after having diabetes type 2 for 15 years i have become unable to manage my sugar load using medication, diet and exercise. I cannot focus and crave carbs. to get myself moving i am consuming large amounts of caffine, then cannot sleep, then cannot get up without the massive caffine fix. tomorrow i wll ask my doc to put me on insulin. I also feel unsettled and depressed. Its like something in my brain is shorting out, as skills i have previously used to relax or lighten my mood no longer work.
I will ask the doc tomorrow to put me on insulin, as i have been stalling. please tell me what to expect?
your very sweet greenpepper
green pepper, I am type 1 diabetic, so I don't have the exact same sitation but I will share this with you. I am almost 29 and have had Type 1 for nearly 15 years myself. I have always heard from physicians and experts in regards to Type 2 diabetes is that eventually a lot of type 2s will wind up on insulin. As time goes on, the amount of insulin produced by the pancreas slowly and gradually decreases in time. Eventually it does not produce any insulin any more. When this occurs, the patient could possible be placed on insulin. It may seem like it is because of something you have not done correctly over the years, but more than likely it is not. Its just a part of the illness. I was freaked out when I was told I would have to go on insulin. But its just a part of what you have to do to survive the disease. Don't think of insulin as a bad thing. It sure isn't to me! :) Good luck to you. I hope this helps, if even just a little tiny bit.
-LainieGurl
thanks for your responses, i think one thing is that i feel guilty that i didn't do something correctly. well that is true, my doctors suggested i loose weight for a long time. finialy it happened.
my brain knows that the average type 2 stays off insulin for 10 years, then the pancreas can not make more insulin. My heart says i failed myself, even though my brain says no you didn't.
my brain says i come from maternal and paternal generations of old age onset diabetes and a few born with diabetes family members. I found the death certificate of my great grandpa who died of an unhealed leison he had diabetes type i. I have a great great grandmother blind after years of diabetes.
so i sit here in the middle of the night unable to sleep due to the tons of caffine i have consumed to get me energy enough to stay out of bed.
so i have no insurance. how will i pay for insulin?
Depending on the type of insulin your doctor may or may not put you on, if it is Regular (R), NPH (N) or 70/30, places like Walmart sell for about 20/bottle. Now I'm sure there a l lot of resources out there that I am not even aware of.
As far as the old horror stories of what happened with relatives of years and years ago, you have to realize that that was basically in a time where there was little research and even less resources for living with diabetes. This has been in my family as well and boy did I have a hard hard time with dealing with it, especailly since I was diagnosed at the age of 14. Remember that years ago, there were nearly NO diet drinks, sugar free and no sugar added food and on and on and on. As much as it may not seem true, it is a lot easier now then it ever was for my family aor any one else that had to steuggle with this years ago.
Beleive me, I know how much if a struggle it can be sometimes. I have been so frustrated when I see high numbers and haven't done anything that I wasn't supposed to do. So frustrated that I felt like giving up on it, but if you do, thats when the disease shows its ugly side and will come back to bite you years later.
As far as the caffeine, different people have different ways their bodies react to it, most should try to avoid it for so many hours before they want to go to bed.
I hope you find some peace of mind once you talk to your doctor.
Much Luck and wishes of well being...
-LainieGurl
I can relate to everything that "greenpepper" is saying. I am 50 and have had type 2 for 5 years now. I cannot keep my sugar levels under control. A1C average for past years is 7.9. I am so tired I cannot even get up the energy to go thru all of the crap. I feel like I am depressed also; Can't sleep; memopausal and having hot flashes I don't get any support from my husband, because he thinks that the diabetes is all in my head. The needles, strips and help all are so expensive. I will be checking out some of the discount wehsites that people have recommended. Will see how that works. We have really been financially strapped for last two years. We have to let our house go back into foreclosure
I am trying to get up the strength to get thru the anxiety of going to see an endocrinologist, because I feel that my primary dr. does not really know what he is talking about; However, he is giving me a hard time about the referral; I am onmy third oral combination, but still wake up with 170 readings. Any suggestions? Sorry about unloading to everyone today. But it has helped a little to get some of this off of my chest.
Taking insulin is a time consuming activity. I hope i get faster. I have gotten conflicting information about the insulin.
I have a pen when i take at the same time each night. 20 mml of a long acting insulin. this pen is 350. My patient assistance has been approved so there should be a pen waiting for me at the docs.
I started at 10 mml then moved to 15 and now 20. That makes sence i understand this.
I am taking Humalog, sliding scale. I am to check my waking sugar, record it. then have breakfast, 15 minutes later check sugar and take the appropriate amount of insulin. at this time it is 4mml for each increment of 100 it is over 200. okay.
i was okay checking and taking insulin 15 min after the meal. Now another nurse tells me i check sugar before i eat the meal, adminster insulin based upon that number then eat.
Now, my doctor has moved to working at the hosptial.
I feel heavy and sluggish using the before meal plan so i am going back to the 15 after the meal.
Greenpepper I am a type 2 diabetic and was on the pen as well until the insurance stopped paying for it. From there I went to using a needle and taking Lantus (long acting insulin) and Novolog (fast acting insulin). I was taking 45 units of the Lantus 2 times per day and 80 units of the Novolog 8 times per day on average. I was also on every oral medication known to man along with the shots.
My glucose levels averaged between 500 to 600 (waking up levels) but I experienced many times where my glucose would drop into the 40's. My pancreas shut down completely a dozen times in 2010 which always required a 4 day stay in the hospital (joy joy).
I was diagnosed at 50 and 3 years later I was put on an insulin pump (3 weeks ago). Since that time my glucose seems to stay under 300 with a lot of the time staying in the normal range. Since I get a constant drip of insulin 24 hours a day it is more like having a 2nd pancreas. I still have to test my blood sugar several times per day (including before and 2 hours after eating) but all in all this seems to be a working solution, at least for me.
Depending on your insurance or financial situation there is a separate sensor (accessory to the pump) that tests your blood sugar every 5 minutes and sends this information to the pump for 100% automatic use. My insurance paid for the pump ($11,000) as well as the monthly supplies but they don't pay for the sensor which runs $500 a month. The only real drawback to my pump is the 24" tube that connects my pump to my body, it seems to get in the way with everything or at least for me but then again I am still getting used to the entire pump thing.
You can see the pump on youtube if you'd like to view it. http://youtu.be/AU78ETXSLjQ
Anyway if you need to talk more feel free to contact me. Good luck!
I am still taking the two types of insulin and patient assistance provided both long and rapid acting insulins. My brain is craving carbs something awlful. my brain thinks, "oh, you can eat all the carbs you want now, just load up on insulin." the other part of my brain yells, "no, that isn't solving the problem."
I want to feel better and this carb battle has got to go.
Well honestly this isn't a solvable problem. Since diabetes is not curable (or so most say) then there is no solution. Personally since I've been on my pump I eat what ever I want to. I check my glucose before I eat then put that info into my pump, figure the carbs of what I had, put that info into the pump. The pump then tells me how many units of insulin I need to stay balanced and injects it. For the past 2 weeks I have not gone over 200 which I am ecstatic about considering that before the pump I was in the 500 and 600's on average.
That's not to say that I "pig out" per say. I eat moderate portions when I eat and eat something 6 to 8 times per day. Just because we're diabetics greenpepper it shouldn't mean we have to suffer or do without. That's what the insulin is for and we are just doing what the pancreas used to.
hello, I am going to try and buy these lancets; called BD Microtainer Contact-activated lancet. Made by BD company # 366593; i have good results with this...otherwise the other lancets that come with testing kits are so painful to me...I am type 2.
I just took my test and it was 150; and after that i was reading on this site bout the med that i take (I hadn't taken my pill yet) and it said "usually taken 20 minutes before eating....never knew that...
Hello world
Right now i am using the true2go tester from RiteAid. The strips for this seems to be of the lowest price. Works quickly. When I stick myself it doesn't hurt, usually. I have found some places on my fingers are more sensitive than other spots.
When I do a stick wether it is insulin or the sharp for the testing, i think of myself stretched out on a warm beach. the sand is just right, and I have just the right amount of body contact with the sand to make me feel comfortable and pleasant.
I have noticed some people take their pill or medication prior to a meal and others after the meal. This is confusing.
I contacted the BP company hoping to locate less expensive supplies and they do not have a patient assistance program at this time.
I am curious as to what your diet is that is not helpful. When you say sugar load that does not sound encouraging. "Diet" can mean all kinds of things. This is important because health agencies like the ADA encourage behavior that makes things worse.