Hello All! I went to my Dr. last week (last Wednesday, in fact) and since I hadn't seen her in awhile (over a year), she discussed my last Blood Glucose test...you know, where you fast for 12 hours then drink the syrupy mixture? My sugars were 215 after an hour. I did that test in Dec. 2005.
SO! I have been testing my blood sugar all week (and last) and have been in the 89 - 101 range. My husband tested it this evening before coming to work and it was 182, after I had eaten dinner (about 35 minutes after dinner) and drinking water. She gave me the Byetta pen...and I am scared to use it. I should get the results of my blood tests back - maybe she can tell me why I am so fatigued all the time. Could it be that I am not metabolizing sugar properly? I do not want to hurt my body any more than I am....as I am overweight. I guess I should not be scared of the Byetta pen and just use it....I just never thought I was diabetic. Any advice/ideas/help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks to all you wonderful ladies
Fatigue can be a result of poorly controlled diabetes. You may not "feel" diabetic, but have you been diagnosed? From the blood sugar levels you mentioned, I would think yes (my husband is diabetic), but what does your doctor say? When you were first diagnosed in 2005, were you not offered diabetic management and nutrition classes? Talk to your doctor about where and when these classes are available. In many areas, the health department or nonprofit organizations offer these classes free of charge. In areas where they are not free, they may be cheap or covered completely by most insurances.
Blood sugar medications are very important. I think the classes would help you understand your doctors recommendations and would make the medications less frightening. You need to talk to your doctor and tell her that you're afraid to use the Byetta pen. There may be alternative medications that you might find less intimidating, or she can explain it to you, and address some of your fears.
I think knowledge is your best weapon at this point. If you have insurance that covers diabetic education, or nutritional counseling with a registered diabetic educator or dietitian, I would highly recommend it.
Fatigue is definitely a sign of blood sugar problems. So is frequent urination, excessive thirst, and blurry vision. Sounds like you are definitely headed in the direction of a Diabetes diagnosis . . . but try not to panic until you get the results of the most recent blood tests.
Tests from two years ago are useless. The fasting blood test will tell all. Ask about an in-office test for HbA1c too (Google it), they can do that now with a prick of the finger. Your Dr. had to have said something one way or the other for him/her to give you Byetta. Call and ask. Maybe it's to help with pre-diabetes? good luck
Last edited by ShootingStar; 12-13-2007 at 11:54 PM.
Those kind of numbers do suggest diabetes. In 2005, did your doctor not followup on that test or did you kinda ignore it? When you get these 89-101 test when are you testing? Fasting blood sugar numbers don't tell the whole story. You need to have the fasting blood sugar test, you need the 2 hour glucose tolerance test and you need an HbA1c test.
Do not be afraid of the diabetes label. I am only 36 now and was 34 when diagnosed. I was morbidly obese. Diabetes has been a blessing, it made me get on a diet that has helped me lose nearly 100 pounds.
Just cause you aren't diagnosed doesn't mean diabetes isn't causing havoc within your body. It's better to know and get the treatment you need. Good luck and get back to us on what the doctor said.
There are some signs to help you figure out if you do have it, frequent urination, bubbles in your urine, smelling fruit. I was diagnosed at 13 and had all those signs. Oh and thirsty constantly. Thats a big one. Your levels seem normal, after dinner that was a lil high for normal but you had just eaten. Your lucky your getting tested now. My sugar was unreadable when I was diagnosed and hospitalized.
My blood sugar and glucose tolerance numbers have been a little lower than yours, and my doctor told me I had metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance. Recently, I noticed "diabetic" written on blood test paperwork, and asked my doctor about it. I told the doctor I thought I was "only" insulin resistant, and asked "well, am I diabetic, then?" and his answer was "close enough.
He said that while my numbers were under the cut-off for diabetes, I should for all intents and purposes, consider myself diabetic, especially with my weight and mild high blood pressure it was better to err on the side of caution. My doctor said that diabetic medications along with cholesterol and blood pressure medications if necessary, are being given earlier in the progression of blood sugar problems, often before full-blown diabetes develops because there's a lot of evidence that shows that keeping blood sugar as close to normal as possible prevents alot of the organ damage associated with insulin resistance and diabetes. Even though I'm not diabetic and my cholesterol was within the normal range (it was high-normal), my doctor prescribed metformin for the blood sugar and niacin and simvastatin for the cholesterol. He said that if I weighed 150 lbs, he wouldn't have prescribed the cholesterol drugs since I was technically in the normal range, but that he wanted my cholesterol lower as an extra precaution.
It just goes to show that there's alot that can go into a diagnosis and treatment of these kinds of things. It can be confusing and frightening. Doctors aren't always good at offering information, which can make it worse. One thing that helped me a lot was taking a small notebook and pen to appointments. Before the appointment I would write down my questions (leaving space to write notes). My husband and I go to each other's appointments, so I usually have my husband take notes while I talk to the doctor. However, before I was married, I just told the doctor I wanted to take a few notes, and took them down myself.
HI, I posted a few days ago asking people if they had ever taken byetta. On friday, I 'clicked' one number over from being insulin resistant to type 2 diabetes.
The doctor told my the byetta has had great affects on people with weight loss, gave me a DVD and told me to watch it and see if thought I could handle the pen. If not there was a pill that was just as good, but didn't produce the weight loss help. He said he has several people who've lost 40 or more pounds.
I was on metformin, and took myself off a year ago, because it made me so sick. He did tell me if I lost the weight and my numbers came down, I'd never have to take anything else again.
My half sister, died, who was only 43 died from complications of type 2, after losing a leg and a host of other problems. She managed her weight for a while and then it all just came back. So, I am not wanting to go down that road.
I might try the pen, but I had posted on the other board, wanting to know if anybody had used the pen and did it hurt. My sister, asked a woman at her work, who uses it and said, not really...mmmhhmm
I am just borderline in denial that I am now having to face it, but I am going to just plunge in. I get my blood tested in 3 months to see if I can come off of it. He told me that if I had a good amount of weight loss, it in fact could change my numbers for the better.
We do have a few of our regulars that use Byetta and hopefully one of them will be along with an answer for you. I cannot give you any first-hand experience because I've never used it -- Byetta has not yet been approved for use in Canada.
As I recall from some of their earlier comments, results are sporadic -- Byetta seems to have an early effect of reducing appetite, but for some the effect doesn't last past the first couple of months. I doubt that the Byetta needles would be painful because they are very fine gauge just like the insulin needles -- I've always found that the insulin needles are far less painful than the lancets you have to use for finger pricking to test BGL.
One of the girls also mentioned that in some places in Europe, Byetta is used strictly as a weight-loss aid.
It's a shame about the Metformin causing you problems because it is definitely about the only oral diabetes med that doesn't tend to add weight.
Diabetic or Not? Could Use Some Advice!!
that I am now having to face it, but I am going to just plunge in. I get my blood tested in 3 months to see if I can come off of it. He told me that if I had a good amount of weight loss, it in fact could change my numbers for the better.
