I hope someone on here can tell me if they have had a similar experience to mine.
I was diagnosed about a year ago. Initially I had BGs near 500 and was in the hospital for a couple days. I currently take Metformin and Lantus and took Januvia until my Doctor decided it just wasn’t working. I also take a low dose blood pressure pill for kidney protection but have never had high blood pressure. At the time, I was very much overweight. I have since lost 70 lbs and need to lose about 15 to 20 more to be at my goal weight.
After losing the weight, exercising and watching everthing I put in my mouth, I still have high BGs (300s) after I eat.
I just finished trying Byetta. When I started it, it seemed to work but 1 month into it, I got hives at the injection site and my BGs were back up there.
I see my Doctor tomorrow and she said, over the phone, that we need to talk about some fast acting insulin, which I’m not opposed to, I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. I’m almost obsessive about checking my levels and worry myself sick when they are high, which I know doesn’t help.
One more thing, the first 70 lbs came off so easy but since my sugar is so out of whack, I haven’t been able to lose a pound.
Any advice or experiences would be appreciated.
Fast acting sounds like a good idea. It is amazing you lost 70lbs. Your numbers being out of whack can make it very hard to lose. My biggest problem is when I go low I eat everything in sight. Low last night, 355 when I got up. Because of overcorrecting. Also, as you lose all of that weight your insulin needs may be changing, that might be worth a talk as well.
GOOD JOB!!! Keep on it.
There is so much to know! It’s so overwhelming sometimes. I didn’t know that high readings could cause me to stop losing weight.
I lost the weight because I was told, upon diagnosis, that if I did, I could maybe see a reversal in my diagnosis. It totally forced me to make changes that I wouldn’t have made otherwise. Unfortunately, I keep getting worse instead of better.
I am not entirely sure how much of an effect high’s have. Out of control has a definate effect. I eat too much on a low, overcorrecting and then play the bouncing ball the next day trying to regain control.
There is an amazing amount of information to learn. Numerous books are out there and there your CDE/Endo team are there to teach and aid you along the way. I just read “Think Like a Pancreas”. It is a well written view into some of the ideas behind D.
I have been doing this a long time and one of the things I hope I have learned is to watch for when an adjustment of treatment is needed. As your body changes, age, weight, exercise level, hormones, etc… an adjustment may be needed. If you are carefully checking sugars than you have that info “at your finger tips”. Sorry about the pun, I couldn’t resist. But tracking that info more than taking the sugar, but writing it down, is a wonderful insight. I am not good about writing it down and when i do I get mad at myself because invaribly I see something I should have caught earlier.
Life with D gets easier the longer you have it and the more you know. This group is great for information. It seems like someone has dealt with almost anything you may encounter.
Good luck!
hey molly- wow youre amazing! youve worked so hard to improve your health! keep up the good work!
i understand the feeling when you know something is wrong and you’re not sure how to fix it. im in the same boat right now. ive actually had diabetes for 18 years and i’m dealing with other endocrine issues right now and i feel ya!
i’m on lantus also and humalog (humalog is a fast acting insulin) it kicks in about 15 min after i take a shot and really easy to use. basically i match one unit of humalog to every 15 grams of carbs i eat. (i eat very low carb diet so that i can take less insulin) the more insulin i take the more fat % i’ll have on my body.
anyways, i match the humalog to amount of carbs and then i work on a sliding scale. for example if my blood glucose is 120-140 then i take a unit. if it’s 140-180 i take 2 units, if it’s 180-220 i take 3 units and so on . pretty mathematical and easy to figure out.
then i take 20 units of lantus every evening. if you get an idea of when they both peak etc then you should be able to figure things out!
of course there are other things that afffect blood glucose so it’s not gonna be perfect every time, but it’s a good start. i hope that helps give you a better idea of how short acting insulin works
i take shots but pumps can “act” more like a pancreas which will help you get better control.
I’m not familiar with byetta?? what is it?
do you have a good certified diabetes educator? they are the ones who can help you tweak your control- they are with ya where the rubber meets the road. i highly recommend you get one if you dont already. they can work with your doctor and also be your advocate. get a good one who REALLY cares about you.
it sounds like you just need to figure out with your doctor what will work best for you. our bodies/lifestyles will always be changeing and we just gotta keep tweaking. it sounds like that’s where you are right now.
keep researching and definitely keep bouncing things off of us here at TU. this sounds like the perfect place for you!
keep educating yourself even if you feel overwhelmed- i understand that feeling! just remember how you eat an elephant- one bite at a time! believe it or not you’ll be just fine 
we’ll figure it out
It’s very possible that you are actually a Type 1, rather than Type 2. Type 1 is an autoimmune attack on certain cells in the pancreas (the ones that produce insulin), and can affect you at any age or any weight. There are tests the doc can do, but more importantly I would advise using insulin. If you are Type 1, then you will be insulin dependent and more than likely won’t need any of the oral meds (unless you’re insulin resistant, too). If it turns out you’re not Type 1, I still wouldn’t be put off by the insulin - the side effects are much better than all the orals they have for Type 2.
From what I understand, Byetta is an injectable med that mimics the pancreatic function. It’s taken before breakfast and supper. The side effects are a real bugger and it kicked my butt but I got very good results in the beginning. I seemed like when I started getting hives from it, that’s when it stopped working.
Hi, exactly a year ago tday I was diagnosed with D1…and was hospitalized like you were…though my story sounds similar I was straight put on fast acting insuline and lantus. I am not overweight and never really have been, but what I have noticed like you is that lately my BGL is out of control and pretty high. They basically told me that it could be that I am getting out of the so-called “honeymoon period”…hence I have to play around with my insulin requirements until I get the optimal result.
I have read so many books to get me up to speed (still a newbie…as when something goes wrong I have to start from the beginning to understand what it could be as I still do not have enough experience). I found the book think like a pancreas very enlightening and am currently reading dr bernsteins books. I would def eat low and slow acting carbs and not go up to the guideline of 200-250 gr of carbs per day unless your body is urging for it. Also in that book it does give you an indication if your Lantus intake is enough (morning should be not more or less than 30.6 points (1.7*18) than your before bedtime BGL)
The other advice that I have been given is that I need to do on a daily basis some cardio, as it has a very + effect on your BGL (the truth is I still have not been able to get my head around this)
Hope any of my experiences help…as I said I am not fully in control either, but I find reading other people’s experiences on this site very usefull (such as Heathers advice on taking different fast acting insulin on different BGLs is something that I had not tried before and def will consider -thx for that)
Wow on the weight loss…Great job…I suggest you ask your doctor for cgms . These will show 72 hours continual blood glucose reading it will give your DR. and you a better understanding of when you are spiking and when you go low…you also write down all your food intake for the 3 days. Stress will also elevate your sugars so be careful. And ask your doctor if they have education services at your clinic. this will help you alot. Good Luck and keep asking questions as a diabetic on an insulin pump i learn something new everyday…today i learned i should ask my doc for EMLA cream so it dosent hurt at injection sight…cool huh?
I can’t remember the last time I ate 200g of carbs in one day. I have been staying in the 100 to 150 range. I’m afraid to eat much of anything right now.
I walk and run 3 times a week. I hate it and I know I should do it even more but it’s what I can do right now.
My morning BGs are low. Anywhere from the 40s to 80 but as soon as I eat anything (except salad), all bets are off.
I will get “Think like a panceas”, which some of you have recommended. Thanks.
great idea on the CGM!
great insight!
btw would that book think like a pancreas be beneficial for T1 and T2? or just T2?
glad to help with the sliding scale! i love it. makes me feel like i can take control better
Impressive weight loss–congrats!
Typically blood sugars of 300 or over need insulin to bring them down.
You’re not doing anything “wrong.” Your body is likely producing no or very little insulin. This could be because you’re late-onset type 1 (also known as LADA or type 1.5, autoimmune system has damaged insulin-producing cells) or you’re type 2 and starting to experience the decline in insulin production that goes along with the progression of the condition.
All your healthful choices, such as losing weight, tracking what you eat, and testing will come in handy if you do go on insulin. That will be an adjustment, but it’s also a very effective way to get your blood sugars in your target range. Keep us posted!
Congrats on the weight loss! What an accomplishment to be proud of!
You’re doing everything right & nothing wrong. You could try lowering your carb intake, but chances are you will still need insulin to bring your numbers into the normal range.
The good news is that insulin will vastly help control & doesn’t have the side-effects many experience with Byetta & oral meds. Insulin will also protect your remaining beta cells.The not so good news about insulin is that it’s a fat storing hormone. If you eat lower carb & don’t take large doses of insulin & stay active, weight loss won’t be a problem.
Your fasting morning numbers are good probably because of Lantus.
If your doctor hasn’t done this, ask that a C-peptide (shows how much insulin is being produced) & a GAD antibody (this will show how much your pancreas may be under attack) tests. Surprising how many doctors don’t do this.
Thank you all so much. I’m so glad I found this site. I wish I had found it a year ago. I don’t belong to any other support group.
I did a little research on LADA and it does sound like that might be a possibility. I will ask for the C-Peptide and the GAD antibody. I feel better already and I think I’m ready for this appointment now.
Hope you’re all having a good day!
It is written for diabetics on insulin. But it gives a good background of how things work and the interdependancies of sugars and the rest of your body etc… The author is a CDE/Exercise physiologist/pump user. He is T1 and leans that way. But like I said I thought it did a good job of explaining how things should work and what is affected when they aren’t.
I ordered it off Amizon.com today. I can’t wait to get it.
go get em tiger
Molly,
Wow! You have lost a lot of weight! Way to go! I’m so glad you’re here–there is so much support and I have learned so much since joining tudiabetes.
I understand your frustration–but remember, just losing the weight has made big changes in your body and you are much healthier–everything is better than if you weighed more.