I hear ya. It’s just finding the right answers for you.
Heart disease is in my family too, but then so is carb overload, so who knows. Heavy carb intake was just a way of life in my family - and diabetes is rampant in my family as well.
What I don’t know is how well low carb works when you’re taking statins. Also, I’m assuming you have had thyroid tests - TSH, T3, T4?? If not, definitely get that done - I am hypothyroid (Hashimotos) and that affects weight as well. Tip - do the test when fasting. Some say it doesn’t matter but my research says otherwise. And, diabetes and Hashimotos sort of “go together” very often.
So far, I feel pretty good about the Symlin in terms of the reduction of insulin needed - which was my primary goal - and losing weight secondarilyC, which is happening as a result of the first goal. However, it’s happening s-l-o-w-l-y. But, so did putting it on, so I’m trying to be patient.
I just gotta throw this in…my health improved when I questioned and learned and chose not to follow everything the doctor said - for example, not taking statins and ace inhibitors. They affected my well-being so much, I didn’t have the energy to exercise. Without them, I was able to do more and improve my numbers. BUT…that’s a personal choice and has to be weighed carefully. I monitor both (blood pressure & cholesterol) very carefully.
Well, I did have a great time in San Antonio, TX…Now for my latest on Symlin and so on. The Symlin has greatly reduced my cravings between meals. I now go upwards of 16 hours without eating or an inclination to eat. That is an odd but welcomed feeling for me. I took the advice and started down the low carb approach. So far, I reduced my average carb intake from 160-180 a day to about 110.
The downside is my BGs were still on a roller-coaster. My endo changed my IC from 1;10 to 1:8 and now it’s 1:5 which is where I was before Symlin. The retun to IC 1:5 is the best setting for me.
I am just baffled as to why as a Type II I need some much daily insulin even with reduced carb intake. I guess it just my body but it’s disappointing. I avg about 75 units daily. When I mention this to Type 1 persons I get the reaction of “Wow!”.
I did stop using Lipitor for the last 2 weeks to prove it was the cause of my muscle pains in my thighs, back and upper legs. It was…I think I am going to try a reduced amount and see what happens. Doc agrees with this. Maybe go to Crestor as an alternative.
Hi Marty - Good to hear from you. Glad you enjoyed San Antonio. Also glad to hear you got off the statin - it’s awful stuff and we diabetics seem especially susceptible to the side effects. Again, as my A1c improved, so did my cholesterol numbers - without statins.
That’s great that you’re down to about 110 g carb a day. That’s a good reduction. I’m at ~60 a day - but pretty much 0 in the mornings - I just can’t tolerate them then. That’s when my ratio is about 1:5 so it’s just not worth it to me. So, I stick to protein/fat in the a.m. and eat my carbs at lunch or dinner. My I:C ratio at other times of the day is 1:10 or 1:12.
As far as symlin and the roller coaster - I have to say that I do have to watch more carefully. I’ve taken to setting my alarm to 90 minutes after eating. Any earlier and it’s like wasting the insulin, but if I wait any longer to bolus, I will get quite a spike - higher than I used to get before Symlin, when I just bolused before eating. So I try to watch it. Other than that, I am happy with no appetite and I am happy to have reduced my insulin. I’ve gone from about 50 U of basal and 20 U of fast-acting to ~24 U basal and ~10 U fast-acting…so, from about 70 total to about 34 total. And it’s cascading downward as I lose weight - 10 pounds so far!
If you are highly resistant, you may find the amount needed goes down as you lose weight. We T2s tend to be very insulin resistant and insulin is a fat-building hormone. The thing that keeps us alive also makes us sicker…in that it becomes a vicious, spiraling cycle…more insulin, more weight, more insulin, more weight, and on and on. I really believe that one day the medical establishment will STOP telling T2s to go ahead and eat as many carbs as they want - just “shoot up” for it. It’s crazy.
Take care. OH! Almost forgot my news - I’m going to go with the pump - the Animas Ping. I’m waiting to get the word.
Well, I went off Lipitor about 3-4 weeks ago and got my latest test results. My cholestrol went up about 65 points to 187 and my TRIs went from 127 to 406. My TRIs were so high the lab can’t determine my LDL. The good side is since I went off Lipitor the muscle pain has ceased completely.
My latest H1Ac went from 8.1 to 7.7 and for the last month my BGs have been really good. So the trend is going in the right direction. Now my doc needs to determine the next steps regarding my cholestrol and TRIs. He was talking about Crestor.
Good luck, Marty - hope you get the cholesterol figured out. I’m thinking this might be sort of a “bounce back” pendulum effect of going off the Lipitor.
Wanted to let you know that I have backed way off the Symlin - I now only take 60 mcg once, sometimes twice, a day. I continue to take a bit because I think my body needed the amylin (since research has shown it to be another casualty of a sick pancreas), but I now realize that with the low carb and small amount of insulin I take, it was too much for my system - it created horrible “bounce back” highs that I never had before.
So my approach to losing the “insulin weight” is now multi-pronged - added resistance (weight) training, added a bit of Symlin, and replaced Novolog with Apidra - all of which are allowing me to reduce my overall insulin use, and therefore allowing weight loss. And, of course, I’m going to add the pump - if it ever gets approved!
I saw my primary doctor this morning…I think I need to find another one. Him and I are not on the same page especially with my treatment plan from my Endo for my diabetes. I saw the endo about 2 weeks and he is pleased with my progress after making another adjustment with my insulin pump on 11/9. In fact, I was real kinda of depressed as I thought my progress wasn’t there as my H1Ac was 7.7 down from 8.1 and he said No. I was going in the right direction and should see better results on my next blood test.
I keep my primary doc in the loop on my diabetes so I gave him the same numbers given to the endo. He tells me that my blood sugars are terrible and infers that he can’t understand what my endo is doing. He really spent me into a tailspin since then. One of those days frustrated with having diabetes all the carb counting, test strips, what to eat and so on.
He did put me on 2 new medicines for my cholestrol and TRIs. They are pravastatin (20 mg) and Trilipix (135 mg). I know the 1st one is another statin but much milder version is what he told me.
I’m sorry you’re having a rough time. The roller coaster is the hardest part, for me. I have a whole new appreciation for consistency - wherever I can find it!
Your primary sounds like a real ■■■ - just what we need - to be discouraged…especially when we’re making progress. He’s an ■■■ and not a diabetes specialist. I will always be convinced that my diabetes was made worse, and my beta cells burned out, because I followed the treatment of a primary for years before seeking out an endo.
Well, I took one of the at-home A1C test from Bayer to see where I was at. I know my A1C was going to be better than my last lab report. Sure enough my at-home kit said 7.1…down from 7.7. Plus it matched my 90-day average from BG meter pretty close. A 7.1 is about 154 for BG and my meter indicates my 90-day average was 159.
Plus I read there is a new term being used by the ADA. It’s called eAG or Estimated Average Glucose. The feeling was people were not really understanding the A1C number and relating it to their daily numbers. The eAG is trying to bridge that gap.
