[da_melmel]

Hi all! I'm Melanie from Louisiana. I'm currently not a diabetic, but I have been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. I'm on Glumetza & Byetta (previously on Victoza, but insurance didn't cover it because I wasn't full blown diabetic). I hope to get well needed information off this forum and get to know people going through all that I'm going through.

 

[canadiandude]

Welcome to the forums, Mel! Everyone else will be by in a sec to add their welcomes as well.

 

[jwags]

Welcome to DF. That is a lot of meds to be put on for a pre diabetic. What were your bgs. Insurance companies are very picky and rarely cover the expensive drugs unless you have gone through all the cheaper options, even for full blown diabetics. I have been a full blown D for 4 years and my insurance company doesn't cover any of my meds until I spend $6000 deductible. So for me Byetta and Victoza are totally out of the question for me.

 

[Shanny]

Hello Mel, welcome to DF!

 

[moon]

Hi Melanie - welcome to the forum.

I've a friend who's also 'pre-diabetic' but she lives like a diabetic, meaning she stays on top of her blood sugar by testing and finds even as a pre-diabetic (I admit to not understanding how these lines are drawn, they sometimes seem so arbitrary) that she can be pretty darn carb-sensitive.

You're fortunate to have a heads-up, I wish I had known a few years ago so I could've stopped the damage I've certainly done to my body by running high numbers.

You're in a good position!

 

[Gizmo]

Hi, Melanie. Glad to have you with us. Be sure to get a monitor and keep your bgs down and you should have smooth sailing. Welcome aboard.

 

[Patdart]

Waving to you, Melanie. I'm a diabetic, but controlling it thru diet so far with no meds, which means I get to buy my own strips, so I am currently using the ones from WalMart. I also live in LA and am on Medicare and didn't meet their criteria, but lost 50 lbs the first year on Atkins and am learning to maintain the wt. for my lifetime. So far, so good!

 

[da_melmel]

Thanks for the welcomes everyone. As far as my blood sugar, I do not regularly check it because my doc said that I really did not need to at this point. She is basically aggressively treating what symptoms I currently have with the combinations of meds I'm on. The Glumetza alone and the Byetta alone didn't do squat for me but combined they are miracle workers! My sugar levels are awesome, I've lost over 30 lbs, and my cholesterol went down (wasn't bad to start off but now it's even better than it was)!

 

[Patdart]

For what it's worth, Melanie, I had blood work done yesterday and it was 87, which would indicate that I have no problem, but I had an A1C a year ago that was 6.9 which is just .1 below the ADA limit, and if I want to kid myself that I'm NOT diabetic, it could cost me my foot. I believe from all I've read that I AM diabetic, not pre or other name for it.

I'm simply not willing to take the chance, so I'm being very careful in what I weigh and what I eat.

Good luck to you!

 

[da_melmel]

For what it's worth, Melanie, I had blood work done yesterday and it was 87, which would indicate that I have no problem, but I had an A1C a year ago that was 6.9 which is just .1 below the ADA limit, and if I want to kid myself that I'm NOT diabetic, it could cost me my foot. I believe from all I've read that I AM diabetic, not pre or other name for it.

I'm simply not willing to take the chance, so I'm being very careful in what I weigh and what I eat.

Good luck to you!

If I offended you in any way I'm sorry. I was just further explaining my situation. I'm in my 20's (discovered it at it's early stages) and diabetes does not run in my family so I'm very hopeful that I can win this battle.

 

[Shanny]

If I offended you in any way I'm sorry. I was just further explaining my situation. I'm in my 20's (discovered it at it's early stages) and diabetes does not run in my family so I'm very hopeful that I can win this battle.

You haven't told us any of your numbers, Mel, but your doc is pulling out some pretty big guns for this battle, and my guess is she is being aggressive about CONTROLLING it, because there IS no cure. It isn't going to disappear, but with proper eating habits & meds, you can send it into hiding & eliminate a lot of the risks associated with it. I just wouldn't want you expecting that you can go back to high-octane colas, Krispy Kremes or whatever your particular favorites might be. You have a metabolic disorder - your body doesn't process carbs like it should, and as it turns out, it's a permanent malfunction.

Regardless of your doc's opinion, it would be good if you got a meter & began to get involved in this. You're on some hot new meds & if I were you, I'd want to know what effect they're having on my body. Some of them are capable of causing LOW blood sugar, and if you began showing signs of THAT, you'd sure as heck want a meter handy so you could test & treat it if it were too low. Just sayin' . . .

 

[Patdart]

Gosh no offense taken. Sorry if I sounded that way, but my g'parents and even my parents didn't have the advantages we have in both diagnosis and treatment. It may sound strange, but I'd consider myself lucky if I had been diagnosed sooner...now I have some side effects to deal with and I'm not the 'young chicken' I used to be, so everything is slower! If I had a message, it was to pay strict attention to your future.