[kuchick]

Hi. When DH and I were trying to conceive (11-13 years ago) my fasting blood sugar levels etc were all normal, but after taking a 3 hr blood level test (not the techical name, but if you've ever done one you know what it is) my insulin levels were abnormally high and I was put on Metformin for insulin resistance. After finally conceiving and having my first son, I was no longer seeing a reproductive endocronologist and my OBGYN continued my Metformin prescription after my second son was born (happy accident, was still breastfeeding when I got pg so never went back on Metformin before getting pg).

I was never monitored while on Metformin and since my OBGYN was prescribing the Metformin now, once I lost weight at my yearly appt last year, she decided that I was controlling my insulin resistance with diet and stopped prescribing Metformin. I haven't lost weight since and am struggling to even maintain (regained 15 lbs and now struggled to lose 4 lbs over the course of 3 months). At my appt this year, she ordered an A1C and cholesterol level. My A1C came back normal at 5.6 (higher than 5.7 is at risk for diabetes) and my bad cholesterol is a little elevated (yay! sarcasm).

My question is that in the past, my insulin resistance was found using a different test. Is insuling resistance ever "cured", or am I most likely still insulin resistant and that is why I can't seem to lose weight anymore? I'm eating 1300-1500 calories a day and averaging 1400 and doing 45 minutes of cardio (elliptical on high resistance) 5 days a week supplemented with gardening and frequest walks.

Do I need to see a regular endocronologist now? My OBGYN seems to think that I'd be the healthiest patient she'd ever referred and she's happy with my weight loss. I'd be happier too if I were 4 inches taller (okay, I'm happy, but not satisified and now just frustrated!).

[Rana]

No, insulin resistance is never cured.

IR can be managed and you can still lose weight with IR, but it's a long road. If Metformin worked for you and it's something you would like to take again, then I would recommended going back to your doctor or the new endo, and get a prescription.

I'm not treating my IR with Metformin or any other drug, I am going down the diet and exercise route, coupled with supplements. It's been a very slooow process, to the point that I have been thinking about taking up my endo's suggestion to take the Metformin. I'll see. I was eating more carbohydrates than normal, which stopped my weight loss and possibly even added a couple of pounds to it.

I can control it through diet, but I am also testing my blood sugar regularly to see how I'm doing with the food I'm eating. Some foods will raise my blood sugar too high, others will not affect me at all. For example, sugar doesn't raise my blood sugar, but white rice does!

Good luck with your weight loss!

[mariposssa]

I think cure is a strong word. Probably better to think of it as in remission or under control. It may rear its ugly head again. Some doctors even say diabetes is cured (think Biggest Loser's doctor) Yes, some are able to get off the meds...but it is more diet and exercise controlled than cured. If you still feel like you need the meds; maybe push to have the bloodwork done again to see how high your numbers are. If your doctor thinks you have to be overweight to have IR...well I don't necessarily agree. Maybe a second opinion is in order.

[astrophe]

The first test is the GTT -- glucose tolerance test. That's the fasting one and you drink that glucola stuff that's like weird soft drink. Then you get blood drawn over a period of a few hours. The GTT measures how fast you clear it from your system.

The other is the A1C -- which is a picture of how your blood sugar control has been in the last three months.

Then a blood sugar meter gives you what it is RIGHT NOW when you are testing it with the pricks and the strips.

I kept throwing up the glucola while pregnant so I could never complete a GTT. So my ob/gyn went with an A1C instead. My endoc also goes with an A1C. But you can dx with any of the tests.

IR is in control or not in control. I don't think it ever goes away like it is "cured" -- more like "dormant" if you are in good control.

If you want to change to an endoc, go ahead. Do what you think is best.

But on the weight loss front -- things do slow down as you get close to goal. I don't see you mention any weight training -- maybe that's something to check out? Or flexibility like yoga or pilates? You seem to have a lot of cardio but aren't having much strength or flexibility things.

HTH!
A.

[kuchick]

Originally Posted by astrophe

The first test is the GTT -- glucose tolerance test. That's the fasting one and you drink that glucola stuff that's like weird soft drink. Then you get blood drawn over a period of a few hours. The GTT measures how fast you clear it from your system.

The other is the A1C -- which is a picture of how your blood sugar control has been in the last three months. A.

Thank you! It was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember the name of the glucose tolerance test. I took the GTT with each of my pregnancies (and never got gestational diabetes - shocked my OBGYN) but that was just a blood draw one hour after drinking the glucola. The test that I took 12 years ago that they used to diagnose my insulin resistance was the 3 hour GTT where I drank glucola and then had my blood drawn every hour for 3 hours - killer sugar crash! They said that my insulin levels were normal after 1 hour, but didn't fall off like they should have for the next 2 blood draws.

I'll continue trying to control my insulin levels with diet and exercise, but my doctor seems to think that with my insulin resistance and my height (makes my BMI range really low), that getting under 145 and staying there isn't likely. She doesn't want me to lower my calories all the way to 1200 for the long term. She's happy with my calories where they are.

I've now added body-weight strength intervals after my cardio session since it's something I can do upstairs. My elliptical is in the basement and I'm homeschooling my oldest ds who has Asperger's Syndrome and didn't want to "disappear" for longer than 50 minutes. That's about the limit for how long I can expect him to stay on track. I'm doing 20 squats, lunges, and pushups interspersed with 20 jumping jacks 3 times through (total of 60 squats, etc and 160 jumping jacks). I've told ds that it'll be his new PE course to join me each morning - he's thrilled! Ha!

Thank you for your help. I suspected there was no such thing as "cured" since I'm still at higher risk for diabetes than the general population. I'm still hopeful that with a few more changes that I'll be able to get down to 140 (I was at 142 for a split second a year ago and was comfortable there body-wise).

[kuchick]

Oh - and I meant to clarify that my idea of gardening lately is - over the weekend, I planted 8 trees, used a post driver to drive in 16 T-posts to stake all the trees, bought 8 large bags of mulch (lifted and loaded by myself) and then unloaded and spread all the mulch by myself. The guys at Home Depot always offer to help load, but I'm a lot stronger than they think and would rather do it myself. Next weekend we're dismantling the old playground surround - 20 landscape timbers that are all attached with spikes, taking down part of the playground (kids have outgrown it) and I hoping to convince dh to reuse part of it to build a chicken coop! He's not cooperative. We live on 30 acres in case you're wondering