Diabetic anyone?

[Kenna]

Originally Posted by bright_arrow

Without meds, my fasting is averaging 250. Since the A1C is every three months, I imagine not being on it for a month will have an impact.

I had managed to get my number down to 7.8 but then I was no longer being held accountable and not managing my meds well so it jumped up again. I just met with my new primary and she was very nice, she can fill my meds, and I went in for bloodwork for my A1C so we'll see! I am assuming they will call me because we never scheduled a F/U appointment.

I have never heard of the new med you're on but I am glad that you got them discounted!

Actos = Pioglitazone...I hadn't heard of it but am willing to give it a huge try. I know my coach is doing her best to help me have more "good days" instead of struggles. She knows what I go thru with my other heath issues and works closely with me to overcome barriers. Unlike one of my specialists who has been an ass (to say the least) about the new meds he switched me to, after insulting and contradicting the other specialist. (He even argued with me when I said I had too many prescribers, that I wanted to coordinate with my coach (who's a pharmacist) and Primary Care.)

Yes, I was very happy to get approved for my discounted RX's ...especially with the cost of the patches and Plaquinil...I've been very fortunate to have found an amazing Care Team who have helped me navigate things and cope.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Originally Posted by Kenna

Actos = Pioglitazone...I hadn't heard of it but am willing to give it a huge try. I know my coach is doing her best to help me have more "good days" instead of struggles. She knows what I go thru with my other heath issues and works closely with me to overcome barriers. Unlike one of my specialists who has been an ass (to say the least) about the new meds he switched me to, after insulting and contradicting the other specialist. (He even argued with me when I said I had too many prescribers, that I wanted to coordinate with my coach (who's a pharmacist) and Primary Care.)

Yes, I was very happy to get approved for my discounted RX's ...especially with the cost of the patches and Plaquinil...I've been very fortunate to have found an amazing Care Team who have helped me navigate things and cope.

There is currently a lawsuit regarding Actos and bladder cancer, so maybe look up what signs you should watch out for and just be cautious. I was put on Actos several years ago and i had problems with weight gain and stomache pain.

I am currently on insulin only, as i don't tolerate (or frankly trust) all the new medications touted as the next new "wonder drug".

[Kenna]

Originally Posted by MsTinkerbelly

There is currently a lawsuit regarding Actos and bladder cancer, so maybe look up what signs you should watch out for and just be cautious. I was put on Actos several years ago and i had problems with weight gain and stomache pain.

I am currently on insulin only, as i don't tolerate (or frankly trust) all the new medications touted as the next new "wonder drug".

Thank you, Ma'am. .Good information to know. My coach promoted Actos as "no side effects as like Metformin"...I'll mention this to her during our next meeting.

[Kenna]

Ok....so today was humbling and a bit scary.
Recently Doc put me on a double dose (20 days instead of 10) of steroids. Because it messes with my sugar levels they also increased my Actos.
This past weekend I had a really great physically able time. It was awesome! The steroids help with inflammation, bone pain and the nerves in my legs....
But today, apparently, I paid for it.
I didn't eat right over the weekend... but it wasn't terrible stuff. ...this morning my fasting sugar was 208...the highest I recall it ever being. After breakfast and meds, I got really sick. By noon it was only down 3 points...after that, I had to lay down in a dark room because of my busting headache and exhaustion. Sick to stomach, terrible hot flashes and soaking sweating...got up around 4 or 5....did chores, checked sugar again....237!!! The highest I've ever recorded!
Had dinner of nice salad topped with a bit of chicken salad. Sooooo yummy and fresh. My tummy did finally settle. But I am still feeling like I've been fighting the flu and the damn headache. Thank god the hot flashes and gut cramps stopped.

I took an extra Actos tonight in hopes it will help tomorrow...
I have a big day of chores and working with the new additions to the farm tomorrow...
Thank you for listening...it was really scary and I couldn't reach my health coach.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Originally Posted by Kenna

Ok....so today was humbling and a bit scary.
Recently Doc put me on a double dose (20 days instead of 10) of steroids. Because it messes with my sugar levels they also increased my Actos.
This past weekend I had a really great physically able time. It was awesome! The steroids help with inflammation, bone pain and the nerves in my legs....
But today, apparently, I paid for it.
I didn't eat right over the weekend... but it wasn't terrible stuff. ...this morning my fasting sugar was 208...the highest I recall it ever being. After breakfast and meds, I got really sick. By noon it was only down 3 points...after that, I had to lay down in a dark room because of my busting headache and exhaustion. Sick to stomach, terrible hot flashes and soaking sweating...got up around 4 or 5....did chores, checked sugar again....237!!! The highest I've ever recorded!

Had dinner of nice salad topped with a bit of chicken salad. Sooooo yummy and fresh. My tummy did finally settle. But I am still feeling like I've been
fighting the flu and the damn headache. Thank god the hot flashes and gut cramps stopped.

I took an extra Actos tonight in hopes it will help tomorrow...
I have a big day of chores and working with the new additions to the farm tomorrow...
Thank you for listening...it was really scary and I couldn't reach my health coach.

As you are aware, steroids can really mess with your blood sugar short term...actos is a medicine that takes a while (4-6weeks) to react properly with your body, and will not make up for a higher number simply by taking more short term. Once you stop taking the steroids your numbers should go back down to a more managable level. An interesting side note...you can actually get type 2 diabetes from long term steroid use!

Exercise, low carbs and LOTS of water will help get your numbers back down when steroids are in use. Your kidneys will suffer damage when your blood sugar is over 200 for an extended period of time, so you are right to be concerned if your numbers remain high, especially overnight.

I am not a doctor, nor do i play one on tv...so please get ahold of your coach for help when you can.

Blessings to you

[Kenna]

Thank you very much MsTinkerbelly. You are above awesome! I sincerely appreciate your support.
It's been a tough day. I hurt from pain caused by other disability so in combination with how sick I got today, it was terrible hard to exercise but I honesty did try...especially in the morning and before noon when I had to tend to my new baby goats (that are soooo fun to see play and I enjoyed giving them breakfast)...I did other yard chores, tried to cut tree limbs and honeysuckle for the babies and did 2 loads of laundry until I couldn't take the headache any longer and laid down.

Dinner was refreshing...but damn, I didn't know that about the Actos not helping to bring down a spike. Sigh....
My health coach only works at the clinic part time and as a Pharmacy Professor as her other job. ...I'll call the nurse tomorrow because my head is still splitting and numbers have jumped to 241 instead of going down.
Thanks again! Especially for such a quick response.

[Rockinonahigh]

Being diabetic is a royal pain in the a**,so far I have gone from a 7 in my a1c test to a 5 on the last one I had. Even though I am keeping the numbers way down ...95 to a 100 most times in the morning then the highest I have been is 170 only one time and it scared me to no end that it would really get out of hand. I had baked cookies with splenda but they had fresh coco in it as well, I didn't feel bad just the numbers threw me for a loop, I ate six over the day but was active and did drink plenty of fluids. Today I am going to my first diabetic session at the hospital with a group of folks, my doctor has never set me up with one so I ended up calling the diabetic association to get with these folks...I do hope I get somewhere with this cause where I don't micro manage my meal plan I am careful for the most part, plus I exercise as much as I can without blowing my back. Today was a screwy day when getting out of bed I tricked into muscle cramps that kept on for ever to the point I thought I would end up in the E.R. but I got hold of my Doctors office plus took a 500 mg Robaxin pill ad a couple of pain pills I was due for anyway. I have to much to do to waist a day dealing with this, all I did was roll out of bed then "BAM" it hit, getting out of bed is the only way this starts so far. Who knew getting up in the morning could be such a trick.

[Kenna]

After a huge struggle, I finally got my numbers back down to 147 (recorded at midnight) ...this was several hours after dinner of a no-carb salad with a bunch of meat and eggs for protein and much more water than I'm accustomed to. Since today was a high pain day, I did as much exercise as possible between the cool morning hours of 6:30-7:30...pacing myself as I fed all the farm critters. Then unfortunately I was hurting so bad I had to go back to bed a while after breakfast of block cheese, water and meds....I gave my Cherrios to the baby goats. They enjoyed them as much as I do...but I guess from here on out, I can't have my favorite cereal or hot oatmeal because of how high the carbs are.

I spoke with my Aunt (a medical professional as well as long term diabetic, and she cared for my Gramma for 15 years through her struggle with very chronic, extreme diabetes)...told her about the Actos...she said it seems my body isn't reacting to it like it should and she recommended I ask Doc to switch me to Glipiside...this is another med I've never heard of.

It's been a hard two days...much thanks to those here that helped me cope.

[MsTinkerbelly]

Originally Posted by Kenna

After a huge struggle, I finally got my numbers back down to 147 (recorded at midnight) ...this was several hours after dinner of a no-carb salad with a bunch of meat and eggs for protein and much more water than I'm accustomed to. Since today was a high pain day, I did as much exercise as possible between the cool morning hours of 6:30-7:30...pacing myself as I fed all the farm critters. Then unfortunately I was hurting so bad I had to go back to bed a while after breakfast of block cheese, water and meds....I gave my Cherrios to the baby goats. They enjoyed them as much as I do...but I guess from here on out, I can't have my favorite cereal or hot oatmeal because of how high the carbs are.

I spoke with my Aunt (a medical professional as well as long term diabetic, and she cared for my Gramma for 15 years through her struggle with very chronic, extreme diabetes)...told her about the Actos...she said it seems my body isn't reacting to it like it should and she
recommended I ask Doc to
switch me to Glipiside...this is another med I've never heard of.

It's been a hard two days...much thanks to those here that helped me cope.

Glipiside is a great medication; the brand name is Glucotrol! It is an older medication that i took for YEARS in the extended release form, and it worked really well. The problem with the Doctor's these days is they are focused on metformin and actos...along with a few other new "wonder drugs", and sometimes refuse to prescribe Glipiside.

I'm glad your number was lower at midnight, but what was it fasting the next morning? Our bodies do a "sugar dump" in the wee hours of the morning which can increase those numbers drastically. Also, i am sorry to say that the milk in cheese will sometimes raise blood sugar as well. Try to keep some hardboiled eggs around as a quick source of protein when you are not feeling well enough to cook.

[bright_arrow]

Bumping because this is a good thread (and I feel like I need to post somewhere to try and keep myself in check)

[candy_coated_bitch]

I'm a type II diabetic that has been on long acting insulin (Lantus) for a while now. I'm also on metformin. My sugars were still high on those two meds, so I was put on a short acting insulin to be taken before meals (Novolog).

As a side note, I had been on a medication that had a side effect of high blood sugars. I got off that medication and slowly but surely my insulin levels have gotten out of whack and I am experiencing a lot of lows. I've been in touch multiple times with my diabetes nurse specialist and I thankfully see my primary care Tuesday.

We've lowered both my Lantus and Novolog several times and I'm still having lows every day. Usually at night. Sometimes multiple times. It's exhausting. In the past 24 hours I've had lows of 37, 46, and 59. What scares me most is at 37 I wasn't even feeling symptomatic. I'm afraid of not waking up and going into a coma. We bought glucose tablets, orange juice, and candy today to be prepared and I'm going to set an alarm so I can check my sugar in the middle of the night. Frankly, I'm scared.

I called my mom who is a diabetic and a nurse and her opinion and she said discontinue the fast acting insulin until I can talk to my nurse on doctor. I agree with her. I'm just going to try and ride it out this weekend. I'm feeling incredibly defeated though, like I'm doing everything asked of me and it's just not working.

How do you all deal with lows? What do you eat /drink? Has anyone else struggled with daily extreme lows? Any words of support? I need a boost!