[KeithH17Participant]

Had a visit from the Diabetic nurse today and have been given the blood sugar testing kit and prescribed a low dose of Gliclazide to get the glucose levels down. It went from 13-20 in the space of a week (normal being 4-7) but today it showed a reading of 17.5 which is slightly better. The next step will be Insulin if Glicazide doesn't do the trick but I'm going to try and do it with diet if I can as I don't want to go the route of a fully fledged diabetic and have to inject insulin for the rest of my life. Sometimes I think the Doctors are too quick to reach for the Meds before maybe trying a more natural method. Problem is I start the Dex again tomorrow and because Dex has caused all of this in the first place the glucose readings again are going to be influenced by the steroid use. Everything else seems to be working ok but with still 2 more cycles to go on high doses of Dex it's going to be very hard to get a grip of the Diabetes before it becomes permanent. At least the MM has been hammered into the ground so I'll settle for that and get on with it.

Good health to all.

Keith.

[tomParticipant]

Hi Keith

Well we get meds to make us better??? but those in turn make us Ill with something else (strange world this is)
BUT am pleased you have got somthing to help. good luck with the dex 🙂

Tom "Onwards and Upwards"

[ElizellenParticipant]

My husband was diagnosed as type 2 diabetic when he turned 55 years, and has gradually moved up the "ladder" with his medications. However 10 years ago (when he was 70) I dropped all grains and sugars (lowcarb eating) and he ate the same things that I was to encourage me.

After a few months on Atkins his numbers dropped right down to the normal range and for a time he was taken off all his metformin etc as he exhibited no signs of being diabetic.

Unfortunately he never really looked into the theory of lowcarb eating or liked the foods I ate much, so bit by bit he went back to eating bread, porridge, marmalade, chips, sugar etc and is now back to taking metformin and glipizide to keep his numbers "normal".

Several diabetes specialists in USA nowadays recommend eating lowcarb (or at the least dropping all grains and sugar) and it seems their patients often reverse the process by following their advice.

Maybe if you have time do some googling for "diabetes and Atkins" or "Diabetes and Low carb eating" to see if it seems to be something you might want to experiment with.

Love
Eliz
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[KeithH17Participant]

Hi Eliz just noticed your post. My high Glucose is caused by the very high doses of Dex I am taking. I record my blood sugar levels 3 times each day and it's after taking the Dex that the rises occur,when off the Dex it falls away. I do have a very good diet,never been overweight and short of becoming a Vegan I don't think diet is going to help me very much. Although I was told that the first 4 cycles would be the hardest due to the high levels of steroids my PP's have already dropped from 29.68gL to 1.2gL after less than 2 cycles which imo makes a strong case for dropping the Dex levels asap to prevent me from ending up with a condition that can be easily prevented.
Obviously I'm not a Doctor but for me it's a no-brainer and I'll be making this point at my next hospital visit on Monday.

Thank's again Eliz.

Keith.

[DaiCroParticipant]

Good for you Keith… I doubt that your PP's will shoot up if your Dex dosage comes down… job done, so get that Dex down to the best level available.8-)

Regards:-)

Dai.

[KeithH17Participant]

Hi All went to hospital today and saw Diabetic nurse who agreed that diet was not the issue and that Dex was. This was also agreed with the MM nurse after seeing the glucose readings which substantiate it. Now I have a week off everything the blood sugar readings should hopefully return to normal. On the downside the Consultant wants to continue with the Dex dose as it is for 4 cycles but then reduce to 4 days of 40mg for the first 4 days of the cycle only and maybe less than that depending on blood results. I am also suffering from spasms in my hands and feet which could be down to Diabetic neuropathy which is being made worse by the Revlimid and the nurse said she would be speaking to the Consultant with the possibility of reducing the Rev dose. If it's not one thing it's the other but it's a balancing act as we all know. Anyone lucky enough to avoid all of this in the beginning will surely enough be caught up at some point in the later stages as you and I can witness Dai. MM is a progressive disease throwing up different challenges as we go through the journey. Another thing is my sulphur levels are too low so I now need tablets for that, a problem I last had during my last sct. Latest bloods as follows Hb 9.3 Platelets 41 Neuts 1.0.

Take care all.

Keith.

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