Well, I just left the doctor’s office with my very own box of Metformin.
She’s starting me off on a small dose and wants to see me back in 6 weeks. Then she plans to do another full blood panel and check everything. We also discussed an endocrinologist and a nutritionist.
Per the meter, the highest was fasting 233 in the mornings, and about 150-200 in the evenings, the only really weird one was that day I felt so bad at 91, and that was in the afternoon, early evening. And so it continues.
And you’re right, PP, it has been a bit overwhelming learning about this.
[QUOTE=FrenchFrytheEqHorse;4583312]
I am also a Type I diabetic, and as such, have been insulin dependent since I was 5 years old. Clearly, it wasn’t a terrible adjustment for me, as I was so young.
The FIRST THING any new diabetic needs to do, type I or type II, is GO TO AN ENDOCRINOLOGIST. It is absolutely critical that you see a doctor that works with diabetics all day, every day. GPs typically have very little knowledge of diabetic-related issues- my pediatrician waited two weeks to send me to the hospital before I got my type I diagnosis. At 5 years old, I’d lost 17 lbs in 12 days. No one thought it necessary to check my blood sugar.
That being said, times have changed A LOT since then. There is so much new technology on the market that makes being any kind of diabetic easier. If your blood sugar levels are running 500+ on any kind of regular basis, make no qualms about it: you are putting your body at serious, serious risk for severe, permanent complications. Kidney problems, liver problems, thyroid problems, circulatory problems, vision problems… the list goes on. One way you can get an idea of your average sugar levels is getting a hba1c test which measures your average glucose levels over the course of the last 90 days or so. “Good”, by my endocrinologist’s standard (at Johns Hopkins, so a great hospital), is below 7 for an average adult.
I don’t mean to scare you into anything. Well-managed diabetes can mean absolutely no adverse effects ever occur over a lifetime. First thing any new diabetic should do is make an appointment with an endocrinologist, who can set you up with a great nutritionist where you can make sure that your diet is a good one for a diabetic. You might eat very healthily, but your choices in foods might be less than perfect for a diabetic.
To the poster that said they “strongly disagree” with carrying a high-carb snack- why??? High carb snacks (granola bars, etc.) are GREAT for sudden drops in blood glucose levels, particularly if one is out doing something relatively active/secluded. The OP mentioned she is an avid foxhunter. Finding herself several hours into a ride with a low blood sugar and nothing to eat that provides long-lasting elevation of said glucose level could be incredibly dangerous. What do you suggest a diabetic do to correct a severe low blood sugar? Short acting sugars will often only mask the problem until more complex sugars can be absorbed by the body…[/QUOTE]
Im a type 2 and was dianosed three yrs ago. From what they tell me yes, type 1 ppl and type 2 who are on insulin, are the ones who experience the blood sugar low spells. My step sister is a 27 yr diabetic and she is on insulin and does experience these. She always has something on her to correct it if necessary. I have not ever been told to keep something on me for low sugar episodes and none of the type 2 ppl i know who are on pills for it have either. Maybe thats wrong, but from what I get out of it , that’s the difference. INsulin dependent ppl have low sugar spells and non insulin diabetics are not likely to and usually don’t.
The non-scientific answer is that many Type II’s will crash WORSE/FURTHER with carbs.
Protein and some fat is the key snack for us. If I have a high carb snack, I will crash lower, harder and far worse.
And as mentioned above, hypoglycemia is less an issue for Type II’s–except for during sleep. Go figure.
So you really have to talk to your Dr/nutritionist/educator to find out what is right for YOU.
But for someone non-insulin dependant and new to the deal–I sure would hate to tell them to have a granola bar 
t’would about kill me. 
Jaeg… I just dug up my Dr. Bernstein book completely by accident… if you’d like, you may borrow it. Lemme know.
PP, that would be great! I’ll pm you my address, thank you so much.
I’m not as shell shocked as I was a few weeks ago, but it is still a tad overwhelming. there is a lot of information to try to digest.
And to top it all off, my other dr called today, there was something on my mammogram and they need me to come in right away for more tests, and there were some issues with a recent pap test.
Sigh. Well, I suppose it’s better to get this all over with at once. Happy New Year to me, right?
Yikes… :uhoh: the good news is false positives are fairly common on both paps and mams… will keep everything crossed that the 2nd checks are all clear!
I thought it was a little ‘coincidental’ that I found the book. (I really don’t believe in coincidence!)
[QUOTE=Jaegermonster;4599918]
PP, that would be great! I’ll pm you my address, thank you so much.
I’m not as shell shocked as I was a few weeks ago, but it is still a tad overwhelming. there is a lot of information to try to digest.
And to top it all off, my other dr called today, there was something on my mammogram and they need me to come in right away for more tests, and there were some issues with a recent pap test.
Sigh. Well, I suppose it’s better to get this all over with at once. Happy New Year to me, right?[/QUOTE]
Oh my, that is very scary! I sure hope they find things are alright. I will certainly be thinking of you and hoping for the best. I think it is important to try to not get all freaked out until you know for sure as many times these things are nothing. And I soooo hope that is so for you.
RN weighs in here…
Jaeg! Don’t be askeert! You’ll do fine. You’ll have to experiment to find out what works for low BS episodes for you. I used granola bars (Slimfast meal bars w/hi protein too)hunting too. Key is to learn your symptoms well and treat early.
I agree with the A1C reading as a better indicator of how you’re doing. Don’t obscess on your am/pm readings or any one reading. It’s the pattern over time that matters…AND…what’s normal for you (or any diabetic) is NOT the 80-120 BS reading thing. Remember, your body has gotten ACCUSTOMED to high sugars so you may get/feel hypoglycemic when YOURS drops below 140! Not 80. AND…you may not feel or be symptomatic at 280 or higher. etc.
I have normal A1C’s but must take low dose metformin to PREVENT hypoglycemic episodes & hunger. It will take a few weeks for it to kick in well AND you may have to experiment with WHEN you take it. Ex: am or pm etc. Remember, it doesn’t lower your BS per se; it smooths it out/allows your body to do it’s sugar utilization thing properly. You’ll still need to experiment too with diet. Especially on hunting days. May have to have a big breakfast eaten within X hrs of mounting up or taking your met earlier/later/after hunting etc. Work with your doc & dietician. Make sure they understand the extreme exertional nature of the hunting hours. AND most importantly stay well hydrated.
For ex: am BS might be elevated from mild dehydration. OR… Try doing your post meal BS check at 3 or 4 hrs and see. OR… Caffeine can seriously affect BS anytime of day. OR… So can stress…is dinnertime stressful? AND remember…how you feel may have nothing to do with your BS level. It’s gonna take time & testing to know that. Sooooo…go forth! Experiment! Learn!! Don’t worry, you’ll get a system going that works for you. Don’t try to be perfect - allow yourself to be “functional”!!!
Happy hunting my friend!! :yes::yes:
I did not know that about the caffiene, that’s interesting. How does it affect the BS?
And I’m ok about the other stuff too (the mammogram etc). I’m not a worrier, so I just refuse to think about it until after the follow ups are done in a week or so and go from there. Worrying about it won’t change anything and it won’t make it go away, it’s counterproductive and a waste of time 
Not a coffee drinker so I didn’t know about caffeine either. What does it do?
I agree with the poster above, any diabetic should keep a quick carb source near them or with them all the time. Anyone can have an insulin reaction and if you are driving a car or riding a horse it can be deadly. If you were not doing anything it might pass in a few minutes but that won’t help you if you crash your car into a wall before those few minutes pass! I have those emergency pills in my car and at home I general have milk (sadly full of carbs) or gatorade or M&Ms around. You don’t need much usually. A gulp of milk or juice is often enough for a type 2. But you need it available so you don’t fall and break something or crash your car (and maybe kill someone else).
here’s an update:
after a rough summer of my meds getting jacked up and down and feeling like crap, I finally got a referral to a Diabetes Center.
Due to some family history, at my last blood draw they checked for the antibodies for Latent Auto Immune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) and I tested positive.
So I don’t have Type 2, I basically have Type 1, just adult onset.
They started me on insulin on wednesday, 10 units once a day.
Today I hunted, and on the way home felt a little icky. I checked my blood sugar and it was 97, ate some lunch, still felt icky, blood sugar just kind of hopped around a bit and seems to have levelled out now.
I guess I’ll just wait and see where it goes from here and how long til I end up on a pump 
I’ve been following this thread because I’m also a Type 2 diabetic. They have me on 1000 mg of Metformin 2xday and Glipizide in the morning, if I can remember to take the Glipizide. I’m supposed to check my blood sugar level once a day, morning before breakfast or before lunch or before bedtime, which I’m lucky to check it twice a week. I’m lucky if I follow a decent diet. My blood sugar readings have been ranging from 107 - 188 over the last few months.
I’ve now found out my kidneys are slowly going bad but still in the low end of the normal range of kidney function readings. The VA Medical Center Renal Research asked me if I’d be interested in participating in a study they’re conducting on a medication that they believe might help slow down the process of getting kidney disease e and I said yes. They have me on Losartan and either a placebo or Lisinopril. This study is nationwide and I’ll be in it for another 3-4 years
Hi!
Pumps aren’t all bad!!!
I was diagnosed with adult onset type 1 at almost 30… well, actually I had gestational diabetes with my second pregnancy (27) which they said resolved after my son was born but the minute I got pregnant with my daughter (29) well, it wasn’t pretty and I’ve been on various types of insulin ever since.
Without boring you with my diabetic woes, the pump has given me so much more freedom and I can actually ride, train, teach and horse show without much worry.
For what it’s worth, in the beginning my BS was so high that when it finally came close to the high end of normal, I would start to shake and sweat and just didn’t feel right- as if I were hypoglycemic. And even now I notice if I get really low, my BS will bounce back up within 15 - 30 minutes but it takes me all day to feel normal again… I usually fell like I’ve been run over by a truck!
It for sure is a daily struggle for me but I try not to let it interfere too much… I have just had to learn how to fit it into my daily life!
-Liss
That’s exactly what happened to me. My BS was so high that once it got closer to normal I felt sick as a dog all the time. The last couple of days since I have been on the insulin, it’s been staying closer to normal with some fluctuation, and I felt kind of green all day today.
Mine is actually hereditary and genetic, the dr tested me for the antibodies for the LADA and it was positive, so it really sucks.
I take a 50/1000 Janumet in the morning and a 50/500 Janumet at dinner and 10 units of insulin around 9 pm, so we’ll see how that goes. Right now the dr has me checking my sugar 4x a day, logging it and sending him the log once a week which I think will get old quick but I understand why he wants me to do it.
I am so sorry to here that this is a form of type 1 and genetic:(, but I am glad that they figured out exactly what was causing it. Now they can treat it properly and you can get on with enjoying life:yes: Keep me posted!
[QUOTE=Jaegermonster;5161952]
here’s an update:
after a rough summer of my meds getting jacked up and down and feeling like crap, I finally got a referral to a Diabetes Center.
Due to some family history, at my last blood draw they checked for the antibodies for Latent Auto Immune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) and I tested positive.
So I don’t have Type 2, I basically have Type 1, just adult onset.
They started me on insulin on wednesday, 10 units once a day.
Today I hunted, and on the way home felt a little icky. I checked my blood sugar and it was 97, ate some lunch, still felt icky, blood sugar just kind of hopped around a bit and seems to have levelled out now.
I guess I’ll just wait and see where it goes from here and how long til I end up on a pump :([/QUOTE]
Actually an insulin infusion pump is one of the best (if not the best) way to control diabetes and allows you more flexiblity in your daily life. I train and manage patients on a daily basis on insulin pump therapy and have been since 1992. Please feel free to PM me if you have questions.
You might want to ask your endocrinologist about using a continuous glucose monitor – Dexcom is the most accurate one on the market www.dexcom.com. It doesn’t take place of your glucose monitoring but it can help alert you if your blood glucose is rapidly rising or falling and thus help you to “smooth out” your blood glucose control.
I’m only getting 10 units once a day, aren’t the pumps for people who need more insulin more frequently? I guess I’m just a little unsure about having something permanently attached to me, and wires and stuff. I suppose I’ll get used to it, this whole diabetes thing with me just started whenever I started this thread so I’m still sort of working through it all.
I’m so sorry to hear about this. Diabetes is a really terrible disease for anyone to deal with, but as people have said, it’s very, very, very manageable. You learn to live with it, and people have full, rich, normal lives.
I myself am not diabetic, but I have a strong family history of Type II: my dad, all four of his siblings, his mom, his dad would have been had he not died of a heart attack 25 years ago, my mom is pre-diabetic, all three of her sisters, her only brother is Type I, and both of her parents are diabetic. A few of my great-grandparents died of complications from diabetes more than 30 years ago. I also have a few cousins who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. I’m also blessed to have obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer run in my family.
I seem to have inherited the opposite problem and struggle with chronically low blood glucose levels. But as long as I follow a regular eating schedule and keep a high-carb snack on me just in case, I’m alright. I’m blessed to be more of the athletic type and I’m very cognizant of the genetic risks that my family history gives me, so I am doing everything I can in my life to fight off these diseases - I eat right (as much as I can in college), stay active, don’t smoke or drink at all, and am very mindful of my weight, as I believe this is the single biggest risk factor for me.
Watching so many people I love deal with this disease, I know how hard it can be. As many have said before, Type I and Type II are quite different, but some management techniques are the same: eat a balanced, healthy diet that is suited to YOUR needs (PLEASE see a nutritionist!!), monitor your blood glucose levels carefully, and pay attention to your body. Diabetes can ravage other systems. My dad, who has a previous history of non-diabetic related kidney problems, is now dealing with the complications of those combined with poorly-managed diabetes. I think we’ve finally got him doing well now, as he regularly checks his levels, stays on his medication, and is much more careful with his diet. I take a lot of time to take care of Dad, because as soon as he is no longer able to work, I have to pay for college on my own!!:eek:
As for the pump, I know lots of people on the pump, and it really does give them a lot more freedom. Maybe it’s something you could ask your doctor about. S/he will know what’s best for your situation. I’m confident that you can overcome the challenges of this disease though. Technology has come so far over the past 40 years that my family has been dealing with this disease. Just think - 100 years ago, we didn’t even have insulin to treat it! Children slowly starved away, no matter how much they ate. The discovery of insulin is really a fascinating story if you’re ever looking for a good read!
There’s so much information out there from many good sources - make use of it. Knowledge is power!
Thanks so much for the information. This has really been a pain in the butt.
One of the problems is that initially I was misdiagnosed with Type II, but in actuality I have Latent Auto Immune Diabetes in Adults, which is sort of like late onset Type I. But diet and such really don’t affect it like it affects types I and II.
It’s genetic and hereditary in my case so there’s nothing I can do to change it or make it go away, I just have to treat it and manage it. So far the insulin seems to be helping and I am feeling a lot better, so that’s good. I have noticed a couple of times, like the other day when I was outside bedding stalls and I felt fine, that all of a sudden my legs got wobbly from one minute to the next. So I beat feet in the house, and checked my blood sugar. It was 67. I had a quick snack and got it under control and then felt fine. That was a little scary. It’s frightening how quickly that can come on, I think that has been the most difficult thing for me to deal with, the sudden onset of the drop in blood sugar.
Glad you’re feeling better in general, Jaegermonster. I hope things get easier to deal with overall.
