Hi there, I’ve been a type 2 for years & on various tablets including metformin & 2 gliclazide tablets a day. I’ve hit day 12, stuck at it & sugars have dropped between 6.5 & 7 for a few days which I’m pleased about although eyes a bit blurred at the moment. I’ve just taken 2 blood sugar readings at 3.7 & 4.0. Is that too low? & should I consider dropping off 1 gliclazide tablet if it’s the same tomorrow?

Hi Bazil66
I’ve just seen this and wondered how you got on yesterday with your blood sugar readings.

I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes last August. However, I’ve never been on any medication so have no experience of managing medication while doing BSD. But, if it helps, I self-test my blood sugar levels regularly and if they drop below 4.0 (which they have on a few occasions) I’ve always eaten something (even if I’ve felt OK). Sunshine-girl who posts regularly on here and who has a lot of experience of being on insulin and other diabetes medication, advises that if bgl readings go under 4.0 then you should have a small snack like yoghurt and prunes or a slice of ham.

In terms of glucose-lowering drugs like Gliclazide it does identify in the BSD book that it’s worth discussing with your doctor as ‘they may have to be stopped because they can push your blood glucose abnormally low’ (pge 64). It might be a good time to have that conversation with your GP (or have it again!)

Having read many of her posts I know sunshine-girl advises that if you are cutting medication e.g. Glicazide or Metformin, then to do it very slowly and gradually. Hopefully at some point s-g will see this post and feed in her views. Meanwhile it might be worth searching for ‘low blood sugars’ or ‘gliclazide’ in the search box at the top of this page to see her advice to others.

Hope this is of some help. The real positive for you is that the BSD is working – that’s great news – it’s just, as you say, the lowering blood sugar levels and the level of medication you take need to be managed. Let us know how you get on.
Marie x

Bonjour a tous, yes I am still around though not joining any challenges as yet. Bazil66, 3.7 is very low and I would be interested in when you take your Glicazide and when you have the low readings. I used to take 3 tabs each morning (90mg) and my afternoon / early evening readings were very low same as yours so I dropped one of the tablets so now take 60mg Glicazide as it is the tablet that causes very low BG. As Marie said, I recommend doing it very slowly so would maybe break one in half and and one and a half per day and see how that goes, if you are still low you can lower to one. With symptoms like blurred vision you need to do something to counter it immediately, again as Marie says, a small snack like yoghurt and a couple of prunes should bring your levels back up. In the old days I used to panic and quickly eat something like a jam sandwich – which was really not helping me with my weight – thanks to BSD I now snack on protein like some chicken or ham and the trusty Greek yoghurt (full fat of course). You might want to discuss getting rid of the Metformin completely as it does very little but he might be very resistant as not many doctors have our belief in the diet or any diet really. They think we will just go back to our old habits (and some people do) so it is up to you to show him / her that you mean business. I am sure the quick results you have seen in your BG will convince you to continue with the diet. Good luck.

Hi Marie & sunshine-girl, thank you both for your advice. I panicked at the time of the readings last night & unfortunately ate a choc biccie. Ironically I always have a tub of full fat Greek yoghurt in the house for my brekkie but thought it needed drastic action- anyway checked bgl in morning & it was 5.4. I take a 80mg gliclazide tablet in the morning & 1 in the evening. I’m on 4 x 500mg metformin a day ( 2 morning 2 evening) alongside 1 x 5mg linagliptin (recently prescribed – was told its insulin if I don’t deal with it). I took half a gliclazide this morning to start reducing slowly. Was 6.2 after morning dog walk & after a lunchtime shopping trip was 7.4 which is ok according to the daily records I’ve been keeping. My major worry is continuous blurred vision from about 5 days ago. I can see almost perfect with my glasses on, but I’m hoping for an improvement in the near future. So happy with weight loss & sugar levels – not so with eyes. Last year I spoke to my diabetic nurse to get the ok about going on the diet because of the gliclazide issue, but his lack of interest “there’s loads of diets out there that will help” was all he said. Left me demotivated & I gave up after a week (me looking for an excuse too I suppose). My weight hasn’t come off this week after 8lb in week 1 – so wonder if the metformin is the issue as mentioned. I’ve got a check up due in the eye hospital on the last week of the diet (early May) so hopefully no damaging changes then (I have mild retinopathy in one eye from my in denial years). Anyway apologies if I’m rambling – not thinking too straight at the moment – moments of exhilaration followed by stress & fear. Thank you again for your responses – Baz

I remember when I first started the diet, my blood were in the 8’s and my HbA1c had come in at 8.2 due to a disasterous diet plan from an ‘expert’ when I was usually 5.8 or 6.2. When I saw such a dramatic drop I did a post called (I think) ‘what am I doing to myself’ as I was really scared. Stay with it and keep an eye (no pun intended) on yourself and your numbers and eat if you feel you need to – try keeping it BDS friendly. As for your eyes – you have had problems in the past so I cannot really comment. However, my sight improved after being on the diet a few weeks but it did eventually settle back to my normal glasses status. Keep your appointment and tell them you are on a much improved diet and let them see how your eyes are doing. You might like to look for KrysiaD as it think it was her that had real problems with her eyes and now has no problems at all.
We seem to have proved this diet works and now doctors are starting to talk about it but I understand that they might think we will not stick with it – but it is for us diabetics a lifestyle change not a fad. Keep with it.
One other thing, you are on an extra medication which is new to you and if you stick with this diet you might not need it. After about 6 weeks you should be asking your doctor for a review and a HbA1c.

Hi Baz
It can be scary when you see a low number. I started monitoring my blood sugars a couple of weeks after I started the BSD. The first time I had a reading below 4 (it was 3.8 or 3.9) it was such a shock. I had been so focused on trying to avoid a higher reading (8s or 9s) it had never crossed my mind that I would ever see a number that was too low; and I wasn’t on medication, so I think you did well having the chocolate biscuit. At least we both know better now what to do in future.

I did have blurry vision, but mine was just before I was diagnosed; it was one of the reasons I went to my GP. As sunshine-girl suggests get it checked out when you go for your retinopathy check-up. Or you could always phone them earlier for some advice if you didn’t want to wait.

For general info; I’d read of people experiencing changes in vision for a period after starting low-carb type diets on the diabetes.co.uk forums where other posters advised not getting any new glasses prescriptions for a few months as your vision can change while your bgl levels are dropping. When I asked the ophthalmologist at my retinopathy check-up about this, she agreed and told me to wait 3 months before getting tested for new glasses.

Hi Bazil66
Some really good advice here – you absolutely cannot go wrong if you follow it.
I also had the blurred vision problem when I was first diagnosed. My blood sugars were over 20 and I was immediately put in insulin. The blurred vision started very quickly ,and I was advised not to get new glasses for 3 months. The blurry vision did settle much quicker than that but because – even with insulin – i was still getting spikes after meals I ended up with diabetic macular oedema and retinopathy. The Lucentis eye injections saved my sight but I hated them.
Luckily at that time I was introduced to the BSD, which completely reversed the retinopathy and oedema – which was nothing short of miraculous. I keep to the BSD and eyes have stayed OK – probably because I no longer have after meal spikes in blood sugar (I still keep carbs quite low and follow the BED guidelines and always will).

I’m sitting on a bus on way to work – but after reading the posts & advice on here I’ve (almost) got a spring in my step! Thanks for the advice & reassurance to all of you – I need to make it work this time & this forum keeps doubts at bay – bgls past 2 days 4.6-5.6 so definitely working 👍. Thanks again Baz