Hello, I have LADA and Hashimotos. I am 35, Trying to Conceive. I was orginally misdiagnosed Type 2 in Nov, 2015 with an A1C of 8.9. With hard work (counting carbs, lost 20 lbs., exercise) and Metformin (500mg AM, 1000mg PM) I got down to 6.8 by February, 2016. Because I am TTC, I was not satisfied with my numbers especially Morning fast BG. This concern prompted my endo to do further testing. On my next appointment in March 2016 I was diagnosed with LADA and Hashimotos and put on Five units of Lantus. In April 2016, A1C of 5.8. Woohoo let’s have a baby, Right?
Mother’s Day Weekend. I have a hypo, which I found strange. But… OK, I know this, I had dealt with hypoglycemia all my life (Self Diagnosis, I didn’t know what it was then… but oh yes, that is what that feeling was). That was Sunday. Monday rolls around and I’m struggling to stay above 70, heck 70 would be awesome.
I have to stop exercising, I am scared to drive, walk to fast, pretty much do anything outside the home on my own, Oh and I fell like extra crappy. We actually had to buy food items with carbs, because we really didn’t have any in the house. I’m eating just to keep my BG up.
When I see my endo, second week of May, his response is “that’s what happens with diabetes”. OK. One week more and I can’t take it. I’m gaining weight, scared to go to sleep, scared to go out alone and still struggling to keep myself at 80. He discontinued the lantus.
A week later I have my CDE appointment. She tells me to cut back 500mg Metformin in evening. Tried that, then only 500mg on AM.
Now third week of June, I am better than before. As long as I eat every two hours, sometimes every hour and a half, and I decided to stop taking metformin completely. Sometimes I wonder if I am really Diabetic and then I’ll have a crazy spike.
For multiple reasons I am looking for a new Endo (this is my second). In this short time I have learned that the people dealing with LADA, know a lot more than Doctors. So, I putting my story out there in hopes that someone can she’d light on it. Is this a honeymoon within a honeymoon? (BTW this honeymoon sucks). Is my pancreas kick starting because that tiny bit of insulin gave it a break? My sister and I have a theory more of a joke, we have to find light in this somehow. On Mothers day weekend I was at a water park and went on slide that scared the crap out of me. We joke, that my pancreas got scared into working.
Any thoughts are welcomed. In addition if anyone knows of good Endo’s in Brooklyn, NY. Please let me know.
Many Blessings and just keep swimming.
It’s very tough to know what’s going on without a lot more information. The best type of information would be a CGM. When I was first diagnosed my endo had a CGM that patients could borrow for a weekend. Then you’d come back to the office, download what the CGM said and analyze what’s going on.
If your endo doesn’t have something like that, my next question is: how many strips are you allotted? What I would do is test and record. Test your BG before meals, a few hours after meals, before you go to bed AND three or four times during the nighttime. Don’t try to do all the testing in one day (and do multiple days), but concentrate on one time of the day. I would start with the nighttime to get it over with sooner AND make sure you’re good to go on getting a good night’s sleep. Then test before and after breakfast extensively. (And so on and so on). Also, write down what you ate very precisely (accurate carb count).
All of this information will help you and your endo (or a good CDE) analyze what is going on. As far as finding a good Endo in Brooklyn, I would contact the local JDRF and ask if they could recommend any good Endos in the area.
Thank you for your suggestions.
I do keep a detailed food diary and test with am fast, before and after every meal, as well as before I drive or physical activity and when I feel myself going low. My insurance covers 100 test strips monthly, so I purchase out of pocket. I will inquire about CGM loaner and do the over night testing. I will also keep on looking for another Endo.
Thank you any help is appreciated.
have your doctor write a “Letter of Medical Necessity” for you to get 300 strips a month. considering you are type1 AND ttc, I think the insurance will cover it.
100 strips is not enough. Think about it. Testing before each meal and sometimes when you get up is the most you could hope to do. That amount of testing doesn’t leave room for lows, highs or basal testing. I’ve had a few days where I’ve used 12 strips. 100 strips is not enough even for a Type 2!
I’m curious to know - was that 100 test strips monthly the amount you were quoted when you were first misdiagnosed as a T2? Have you checked yet to see if more are covered for T1s? I’ve found, by talking to many people on several lists such as these that insurances are usually more generous with supplies for T1s than T2s as a matter of course. Your change in diagnosis code may have altered what is available to you, if you haven’t already looked into that.
If your insurance is only approving 100 test strips per month for T1s, that’s just ridiculous. It’s not even great for a T2, as Timbeak48 pointed out, though honestly I’ve known far too many T2s who are content to check less than 4x a day.
