When will BG come down? Newly Diagnosed.

[jenlynn]

Hello,
My boyfriend who is 46 was just daignosed with type II one month ago. Immediately he started changing his diet, going low carb and was put on Metformin 2 X per day. When he was diagnosed his BG was 385. His fasting blood sugars are around 200-220 still. during the day, after meals it is about 170-180. He is trying to start exercising. One night it was 220 and after 20 minutes of exercise it was 125!! the lowest number yet. He just got his AC1 test-no results yet. How long should it take for them to come down? He is not cheating on his diet. He hasn't lost weight yet, is trying to lose about 25 pounds. He is 6'2 and 250. He smokes a lot. He was very sedentary and would go a day or two without eating anything and then would have a HUGE meal. So I think his metabolism is messed up. He wants to get better. His diet is great, he is trying to exercise a little bit each day. He is not willing to stop smoking but says he will soon. I think he needs to grasp this daignosis first. He is NOT feeling well and has missed a lot of work.

Any advice would be GREAT.

Thanks!!!

[princesslinda]

Welcome Jen! Glad you found the forum. Hopefully you'll learn lots of good things here and maybe your boyfriend will look around as well. It was very encouraging to me to see all these folks going through the same things I was going through, made me feel not so alone.

Kudos to him for making such major changes so quickly!

It can take a few weeks (usu. around 3) for metformin to reach optimal levels in the body. That being said, he should be seeing gradual improvement. It may be that he will need more than just the metformin, depending on how long he went undiagnosed and how much insulin he is actually producing. Diabetes is a progressive disease, and most T2s will at some point end up adding meds or insulin to get good control.

Does he test often? Its so very important to test 2 hrs after your first bite so you can see how different foods affect blood sugar, and make smarter food choices. We're all different in our carb tolerances, so testing is the only way to know.

Let me recommend a great book for you both, "The First Year, Type II Diabetes," by Gretchen Becker...a MUST READ for T2s, as it has lots of information on all aspects of T2 diabetes.

He's lucky to have you in his corner!

[Achilles]

My numbers were high too a week after diagnosis (last month) but with the Metformin, low carb diet, and exercise I started to see the numbers come down (in the morning) from the high hundreds to the mid hundreds within a week. After week two it was mid to low hundreds. Now after a month, it is almost always 90 - 110 in the morning.

I still struggle with the after meal numbers as I get spikes above 180 but I'm learning what I can and cannot eat.

As far as the smoking, I know that is a tough thing to give up too especially for a newly diagnosed, but in the long run it has to go. As an ex smoker, I found the Walgreen's generic nicotine gum 4 mg to calm my cravings when I needed it as a crutch.

Give the Metformin some time to help out as long as he is making enough of his own insulin. Exercise at least 4 - 5 times a week for a minimum of 40 minutes does wonders too. I find that lifting weights (at least for me) helps my numbers tremendously even on the days after workout where my body is recovering.

Good luck and welcome.

[davef]

Hi there,

As Linda and Achilles have said you/he needs to give the Metformin some time to work. I'm on 500mg twice daily and it took about 3-4 weeks for it to kick in.

I would highly recommend the book Linda mentioned, I got it on her recommendation after I was diagnosed and found it very informative and easy to read. In fact the Father of a friend is reading it now and he has had diabetes for 10 years, he says he is finding out new things from the book!

Not sure what your boyfriend is eating, but watching his carb intake is very important as those pesky carbs will cause his sugars to spike. I rarely eat white rice, pasta, white bread or potatoes and it really has helped my management of diabetes.

It is great he has made such a great start on managing his diabetes, it will pay dividends he just needs to give it some time. Encourage him to join us here, there is lots of informtion and the people here are great for support and help.

Also, well done you for taking time to understand your boyfriends disease and learning about it, he is a lucky man.

[xMenace]

He's done well so far. Get him out walking daily. It's vital.

[notme]

Hi Jen, Welcome to Diabetes Forums. I think it is great that you are being so supportive. Make sure your boyfriend does not test right after his meal. Give it two hours and then test. Exercise is key in his case. He should not only do aerobic type exercise, but he should also try and do some weight training or resistance training.

Check in often and let us know how it is going.

[Scrabblechick]

Welcome to the forums! I've posted before that I was on Metformin about six weeks before I really started to see numbers I was happy with. It's also possible he needs his Met dose raised.

Even 20 minutes of walking will REALLY lower his BG. But congrats to him on staying with his diet and making positive changes.

We all want to see the results of our hard work YESTERDAY! I know how that feels. Keep encouraging him--maybe even to peek in here and see if he learns something. I know I have!