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@OP. I would venture to say you are a Type 1.5. I would also repeat the suggestion of going on just insulin, no meds. You are already doing it to a degree. Certain meds will not do anything if you don't make enough insulin on your own. There's other ways to lower blood sugar. Many of the new drugs have different approaches to lowering blood sugar. Some involve the kidneys and secreting it through the urine. Farxiga is one of those, I am sure there are others. Each class of diabetes drugs has their own mechanism of action. Some of the new ways will work but at what price? It's not just about lowering A1C at any cost.
The way the "establishment" treats Type 1 diabetics is they recommend a standard of carbs per meal. It used to be 45 to 60g grams per meal. Not sure what it is now. Along with the standard carbs, they recommend a standard dose of insulin to counteract those carbs. This in my opinion is a dead end and will shorten and reduce your quality of life.
So the better way to treat Type 1s is to go low carb and low insulin. Insulin is a two edge sword. It is necessary for life but comes with many drawbacks if you use the amount necessary to cover high carb meals on a daily basis. Atherosclerosis and heart problems are two complications that come from high levels of insulin. I am only relaying what I have learned through my research. Dr. Bernstein's book falls directly in line with this.
This is a page that briefly describes the different classes of diabetes medications. Any classes that stimulate the production of insulin, I would stay away from especially Sulfonylureas. They are well known to burn out your pancreas. Glimepiride, Glipizide, all of those fall into this group. https://www.medicinenet.com/antidiab...al/article.htm
@OP. I would venture to say you are a Type 1.5. I would also repeat the suggestion of going on just insulin, no meds. You are already doing it to a degree. Certain meds will not do anything if you don't make enough insulin on your own. There's other ways to lower blood sugar. Many of the new drugs have different approaches to lowering blood sugar. Some involve the kidneys and secreting it through the urine. Farxiga is one of those, I am sure there are others. Each class of diabetes drugs has their own mechanism of action. Some of the new ways will work but at what price? It's not just about lowering A1C at any cost.
The way the "establishment" treats Type 1 diabetics is they recommend a standard of carbs per meal. It used to be 45 to 60g grams per meal. Not sure what it is now. Along with the standard carbs, they recommend a standard dose of insulin to counteract those carbs. This in my opinion is a dead end and will shorten and reduce your quality of life.
So the better way to treat Type 1s is to go low carb and low insulin. Insulin is a two edge sword. It is necessary for life but comes with many drawbacks if you use the amount necessary to cover high carb meals on a daily basis. Atherosclerosis and heart problems are two complications that come from high levels of insulin. I am only relaying what I have learned through my research. Dr. Bernstein's book falls directly in line with this.
This is a page that briefly describes the different classes of diabetes medications. Any classes that stimulate the production of insulin, I would stay away from especially Sulfonylureas. They are well known to burn out your pancreas. Glimepiride, Glipizide, all of those fall into this group. https://www.medicinenet.com/antidiab...al/article.htm
Just FYI.
Yes I would say I'm a Type 1.5. I do not respond to the Oral pills properly. Those you mentioned I have questioned for burning the pancreas out. My Dad took those and developed Pancreatitis then Pancreatic Cancer. He died 10 days after the Cancer diagnosis. The Januvia I'm on now is one of these type pills. I ended up on that pill because I was sick of Meal time Insulin. I have to say I had no real side effects with Insulin, the pills I do.
So I don't know what the answer is in my case. Oh yes it is 45 to 6O carbs per meal. In my case I can't even handle that amount. So I know I have to be on a proper amount of something to live. Its just finding the right regiment. In many ways it looks like my body only responds to Insulin. Although I may see about trying the Ozempic type Med. If it works great if not I'm going to return to Mealtime Novolog Insulin, and stay on Lantus Insulin in the evening.
Thanks again everyone for all the replies and comments. I want to read them again as I only got to briefly read them. I work 3 days a week so I have limited time some weeks, especially this week with that worthless Doctor visit.
Oh yes it is 45 to 6O carbs per meal. In my case I can't even handle that amount. So I know I have to be on a proper amount of something to live. Its just finding the right regiment. In many ways it looks like my body only responds to Insulin. Although I may see about trying the Ozempic type Med. If it works great if not I'm going to return to Mealtime Novolog Insulin, and stay on Lantus Insulin in the evening.
I think you may have misunderstood me.
I think the 45 to 60 carbs per meal is WAY too high. It's a recipe for disaster because it's too much insulin on a regular basis. That leads to more health problems which I described previously. The reason they (the ADA) do it like that is to make it easy to dose the insulin. A "standard" dose of insulin us used to cover a set amount of carbs. If you don't deviate you should not have lows.
It should be low carb and just the amount of insulin needed to cover those carbs. You would have to adjust the amount and I am referring to Novolog. It may get a little tricky at first but you would quickly get used to it. It's all covered in the book I mentioned by Dr. B. I strongly recommend you read it if you are interested in a program like that. The guy has been Type 1 since age 12 and is mid 80s now and he looks like he's in great shape to boot.
If you have some spare time, maybe you can check out his youtube channel. He has a funny speaking voice which takes getting used to but he knows his stuff.
Edit: If you want feedback from more people or just to read more, I recommend this board. Very knowledgeable people here and plenty of them. You will find people that can relate to your condition more than I could. https://www.diabetesdaily.com/forum/
I'm type 2, don't take insulin, and I manage my diabetes with my food choices, along with a little bit of metformin. The only thing my doctor does regarding my diabetes is give me refills for my metformin, and draw labs a couple times a year. That's it. No help in managing or treating it whatsoever.
If your body doesn't make its own insulin, that's another story, of course, and you may need more assistance than I do. A pharmacist can be more helpful than a doctor about insulin dosing.
I've never found doctors to be helpful in treating my diabetes. I see new diabetics online who only learn how to manage their diabetes by talking to other diabetics. That's the best way to learn from what I've seen, by getting help from other diabetics. That's how I learned.
This is all so true. My Dr. has no idea what I'm talking with her about when I go for yearly appt. I talk about books, diets, etc and she kind of just stares at me. It really is a learn by the seat of your pants. My Dr was ready to put me on diabetic meds without even telling me to try diet first. I told her no and have for years.
On an aside... I also found this with Veterinarians. My cat was diagnosed with diabetes and the Vet just said, "oh, just get yourself a meter and don't test too much. You'll just drive yourself crazy" She actually told me to give my pet 2cc of insulin without testing. I left that Vet but had to figure it out myslef and I finally did with some help from other pet owners online.
It's a very sad and scary situation when a Dr., no matter what kind, are so willing to put you on meds without really knowing what they are doing.
And also nutritionists/dieticians. Sitting through a 2-day class was eye-opening!
Yes!! My mother was prediabetic and got her A1C down to 5.4 through diet. She joined an online class for diabetics to see if there was something new she could use. She was telling me that they are 5 weeks into the class and the instructor hasn't mentioned carbs and how they seriously effect diabetes. My mother knows about cars, we talk frequently about them. I was shocked but then the women is running the class according the government guide for diabetics. Crazy.
OP, I share your experiences with Endocrinologists. They can be hard to come by and hard to work with.
May I make an unusual recommendation? My Endo suggested I start taking Curalin (google it). It is a mix of supplements and herbs that has really made a difference in my glucose levels. I have reduced my insulin intake by 50%. I'm not usually a big proponent of "alternative medicines" but I have found this really works for me. While it is a bit pricey, you might want to try it for 30-90 days and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, then you are no worse off. If it does...well....
And just FYI to villabella - cat diabetes can be weird. While all dogs with diabetes require insulin, some cats do not. I hope you have figured out what YOUR cat needs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by villabella22201
On an aside... I also found this with Veterinarians. My cat was diagnosed with diabetes and the Vet just said, "oh, just get yourself a meter and don't test too much. You'll just drive yourself crazy" She actually told me to give my pet 2cc of insulin without testing. I left that Vet but had to figure it out myslef and I finally did with some help from other pet owners online.
OP, I share your experiences with Endocrinologists. They can be hard to come by and hard to work with.
May I make an unusual recommendation? My Endo suggested I start taking Curalin (google it). It is a mix of supplements and herbs that has really made a difference in my glucose levels. I have reduced my insulin intake by 50%. I'm not usually a big proponent of "alternative medicines" but I have found this really works for me. While it is a bit pricey, you might want to try it for 30-90 days and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, then you are no worse off. If it does...well....
And just FYI to villabella - cat diabetes can be weird. While all dogs with diabetes require insulin, some cats do not. I hope you have figured out what YOUR cat needs.
The Vet was very off handed about it and offered no instruction or information. I have to think this is how she handled other diabetics cats as this was a cat ONLY Vet. Not good and potentially deadly for the animals.
Yes, I was able to get my cat on a sliding scale with a lot of help from a wonderful woman with multiple diabetic cats. My kitty did very well for many years and lived to be over 15yrs old which amazed me. And she lived well.
OP, I share your experiences with Endocrinologists. They can be hard to come by and hard to work with.
May I make an unusual recommendation? My Endo suggested I start taking Curalin (google it). It is a mix of supplements and herbs that has really made a difference in my glucose levels. I have reduced my insulin intake by 50%. I'm not usually a big proponent of "alternative medicines" but I have found this really works for me. While it is a bit pricey, you might want to try it for 30-90 days and see if it works for you. If it doesn't, then you are no worse off. If it does...well....
And just FYI to villabella - cat diabetes can be weird. While all dogs with diabetes require insulin, some cats do not. I hope you have figured out what YOUR cat needs.
I will look Curalin up, sounds good. I have also been using Berberine.
Thanks for all the comments I appreciate them. My Diabetes I'm afraid is more complicated. It really can't be controlled with diet unless I ate nothing but sugar free Jello. I do make Insulin but my production is low. That is why I was prescribed Insulin some years ago. I've had all the tests thru the years that diagnose Type 1 or Type 2. Some said I was Type 1 for years and treated as such. Then the last few years I'm told I'm actually a 2. I'm just someone that does not fit the profile for Type 2 at all. I didn't develop it in middle age. I was already borderline in my late 20's, with sugar showing up in my urine during lab tests. I've never been overweight or inactive. I just cannot even with minimal simple food items control glucose. Without Insulin I easily go into 300 and 400's and have for years. Metformin, Glipizide, Glimepride, Starlix, and some I can't remember didn't do much for me, and I'd be taken off. When it was suggested to do Insulin I basically said ok, since diet and exercise obviously wasn't working, I could go out for a run into my early 50's and I'd still be 200 when it was over. Today I no longer run but like today a 5 mile hike, and only a small apple and a glucerna snack bar. I was able to get a 110 when I was finished. If I was to eat a salad with chicken breast and vegetables in it, and a small roll. 2 hours later my Glucose will easily hit 200 or slightly above. So I'm hungry alot and don't get to eat a normal filling meals. I burn up alot of calories and i only weigh 150lbs. I'm 5'7" Yet I take Januvia full strength in the morning with my breakfast of low sugar oatmeal and a low carb Yogurt. My drink is a bottled water. Lunch I have chicken or Turkey breast sandwich maybe a side salad and Bottled water Then in the evening I take 20 units of Lantus. I generally have another salad. Bottled water. I might add Avocado and some brocolli, carrots to that salad. I get up in the am I am at 130 to 150 range. That is why I needed a doctor to go over is my Insulin production dropping some more, and I can't counteract it with my current regiment. I will also say my Glucose readings have been much more up and down since I had Covid in Dec into January. I don't know if that virus impacted it. The doctor didn't seemed concerned. I've always been prone to Viruses and Infections and the doctors blame it on Diabetes. Whether it is or not I don't know.
I've always been told my problem with Diabetes was really bad genes. Both my parents were Diabetics as was my Grandmother my Dads. Mother. She had her leg amputated when I was a kid. God only knows how far Diabetes must be going back in my gene pool.
So we are all different when it comes to our stage of Diabetes, and what we can do to control it. I envy all that can manage Type 2 with their diet and or exercise. I certainly wish I could. So it just goes to show Type 2 Diabetes is definitely not like the commercials make it look. The commercials make it look like all Type 2 Diabetics are overweight. So they need to take these expensive drugs, and dance around in the commerical lowering thier Glucose. I can't stand the Diabetic commericials. There on every few minutes between the non stop Lawyer adds here in Central Florida.
I have MODY-x diabetes, as well as three of my brothers, they haven’t isolated our gene yet. Some of the usual diabetes rules apply to us, some don’t. For instance, my A1c runs almost normal but my blood sugar goes extremely high for about 2-3 hours after eating then drops like a lead balloon into hypoglycemic range. We also have associated digestive and autoimmune disorders. It can be traced back at least four generations. For us the GLP-1 agonists, like Victoza, Ozempic, and Trulicity, have been a miracle drug. I went from once or twice monthly ER visits to none in the last three years.
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