[Lizkep]

Hi to everyone and I hope you're having a healthy day. I was diagnosed with prediabetic FBS about two years ago. At that time I was @20lbs overweight, put on metformin and lost some poundage by dropping all carbs (the only way I can lose weight). All's well for some time but the weight creeps up every time I eat a carb. Then, because I had a random bs of 140 they decide to temporarily try Januvia to help me and possibly lose the lbs again. After 6 mos. on Januvia my A1C is 5.3 and I lost the weight again. I'm a nice thin 6. Great happy, but because they fear beta cell burn out I try Actos 15 mg. Oh Yuck- swelled up and my BS's were awful. Started testing and at 1hr PP I'm at 210, at 2 hrs around 150 and it takes about 3 hrs to drop below 120. Okay, so doc decides Byetta. The first shot I dropped to 71 in 1 hr pp and it took 3 hrs to return to 90. Okay, weird but the second shot took me to 48 in one hour I'm sucking on sugar and hugging the toilet. What would make me crash? Needless to say I stopped that stuff. I 'm also hashimoto's thyroiditis so I have them ordering an autoimmune panel. Anybody else pattern like this. Also without drugs I'm the same as on Actos and it seems as tho' I'm more resistant in morn and afternoon than at night, but it all depends on what I'm eating. Any light shed would be appreciated. Happy level BS's to all.

Liz

[patricia52]

Welcome to the forum. I am still kind of new to this and I cannot answer your question. Be patient and someone who know a lot more that me will read your post and hopefully answer your question.

[Samantha]

I'm new too . This is my first reply . Just to say hello .

[2koel]

Hi All, just a quick intro and reply

I was diagnosed with type II about 1 1/2 years ago. My dr put me on metformin 500mbg 1x day and increased 3 mos later to 1000 mg and lost some weight by dropping 16 and changing my diet lowering carbs and the help of Weight Watchers online program. My a1c wa 7.6 and went down to 6.9 so Dr increased again to 1500 mg, 500 in am and 1000 at dinner. Last 2 A1c's were at 7, so now she added Actos. Only problem, my feet swelled and are tingling and it seems that my BS is going UP instead of down. my BS am readings were about 130=135, now are 160 sometimes higher. after 3 weeks of this I decided to stop the Actos and in a week my readings in the morning are back down. It seems that I am VERY carb resistant and have the dawn pne issue as well. I also have high BP, underactive thyroid and cholestrol issues. I see a regular GP Dr, and I am thinking I need to see an endocrinlogist. Any ideas or thoughts on the actos? What about Januvia?
Kim

[mortis505]

Lizkep. Welcome to DF! Best site for D info on the 'net.

1 hour PPs aren't really much help. Try 2 hours after the first bite of your meal. Also Byetta is primarily used for post meal spikes. How soon after injection are you eating and what size dose are you taking? Are you getting any exercise? At what age were you diagnosed? What was you BG at time of diagnosis? Are you seeing a GP or an Endocrinologist?

Your byetta dose may be too high. Ask you doctor about decreasing the dose, or start eating a few more carbs. Are you taking any other meds? i.e. Acetohexamide, Chlorpropamide, Tolbutamide, Tolazamide, Glipizide, Gliclazide, Glibenclamide (glyburide), Gliquidone, or Glimepiride. These meds may cause hypoglycemia.

Feel free to start asking more questions. I don't take Byetta so I'm not sure of the all the possible side effects. But others here do, and I'm sure one of them will be along shortly.

2koel, also welcome to DF! Many GP's are good but they dont specialize in pancreatic disorders such as diabetes and thyroid issues. If you are in doubt about ANY of your diabetes care, I urge you to see an endocrinologist.

[Lizkep]

Mortis505, thanks for the reply.Diagnosis 2 yrs ago. No other drugs as metformin didn't work. The 2 hrs are not too high at 150 on average. I'm not a full blown diabetic but seem to be getting worse in the last year. My 2 hrs used to be below 110. FBG was the bad stuff, but now the morning sugars are fine. 101 at most. I eat w/i 15 min of injection. I will eat more carbs as I usually only eat 15 per meal see if that helps. I guess my concern is if I'm Type 1.5 and insulin sensitive would that be causing the hypo's and can you use this stuff as an early type 1. I have an appt on July 31st with endo. We recently moved to area with only one endo and the wait is months. So I've been pushing along until I see her. If I continue to crash - I'l quit and wait. Feel better w/o drugs and w/diet. Exercise is not helpful in my case, I do it for calorie control. Sorry, age of diagnosis 39. I'm waiting on autoimmune panel and am not going to worry too much. Just wondering if anyone had similar history or experience. Thanks

[kgm0612]

HI & WELCOME!

Karen

[princesslinda]

The Byetta can cause you to go low if you're not eating enough carbs. I take the 5 mcg dose, and a very low carb meal puts me in the 70-80 range.

If the 5 mcg does is causing you to drop in the 40 range, you may not be able to tolerate the Byetta, esp. if you're only eating 15 carbs/meal. Byetta is not insulin, but it can cause lows. I had to stop metformin when I started Byetta, as it made me go lower.

I have found if I wait 30-45 minutes after my injection before I eat, I feel full earlier and eat less.

[mortis505]

Originally Posted by Lizkep

Mortis505, thanks for the reply.Diagnosis 2 yrs ago. No other drugs as metformin didn't work. The 2 hrs are not too high at 150 on average. I'm not a full blown diabetic but seem to be getting worse in the last year. My 2 hrs used to be below 110. FBG was the bad stuff, but now the morning sugars are fine. 101 at most. I eat w/i 15 min of injection. I will eat more carbs as I usually only eat 15 per meal see if that helps. I guess my concern is if I'm Type 1.5 and insulin sensitive would that be causing the hypo's and can you use this stuff as an early type 1. I have an appt on July 31st with endo. We recently moved to area with only one endo and the wait is months. So I've been pushing along until I see her. If I continue to crash - I'l quit and wait. Feel better w/o drugs and w/diet. Exercise is not helpful in my case, I do it for calorie control. Sorry, age of diagnosis 39. I'm waiting on autoimmune panel and am not going to worry too much. Just wondering if anyone had similar history or experience. Thanks

When you get into see the Endo, ask for a C-Peptide and a GAD antibody test, they are a bit expensive but insurance should help out. And no, Byetta should not be used by a T1/1.5 according to Byetta's website.

[jacobsam622]

Originally Posted by Lizkep

Mortis505, thanks for the reply.Diagnosis 2 yrs ago. No other drugs as metformin didn't work. The 2 hrs are not too high at 150 on average. I'm not a full blown diabetic but seem to be getting worse in the last year. My 2 hrs used to be below 110. FBG was the bad stuff, but now the morning sugars are fine. 101 at most. I eat w/i 15 min of injection. I will eat more carbs as I usually only eat 15 per meal see if that helps. I guess my concern is if I'm Type 1.5 and insulin sensitive would that be causing the hypo's and can you use this stuff as an early type 1. I have an appt on July 31st with endo. We recently moved to area with only one endo and the wait is months. So I've been pushing along until I see her. If I continue to crash - I'l quit and wait. Feel better w/o drugs and w/diet. Exercise is not helpful in my case, I do it for calorie control. Sorry, age of diagnosis 39. I'm waiting on autoimmune panel and am not going to worry too much. Just wondering if anyone had similar history or experience. Thanks

I started taking Byetta about a month ago and I works great. google Getting Started with Byetta. If you were type 1 byetta wouldn't do anything. Your numbers are low enough that you can attack wit diet and exercise. This is how I manage diabetes.
I Test: Mornings and before driving, 2 hours after meals and before bed.


My bg goals
Morning below 130 -----------------------ideal around 95 - 110
2 hours after meals below 140 ---------ideal below 120
Before bed below 140--------------------ideal 120 to 130
I Never go to bed with bg below a 100 when I wake up my bg will be =>130.
As I gain more control the numbers should get tighter.

To determine carbs I subtract fiber from the total carbs. I also subtract artificial sweeteners.
sugar alcohol count half the listed carbs If the label says 9 mgs sugar alcohol then you Subtract 4.5 mgs from total carbs.

Some Fats are good we need them for healthy cholesterol. Mono and poly are good.
Trans fat and saturated fat are bad.

I do not eat Low fat foods they are not good for type 2 diabetes because they replace fat with sugars which makes them high carb.

I eat as little sugar as I can not because they have a worse effect the other carbs but because sugar has no nutritional value so why eat it.

I don’t eat candy

Foods I can eat;

Meat = Beef, chicken, fish broiled or baked, eggs, hotdogs(all beef), Hamburgers, and Lamb,

Nuts - most nuts are low in carbs, peanuts, walnuts, and almonds any that have total carbs of less then 10g. I eat cashews at bed time. If I eat a meal that I would have in the past eaten fries or chips with I substitute peanuts.

Spreads I buy no sugar added jelly or I buy one of several reduced sugar brands, no sugar added Peanut butter – good for cholesterol

vegetables = Small kernel corn on the cob 1 ear per meal. I eat lots of Green beans it raises good cholesterol. I can eat squash, zucchini, celery, Tomatoes Green peppers, pickles (half sours),
cucumbers

I eat Sugar free ice cream or no sugar added if I go to Brusters., Sugar free jell-o
Carb smart ice cream has 12 carbs per serving once you subtract the fiber and splenda it only has 4 carbs.

Chocolate that has a cocoa % >= 60% or low carb chocolate

Breads = I eat whole grain or low carb whole grain breads. I try to find bread that has less then 7 grams of carbs per slice. Pepperidge farms have several brands in the 5g per slice range.

Pasta = I eat whole grain: “Dreamfields”, Another good brand I like more is “Barilla Plus” whole grain pasta the penne pasta is pretty good. A lot of restaurants offer whole grain pasta

Reward for sticking to life style:
I eat pizza at least twice a month
I eat at five guys burgers at least twice a month.
I eat popcorn at the theatre and since I have twin three year old boys I don’t get there much.


Rice = I eat brown rice, or wild rice

sodas = I drink diet only

I Drink lots of Water dehydration and diabetes don’t go well together.

* Avoid high carb food any anything with a lot of refined sugar or white flour

* Fruit = I Limit the amount of fruit I eat because they all have a lots of sugar and I have acid reflux brought on by the high sugar content in the stomach due to 9 months of bgs over 500
I eat apples (granny smiths), and tomatoes (well I did until the recent warnings)

[BrianSCohen]

Lizkep,

Welcome to the forum. You have my sympathy. You are taking a bit of a wild train ride for what may seem like little reason. A HBA1c of 5.3 is great, and you seemed to be on track. However, Januvia stimulates insulin production. If you are insulin resistance, this may drive you pancreas wild and cause the burn out that your doctors were concerned with. Your doctor can test you with the c-peptide test and see whether you had significantly elevated insulin.

You were initially put on metformin, and from the things you say, being somewhat insulin resistant, metformin can be very effective. A single random BS reading of 140 means nothing. I might suggest you go back to your doctor. Actos addresses insulin sensitivity, but as far as I am concerned metformin is a preferable choice. In either case, you have a bunch of stuff going on, and if you do want to change your course of treatment it is good to do that in concert with your doctor. You doctor can order the appropriate tests for HbA1c and things like c-peptide to see how you are doing. Your doctor works for you, you have been putting up with some really bad stuff, give him and earful and make him earn his keep by helping you come up with a treatment course that is effective and does not leave you feeling bad.

Keep us up to date on how things go.