This may be a bit off the wall, but I have had luck with preventing liver dumps post strenuous exercise by having a glass of wine. I have heard of t2s having a small bedtime snack, wine and cheese to combat DP.
Might be worth an experiment.
Give yourself a break Heather. You are doing well. An A1C of 5.6 is very good so don't beat yourself up. There are a lot of variables that affect our blood sugar numbers. It might even be the stress you feel in the morning when you know your numbers are higher than you'd like. I've been there and just as frustrated as you because this disease is 24/7 without a break! Keep checking your numbers and do it before bed. I find that helps and sometimes a have a little snack before bed if I am hungry and may take a .5mg of glimiperide and my morning numbers are usually under 100. Find out what works for you. The doctors can only prescribe the meds and make suggestions but the more aware you are of what is going on in your body, the better off you are. Sometimes I will go through a few weeks when my numbers absolutely suck and then they even out again. Change is constant and our numbers always changing. My A1C seems to change with the seasons, fall 5.1, the winter from hell ( I live in the NE bitter cold, snow, wind) 5.7. I don't like 5.7, I prefer 5.1 but there it is so when spring arrives I am hopeful it will lower again. People with normal blood sugars have these fluctuations. Re-evaluate your diet, really count all those carbs ( I try to keep mine at 70 or under per day), exercising at lunch, walk after dinner if you can. 20-30 minutes will make a difference. Try the high intensity interval training (only 20 minutes). Try something new. I find if I exercise in the morning before breakfast my numbers shoot right up. Good luck and keep the faith.
Heather,
First let me congratulate you on taking control. From what you wrote, I believe that you’ve been diagnosed as diabetic for less than one year? Some of the frustration you’re feeling sounds almost like the “stages of grief” that many of us go through or have gone through.
By what you’ve written, you’ve done a tremendous job at lowering your weight, A1c, and your average BGs. Because of that, your doctors are probably not as worried about you as much as they do other people who don’t do as well. There are some doctors who feel that postprandial spikes up to 180 are okay, as long as your averages stay low.
This doesn’t match what many of us look for here. I would also recommend that you look at getting a different doctor - one whose approach & management style matches yours. I had one provider who would lecture me every visit, assuming that I wasn’t doing what I was told to do, because my BGs stayed high. When I changed doctors, the new doctor adjusted medications, asked questions of me, and listened to what I was experiencing. Shockingly, my BGs started to drop… 
Don’t let yourself get apathetic over managing your diabetes. Just understand that you are likely to go through additional stages of anger, frustration, depression, and other emotions. This goes hand-in-hand with your long-term management. I know of people who would get frustrated that they were doing the right things, but their BGs stayed high, so they stopped checking. Knowing lets you do something about it. Denial and avoidance will hurt you in the long run, and you don’t want that. This journey is more like a marathon than a sprint.
I have been diabetic for almost 13 years now, and going on the insulin pump with CGM last year was the best thing I’ve ever done for my management. I still have frustrations from Dawn Phenomenon, BG spikes for no apparent reason, and BG reactions to foods that I would not have expected previously. However, I have learned more about what works and what doesn’t for me through that CGM, and I am extremely grateful for it.
This site has also been great. I think you can get a great dose of realism here that helps to balance what you get from your medical providers. Good luck!
Heather - I've been totally underwhelmed by doctors', endos', nurses', and CDEs' low expectations. I'm a T1D so my experience with some of your T2D issues is non-existant. I do, however, have decades of experience dealing with medical professionals acting simply like medical transcriptionists. They seem to take more interest in following the details of your demise rather than trying to improve your life.
I know not every doctor or CDE acts like I've described. If my experience is any indication, it is a rampant dysfunctional attitude.
How can you find a practitioner more in synch with your vision? The old-fashioned referral is probably the best way. Use your personal network to inquire of every T2D you know whether they are using insulin and what their doctor's attitude is toward putting a T2D on insulin. You could also extend your network by putting a call out on TuD requesting referrals from people in your geographic vicinity.
Finally, you could simply go out-of-pocket at Walmart and buy yourself a vial of Regular insulin and just try it out. Some may be aghast at this suggestion. They probably have more respect of the medical profession than I do. If you do this, I would start conservative, keep good records, adjust and repeat.
In fact, I wonder what your current doctor would say if you told him that you strongly think insulin is needed in your case. Challenge him and say, "I am going to go to Walmart and buy insulin. Are you going to help me or abandon me?"
Your sense that you deserve to feel better absolutely trumps the backwards thinking of many T2D doctors. You have skin in the game; that gives you authority that the doctors can't even begin to approach. Take ownership, act, measure, adjust.
Good luck. Your sense of your situation is healthy and accurate!
Heather,
You are to be commended for bring your A1C from 11 to 6 with metformin,diet and exercise.
I was diagnosed in 2000 with an A1C of under 7. Diet and exercise alone for four years when it became apparent that just entering a room with a potato was elevating my sugar. Currently,I'm using 32 units of Lantus along w/2500 mg metformin spread out from breakfast through dinner. Glipizide,Byetta,Avandia would produce scary lows. I couldn't go anywhere without some rescue glucose with me.
My last A1C was the highest it's ever been 7.5%.
I may have to talk to my doc about some fast acting insulin.
My doc's 68 now and growing weary of all the paperwork he has to mess with. O'Care has doubled that. Just wanted you to know I think you're doing well.
Dave
I agree with the general theme running through the responses. If you can't get your current team to pull with you in the right direction, then change them. You are your own best advocate and nobody else will fight like a banshee when things are starting to get out of control.
Go for it!!
Lois
I just wanted to add a bit of encouragement. Don't let the turkeys out there set you on a downward spiral. There is only one reason for someone getting your goat and that is ... you let them know where your goat is tied up! (lol) Keep your chin up the best you can by staying in contact with positive influences and staying away from the negative.
Lois
HELLO
You said...."It p***es me off. Why does my health have to worsen before I'm able to get any help? Why can't I try to preserve my pancreas and improve my bg with tiny corrections now... instead of just sitting idly by until my pancreas is entirely shot and my bg management requires huge corrections?
I agree, BUT regardless they WILL DO NOTHING, I am into it over a decade, and my nums are totally bad, lost 30lbs. also as you did . A!C always in 7+ range..
I have been in BIG PHARMS advocacy groups, but all they do is plan the next super kool meter/strips wahtever.
Consider the numbers of all these bozo docs, that have passed on...and add the ones we have now...NOT ONE...NONE have a spine among them, NONE.
IT's a corrupt lazy bunch of idiots collecting a fraudulent paycheck.
Oh they refer you to a dietician (they make $160k btw) and 50 yrs ago it all the same crap...amazing!
NOW think of all the education, money, opportunity, and clear direction given & wasted supposedly by smart people
this MULTI BILLION failure has eaten....year after year, forever...so assumed
Im going enjoy watching these bastards rot/squirm in hell...lol
A possible solution, sometimes works for me...its expensive but search Syntra 5 supplement...amazon has it, but it disappeared for (hmmm?)awhile
There's nothing surprising about that at all. Alcohol has a suppressing effect on liver function in the short run. I have observed this more times than I can count.
Hi Heather,
I had a problem with my bs shooting up to the 200s by lunchtime even though I took enough insulin to cover breakfast (carb counting). It seemed to happen only on workdays, so I attributed it to stress & frustration.
This article about caffeine was sent to me in a newsletter & after I read it, I took extra insulin to cover 10 more carb grams. My bs was 150. I'm still experimenting with the dose, but it was very obvious that caffeine was affecting my bs.
Do you drink coffee in the morning? Here is the link to the blog article:
www.diabetesdaily.com/.../01/does-caffeine-raise-your-blood-sugar/
I hope it helps you. It was something I never considered.
-cat
Oh no. Don't take my caffeine! ;^)
After thinking about what you wrote about metformin, I decided to change when I take mine to see if it makes a difference. So as of Friday night I started taking my metformin at midnight and noon. I don't check my morning bgs on the weekends because I sleep in and I want a break from being a pin cushion. (I still stay on track with my diet and check through the rest of the day, though, so it's not like I go full on crazy over the weekend or anything.) Anyway, my bg this morning as 96. I didn't believe my meter. So I tested again. 93.
Fingers crossed, this wasn't a freak reading and I've figured out what will keep my morning numbers down.
Anyway, thanks for your feedback.
I am known for being very hard on myself. You're right there. But my dad has been a poorly managed diabetic for over 30 years and his health is starting to fail quite badly. My grandma, his mom, died of a heart attack at 51. She was also diabetic and didn't manage her disease at all -- she was in total denial. That potential future for myself terrifies me. So I want to take control now and, hopefully, extend my life and health as much as possible. I know I'm being a control freak. You're right that I need to calm down about it some. :)
Yes, I was diagnosed less than 6 months ago. Though, I was avoiding the reality of my health for about a year. I grew up around diabetes and I knew what was going on with me long before I went to a doctor. But anyway, thank you for your feedback. You're right. It's a marathon. I need to keep that in mind.
Thank you, Dave.
Thanks Lois. I'll try. :)
my read is that as long as you drink it black; there should be no issues!
I actually had better numbers when I drank beer after work. Daily I would have a beer an hour for three hrs. Triglycerides weren't happy but my A1C was in the low 6's. The beer would kill my appetite,and my diabetes was happier. Been sober now for almost five yrs and aside from the higher A1C's my body's happier.
Caffeine's not an issue as I can't tolerate it.
jims, I wish that were the case. I've been noticing the same thing for some time now, and I drink my coffee black. I will say that I have an issue with the Dawn Phenomenon continuing after I get up, even if I haven't eaten or drank anything, through mid-morning. It could be related to the DP, but I think the coffee also has an impact.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop drinking coffee! I'm just going to dose for it. :)
Another 2 cents. COFFEE:I never drink coffee before breakfast, if I do I am sure to have high numbers. I always drink my coffee after my morning meal. I use cream and stevia. I am not giving up my morning coffee! So far that has worked for me.
ENDOCRINOLOGIST: I was going to what I thought was a reputable Diabetes Clinic. Appts always running late, few minutes for questions and then never did get answers. Was told just do what we say. Well, this did not set well with me. Fired them and I found an excellent endo who spends an hour with me, each visit, responds to my questions and research and we have a good discussions. I want to be involved in the process, its my body!
RESEARCH: Find reputable sites such as this one and Dr. Richard Bernstein who is my Guru and David Mendosa who has excellent info and resources.
WINTER: This winter has been a bear, I live in the NE and its been so cold. I am eating more than I normally do, have put on a few pounds but spring is around the corner and I will be once again more active. After lunch I will do a interval intensive 20 minute workout, miss walking/running in the woods however!
TEST TEST TEST: I test 6 times per day although both endo's have said only twice daily. Well, that doesn't work for me, I find that I can maintain a better blood sugar balance if I test more frequently. It also helps me find out what is a good choice for food or not.Even though my fingertips are like pin cushions.
ALCOHOL: I have also found that my BS are good if I have a glass of red wine with dinner, but you have to be careful with that as its not good for your liver and pancreas so its best to drink sparingly. As we must put a lot this medication in our bodies, just think of how hard your liver is working to get out the toxins. I just started taking reservatol to see if that makes a difference. But when I go out to dinner, I do splurge on a "good" glass of wine or two.
Be mindful that there is a lot of garbage out there and always check with your doctor.
Diabetes is a hard dis-ease. When I was first diagnosed I was ashamed of myself and went into a very deep depression (my father had just died as well). I blamed myself even though I have always exercised and eaten fairly well most of my life. It doesn't run in my family although I was misdiagnosed as a Type 2, actually a MODY so it must be somewhere!
Find some "me" time to relax. Try yoga or meditation. Try something new and don't be too hard on yourself.
I just made some delicious low-carb stevia peanut butter cookies. Followed by a toasted almond cappuccino, today's indulgence! Now to get on the elliptical trainer. Cheers!