Ok i,ll start at the begining ad try and keep this as short as possible…
15 years ago I was diagnosed diabetic. I was 15 and cried hysterically. The Dr. threw me in a hospital for a week where I started insulin. I was on a very small dose 5 units NPH twice a day. It would drop me extremely low ( like 30’s-40’s)3-5 hours later. I got tired of it and the Dr not listening and I stopped taking it. My sugars stayed between 150 and 300. I didn’t get a new dr till I was 17 and this one wanted me to just diet and excersize. No progress. During my first pregnancy (17-18 years old) the dr’s told me it was fine to have sugar readings 150-250 and not to worry unless they were over 300. I believed her …and now know how dangerous it was.
My next pregnancy 3 years later I was put on insulin. It worked kinda. It kept me around 150 which was better than the 479 I walked in the door at. After the birth they put me on glucophage it worked for 6 months then nothing. I moved 6 months later and no longer qualified for insurance so I had no medication for a year. When I became pregnant again I was thrilled to be told I could take a pill…glyburide. My sugar was very irratic. Sometimes it would drop very low others it would do nothing. We got the dosage right and I was great till I hit 6 months and then I had to switch to insulin about 50 units twice a day.
Then with no insurance again for 2 years the medication was gone. Pregnancy number 4 went well with just gyburide. My last pregnancy ( yeah 5 babies and diabetes) I was on insulin again. 100 units in the morning 100 at night and 50 in the afternoon.
My youngest baby is 18 months and I have been on glucovance for 7 months now. My last Dr was not listening and very slowly inceasing the dosage. It was doing nothing and she knew it. She left the practice and now I have a new dr. He seems to be of the old school belief that anyone diagnosed under 18 is a type 1. For all these years Dr’s have never agreed what I am. He has maxxed out my glucovance ( dosage is 5/500 2 pills twice a day) and made it very clear if it does not work he will switch me to insulin. The side effects of the high dosage of glucovance is taking a toll on me When my sugar goes below 200 I feel like its 40. I know I have to adjust to that and it’s cause I am not used to normal sugar levels. But I feel sick constantly.
I would just be so happy if they could decide what type of diabetic I am. I have begged this new Dr to send me to an endocrinologist ( it is not routine practice in this state but I saw one before I moved) and I am hoping to avoid insulin. I become very depressed on insulin …especially high doses.
I do not know any other diabetics and I just feel lost. People have so many misconceptions about the disease and just don’t understand. If anyone has any answers suggestions or ideas that would help me I would so greatly appreciate it…
Dear ryan.
Wow what a story.
You cant live with a blood sugar of 200 you will end up with massive complications like my brother whos feet rotted off from gangrene. Blindness or permanently hooked up to the dialysis machine because of kidney failure.
Discussing which type you are is politically very touchy on this web site. But there are 2 issues common to all diabetes 1) how much insulin you own pancreas is still producing in your case it must be still producing or you would be dead on your glucovance although I think you are in the process of killing it then the disease will be your worst nightmare. 2) insulin resistance, if I read the above correctly you used 250 units of insulin per day when you were pregnant, this is about 5 to 10 times what most diabetics use so you must be really insulin resistant or you would have died on so much insulin.
Now the good news this can be fixed. To combat the insulin resistance do as much exercise as you possibly can and take a generic version of metformin (glucophage) this is one of the ingredients in your glocovance.
To keep your pancreas alive you probably should add a proper regime of external insulin. you will need a slow acting insulin for you “basal” needs and a fast acting insulin before meals for your “bolus” needs. The other ingredient in the glucovance is glyburide which forces your own pancreas to make more insulin. this will exhaust it. and you mentioned above that the glucovance is no longer working.
Until you straighten all this out it would be best to eat as little carbohydrates as possible.
Best of luck and do something fast.
Thank you very much for responding. Yes the dr did mention something about insulin resistance when I was on so much of it. The glucovance works just not as it should be. it makes me feel sick to the point I cannot eat. I have been on glucophage before and it does nothing. Well I shouldn’t say nothing…it lowers me from the 400 range to the 200 range. Which is all most medications have done for me.
I have also been told that I have the begining stages of neuropathy. I am in almost constant pain and am not even 30 yet. I am hoping the endocrinologist will help more than these regular dr’s have.
Ryan,
I agree with Anthony, until you see a new doctor “it would be best to eat as little carbohydrates as possible.” Start with your next meal if you haven’t already started cutting back. (I’m sure choosing what to eat and meal preparation will be a challenge with children in the house, but sometimes we need to put ourselves first.) Along with reducing your carbs, please start participating in regular physical activity, such as simply walking. (“Simply walking” also may be easier said than done with a house full of kids, but maybe a daily family walk can become a relaxing routine–that is, compared to house work.) Importantly, I’m a member of the Ready, Set, Go exercise group at TuDiabetes; come join us for on-going support and encouragement at http://tudiabetes.com/group/readysetletsgo . Best regards, Lucy
Dear Ryan.
If glucovance makes you sick it could be the metformin part of the mix. This is the problem with combo medications (glucovance = metformin + glyburide) you don’t know what is happening. Get the Dr. to prescribe the generic metformin in the same dose as you are taking in the glucovance and the same amount of glyburide( this is shit and should be replaced with insulin) you will have to take 2 pills instead of one. Big deal the only benefit (not to you) is big pharma makes more money. Metformin makes me so sick that after 3 weeks I can hardly get out of bed. This is bad news because it is one of the only drugs to fight insulin resistance. The other way is a tremendious amount of exercise.
Really sorry about the neuropathy. Lowering the BG from 400 to 200 will only lenghthen your misery. you have to get the BG into the 100 range to stay reasonably healthy and neuropathy free. And this needs doing soon.
Hi: It is good that you are going to an endo, and I think that Anthony and Lucile have given you excellent advice to limit carbs. Since you have posted on the Type 1.5 discussion forum, I would also suggest that you get a definitive diagnosis which would clarify what treatment is necessary. The definitive test for Type 1 autoimmune diabetes (at any age of onset) is antibody testing (glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA), islet cell antibodies (ICA), and insulinoma-associated (IA-2) autoantibodies). Also, a c-peptide test is useful to see how much insulin you produce. The endo can order all these tests for you. Best of luck to you, I am so very sorry for what has happened to you.
Oh my god. Thank you guys sooo much. See now I know why I just don’t get along with dr’s. I was told that diagnoses of ty or t2 goes by age of onset or response to medication. I was told there was no test to see which type I was and no test to see how much insulin I am producing.
My sugar has not gone over 190 in 24 hours which for me is great. However I am still having symptoms of low sugar when it goes down to 150. It will pass and hopefully soon. I was on regular plain old glucophage a few years ago. It worked for 6 months then stopped they increased it ( 1000 mg a day ) and it worked for awhile and stopped. After I reached 2000 a day I said ok well I know this will work. A year later it didn’t thats when they decided I needed something else. Glyburide worked well when I was pregnant but now I could really be happy without it.
I wish I could be like my mother and my father and have low sugar instead of high. sigh such is life I guess