[hasakahat]

Hello. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes just a few days ago. It was a total surprise to both myself and the Dr sinCe I went in for a UTI and a possible sinus infection. Ac1 was 11.5 and fasting glucose was 211.

I have a family history of type 2 and I had gestational diabetes with 2 of my 3 kids so I have known this day was coming. Just didn't expect it so soon.

Dr has referred me to a nutritionist and put me on 500 mg of Metformin 2x day. I absolutely hate it. It makes me nauseous for hours and I'm not sleeping well because of it. Of course all of this happened just before the holiday weekend so I have to wait an extra day to talk to the doc.

My dad was diagnosed 2 years ago and his care is thru a clinic at the University hospital. All of my testing etc was with the Dr that was available at the office and not my primary Dr. I am thinking of calling the hospital clinic and seeing if I can get in there. Im assuming that I may have better results with someone who deals with this daily rather than a family Dr. Any input?

The irony in all of this is that almost 4 years ago I decided I was tired of being fat and I lost over 55 lb. I have kept it all off (or within 10 lb). I'm not a big exerciser so that is going to have to change. Sigh.

Thanks for reading my novel.

Heather

 

[jwags]

Hi Heather. You sound like me. When I was approaching 50, I decided to take all my extra baby weight off. I worked hard dieted and within 5 years had lost 50 pounds. I worked out in the gym and ate vegetarian. Then I went in to get new glasses and the eye doctor saw something in the back of my eyes. She sent me to a specialist and sure enough he told me I probably had diabetes. He sent me for blood tests and fasting was 240 and HbA1c in the high 10's. I have no family history and never had Gestational Diabetes. So I guess I just won the prize. That being said, I was determined to learn everything I could about diabetes. I'm not sure if it matters what kind of doctor you go to unless you are on insulin. I go to an Internist. With diabetes many doctors and dieticians don't give you great advice on how to get normal numbers. Many of us have found we have to figure this out for ourselves. It took me about 3 years and changing my metformin dose 3 different times to get my D under control. I also found that as a diabetic I can't eat more than 15 grams of carbs at one time without spiking, so my diet has changed. My bgs now are almost in the normal range and HbA1c is in the low 5's. Most doctors will tell you this can't be done and recomend HbA1c around 7. But at 7 you are setting yourself up for lots of complications. So set your own goals and do lots of bg testing and find what foods spike you and which ones give you great bgs. A good place to start is
Blood Sugar 101

 

[Patdart]

I'm not on metformin yet, but I've read all about it here and other places. Apparently it is hard to get used to, but is a very safe drug and works well for many people. As jwags says, you really don't have to have some sort of special doctor unless you just want one or have complications. I put myself on the Atkins diet after reading Dr. Richard Bernstein's book as well, and it seems to brought mine down to near normal levels with the weight loss and eating very low carb.

Good luck, and keep the faith!

Sorry you feel so bad right now,