An update on the meds. After 4 weeks on the Avandamet I had gained over a stone in weight, pushing me over the sixteen stone and adding over 2 inches to my waist. Apart from the fact that trousers don't fit and shirts are tight, the biggest threat to my health is, according to my diabetic specialist nurse, the extra weight around my abdomen. It is this weight in particular that seems to affect the ability of the body to produce sufficient insulin and to deal with the sugars in the system. It seems strange to me that the very drug that is supposed to resolve my diabetes problem is actually exacerbating it.
My GP has prescribed Xenical (120mg orlistat) alongside the avandamet to help me lose weight. After taking it for two weeks, I haven't lost weight, but I have seemingly stopped putting it on. I have stablised at 16s 2ib and a 39" waist. That is over a stone heavier than I want to be, and 2 inches more around my waist than is healthy or advisable.
What at first I put down to the xenical, i.e. an absolute need to be no more than 3 paces from a toilet, I now suspect was food poisoning. Two days after starting the xenical I was suffering greatly from the gallops (actually, more of a slow knees together shuffle, in a quick sort of way), and I strongly debated whether I would be able to cope with xenical, but that only lasted around 48 hours, and now I am back as I would normally be. With the violent lower gut / stomach pains I had as well, I am now more inclined to put that down to a gut infection of some sort.
Ongoing I have blood sugars averaging at 6.9 around 3 hours after food. My BP is averaging 150/90 and I have no energy, absolutely no energy to do anything. It is a struggle of willpower to get up and go to work. By midday, I am absolutely wasted, and I am in trouble if this is the long term future for me. Right now, I don't even have the energy to write, hence the authoring has slowed down to a virtual stop. My mind is still active, I just really can't be bothered to type much.
So it seems that I shall need to review my meds once more when next I see my GP.

Couple of different subject matters for todays post. Wry Interest and Health. First the wry interest:
Well, I thought that nothing much would take me by surprise, in a pleasant way. This standard from the British Standards Institute BS 6008 proved me wrong. ISO 3103 would appear to be the same standard but regulated by the International Organization for Standardization. I suppose if I stop and think about it logically it shouldn't really suprise me, but I always supposed that 'Standards' would be more for things like bricks, or glass or other tangible objects and measures. I suspect that this is my failing and not that of the standards organisations. In reality anything that could be made in a repetitive process should have a standard methodology, it just never occurred to me that a cup of tea was any such thing.
ISO 6668 then gives us a standard for preparing coffee, and I should imagine that any number of odd things that we do day in and day out can also fall under the auspices of the standards bodies.
Okay, off to check ISO6668, I'm a tad thirsty.

Now the Health:
Just come back from the GP. Good news and bad. The blood sugars have stabilised at between 7 and 8 prior to eating and he is happy about that (as I am !), BP still a little high at an average of 150/90, and I am suffering weight gain (1 stone added in 4 weeks)as a side effect of the Avandamet. A bit of fine tuning and so an Update on my daily meds.

Avandamet (4mg rosiglatazone, 1000mg metformin) twice daily

xenical (120mg orlistat) thrice daily (New for me!)

aspirin 75mg mornings

perindopril 4mg mornings

amlopidine 5mg mornings

doxazosin 4mg night

simvastatin 20mg night

oxycodone 5mg twice daily (pain killers at last!!!!!! :-) )

Net result of all the meds is a general feeling of queasyness, an 'upset tummy' most of the time, some cracking headaches and let's just describe me as 'loose'. But the upside is that the Blood Sugars are under control and the BP is down from where it was, ( i was getting 200+ over 100+), that has to be good for my long term health. It'll be interesting to see how things go with the fine tuning that the new meds will bring. My GP also managed to get my opthalmic appointment bought forward at the local hospital, and now I have an appoinment tomorrow. Now that is what I call service.

Back into the office yesterday for the first time in 2 months. It was quite strange, but good to see everyone again. But Lordy Lordy, after 5 hours I was completely shattered. My arms felt bruised, very odd.
Disquieting reading in the internet today about the new drug regime that my Doctor put me on. According to Washington Post there are side affects with Avandamet that are scary. The data sheet for Avandamet Avandamet also lists a strange side effect - Unexpected Injury. What the hell is that? I never knowingly injure myself, and I am sure that virtually all my injuries over the years have been unexpected.
Despite the scares and the concerns I can report that since dropping 500mg metformin + gliclazide and going onto Avandamet (1000mg Metformin and 4mg of Rosiglitazone) my blood glucose levels are averaging higher at 5.9 rather than 5.3 and the SD is higher at 1.2. Mode value also increased from 5.9 to 6.2. The spread of readings has gone down from 6.4 to 4.1
So I can expect fewer complications and a gradual settling. I have not had a Hypo since moving to the new regime, and my eyes do seem more settled and less prone to variation across the day.
But having had reported reduced liver function (partially the reason for giving up alcohol)and sharp chest pains, reading the Washington post report is unsettling! I have added 5lb to my weight since going on to Avandamet, and that is in only two weeks. But I guess that the risks and side effects of the Avandamet far outweigh the risks of untreated diabetes.
I shall live long!