Been type 2 insulin dependant for ten years now. I feel horrible. This started about a month ago where I haven’t been old energetic self. I wake up very tired and sluggish. I have had sharp pain in my breasts at random times. I am short winded going up stairs. I can not seem to get an appointment with the doctor till next year. I don’t want to do the ER or Urgent card. My last a1c was 11 or 12. I can barely move most of the time. I have changing. My eating habits. Never much of a junk food eater. I have been going to the gym after work for the past 3 weeks… Any suggestions… Not sure what to do or what could be available
Wow, I understand your sense of uncertainty. Given that your symptoms seem that sudden, yes, get to the doctor. I assume you have an appointment for January. Call the office & ask about cancellations freeing up an appointment sooner.
Pat yourself on the back for going to the gym. Really one of the best things you can do to bring your diabetes under greater control. Hang in!
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@Christalyn, I’m so sorry to hear how you are struggling, I’ve been there.
I have no doubt the reason you feel as rotten as you do is your out of control, high BG. An a1c of 11 is wildly out of control.
I know when you feel like this, hearing that you need to get your BG under control isn’t comforting. Yet, it is the most important thing to listen to, as it is the reason you are so sick, tired, foggy-headed, etc.
The good news is, you have the most effective tool you can to fix this: Insulin.
Get your BG under 200 and keep it there. for a day or two. You will feel a million times better, physically, immediately. Then work to gradually bring it down to normal over the next 1-2 weeks.
I can’t really put in to words how much better you’ll feel. How “good” hungry you’ll feel. How awesome and satisfying a meal will be, compare to how you kind of feel now that you have to force food down to some extent.
Also, the thirst, drinking a ton of fluids, peeing all the time, and having difficulty peeing will also go away immediately upon getting your BG down under 200.
@Christalyn, right now, getting your BG in line is the most important thing to do. It is what your doctor would tell you to do, and what the ER would accomplish doing if you went there.
If you need any help with how, in detail, to bring it down with your insulin, speak up and we’ll all gladly help! In short, however, use your bolus (fast-acting) insulin to administer a correction based on your IC ratio, then test, test, test, test with your glucose meter. Rinse and repeat until BG is under better control.
Have some juice (apple or grape are the best) handy in case you start to crash and need to head off a hypo.
Until you get your BG under control, you’re going to continue to feel sick and tired – because with out of control diabetes, you are 
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I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling. I assume that if you have an a1c of 11-12 you’re probably not actively self adjusting your insulin doses as needed and testing/dosing throughout the day? It is definitely time to step up the management program, whatever that may mean in your case… if it’s going from one shot a day to mdi or mdi on fixed doses to carb counting … or mdi to a pump and active carb counting or whatever it might be.
You will feel so much better in control. In tight control I feel lousy if my blood sugar gets higher than about 160 temporarily after a single meal… I can’t imagine how exhausted you must feel spending all day at levels that would lead to an a1c of 11 or 12. I had an a1c in that range when first diagnosed and I was certain I was dying. The good news is though you don’t have to stay there-- you can bring that right down to more healthy levels quite easily, it’s just going to take a better plan and program and some work. It it’s doable and you can feel so much better.
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In addition to what others have suggested, it’s also worth thinking about some dietary changes. I was never a huge fan of “junk” food either, but it turns out that a “healthy” diet for a non-diabetic isn’t necessarily the same as a healthy diet for a diabetic. I found that systematically reducing the amounts of carbohydrates I was eating made it easier to control my BG (note, I am not insulin-dependent). I’ve also found intense exercise to be really useful, and not just of the “walking” variety. Weightlifting and any other exercise which can build muscle is particularly useful to diabetics.
So I agree it sounds like you might need to adjust your insulin regimen. But you might also benefit from thinking carefully about your diet and exercising more.
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Also, when you call your doc to speed up the appointment, ask for a referral to a Registered Diabetes Educator–and take someone with you for appointments! (4 ears hear more than 2!). May be very helpful before your next doc appointment
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I’m so sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I have to be honest, I also find you A1c concerning. An A1c of 11 or 12% corresponds to an average blood sugar of 270-300 mg/dl. Living with a blood sugar that high can just be exhausting. And having sharp pains like you describe are alarming.
I hope you don’t mind my asking, but what has been difficult about getting your blood sugar better controlled? Do you have enough insulin? Do you correct your blood sugars aggressively? I’m worried about you. You deserve better. Can we help you use your insulin better to get things under control?
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Yes my levels are in that range. I am on Medicare with the state of CA. I can’t even get get a doctor’s appt this year. This is so frustrating. I am us in wakmart insulin because I don’t have a prescription. I am tired all the time. I am not motvated to do too much. I have started the gym regime b/c it makes me close to 2 hrs to drive home. This is the pits I have called e doctor several times about closer appts. To no avail. This is crazy
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Didn’t your endo give you enough refills of your usual (non-WalMart) insulin to last until your next appointment?
i haven’t seen an endo in over a year… (I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT) I have been trying to see the doctor I was assigned to but they don’t have appts till next year. I call every week to see if there are cancellation but there aren’t any. I am sleepy all the time.
i don’t snack during work. I drink the coffee to keep me alert because I feel sleep all the time. I do get enough sleep but I wake up during the night several times.
There is a nationwide shortage of physicians who accept Medicare because the reimbursement rates are so low as to barely/not cover overhead expenses. As such, waiting times for appointments are quite long. There are only so many patients per day that a physician can see.
So with the tools available right now how can we help to get you to where you feel better? I have never used R and NPH but a lot of others here have. Others here are really big gurus with LCHF diets that work wonders with blood sugars. Others are way into exercising, and some dabble a bit half heartedly in all the realms of management like me.
If you want to tell us where you want to focus your efforts and tel us in some detail what you’re doing in that department now and how it is and isn’t working-- I imagine you’ll be flooded with hundreds of years worth of collective experience on things that might work to help for you. Just let us know how we can help.
Do you have access to strips to treat your sugar? This is first step. What insulin. Are you using, if any? Humulin n and r can be bought over the counter, I understand. The way to feeling better will be finding ways to reduce your blood sugars. Do you already eat low carb.
If you’re running that high, it sounds like you simply aren’t getting enough insulin in you. Seems like steadily increasing doses would be important—if it’s consistently high, maybe starting with the NPH? Hard to know without seeing logs of blood sugars or the like, which I realize can be a challenge when you are so tired and when you’re only maybe trying to use as few strips as possible. That said, my guess is is if you’ve been running that high, you’re likely to have pretty good warning signs for lows (a 100 may well feel low right now), so maybe it’s important to start risking some lows to get those blood sugars down ASAP? What’s keeping you from increasing your doses?
Also, re: getting an appt, would going to the ER or urgent care help you get in any faster? I know in mental health care (my field), we usually can get patients into regular providers much more quickly from more urgent levels of care than as standard outpatients. Many doctors have some flexibility for more urgent patients from those types of referral services. I’m not in CA though, so not sure what the situation is like there.
@rgcainmd I know and it is ridiculous. It is hard to find a doctor and to see a doctor with in the week that you have symptoms of an ailment. goes i just wish I had a job that had insurance again so I could use it.
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@Dave26 Yes I need help. this is hard to do this alone. I don’t have family nor friends I depend on for anything or help with me. I assume I need to learn how to basal and bolus. as well as control my eating. For the most part I have to drive 45mins away for my job and then have a 1.5 hr drive home in LA traffic. by the time I get home I am times and do not fee like doing any thing but sit. I have been going to the gym everyday after work so the traffic will dissapate before I get on the road. I get up constantly in the night for water or to get something to eat. its just a never ending cycle right now. I would like to get a job closer to home but do get paid decently at this job. I figure on making some serious changes before the new year starts.
@cardamom I honestly don’t want to do urgent care or the ER because it is not a consistent person to be seen by. Or maybe I am wrong. I remember reports and complaints of people using the ER for minor stuff and bruises but now with my experience I see why they do it. The way the system is structured I understand why folks with bumps go to the emergency room possibly wasting a good bed for some one with a heart attack. I just got some more walmart insulin with larger injection needles I will be trying the larger doses today.
No i don’t make an effort to eat low carb. but something I am looking into. You can by walmart insulin with out a prescription. what are the strips ?
Walmart has Relion brand meter and strips that are quite affordable. I’ll say it again, please look into low-carb eating. It’s really easy to start! Just eat more protein and good fats (from eggs, olive oil, plants, etc.). When I started eating low-carb, it was pretty simple for me:
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I made scrambled eggs or an omelette for breakfast.
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I made tuna or chicken salad for lunch and ate with no bread (usually on lettuce).
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I made a large portion of protein (chicken breast, pork chops, etc.) for dinner with a side of broccoli, cauliflower, or some other green veggie.
I found I could eat that way pretty comfortably, and my BGs improved rapidly. No bread, no soda, no potatoes, no sweets for desserts or snacks, no chips. All of those were hard to give up (I didn’t eat a lot of them in the first place), but totally worth it for better health.
You are obviously going to have to figure out the basal and bolus insulin routine, because your numbers are way high. But eating low-carb can help reduce the amount of insulin your body needs to manage your BG day to day. Along with exercise, which you’re already doing, it can be a literal lifesaver!
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