Help a T1?

[kidvid]

Hi folks - I'm a Type 1 that needs your help. I would like to provide my wife with some suggestions she could pass along to a friend of hers. I'm knowledgable enough about diabetes to know this person isn't on an optimal track with her diabetic care, but I need some counsel from you folks. And yes, both of us realize we aren't her parents, guardians, the Diabetes Police, etc.

The friend is a coworker of my wife who is a T2. 55 yrs old, dx and treated for about 6 yrs. Maybe overweight by a bit. Income issues have some impact on her quality of care. She's on Glucophage and Metformin. I don't know dosage. She has been feeling nauseous lately, fatigued can't make it through work, getting high BG readings.

The issue that makes me write you all is that at a Dr. appointmant yesterday she had a fasting BG of 280. Also very high BP. The Dr. focussed on her high blood pressure exclusively. She has never had an A1c. The doc didn't adjust her oral meds at all. Didn't download her meter. I don't know about you guys, but as a T1 that would scare the pants off me.

Getting a different doctor probably isn't an option, nor a referral to an endo. What else might you folks advise?

Thank you,

[shanda]

Your friend might want to have a good look at her diet. Consuming lots of carbs can sure make you feel run down and Metformin alone is not the answer for T2's. Also physical activity plays a huge roll in T2's getting things under control. If your friend is so run down she can't finish a day at work, I would guess she's not very active outside of work either.

Barring any other medical complications perhaps she can speak with her doctor about seeing a dietician and finding out if that may be the source of her high bg readings. If she can get a handle on that, and add some daily exercise, I hope that will work for her.

Good luck to your friend, and I'm sure she will appreciate that you care :)

shanda

[MamaCat]

I'm sorry to hear getting an endo might not be an option for your friend. Is it due to insurance/finances? She really needs some intense guidance and education with someone who can make certain her meds are right for her.

The next suggstion I would have is for her to contact a local (or regional) chapter of the American Diabetes Association to see if she can get some counseling and classes through them. If paying for medical care is the problem, the ADA may be able to assist her in finding a CDE or endo who can help her whether she can pay or not.

[labob]

Hi KidVid:

What nourishes me destroys me? It's been a really long time since I studied Latin, but did I get that right? Just curious.

More substantively, a doctor who ignores a 280 mg/dl fasting reading does not deserve to be any diabetic's doctor, and I don't think it takes an endo to figure that out. Your wife's co-worker needs to find a doctor who will talk with her, not to her. This one is obviously not doing that, so it's time to find another. Unless you're in a very remote area where there aren't many options, switching doctors is as simple as calling up your insurance company or going on line. The selection of a new primary care physician might be random, but I would encourage this person to keep on trying. If the new one is a jerk, try again. There are good, competent doctors out there, and it's worth the effort to hunt them down.

In the meantime, a half hour walk at lunch will probably help a lot, as will a dietary focus on non-starchy vegetables. My guess is that with fasting readings that high, taking walks and eating tomatoes and cucumbers will probably not be enough in and of themselves, but they'll help. Exercising will also help in the mental help department. It's depressing to be that exhausted, and once you're exhausted, it's hard to convince yourself to do anything physical, which makes you even more exhausted and depressed, etc. ad infinitum.