You’re fortunate to have a very good endo. I know people who had to beg their docs for insulin & others were never presented this as an option. My feelings are that whatever it takes to bring BG into normal ranges is the goal. If meds can do this, great, but sometimes they don’t, or don’t for any length of time. I’d rather take insulin (not that I have a choice) than deal with nausea & the other side effects. You’re a healthy weight, athletic & careful about what you eat, so you’re doing everything else you can.
Sorry about the additional counting! It does become second nature after a while, if this helps. You probably don’t need to bother counting calories. I don’t & counting carbs becomes really easy with practice.
Good to be able to put a positive spin on our OCD:) It’s more productive than some other tendencies for us. My doctor told me to chill out, too! He said not to worry. Asked him if he would worry for me that I’d be glad to turn this task over to him.
I don’t really have a problem with naseau or any other side effects really, but you guys really have me thinking that I should go ahead and go with the insulin. I’m still really concerned about packing around the insulin. My endo did say that the insulin he wants to give me would be similar to the Byetta in it’s a pen with the dosages ready to go. I also am just beginning to wrap my head around all of this and now add figuring out insulin to the mix. Needless to say it’s overwhelming. I truly appreciate how everyone has been so kind so quickly.
It is overwhelming, so take it a small step at a time.
With pens you dial a dose. With syringes you draw the dose from a vial. Not really a huge difference. You can get more accurate doses from syringes because you can always take a smidge more or less. Everyone has a preference & valid reasons for their preference. Pens are convenient because you just have to take the pen with you, compared to taking a small vial & syringes. I like syringes better because I had bruising with pens & often I had leakage–a small amount of insulin seeping out. Pens are also more expensive. See if your endo will give you one free. You’re used to using a pen & that may feel more comfortable.
I’m glad you popped into this post, Kelly. I’m just a little bit ahead of you in the process; way too close to deny how overwhelming it is. But when it starts to come together it feels really good. Each time I make a meal I really enjjoy I feel better. I love to cook and eat good food and was so afraid I’d have to give that up. Each little trick or tip I learn is another step to making my life easier. I just got my Frio sent down by courier service. What a cute and useful little thing to keep the insulin cold in transit! The one thing I’m learning is to take care of myself in other ways. Life can come to seem like nothing but diabetes. I’m reminding myself what an amazing place I live and in a couple weeks going to the beach for a few days to totally kick back (the Frio will definitely come in handy!)
Hi Kelly: There are a lot of reasons for an adult-onset Type 1 (that’s what 1.5 is) to go on insulin the earlier the better. The DCCT showed definitively that tight control (using insulin in a pump or MDI) in Type 1’s still producing some insulin (i.e., the honeymoon period) equates to a more prolonged honeymoon and a big reduction in complications. So I encourage going on insulin.
I am a lifelong athlete, and I have found that the insulin pump is a much better way to go for exercise. Yes, you do have to schlep around stuff. Yes, you do face the possibility of hypos due to exercise, but there are ways to deal with it.
You will probably need a small amount of insulin and it may stay that way for a long while so a pen may be the best bet. I use both pens and syringes no problem with either. I have a large amount of tummy grease so injections are painless.
I have insulin resistance so insulin is a double edged sword in my case, Keeps my BG close to normal A1c betwen 6 and 6.5 % at the expense of weight gain.
Since you need just a small amount weight gain will not be an issue and becaus eyour pancreas is still mostly working you will be able to do bettter on thge A1c than I can. the main use of external insulin in your case is to keep the pancreas alive for as long as possible. If it dies and heaven forbid you become insulin resistant the disease will change from an inconveiniance to your worst nightmare.
I just want to thank everyone for all of their info! Sounds like I’ll be going on insulin this next trip to the endo. And of course I’ll be needing all kinds of advice as how to deal with it! Thanks again!!
I was just diagnosed last week with Type 1.5. I was diagnosed with Type 2 a year ago and after the first three months, everything went down hill. No matter what meds my Doctor tried, my BGs continued to climb. I also lost weight (70 lbs) but nothing helped. I just couldn’t accept that I couldn’t control it. I just knew I was screwing something up somehow. I was relieved that it wasn’t my fault. When I asked my Doctor about LADA, she said she had suspected it for a couple months but didn’t want to tell me until we had tried a few other treatments. She has no idea what she put me through, not knowing. It got to a point where I hardly ate anything because I was so afraid to.
When I see my Doctor I ask a lot of questions I also read a lot but I don’t know that it’s OCD (my Doctor says I have an obsessive/compulsive personality). I think it’s just caring about my health and my treatment. I generally don’t trust people and Doctors make mistakes too. We all need to be somewhat responsible for our treatment. My diabetes is the only thing that I really do obsess about and I think that will get better now that I have started an insulin regimen and as my sugars become more controlled. I already feel better seeing the numbers come down in the last week.
Wow, lots of similarities in our stories, Molly. I’m so glad to hear your doctor has acknowledged your LADA (though I would have been pissed too that she didn’t tell me) and that you are now on track. I was actually stable on oral meds for about 14 months before it started to climb up and up. I then did tons of reading and thinking and figured out I was LADA. I was only kidding about the OCD. I agree we need to be obsessive about our health…if we don’t, who will?
Ín my case, though, I’m finally being able to relax a bit. My basal/bolus treatment regimen is working, I’m figuring out what I can eat and so I’m starting to feel less stressed. (Of course now I’ve decided to move back to the U.S. in less than a month so now I can stress over that!) Congratulations, Molly!
I’m so glad everything is working out for you too. The stress is unreal. There is so much to know when it comes to diabetes. Very overwhelming. My husband and I were just talking the other day about how many people don’t look into what’s going on with them. Sometimes it’s just because they don’t know where to start. The first day I was diagnosed, I went straight to the book store. For my own sanity, I needed to know. Sometimes, I think some Doctors don’t want us to know or question.
Welcome back to the U.S.!
Thanks, Molly. I’ll be back the end of July and am looking forward to being able to buy special food products people mention and to save a lot of money on meds (which compensates for the higher cost of living)
When I couldn’t figure out what was wrong and why I couldn’t stabilize in February I started by reading in a 12 year old book I had on Diabetes and started wondering if I could possibly be Type 1. Then I came online and started reading about Type 1.5 and focused my research on that. By the time I went to an endo who confirmed me as a Type 1 (close enough) I didn’t really expect anything else. It seems that so many of us have had to do our own homework, reading several books, articles and websites then “taking what we need and leaving the rest.” There is an overwhelming amount of information (and misinformation) out there, but when you match it to what you are actually experiencing with your own body, food and medicine it starts to come together. I was on major overload for about three months. I work with people regarding stress and I had to continually remind myself to do the things I taught!
Hi Zoe: Welcome back to the U.S. soon! Hey, you have to tell us all the food products available in the U.S. that you are looking forward to, maybe I am missing some good thing.
Welcome, Molly! This is a really cool place for info and to vent to people who actually understand. Our loved ones are usually pretty awesome, but they don’t get it sometimes. I’m glad you finally got a good diagnosis and are on the right track! It’s definitely overwhelming, frustrating, unfair, I mean I don’t think that there are enough adjectives to accurately describe it. There is light at the end of the tunnel though! I’ve fully accepted my diagnosis and to be honest with you, I’m in the best shape of my life right now. I know that I want to live and not in pain so I do what I have to. It’s nice to not have to take a nap when I come home from work only to go to bed 2 hours later. I’ve never known my body this well, I eat better, I exercise a lot more, and quite frankly I enjoy life more. It’s a sucky way to learn to enjoy life to the fullest, but what are you gonna do? It could definitely be worse the way I look at it. I just celebrated my 1 year diagnosis this month and I’ve been through the emotional ropes, but I can honestly say I’m happy. You are definitely in the right place for info and support!!!
I’m not even sure I know but will have fun exploring! A popular place called Berkeley Bowl that has lots of good upscale things at non-upscale prices is just four blocks from my new house. You have no idea what a luxury even a store like Target will feel like compared to the limited shopping here! I’m sorry I never made a list when people mention special things but off the top of my head I want to check out various brands of low carb breads, low carb tortillas, special brands of cereals people mention, Hood’s milk that’s lower carb (or just soy milk if it would foam nicely for my morning capp…very important…lol. Oh yes and I’d like to try Dream-whatever-it’s called pasta that some people say is less spiking than others.
Zoe, I tried the Dreamfields last week, and it did not seem to spike me (unless it was after I had gone to bed).
I am ending up buying a lot of specialty products and experimenting! But you never know which ones you will use or not. I end up using LOTS more tortillas than I figured on. Also the low-carb pitas. We snatch them up when our grocery has them in stock!
Not sure if soy milk will foam in your cap – I do use it in my coffee though!
Oh, low carb pitas! Here I have been making sandwiches with cucumbers, tomatos, lettuce, feta and tahini sauce, but the whole wheat pitas have 30 carbs. That’s fine for me but in the U.S. I will actually be able to get a hold of felafel mix and I need some carb wiggle room for that! Glad to hear the Dreamfields worked well for you. How does it taste? More like whole wheat pasta or regular?
So much for my reminder that if I move back to California I’m going to have to be on a budget…oh well, don’t sweat the small stuff as they say…it’s all the great restaurants I’m going to have to avoid, financially and carb-arily.(I made that up if you can’t tell)
My FORMER endo insisted that I was type 2, despite the fact that I am 5’ 6" and I weigh 114 pounds; I have Lupus, Hashimoto’s, secondary Sjogren’s, and Raynaud’s phenomenon; my blood sugars werever very high at diagnosis, and I am VERY insulin sensitive - I rarely use more than 2 units per meal . I guess most of us are misdiagnosed as type 2’s at first because most doctors, even endos, have outdated information!
