Hey guys, looking for a little feed back today and maybe a little “you poor thing”…
So the last week or so I have not been feeling “right”. Maybe it is the change in temp outside, we’ve had a spell of 60-65 degree weather, maybe it’s pollen, or maybe it is my BG. Here’s what I’m taking for meds to see if any of you think that could be the combo too.
Lantus 80 units in the am, 80 units in the pm
Metformin 2000 mg daily split in 2 doses
Lisinopril 40 mg
Lovastatin 40 mg
Fish Oil 1000 mg once a day, will be going to twice a day.
Humalog 50-150 units daily depending
Nuva Ring for birth control.
My symptoms are this: I feel nauseaous all the time! I think that may be due to the Nuva Ring, as it happens every time I put a new ring in. I’m VERY tired, not sleeping well, sinus headaches, and just downright sluggish. I’m NOT pregnant, don’t have a sinus infection that I’m aware of. My sugars have been running between 82 and 168 during the day but I’m getting at least one reading daily of 250 or so. I can bring it right down but I know it is because of my dinner. I’m working on getting that one down, and it is coming, but still having a few highs is enough. Normally when my BG is high (like 250+), I feel very hot, sweaty, out of breath and thirsty and that is how I have been feeling all the bloody time right now! When I take my sugar I am usually in the 150 range. When I’m in the High 100’s or low 200’s I feel perfectly normal.
I just feel wretched right now. I don’t really want to call my doctor, just because it’s not “abnormal” enough… you know what I mean?.. I’ve had this in the past but I just don’t feel right. I’m wondering if this is because I’m still having swinging blood sugars? I don’t understand why my after dinner sugars are so rotten, because I normally have meat and veggie only. I am usually around 150-160 when I start dinner and I don’t take anything with that meal, so I assume I’m just going up and up with nothing to help bring it down. I have started going for a walk after dinner but to be honest, I’m not working up a sweat or anything… I feel so BLAH that I’m basically shuffling around the block.
Any ideas? I feel like a slugabug.
I’m confused, Devon, why are you not taking a bolus dose with your dinner?? Also, I hate to say it because you are taking a lot of Lantus, but if your blood sugar is 150-160 before your meal then you are not getting the right basal coverage. I know what you mean about not being “abnormal” enough to make an emergency call to your doc, but maybe you need to have a more routine visit (with an endo) to talk about your dosing regimen.
Veggies have carbs… sometimes a LOT… I really think you need to be bolusing with dinner even if all you are eating is protein (because your liver effectively converts 30-50% of that directly into glucose, it’s called gluconeogenesis, you can google it if you don’t believe me)… at the very least to correct your pre-meal BG, bolus for some of the protein, AND for the carbs in whatever veggies you’re eating. My assumption is, based on the doses of insulin you’re taking, that you can’t really count any as a “free” food - they’re all going to raise your BG some (or a lot, as may be the case).
Second to that, if your basal insulin isn’t correct, you’ll be fighting highs on top of what you’re eating.
I would suspect the nausea is almost entirely due to the nuvaring… I was on it for one miserable month and I’ll never try it again.
Devon:
While this may be TMI for some, my experience with birth control is purely by proxy; never needed it, never used it. But I am very aware of the “side effects” of birth control, at least in relation to depression. In a nutshell, it is not well-known nor publicized that birth control BY ITSELF can exacerbate depression – so one can reasonably conclude that there must be other side effects.
You mention that your symptoms recur “every time I put a new ring in.” So the sensible first question is, how long have you been on NuvaRing? Do the symptoms abate after a week or so? How about during the intervening week, between insertions? What about dosage level; has that changed?
Just for giggles I visited the NuvaRing webpage (probably not the wisest thing to be doing while at work…); listed under “common side effects” is “nausea.” Okay, okay, EVERYTHING has that potential. The point is, troubleshooting your situation may come down to process of elimination, beginning with the most recent adjustment/addition. Remember, just because the product label does or does not list a side effect or adverse action doesn’t mean neither are possible.
The following may be a politically incorrect statement, but what the hell: A great deal of medical research is still limited to male subjects. If the problem child here turns out to be NuvaRing, make certain the prescribing physician files an Adverse Reaction Report.
Keep us posted.
-vicki
I do bolus, depending on what I eat, that is where the humalog comes in.
I’ve been using the Nuva Ring for about 5 months now. The symptoms usually go away after about 9 or 10 days. I’ve unfortunately changed darn near all my meds starting about 3 months ago so pin pointing what is doing what is hard. Thanks for checking though!
On the whole dinner thing, you must realize that your blood sugar response is “mostly” due to the carbs in you eat. If you eat a zero carb meal, you may have a blood sugar response solely from the “Chinese Restaurant Effect.” Even if you have no carbs you may need to bolus to compensate for eating. Dr. describes the effect in his book. Personally, I would “correct” the 150-160 at dinner and you might need still need a few more additional units even with a zero carb meal.
I really don’t know what to tell you about your feelings except, sorry and hope you feel better.
Perhaps I’m confused, Devon You said “for dinner I normally have meat and veggie only…and I don’t take anything with that meal.” I agree with Sarah, you need to bolus for your dinner and add in a correction for starting out at 150-160.
Ohhh, gotcha! Sorry, I misunderstood. I was thinking pills not shots. I do a shot with dinner, but I’m still working on getting it the amount correct and the timing seems to be important with me as well.
Oh, ok, sorry! Sounds like you’re on the right track. It definitely takes awhile to get the Insulin: Carb ratios right for each meal. Then sometimes you have to change them. I always look at how I did after each “page” of numbers (3 weeks worth). If I have numerous times in which I have been over target after meals I tweak the I:C ratio for that particular meal. If I am consistently high before meals, fasting or bedtime numbers then I have had to increase my basal.
hey, kiddo! I can’t relate to the BC—thats way out of my league, however I can relate to the “not feeling right”, and for me if BS is ok and everything else is good,. then I check my blood pressure. it is usually high. I’m betting that is the source of the bad feeling.
best wishes and hope you feel better…oh, yeah, boluse before supper. on. the spur of the moment I stipped at a chinese resturant for supper. i had my insuling bag with me, but couldn’t shoot up in public andhate going to the mens room . it gets people to talking and looking at me funny. BS is now up around 250 and I have a splitting headache.
danny
I am too new to all of this to help with the Blood Sugar, but man, I used an IUD with hormones for about 5 months and it was non stop, unmitigated, pure torture. I was nauseated, and had a plethora of other miserable side effects. There has to be a better way! I would ditch that first and see what happens.
Good luck, sounds rotten. Hope you feel better soon!
it’s ok, I wasn’t clear.
Like others have said, my first guess as to what the culprit is would be the Nuva Ring. Hormonal birth control is notorious for causing nausea (and headaches, and a whole host of other symptoms).
Also, I noticed you’re taking a statin. Some statin medications can also cause nausea. Maybe the statin/birth control combo is making you nauseated?
Good luck! Hope you figure out what’s going on soon!
I was exhausted, so I called the doctor and I had blood work done. My potassium, sodium, calcium, and chloride were low. But not low enough to cause exhaustion. Went in and my blood pressure was really low. The doctro said low BP was the culprit. Your problem could be low BP or high BP, like Danny said. It could also be allergies. When you can’t breathe too well, you don’t sleep as well, et cetera.
Not sure if you take any allergy medicine. I tried Allegra and Claritin, a few years ago, and they both made me really tired. Couldn’t tell you how they affected my bg, it has been too long. If it is allergies and you don’t want to take meds, you could try the netti pot. Those things are incredible. Too gross for some people, but the benefit is worth it.
Swinging bg will also make me tired. Or just being too low or too high for too long will also exhaust me.
I tried that Nuva Ring once - ew, I felt horrible on it. I took that thing out after one day. As far as I can remember, if you have any sort of symptoms like that you are not supposed to use it. They told me if if I had certains symptoms to take it out and not use it. I think I had cramps but can’t remember for sure. 9 to 10 days seems like a long time to deal with side effects of birth control. Have you talked to your ob about that? It doesn’t really sound normal to me.You should not have to suffer for 9 to 10 days. Did you feel sick like this even before you started the Nuva Ring?
Not going to tell you what to do but there are lots of other BC methods available. I would talk to my OB if I were you.
Not sure about your other meds - I take the Met too but only 500 twice a day. How long have you been taking the Met? I felt crappy when I first started taking it. Took many weeks before I didn’t feel crappy after wards.
I second the whole netti pot thing. Don’t do it in public, but it works wonders clearing your sinuses.
Being as new to all of this as I am. There’s a lot I don’t understand. I had a friend I occasionally had food with. Don’t know what type he was. His insulin was pen. Without leaving the table. He lifted his shirt a little to expose his belly. The shot was over before anyone had a chance to even know he did it. For my sake he was going to go to the mens room. I told him not to bother. I’ll bet nobody knew. Could you do that?
Not long ago, I saw a woman in a restaurant. She swabbed both shoulders at her table and gave herself an injection in each. I’m not sure anyone paid attention. I couldn’t miss it the way I was sitting. I thought she was brave and confident.
I would put my money on the BC. My BG #'s are higher when I am on mine!! The 7 days I am off it my #'s are much lower. Maybe ditch the ring and go on Junel or Loestrin for a while. Your body might be telling you that you are sensitive/allergic to it. Also, I would definately get to the Dr for some blood work. Don’t wait-could be getting some sort of reaction with one of the other meds. Check online in meantime for interactions. Pharmacist is a good one to go over it all with too. I do hope you feel well soon!