The State of TuAnalyze, Jan-2011

I agree that T2 is very variable and hard to generalize; that’s part of the reason I said before that I would like as a T1 to compare myself to other T1’s.

I haven’t read misc.health.diabetes for at least a decades. Man, looking up that FAQ by the Reids really took me back. I still remember some of the posts by Melynda Reid - she was quite a writer. Sadly it looks like she died recently.

Anyway I found this in the misc.health.diabetes FAQ:

“HbA1c levels appear to vary by up to 1.0% among individuals with the same average bG. See reference 2.”

If I understand you, your A1c test of 10.7 is definitely in the diabetic range - so even if it were actually 9.7 or 11.7, it wouldn’t have made much difference. A T1 diabetic can have an A1c of 6.0 and still go into ketoacidosis if they unplug their pump for a day. What am I missing?

Do a search for “5” in the groups.

Yes, Melynda had a pulmonary embolism and died last year. She was only 57. Ed said they had no idea why it happened, other than bad luck.

The reason the 10.7 was low was because I had been running 400 - 600 - HI for months. I was taking insulin inconsistently (like leaving the pump off overnight, or omitting insulin for a meal) and bingeing on carbs (not proud of that, but I was having a major depression), So I SHOULD have had a much higher A1c. Other people mention A1cs of 12, 13, 14 or higher, yet they were not comatose, nor even close. So why would I be so vulnerable at 10.7 unless I was a low glycator?

I guess the biggest reason it concerns me is that my doc totally missed the fact that I was in trouble a week before I ended up in the emergency room. I like to think I could have avoided the coma if he had hospitalized me then and there, and brought down my BGs BEFORE I went into a coma and almost died. I knew I was in trouble, but didn’t know how much, and I did try to get help, but everyone I asked including the CDEs at the Diabetes Wellness Center essentially ignored me. My new endo has since told me that if my BGs go over 300 and I can’t get them down, to call him. I feel more comfortable with the new guy!

Remember A1c is a 3 month moving average so if you went from 131 and 138 to 250 perhaps the 7.1 was a result os many near 100’s followed by some near 250’s? Strange things happen in a honeymoon phase, I even got off meds for a while did not know it would be short lived. regarding T1’s and T2’s it pprobably is of no value to tell one group thay have it easier than another. We both have it difficult and a lot of variability. Some are even misdiagnosed. We thought my wife was T2 following Gestational and never found that she was really Late onset T1 until we took a C-Peptide test. I never even heard of the c peptide test til the insurance company insisted on it for Insulin pump supplies (I’ve pumped for over 20 years and she has for over 3) Makes you wonder why the doctors dont use the tools in their tool bag?

No, my diabetes progressed more slowly than that. The 4.8 was in Nov. 1991, whereas the 7.1 was in Aug. 1993. I went on insulin in May 1994, because the family doc sent me to an endo, who put me on Glucotrol, which did not lower my BGs at all, so I asked for insulin. Which worked wonders almost immediately, using reasonable doses.

I never had C-peptide or antibody testing – I was diagnosed before those were common. I have been told by 2 different CDEs in 2 different states that I function like a Type 1, even though that has never been officially proven, and when I was in the hospital, the Type 2 protocols only sent my BGs higher, so the CDE in charge insisted on Type 1 protocols, which did work, and told me that for medical purposes, I should tell people I’m Type 1. My new endo also has me down as Type 1. For reality purposes, I’m off somewhere in Never-never land, but for medical purposes, I will do and say what I need to in order to get appropriate treatment. And not get killed by ignorant hospitalists.