[enigmalady777]

Hi to all!

I'm new to this forum, but not new to diabetes....

I am a 48 year old grandmother, (1 adorable granddaughter) and I've had diabetes for 15 years now. I am now facing the fact that I am maxed out on my oral meds (actos, metformin, and glyburide) and need to go on insulin. I am also battling the Dawn phenomenon and a recent A1C of 8.1 which is the highest it's ever been.

Although I am totally used to taking my own blood glucose tests upwards of 8 times a day (I even take it in the middle of the night to see what it is at 2 am to substantiate the Dawn Phenomenon to my doctor....) I am totally freaked out by the idea of having to jab myself with a needle to take insulin.

I think part of my fear and "needle" phobia is that I grew up with a diabetic mother who was insulin dependent from the get-go and I watched her take her insulin shots all the time. Those images are still etched in my brain. I would watch her jab herself with her needle, grimace in pain, see the black and blue marks she suffered, the bruising, etc. It wasn't a pretty thing to have to watch and I imagine not a fun thing for her to have to endure. While I know that things have changed over the years, those images remain and I can't shake them.

To be sure, I know FULL well what this disease can do to ravage a person's body; I watched my own mother suffer terribly with many, many complications - from heart problems requiring open heart surgery to blindness to gangrene and infection in her feet which moved up her legs even after surgery to remove the dead tissue and her stark refusal to undergo amputation of both her diseased legs a refusal that eventually caused her death 11 years ago at the age of 60. You don't need to tell me how important it is to control this monster.

I keep hearing that insulin shots today hurt less than the pin cushioning finger pricks I have become so accustomed to. That's nice to hear.

The other concern I have is weight gain from insulin. I've done some reading about Byetta, another injected medication that actually sometimes results in weight loss, and has had some very good results for some people and I am looking at the possibility of asking my doctor about that medication instead.

If anyone can share their experiences with both insulin and/or Byetta, I would love to hear about them. I have an appointment with my doctor this week and we will be discussing the next steps.

[mzteacher]

welcome lady!
glad you found us...sounds like you will have much to share and learn too! i am sure others will be able to answer you better....
susan

[dbdb]

I also had that same idea about insulin needles growing up, but these new pens sure have tiny, easy to deal with needles.

[shutterbug]

Welcome to DF. Hope you find this forums helpful and informative.

[Tattoo azz]

Welcome to df. Please try not to be too worried abt injections, the pen needles are a lot smaller than syringes and there are a lot of different sizes to choose from. Weight gain is a shadow for many diabetics(me included) but it can be countered through good diet and excersize.
good luck
Azz

[princesslinda]

Welcome lady! I take Byetta, 2 shots a day in my stomach. These are MUCH easier than the finger sticks we're all used to. Its just getting over that "mental" hurdle. After the first shot, you'll be over that fear of the needle.

Like you, i've seen the bad complications that uncontrolled blood sugars can cause. I lots my mom at age 54. Like me, you have good incentives to do WHATEVER it takes to keep your numbers stable.

Byetta works on post-meal #s. If your fasting #s are out of control, i'd consider insulin, as Byetta won't help with it. Some folks lose weight on the Byetta, others don't. I take 5 mcg, and haven't seen the weight loss others have had.

Just don't worry about the needles...they are really tiny, and quite painless. I'll occasionally notice a little burning, but very rarely.

[kgm0612]

WELCOME to the forum!

I had a HUGE fear of needles when I was first dx'd, but my endo prescribed the insulin pens with the short needles. I highly recommend you ask for them. Good Luck!

Karen

[enigmalady777]

Thank you all for the welcome and for the reassurance that the insulin needles won't cause me any distress! I do think it's mental, by all means.

I remember the very first few times I had to do the finger sticks and I was seriously phobic at that time, too ---- pressing that little button used to take me what seemed like HOURS...with little beads of perspiration appearing on my forehead. I had to totally pysch myself out in order to do it! Now, it's almost automatic! I don't even think about it, even after the fact that most of them do indeed hurt!

Thanks again and I'm looking forward to participating on the board to share and learn!

[notme]

Welcome to Diabetes Forums. Glad you found us and have decided to join. You will find lots of helpful people here and knowledge that will help you on your diabetes journey. Post away and enjoy!

[enigmalady777]

Well, I am back from my doctor's appointment, and the decision was to go with Lantus, 10 units at night, and increasing by 2 units every three days until I achieve the blood sugar goals.

My HMO wouldn't cover (or even consider!) Byetta, nor would they consider the insulin pen for the Lantus (it's not on their "formulary") and I didn't feel like paying for them myself since I do have prescription coverage through them (it's Kaiser.....what can I say) as long as I use what they stock. I was thankful that they even cover the Lantus vials. Those are really expensive by themselves and through my coverage at least I only pay $30 a vial instead of $90 (or more!).

My testing strips are through them too, thankfully, and I asked the doctor to order me 300 which she did. Only cost me $28. I can't complain.

Doctor also gave me something called Notriptyline for my nueropathy - my feet burn and hurt so much - especially at night, along with the random stabbing pain. Such fun.

Anyone else familiar with this drug for nueropathy??

The nurse had me "practice" giving myself a shot - even though it really didn't hurt, just LOOKING at that stupid needle is a huge mental hurdle for me. Oh well, I guess I'll get over it! I have to!!!!!

[shutterbug]

Originally Posted by enigmalady777

My testing strips are through them too, thankfully, and I asked the doctor to order me 300 which she did. Only cost me $28. I can't complain.

That's not bad. It costs me $25 for 100 strips and I use up 100 in a month. This through blue cross HMO.