So my doctor wants me to start shooting insulin...

[BiggJawn]

I'm not OK with that. I must be eating the wrong things. I'm going to meet with a Nutritionist before I meet the hype-artist at the RDC next week so maybe I can get back on track.

I'm starting to get paranoid about my feet...Theyr'e OK. For NOW, anyway....

[blondeatlast]

1. If you are willing to be pretty strict about doing blood glucse testing,

and you do have to start injecting, consider getting a pump.

I've had one now for 5 years. I've been on insulin pretty much my entire life, fwiw. and I love mine.

Much more flexibility. If I want to sleep in, skip a meal when I'm sick (or any other reason), am at a party where I'm "grazing," I'm able to do all that.

The cannula stays in for 2-3 days, too, so it cuts down lots on the stickies.

I don't blame you for wanting to exhaust all the possibilities.

Since I'm IDD, I may not be the best for advice, but I wish you luck. (We apparently need all the union supporters we can get right now on DU!)

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

2. Don't ya hate needles???

It's been five years, and I still can't stand the sight of them!
My doc had me glucose testing 6 times a day and taking insulin via Humalog pen 5 times/day, but we still couldn't get control. I LOVE my Deltec pump, as I went from 6 sticks a day to one stick every 3 days. I don't look like a pin cushion anymore.
Big Jawn, I always suggest getting a second opinion. And if you can get control with diet and oral meds, do it. My first endo waited too long to go to insulin, and I went into ketoacidosis and nearly died twice. I've now been diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy (no symptoms), which can be slowed, but never cured. Eventually, I'll go blind and have to find another career. The moral of my story - don't ignore that you're diabetic and find the best healthcare team you can. I picked an endocrinologist that teaches future endo doctors at University Hospital. He knows the latest therapies and isn't afraid to get aggressive with treatment. My thoughts are with you.

[BiggJawn]

3. I sure do.

The hassle, not the discomfort. I have a bum back, so the concept of "pain-free living" is foreign to me anyway.

One dose of Lantus a day, then several sticks to check. OK, so my doctor didn't direct me to test more often, but I'm a curious type, anyway....
I think this is her "revenge" for my refusing Avandia. I was putting on 10 pounds a month on that stuff. Since i stopped, I've lost 6 of it back.

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

5. Get a good meter, too!

If you're still pricking your fingertips, try one of the new meters that will use blood from somewhere other than your fingertips. I switched over to the Freestyle meter, which only takes a pin-head drop of blood which I can get from anywhere (usually on the forearm). It is much better than sticking the fingertips with all those nerve endings. I don't feel the lancet at all, so I'm not as reluctant to test as told.
I had weight gain on Avandia too. Once I got my numbers regulated, the weight stabilized. If you really thing she's getting revenge on you for not using Avandia, I would look for another doc; one NOT hooked into a pharmaceutical company...
Good luck!

[CountAllVotes]

4. diet BiggJawn diet ...

BiggJawn,

I don't have diabetes but I was told "I was getting there" by my doctor. It scared the hell out of me.

I then decided NO MORE JUNK FOOD! I quit eating all of the stuff loaded with the preservatives and started eating as much organic food as I could and cut the sugar out as much as possible.

The last time they took my blood sugar levels it was 85! :D

Diet can and does work for many people and I don't blame you for not wanting to inject yourself with insulin. Yikes. :(

:kick:

[China_cat]

7. Injecting insulin is only replacing what your body no longer

makes for itself. I really don't understand the reluctance on this. There is nothing more 'natural' and no better way to control this condition once it gets to that level.

Oral meds only kick start a stuttering pancreas. Once it quits altogether, you either replace the hormone or you die a really ugly death.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Don't Mess With Diabetes

Waiting too long to treat it is the primary cause of diabetes related death.

My dad had it. They waited too long to put him on injected insulin (rather than the oral medication).

They controlled it well for about 10 years, and then his system just fell apart. He went from retirement, travel, golf, and sitting for his granddaughter to dead in about 15 months.

Don't mess around with this disease!
The Professor

[Ladyhawk]

8. I'm learning that, Prof...thanks. n/t

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

9. If you're serious about caring for it,

then you need to ask to be put on an insulin pump - NOW. I too wake up at 300+, and the roller coaster ride of shot after shot after shot drove me into depression too. I had to fight both my endocrinologists and my insurance company to get one, finally threatening to go to the press with my story. Remember that a sizable portion of the endocrinologists out there have unholy ties to the drug companies, and they make more $$$ if they keep you on oral meds than they do with insulin! A very large percentage of diabetics (60%+) end up with clinical depression (I did); guess it goes with having a disease that you'll never get rid of. Hang in there, and demand GOOD CARE!

[blondeatlast]

10. As SD mentions, it takes some effort to get on a pump, but DO!

Especially since you've just begun injecting, the insurance companies may be reluctant. If you're interested, I can offer you tips to help you get them to approve.

Don't let up on the fight, and if your endo won't consider, consider talking to one who will; the pump mfgs. have listings of pump friendly (read: kickback receiving, but it is better therapy anyway) endos.

Nowadays, the pumps even do the math for you! I'm waiting for my new one sometime this month.

Good luck, guy. It can't be easy, but you'll manage.

[SpeedwayDemocrat]

11. Good point, Blondeatlast!

I found a great endo when I called my local sales rep for my insulin pump and asked him "Of the doctors you serve, who asks the most questions about the pump and plays around with the settings and is technology savvy?" He came back to me with a doctors name who actually teaches other endos how to become doctors (at a university hospital). He's great and willing to get really agressive with my settings to get the numbers down. BTW, I love my Deltec Cozmo pump with the built-in glucose meter -one less device I have to carry!

[mopinko]

12. sleep and autoimmune disease

a friend of mine who is diabetic and i were talking about my sleep problems, and he told me that he had read that diabetics with sleep disorders are more likely to become insulin resistant, and to do poorly. back pain, specifically pain focused in the left side of the lower back, is a symptom of my sleep troubles, and the sleep doc told me that bad sleep causes similar symptoms regardless of the cause. with fibro, it is sometimes attributed to the spinal stenosis that a lot of fibro sufferers develop, but that may be a chicken and egg thing.
it makes a lot of sense, if you think about it. we all know that autoimmune disease is related to stress, and when you don't sleep, your body is in a constant state of stress. i think that research into sleep is going to result in a lot of changes in medicine once it is fully understood and accepted.

[BiggJawn]

13. That makes sense.

Your health is always the first thing to go when you're stressed and having trouble sleeping...

Oh, speaking of, I was informed yesterday that we're being re-orged AGAIN....Eighth time in 4 years....Oh, Yah, baby! pour that stress on me! Kill me with it, then you won't have to pay whatever fucking puny pension I'll have coming to me when I'm 80 and can't work anymore....