[lt98672]

Hi everyone,
I'm new here.
I'm 37 years old. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 16, I was pregnant when they found it. At that time I controlled it with diet and metformin. It got better for a while. Now the last 5 years have been a struggle. Last year my levels shot up to 500+ if I didn't take insulin. I started Levemir about a year ago. I was taking ..I can't remember the name of it..it was a short acting one and now I take Novolog before meals instead. So I take a dose of levemir in the morning and one at night and then the novolog for my meals. I'm really struggling a lot. I'm not sure if I am type 1 or 2 and it sounds like I need to talk to my dr. about finding out for sure. All this time we just assumed I was type 2 because it runs in my family but my dr. was unaware that I was diagnosed at 16 and had not been to see a doctor since I was pretty young.
My BS has come down to the low 200's now and sometimes upper 100's.
One thing that has been happening the last few weeks is that I am dizzy. Sometimes I think I'm almost going to pass out. I'm not sure if this is connected to my diabetes or not. I test and find that I'm in the 200's....which should not be making me feel that way.
In the last year I've taken off 50 lbs. but unfortunately, my BS did not get better, in fact it got worse because I didn't take my insulin. I also have high cholesterol now.
I still have about 100 lbs to take off and I'm trying really hard to eat right and exercise. However, my insurance will not pay for a diabetes educator as my dr recommends. So basically, I am on my own.
So I'm here to learn!

 

[Richard157]

Hello and welcome to our community! I am surprised to hear that you have been a diabetic for 21 years and you do not know what type you are. You need to see an endocrinologist (diabetes specialist) so you can be certain you have a correct diagnosis. You are probably a Type 2 but your doing without insulin may have caused so much of a strain on your pancreasthat it no longer produces enough insulin. This frequently happens to a Type 2 over a several year period when the blood sugar levels are consistently high. You are taking the right kinds of insulin but you need to use a basal/bolus type of control. If you do not know what that is, you can see a diabetes educator and he/she will teach you about carb counting and how to properly determine you insulin dosages. That can make a big difference in your control and, hopefully, prevent you from having terrible complicatons with your eyes, kidneys and nervous system. I hope you are not having those complications now, you are very lucky if you aren't.

Ask all the questions you want, and see an endocrinologist as soon as possible. Good luck to you!

Richard

 

[lt98672]

Hi Richard;

Thank you so much for your reply.
I think everyone always assumed that I was type 2 but when I was discussing it with my new doctor she was a little perplexed at such an early onset of Type 2.
I thought that my bolus was Levemir? I use a pen to administer it twice a day. Right now I take 36 units, once in the morning and once before bed. I'm also taking a cholesterol medication as of last week.
In between the Levemir I have Novolog..which is even more of mystery to me. I can never count my carbs and figure out exactly how much Novolog I need correctly. My fasting BS this morning was 170. I know that is still really high but my dr. is really, really happy with that since I was over 500. I've been exercising for 30 minutes each morning and that really does seem to help. Along with that I am just being really, really careful with my food.
I am going to go see an endo at the end of the month. I have never seen one before. I would love to see a diabetes educator. I did...years ago when I was first diagnosed. Unfortunately, my husband and I both lost our jobs when our companies went under. That left us without insurance for quite some time. My insurance now thankfully covers my drs. and medication but will not pay for a diabetes educator. So I'm pretty much left on my own to figure this out. I checked locally and the diabetes educator here is $375 for the first meeting and $120 for each additional contact. Ouch. I just can't quite go there.
I have a huge fear of having another low blood sugar, I've only had it happen twice but that's enough. I live in fear of it now. I also had a lot of symptoms as my blood sugars came down. It would feel like I had low blood sugar only because I had been high for so long. My dr. warned me I would probably feel terrible as my body got used to lower, more normal blood sugars.
She struck fear in my heart at my last appointment when she mentioned that I may need to think about an insulin pump. I really, really don't want to go that route if I don't have to.
Okay, time to go exercise. On top of all of this, I have fibromyalgia. If I get diagnosed with about one more thing, I'm going to cry!

 

[Shanny]

Welcome to DF - we're glad to have you join our support group. Diabetes is such a challenge both physically and emotionally, we all need all the help we can get!

My treatment so far does not include insulin, so I won't try to respond about that. What I have found is that lowering my carbohydrate consumption really keeps my glucose levels more moderate and I take metformin as well. I, too, have nearly 100# of excess weight to lose, so we can compare notes on that! I've also been without healthcare coverage for the last ten years, so we seem to have several things in common.

I hope you'll continue to visit our forum so we can get better acquainted.

Take care,
Shanny

 

[lt98672]

Thanks Shanny,

I was so glad to find this forum. I know I need to take charge of my health, this includes my weight. I've been overweight most of my life now. The first 50 lbs came off fairly easy as I made changes. It took me a little over a year. My dr. was really happy with that and I'm pretty pleased as well. I would have liked to have lost more in that time but slow and steady....
I have 6 children and up until last year I kept trying to diet and make seperate foods. It doesn't work. I finally realized I needed to eat normal food and that NO ONE needed as many carbs and sugars as I was feeding my family. So now, we all eat the same things. No more "special" foods.
It's only recently that I have been cleared for exercise. So now I'm trying to figure out how much I should push myself and how long, etc. I have a treadmill and recumbent bike. Oh man do I hurt. I'm not sure if it's my Fibromyalgia, the exercise or a side effect of my new cholesterol meds..but I really hurt. I'm willing to hang in there though.

Welcome to DF - we're glad to have you join our support group. Diabetes is such a challenge both physically and emotionally, we all need all the help we can get!

My treatment so far does not include insulin, so I won't try to respond about that. What I have found is that lowering my carbohydrate consumption really keeps my glucose levels more moderate and I take metformin as well. I, too, have nearly 100# of excess weight to lose, so we can compare notes on that! I've also been without healthcare coverage for the last ten years, so we seem to have several things in common.

I hope you'll continue to visit our forum so we can get better acquainted.

Take care,
Shanny

 

[Richard157]

Levemir is your basal and Novolog is your bolus. I am type 1 with insulin resistance so I take 1 unit of bolus insulin for every 6 carbs I eat. If my meal has 30 carbs, I divide that by 6 and get 5 units. I take that amount before I eat that meal. I do this before every every meal and snack. It gives me much better control. I have been using a pump for 31 months. It is wonderful! There are millions of pumpers and I rarely see anyone post that they are not happy with pumping. It does not take long to adjust to pumping but you would have to be thoroughly familiar with carb counting. Would your insurance cover a pump and supplies? It is very expensive if it is not covered.

I suggest that you buy the Calorie King book for determining the number of carbs in the food that you eat. It is not expensive and you can find it on amazon.com.