I was just prescribed same RX    What has been your experience?

Been on it for 4 years and has done a great job with diet and exercise. It has been hard trying to figure out a diet that can help me with diabetes and my jpouch. Not a lot of nutritionist or doctors have seen both jpouch and type 2 diabetes.

Thanks for your reply. I became concerned about its effect on weight and stomach. Have had any concern about readings below 80. Your response was a great help

When I first started it I needed to keep something sugary around, because I would go around 80 too. It was also hard because I had been living at 120 to 180 probably for a long time so going that low I could really feel it. Now most of my readings are 90 to 120 with a ac1 of 5.8.

I just started the med.  Have you noticed weight gain or loss in beginning ?  Do you simple use the finger needle or are their better ways to test. You response has been very helpful  Thanks

I lost a lot of weight at the beginning to the point where I thought maybe there was something else wrong with me. But it was my diet and not getting enough calories. So I adjusted and have weighed my ideal weight ever since. I use the libre 2 sensor…it was a game changer because I could see what foods affect me without pricking the finger. Also my insurance would only let me use finger pricking three times a day. This allows me to look at anytime especially during exercising.

I very much appreciate your replies. I wanted to use the Libre 2 program as well. Can you tell me if your insurance covers or do you pay out of pocket.

My insurance covers it.

My endocrinologist has me on Invokana. Causes the sugar to leave my body via peeing. Also Diamicron which is supposed to help me release insulin so the sugar isn’t floating in my body. If you’re diabetic you know what I mean! And finally Januvia. All three of these meds I take once a day in the morning. I also take a statin before bedtime to help protect my heart. I have been diabetic for seven years, diagnosed six months before my cancer diagnosis leading to my j pouch.

My way of supporting my j pouch and avoid sending my diabetes blood sugar spiking is portion control. I love pasta, rice, fresh flaky croissant, all the white starchy foods you’re not supposed to have as a diabetic, but are good for the j pouch to help form soft or solid stool!  A dilemma. So I have pasta and rice, and croissant once in a while. But I watch the portion. I have to avoid raw vegetables because it makes my pouch seize up and stop. If you don’t want to bother measuring every bite of food, imagine a cup of pasta or rice or mashed potato as the size of a fist. A tablespoon of butter is your thumb size. Four ounces of protein is the size and thickness of your palm. Or a deck of cards. Give or take. But you get the picture. Divide your plate into three sections. Half your plate is well cooked vegetables. 1/4 of the plate is pasta or rice or bread, this is your carbohydrate. The remaining 1/4 is a protein, i.e., broiled or steamed fish, chicken, beef, tofu, whatever you’ll eat.

I started to make a very easy and filling soup, hardly any prep, that is good for my blood sugar and easy for my j pouch, helping it to form soft solid stools! I buy a bag of frozen vegetables - a mix of broccoli, carrots, squash, cauliflower, anything I like and will eat. Add half a carton of a good store-bought broth to a pot, add a cup or two of the frozen vegetables, a clove of garlic if you like, some grated ginger in the wintertime, maybe some chicken bones or pork bones to make the soup hearty and rich. And, if you have it, toss in some leftover chicken or ham for extra flavour. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 15 minutes. All the colourful vegetables will be cooked very soft so your pouch can manage it, and the rich broth will be delicious and hydrating, and filling. Any meat you added will probably be so well cooked that you can’t eat it but it’s okay, you’re only using it for flavour and to enrich the broth, that’s why I keep a zip lock bag of chicken or beef bones in the freezer. I also use the Freestyle Libre to scan my blood sugar. I hated stabbing my fingertips! The only time my sugar spikes and skyrockets, then plunges until I am dizzy and shaking, is when I eat huge portions of any white starchy food. Try the soup to stave off hunger in between meals. Being diabetic and managing a j pouch is a real challenge. Good luck to you.