Right now, I have that luxury, also. But we’ll see how the new medical people go.
I am newly diagnosed and have only been treated with insulin (Lantus) for the last 6 months. The thought of taking ANYTHING other than insulin scares me. As diabetics, we are already at increasd risk for so many other complications, I have serious doubts about increasing any of those risks by adding in a pill that can cause heart failure or liver failure, or kidney failure, or any number of other complications.
My other concern is who has something to gain by me taking the pill? Is it me? Or is it the doctor getting kickbacks from the drug companies for prescribing the drugs? Or the drug companies making millions of dollars by putting the drugs out there and gambling with our lives? Or am I just being paranoid?
Statins scare the hell out of me. I replaced my diuretic with a combo of potassium, magnesium.
I don’t think your being paranoid, but we all have to weigh the risks of the treatments our doctors recommend. For me, priority 1 is good BG, then deciding how best to get there (oral meds, insulin, diet and exercise). The risks of diabetic complications are very real and very scary to me so staying in very good control is the biggest factor in my treatment plan.
I agree completely with the issue you raise regarding side effects like heart or kidney disease. It amazes me that drugs to treat a certain disease can have side effects that are risks already associated with a patients disease. But then you will see a drug to treat asthma that poses moderate risk of cancer so go figure.
HI ALL
It is your decision! however do your research on the subject if on the net if say three sites non related are saying it is safe then we can assume it is.
Always work with your doctor never be afraid to ask or question his/her actions
Hoss
E G M
I have to say that being paranoid makes me crazy (!). I’ve been very lucky in that I have not had any terrible experiences with doctors and/or the procedures I’ve had to undergo as a result of their decisions. The ones that I’ve been patients of have for the most part been very good to excellent, so I trust them.
I hope I never have the burden of having to fill my brain with medical research because of a bad experience, but I can certainly see how that would be a major cause of being distrustful of doctors – and of course by then one would have experienced suffering at the hands of them so that is doubly unfortunate…
I had very serious adverse effects from statins. I now abosulately refuse statin treatment. I would have to be “suicidal” to take a statin. The scariest part of my experience was the absolute refusal of my doctors to believe that medications can have side effects. I no longer trust doctors to make appropriate risk assessments with my medications.
HI ALL
Was there ever a treatment that scared you to try?
Marriage medical if it makes sense give it a go
Hoss
E G M
Insulin was a nightmare for me coz of my needle phobia had to do everything in my power to get off it
I’ve said no thanks to three surgeons and to recommendations of Byetta, Januvia (twice), and Actos treatment, and most recently to CAT scans every 6-months (I may decline an upcoming alternative MRI until I’m no longer–if ever-- symptom free). Or else, I’ll just eventually disappear solving my problem with compliance as I’m slowly & steadily loosing weight on Metformin.
Non-compliant with D - NO - I will do whatever it takes to stay healthy from D. I work in the healthcare field, and see and take care of the consequences everyday of non-compliance and it is not where I want to be in the future. Have I ever questioned a med or treatment, sure. But in the end, there has always been compromise.
Great Jennifer, you have an advantage here, you work with people in the health field, have knowledge of those tests and procedures that they want us to do. Most of us, don’t, and our physicians or medical people aren’t good at explaining why and whatfore, just DO IT! I think all of us would do just about anything to be healthier diabetics, however, most of us aren’t as lucky as those who have diabetes and are in the field. We have to either do our homework very defensively and protectively, or trust 150% the medical team we have…and some of those teams are lacking. I don’t call everything I do non compliant, I call it being informed. There are many things that I have been asked to do — a hysterectomy for example, 15 years ago, that was totally unnecessary, the fibroid was removed without totally taking my utereus out; having a total knee replacement 12 years ago…someday it might be necessary, but not now, the science is not good enough to prove that this will be a one shot thing, unless of course I die. So these things are not being non-compliant, they are making sound medical decisions on my own behalf.
Ditto!
Compliance infers their “treatment” (whatever “X” might be) guarantees a specific result.
They do not.
Non-compliant does not mean that you are WRONG… it means they have not convinced you sufficently. Until their treatments have no side-effects, you should be skeptical.
Stuart
Thank you, I needed that support and encouragement.
I am always arguing with my doc about BP meds. She wants me to take them as “they are recommended” to help prevent heart disease, I normally run 110’s/60-70’s. I also am trying to get off the statins and refuse flu vaccines.
It’s a matter of finding a doc or team that will work with you, understands what you want to do, I think. This summer has been a lesson in that for me. Losing my CNP/CDE meant I had to think about what I was going to want in someone else, not just take anyone. I sat down and wrote the pros and cons of the relationship I had lost, what was good about it, what made it work, and what I wanted in someone to replace that…then when I got ready to go and find that person, I took my needs, wants and desires with me on a sheet of paper. I asked if they were willing to do these things, what ones they had a problem with, what ones they would support and how much leeway I had in t he process. Amazingly, there was only one doc that said HE couldn’t agree with most of it, HE was the doc, I was the patient. Well, needless to say, he didn’t get the job. I will give on some things, I will think about others and then decide, and unless it’s an emergency, NOTHING has to be decided in a 20 minutes appt. And then of course, there are those things that I am 100% on board for in the first place. But I had to be in charge. I had to be the one who said “yes” let’s do it, or I’ll be able to follow that thought. I still own this old carcus, and until which time that I sell it for a new one, I’ll be making those decisions.
I always say the fake sugar and all the drugs are going to kill me before Diabetes does