Please Advise ASAP

[dustyinphilippines]

hi i am presently living in the Philippines and i have run out of my janumet 50mg/500mg tablets and they are not available here in Philippines the only diabetic tablets available where i live are Metformin 500 tablets, can i substitute these for the janumet ? your advice much appreciated

[dustyinphilippines]

hi there Super Sally thanks for advice, besides being a diabetic i am a PWD so walking is out as much as i would love to walk again, yes i am overweight due from not able to walk no more, but i have always been a big man even when i walked previously, i tried insulin injections when i lived in china but the bruising on my stomach in the end hurt too much to inject the insulin so i went onto tablets for last 2 to 3 years i am not too keen on injections again,, where i live here in Philippines is isolated and the only reasonable hospital is a ferry ride then 6 hours b y car to a hospital in CDO. when i lived in china i was told by another expat living there a long time diabetic that it is ok for blood sugar levels to be between 5 and 10 but i find that if my sugar levels go below 6 then i get all shakes and if it does go higher than 12 i go blurry eyed. i had a friend in china another expat that had a daily blood sugar wreading of 17 i think that would be extreamly high

[Super_sally888]

Dusty,

hope you are not being as flooded where you are as we are now in Manila.

Your fasting blood sugar between 7.8 and 10 (140 - 180) are way too high.  Normal is < 5.0 (90).    You must be going much higher after eating. With such high sugars you will definitely end up with complications of diabetes in the future.    Do you know what your Hba1c is?  

I think you should be on insulin. The cheapest insulins are Humalin-N and Humalin-R.    Can you discuss this with a dr. there to get you started on insulin?     So many people with diabetes are undertreated here in Philippines and then end up with so many (preventable) complications.

Are you overweight?  if so, losing weight may help.  Try to walk or do some exercise after eating.

Let me know.

[dustyinphilippines]

hi there super sally888 thanks for your advice i live on a little island only 3 pharmacists  here and the local doctor and hospital are ??? well i would trust a vet before trusting them again, my last experience with a broken leg was enough to put me off after 3 weeks i had to go to CDO to get a fiberglass cask on leg,  well my sugar levels are between 7.8 and 10 each morning and my blood pressure are on average of 123/75 each morning at 5.30 am i do not drink sweet drinks, no beer, no smoking and no bread and little rice, yes it is very frustrating that here in Philippines shops run out of items and do not replace them until they wait a month or two till next order is put in again.. salmat for you advice cheers DustyinPhilippines

[Super_sally888]

Hello,

Janumet is a combination of Januvia and Metformin.

Did you try a different drugstore?

I also live in Philippines and hate how they sometimes run out of medicines.  It has happened to my insulin sometimes.  And sometimes no test strips available.

Ideally you ask your Dr.  

Metformin alone will only partially replace the Janumet, but would be better than nothing.  

How is your blood sugar?  Would also be helpful if you can reduce your carbs / sweets and rice, and increase exercise to also help with your blood sugar control.