My Story

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1

I hovered in pre-diabetes from the age of 30 until 40, constantly exercising and then I tried metformin from my internist thinking I was Type 2. Not only did I suffer huge bowel distress (TMI), I also saw my A1C skyrocket to 10.1. I tried combination of Byetta - no change, nauseous, loved the weight loss of the 15- 20 lbs I always wanted, but my A1C was awful still.

I finally was referred by a friend to an Endo who was Type 1 herself, and treated me like 1. I tried Humalog with the Lantus for a year, saw some decrease in A1C, by a point, but it wasn’t until I borrowed some Humulin, I saw my numbers get better. Now on Humulin and Lantus, kickboxing 3-4 times a week and yoga 1-2 times a week, I am at 6.8 with some lows including some failures to treat one in yoga class.

I am on the board of JDRF locally in the PNW, and currently am working on a CGM for Bayer Diabetes and the clinical and regulatory approval of that device.

I think there is no fine line in definition of type 1 or type 2. I think this disease is a pandemic. The technology lags behind the disease and being a biomedical engineer myself, its my mission now.

I am getting my Dexcom CGM this week, and looking forward to it and knowing where I am at during working out or when I am cranky because we all get cranky with our lows sometimes unknowingly thanks to the boyfriends I have dated who have pointed this out.

2

Thanks for sharing your story. I think many of us have stories of confused diagnosis. You are lucky to find an endo who would just treat you properly. I actually believe that diabetes has many aspects, T1 and T2 simply display various aspects of the condition. In the end, we are all part of the same family and all that matters is that we are able to take care of ourselves.

It is interesting that you found that Humulin worked better than Humalog. Most doctors tell you that Humalog is better because it has more rapid action. But others like Bernstein like Humulin R for low carb diets because they have a more blunted rise after meals. Why did you find it better?

3

Think of it as a drug release curve. If humalog is fast acting, it maybe out of your system before digestion. Humulin has a more delayed curve which for my metabolism brought my A1C down in the normal range within 3 months!