Thanks Consume Jan. Your suggestion is excellent. I will carry your name in my pocket tomorrow. We have talked before and I know that we both took the same drug and that you had a more serious reaction than I did. You helped me so much to decide not to keep taking it. Thanks so much. ((HUGS))
Hi Mike. It took me almost 4 years to get off that list. While I did take the diabetes drugs, I refused to take statins and blood pressure meds. I already had problems with low blood pressure and I was just too scared to take them. I still have low blood pressure and no cholesterol issues.
Hi MyBustedPancreas. I've been told that they don't do the tests here.
We don't know what happened to my brother as we have been unable to find out the reason for his stay in emergency or the result. I've been told I will have to pay a lawyer. They did an autopsy and there was no indication of heart attack, stroke or cancer so... it is diabetes by default. As there have been 3 sudden deaths on the non-diabetic side of the family, I refuse to accept this reason without the facts. There are many with diabetes on the other side and all have lived well into their 80s and 90s. My brother has 2 daughters. We can't let this go.
Thanks so much Christy. We have a doctor shortage here and it's tough to shop around. Sorry to hear that you had to live with this "non-compliant" issue too.
What???? Wow. That just seems so crazy. Just curious, do you know why they don't do those tests? Is it cost?
The problem is that the only way to give you the correct treatment is to know what type you are. Some of the oral medications are actually quite dangerous for type 1s, as they hasten the death of beta cells and can cause kidney problems. At the very least, if you get on insulin, you'll be getting the treatment appropriate for a type 1. When do you go back to the doctor? If you can at least convince him/her to put you on insulin, that should be a step in the right direction.
How have your blood sugar levels been?
I am sorry you're going through this, but you're right to keep pursuing it. You need some answers.
Hi BSC and Nel. I have really thought about your responses and you are both so right. They say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The doctors here are employed by the government and adhere to CDA protocols. They seem to regularly attend overseas conferences funded by the drug companies. It looks like everyone is on the same page. My brother and I reached out to CDA advocacy and other medical associations with the same result... nothing. I guess I am going to have to go to the member of provincial parliament. Now that the good news is that all t1s in this province can be approved for a pump, it is possible that we may find a member who might take on the plight of the rest of us. At least they might help us to cut through all this red tape and find out what happened to my brother. Thanks so much for your input. Joanne
Wishing you good luck for tomorrow's appointment. Please let us know how it goes. Dreadful to feel defeated by doctors. I'm trying to save up money to have my own tests done. Ridiculous, but I've accepted that my doctor is blocking my way to health.
Hugs back!
im really scared to have surgury now....
I'm so sorry that I scared you Anna. I'm from Canada but I'm pretty sure that the hospitals in the US have really good protocols for treating T1s. I hope you do well with your surgery. ((HUG)) Joanne
Anna, your profile says that you have a pump. When I had surgery my doctor left the order that I was to manage my own diabetes with my pump. Everyone let me make my own decisions (which was basically to just let my basal handle it), and I did fine. Judith, Anna, speak to your doctors! They are the key to successfully managing the surgery and follow-up.
thanks and its ok. i was already scared. i have surgury on my foot on febuary 7
i had suugry one other time when i had diabetes but it wasnt as serious of a surgury then this one will be. the lst one they had to remove a sight change needle from my foot cuz i stepped on one
Thanks to everyone who listened to my vent. I made it through the appointment without losing it. My A1C has gone up again from 6.3 to 7.4. Hopefully it's just the stress.
Were you and I at the Doc at the same time....miles apart :)??
Glad you did not " loose it " Peetie .But have the both of you discussed any different treatment after Doc told you the A1C result ?
Hi Nel. Hope you had good results at your appointment.
My doctor was not concerned by the number. When he saw that I was, he offered to refer me back to the endo. I declined. Honestly, I don't think there is a safe and effective treatment for T2s with an A1C of 7.4. I have decided to stick with this doctor and once again, pay the trainer at the gym to help me. Unlike the endo and the Clinic, she will actually analyze the food logs, meter readings, meds, and workout routine. While she doesn't prescribe meds, she does help me to adjust the timing for the food and Metformin. Best of all, I consider her to be a friend and know that she will believe what I tell her I am doing. I think that's my best hope for the next 3 months. I have an appointment with the chiropodist in Marchto check on the neuropathy and then back to the GP at the beginning of April.
Hello Peetie , you don't want to find out if insulin is required ? Your Trainer sounds very knowledgable !! ...I did not realize till now, you responded here , incl the question about my visit ...lazy or is it smart me ?? ...I copied and pasted partly from the FB response : " more work , ha, ha ...had to have the potassium( K) test redone ( last Fri ) 5.3 ( norm at hi end is 5.0 ) ...we are clear , it is not the bananas I can blame ...hardly eat bananas ...could be the lab's " error " ??...Vit D3 result not in yet ...sent to Vancouver . A1C 7.0 ...is it my meter ??? Fasting BG was 6.9 , meter check 5.3 ...30 percent variance !!! I received a free OneTouch VerioIQ in Nov. and will start getting this one going ...My chol HDL ratio is just a bit less than in July at 2.83 ( no meds ) ...acceptable for me ; kidney function : creat good .
OK, I'm repeating myself. Lobby for insulin! Today Chardonnay, Cheers!
Gee Nel that's a real variation in A1C. Hope you get it all sorted out.
Yes, the trainer is very good. She used to work in a hospital and this summer, she visited a variety of sites including Bloodsugar and TuDiabetes so that she would have current information. She would make an excellent Diabetes Educator but then she wouldn't get the exercise that she gets in her current job.
It is interesting to read all the information and treatment options for T2 that are posted on TuD. Too bad that it is not the way it is really treated... at least not where I live. I don't read too many success stories either. The idea that one might discuss treatment options just seems so foreign to me.
Thanks Trudy. I plan on approaching some MPPs when I'm off work in the summer. What I would like to see is some accountability for treatment. Baco Noir... Cheers!
Congratulations on getting an endo to do the right tests. That is why I read books written by doctors who really know. So I use my endo more as a place to get my biannual blood tests and he asks me what I want on the requisition. He knows I research everything. I'm lucky my endo is also a diabetic, but he still does NOT understand my emphasis on supplements. He just looks at the cholesterol numbers and is amazed. I can even stop the VitC to get really bad numbers too. He gleefully said "I know what you're going to say, but I think you need to be on a statin" I laughed and said no way, it's only because I was off VitC for three weeks. I went back on it and the next time was back to normal. If I had a problem for years I would not have ideal blood pressure without medication. Basically, if naturopaths were paid for up here I would go to one of those. Instead I read their books and apply their knowledge and my endo doesn't understand it.
My endo says antibody tests are pointless now after 30 years, but I'm curious, so I might get them done through my other doctor.
Patients who take the upper hand do better because they research more. Those who expect their doctors to teach them everything fare the worst as little can be covered in 20 minute friendly visits in which you look at results and check a few things like blood pressure and eyes. There is the EGO some doctors have where they might think they are dispensing all the knowledge. Now with the Internet that isn't true any more. Some say it makes their life easier and others say their patients are being misled.
What bothers me the most is when they say something isn't important when that is a cover for "don't ask me about something I don't know anything about." I once asked if there were tests for antibodies to analogue insulins. He said NO. But I better go looking and see if they exist in experimental research hospitals because one thing is for sure and that is that large injections are partially destroyed, some just gets lost in the fat that Dr Oz says contributes to insensitivity, and some is due to people not eating loads of vegetables and getting enough chromium to act as a cofactor for insulin. And some people are avoiding red meat as if it were the plague because so many people seem to think it is, but that means they are likely highly deficient in B vitamins especially if they drink alcohol as that depletes Bvits. People on blood pressure lowering meds lose magnesium and other nutrients as the kidney forces water out and doesn't stop to selectively retain nutrients that it would do on it's own. Is it any surprise that people get kidney disease and liver disease with the medical community's emphasis on drugs?
here's a book I enjoyed reading...
What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You [Paperback]
Ray D. Strand M.D. (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars (46 customer reviews)