blood lipids, the recommendations are low saturated fat, high fiber, mostly plant based.

For glucose control, the recommendations are low carbohydrate, which translates into animal foods and often, saturated fat.

So is it a choice between dying of early heart attack or slowly dying from diabetes? I am serious, not attempting to be snarky...thanks

Between ring and middle finger, there is like a 30 point difference. Is that normal?

I’m not sure if my sensor is busted because this kind of has been the normal lately. I am all over the place and my diet hasn’t changed much. Can stress or things like that affect your blood sugar ?

I truly believe I might be struggling with a refined sugar addiction, as I find it hard to get through a day without something sweet. A few months ago, I received a diagnosis of prediabetes, and it was a complete shock to me, though I should have expected it lol. Even though I've made efforts to reduce my sugar intake, sometimes managing to go a few days without it by sticking to fruits and sugar free drinks, I often slip back into old habits, especially during times of stress or my menstrual cycle. Food brings me comfort, but despite trying multiple approaches, nothing seems to provide a lasting solution. I can't help but wonder if my struggle with sugar is akin to a drug addiction. What do I do?? Are there other alternatives I could seek?

OK, so I was diagnosed with an A1C1 of 6.5 back in late December 2023. Lost 85 lbs since then. I do fasting and sometimes I've been skipping my meds...I had a bit of a diabetic burn out after sticking to my guns for almost a full year. And I had lots of carbs and bad food for almost a month. Today, there was a late Halloween movie party. Pizza. Pasta, Bread, sweet drinks, candy. I decided, what the heck, it's worse then what I've been eating lately, but ill go back to being healthy in November. Losing my job didn't help my eating this month either, so in guessing depression. I also haven't been checking my blood sugar much and when I do, it's close to 5 usually, sometimes 4.8.

Anyways, I have all this. I don't drink any alcohol except for maybe half a cooler, so no hard liquor. It's around 10:30 pm with the last of the crap I ate....so why is it that by 1:00 am (I spike between 2-3 hours with heavy carbs).

Why is my blood sugar 5.2 mmol? Some kind of miracle?? I've been fasting and I really haven't exerciced much this month due to the stress and depression, so I guess I kind of gave up. I ate out a lot. Didnt take my meds often, maybe few times a week. Didn't do much walking as I slept a lot. I ate healthy in moderation, but still had lots of things I usually didn't get to eat that usually spiked me (i wasnt checking my blood sugar so i have no idea what my body has been doing lately)..all this plus the stress should be making my insulin resistance worse, no? Why is my blood sugar after all the weight loss suddenly normal? And even lower then my hubby BS who was also at the party?

I'm seriously confused. Am I diabetic or not? Or it it a fluke? I tested 3 times...5.2. I also had carbs for breakfast and lunch (yes, I know, don't come after me, I've been stress eating).

8 months ago. I would of never dream of those numbers with a carbs and veggies after 3 hours.

Was it the weight this whole time? Did I catch it early enough? And lost the weight in a timely matter? Please help, I know it's not curable, but I keep reading articles that some scientist claim if u catch it really early on and since the pancreas can heal itself, u can reverse it, but it has to be supper early and fast weight loss.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

P.S. please don't be angry at me or judge me I haven't stopped crying in weeks due to the depression and I couldn't help it.

Does anyone else here have IBS and/or Celiac disease? If so what have you done to control your blood sugar aside from medication? I have to have something like rice or bread before I eat so I don’t get sick when I eat. And the bread has to be gluten free. But controlling my diabetes with diet alone is proving impossible and very stressful. Any help or advice will be highly appreciated.

Has anyone taken this and did you have any side effects?

Anyone else here with Hashimoto’s who needs to take Levothyroxine first thing in the morning and then wait an hour before you can eat? Does this impact your fasting blood sugar levels? Do you test before the Levothyroxine or an hour later? I’m not sure if what I’m doing is affecting my blood sugar levels. Any help is appreciated.

Who else is on trulicity with xigduo? Is it normal to be this bloated? Been on it for 6mos and I haven't lost weight. Instead I feel so lethargic, bloated and gassy everyday. I also had some bleeding recently. I'm getting so scared to go back to the doctor. Sorry for my word vomit. This whole thing is causing me so much anxiety.

I am not a doctor. I am not a nutritionist. I am someone diagnosed with diabetes. but I am open-minded and inquisitive. In the last week, I came across Dr. Joel Fuhrman: The end of diabetes. Before that, I read another of his books called Fast Food Genocide. He introduces a new diet to heal diabetes and swears by it. He claims its benefits are vast and can reverse many other diseases as well. It is mostly titled towards vegetarian diet. Well, how would you know if his word is right/scientific and helpful to you? I walk on egg shells a bit when it comes to diet. throw me a famous diet like keto and I still have some doubts if in the long term it would be sustainable. [I read the too much fat is not healthy for the body in keto]. How does one make a sound judgement in the jungle of diets being an average Joe?

In April of this year, I (44F) was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I had no symptoms; I went to the doctor for something unrelated and discovered my A1C was over 11. I was immediately put on insulin and metformin and was able to get my A1C down to 6.5 by September. After my diagnosis, I went through a battery of tests to determine the damage done. Everything was fine except for diabetic retinopathy in both eyes. I had a laser procedure that zaps the new, leaky blood vessels at the end of August, and a follow-up showed that things were looking good afterward.

Two weeks ago, I got off my computer, and my vision was suddenly... very weird. After lots of experimentation, I realized that I had two large blurry spots and slight discoloration in the peripheral vision of my right eye. It didn’t go away, so I went to the doctor, who noted two hemorrhages on my retina. However, he said the hemorrhages are "on top" or "above" the retina, I think meaning they aren't in a dangerous place where they could cause a retinal detachment. He also mentioned that we don’t typically treat these particular hemorrhages right away; they may resolve on their own, or a retina specialist might be able to do something with a laser if they don’t.

I don’t quite have the language to explain how strange my vision feels when both eyes are open, but I’ll try. It doesn’t just seem like a blurry spot in my vision—I still feel like I can see everything, but it’s almost as if I’m looking at a flat screen? Or, like when you close one eye, you know how you can still see everything in your field of vision, but it feels off, like you're missing some information? I dunno, maybe “weird” really is the best word I’ve got.

Happy to hear about anyone else’s retinal woes if you’ve gone through something similar or just want to commiserate or vent. I know things could be way, way worse, and I’m grateful that there doesn’t seem to be any worry about permanent vision loss at this point. But… I am still feeling a bit sorry for myself. My world looks incredibly strange right now, and it hasn’t shown any sign of change in the past two weeks.

I have been recently diagnosed & I am on 36 units on m3 insulin. I also take metformin 500mg does anyone else have pain from it? It’s majority of the day with the feeling of trapped wind without the gas and relief. Does this go away? Or is it a long term issue to have pain? Blood sugar is gradually lowering by 0.5 per week. I don’t think the high protein diet helps. I’ve also actually gained weight in the last month but look slimmer.

Tought i would post my results now that i have my hba1c results.

Male, 35, type 2 diagnosis 2 months ago. A1c roughly 8.7% (72mmol/mol).

Immediately started on low carb diet and walking 3 times a day after meals. Once a month had passed by, began intermittent fasting (16/8).

Two months have passed now and the new bloodwork is finally in! A1c 5,9% (41mmol/mol) and i have lost 15kg weight. My starting weight was 105kg and i am 190cm tall.

First weeks were very hard for me, but i adapted to the new lifestyle. I still ate some treats on the weekends, had a pizza with beer every now and then when going out to eat with friends. I just made sure to get up and move after eating.

I chose not to take any medication to begin with, cause i believed i could do this on my own.

Still ways to go, but tought i’d share my story. At first the diagnosis really got me down, but hey, thats life. Adapt and move on. Thats my mentality now.

I am a pre-diabetic and fortunate enough to have a Libre 2 sensor. This morning before I took my 500mg metformin pill I had 1 piece of toast with peanut butter and a greek yogurt. I noticed within 1 hour my sugar rose slighty to 7 before coming down again. Later in the morning I had a toast again and an apple and had no noticeable move in sugar.

My question is how fast metformin works and how long it stays in the system. I notice my sugars are higher between 4pm and bedtime and was curious if it started wearing off towards the end of the day or if it's what I'm eating causing higher sugar in the later half of the day. I'm curious about other's experience with metformin. Thanks in advance.

Gave birth in end Feb 2024, had gestational diabetes throughout pregnancy and diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes after giving birth. Not keen to take any medicines, just trying to keep the sugars down with diet. Before food 6.7 after food 8.3, is it very high? I don’t know what to expect but to control my diet now. I am on Libre sensor for 2 weeks now, just monitoring what spikes my sugars that’s all. Anyone in the same situation as me?

I just wanted to say this, because I know a lot of people actually feel the complete opposite, and I think it deserves to be shared:

I am not afraid of being on a medicine to help treat my diabetes. I am not one of those people striving to “white-knuckle” it through life without any of the things that I love. I do not think there is shame in using tools to help us be our best selves. I believe science can help us live better and longer lives.

I say this because there are people who will need to be on diabetic meds and there’s a lot of “try to control this naturally” and frankly, there are times it can’t be. I take Mounjaro. I could not have white-knuckled myself to a healthy weight or healthy blood sugar no matter how hard I tried because there were metabolic and hormonal issues that needed to be treated in order for me to control my diabetes and reduce my body weight.

There’s no prize for doing it without meds. Good for you if you want to and can or if it’s the best path to health for your body and life, but no path is better than the other if they are all leading to a healthy place. And I see a lot of people shaming and that makes me sad. Every time I wonder “are you scaring people away from having conversations with their doctors about things that could actually help them live a better and healthier life?” I think so.

I was diagnosed with an A1c of 11.9 and weighed 240lbs. (5ft 11in tall). With Metformin and really a lot of unsustainable diet restriction I got to 175lbs and an A1c of 7.0. But I was miserable. Never any cake. Never any pasta. Never a cookie.

So I asked for help, I asked for a GLP1 to see if the level of difficulty in maintaining a healthy diet was something that could be addressed with metabolic treatment. Right now, 11 months into that journey I have an A1c of 6 (and going down) and I weight 143lbs which is right in my goal range. I could not have gotten here with that blaring food noise in my head clouding my entire body from doing what I know intellectually is healthy and good in terms of food choices.

I just write all this to say, if you use meds and you see all the folks saying “you should strive to not be on meds! You should do this naturally!” Just know you’re not alone in your choice to use the tools at your fingertips to make your life better.

And I had three pieces of candy last night ;) No bump on the CGM. Thanks Mounjaro. I mean it! <3

I just found out this morning, 6.5. I can’t stop crying, I have no one to talk to, no one to blame but myself. I’ve been stressing over these test results but My dr has been telling me for years to lose weight and that I was prediabetic, but my binge eating and depression took precedent and now it’s too late. Idk where to start, I feel like my life is even more over.

Hi all, so two days ago I had to change out my CGM since the 15 days for the Libre 3 plus was over. I’ve noticed today that I’ve been spiking higher than usual when I’m working out or when I eat the same breakfast I usually eat every morning. With my old CGM workouts would maybe spike to 120mg/dl and the breakfast I usually eat would spike up to maybe 140-150mg/dl. But with the new one I just installed it went up to 140-150mg/dl when I work out and 188-190mg/dl with the usual breakfast. I’m a little concerned and worried for these spikes and was wondering if you guys have any explanations? I changed the CGM placement to my right arm as the last one was on my left and I moved it up higher on my arm so it would be more in the fatty tissue above my triceps. My breakfast usually contains a cup of broccoli or green beans with 3 eggs and a Metformin pill. I would really appreciate any conclusion to this whether this is normal with CGMs or if I should contact my physician. Thanks! Also I could not check with a finger prick due to losing it on vacation recently… I’m hoping to get one asap from my pharmacy. I’m also kinda new to CGMs as this would be my second time applying one, any information at all would be really helpful! Thanks!

I’m thrilled to share what I’ve prepped for tomorrow’s lunch—a Japanese-inspired bento box that proves vegan meals for diabetics can be anything but boring! Here’s what I’m looking forward to enjoying:

🥢Soba Noodle Salad with Tofu – Chewy buckwheat soba noodles with crispy tofu and crunchy veggies, all tossed in a light sesame-soy dressing. This main dish has around 300 calories and 14g of protein. And the medium glycemic index (45-55) means it’ll keep my energy steady without a sugar spike.

🍠 Japanese Sweet Potatoes with Taiwanese Soy Glaze – A light glaze of savory Taiwanese soy paste to the natural sweetness of Japanese sweet potatoes with a sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. Each serving is about 130 calories with a medium GI (50-60), so it’s filling but easy on blood sugar.

🥬 Goma-ae (Spinach with Sesame Dressing) – This side of blanched spinach in a creamy sesame dressing is packed with minerals and healthy fats. At just 80 calories and with a low GI (15), it’s a nutrient-dense, delicious bite.

✨ Total Nutrition: ~510 calories, ~19g protein, ~74g carbs, ~14.5g fat, and ~11g fiber.

I can’t wait to dig into this colorful, nutrient-rich bento box tomorrow—it’s proof that vegan, diabetic-friendly meals can be flavorful and exciting!

Diagnosed in February with an A1C of 11.4. Currently on a 7.5 dose of mounjaro. I got my labs back today and I am officially in the 4’s with an A1C of 4.7! When I was diagnosed my LDL cholesterol was around 300 and my triglycerides were 688. My triglycerides are now 88! LDL is 188, which is way up from the 70 it was at 3 months ago when they took me off of atorvistatin. Looks like I’ll be watching my cholesterol intake to keep it in the normal range. Either way, I am pretty stoked on my progress in just 9 months!

I was diagnosed in February. I have two kids (5 and 8). I haven’t told them about my diabetes yet and am wondering how others explained it to their kids in a way that:

• doesn’t make then scared about me dying (they’ve seen a lot of sickness and the death of a family member)
• doesn’t make them afraid of sugar
• helps them understand why I make different choices than I used to
• helps them accept when I decline their offer to share something pure sugar

My diabetes is well managed. But I started wearing a CGM today and the questions are already starting. 😂

I looked it up and a banana has 34 carbs. I’ve been eating quite a few and it doesn’t seem to spike my sugar. I had 3 today and the highest my sugar has been is 142. Anyone else notice this?

If you have a cheat day or run into a food that spikes you how do you actually feel?

Just tired? Completely off? Sick like the flue?

What are you all feeling when things go wrong.

How long does it last? How do you recover?

They both have carbs AND fiber. I am reading a health book and it is greatly recommended in general for health. But I wonder if they are actually good for us? I have been eating oats for breakfast too for somewhile without checking on this.