Should I find a new doctor?

[Tigress]

I joined this forum a while back. I think this may be my first post, I don't remember. Anyway, I had a really great doctor about 1 1/2 years ago. She moved to New York. I chose her replacement, a young man about 25-30 yrs old. He seemed knowledgeable, yet somewhat nervous. He started me on glipizide and metformin. My H1ac (i think that's it, forgive me if I typed it wrong) was at 8.0. It went up to 9.2, and he put me on Avandia 4mg, glipizide 5 mg, and metformin of 1000mg twice a day. My insides felt like they were on fire, I would eat at the appropriate times of the day, and before I would get to the midday part, I would get shaky, restless, and felt very uncomfortable. I checked my sugar levels, and it said 88. I ate something, and felt better. But this became a daily occurance, and I told my doctor about it. He said that was completely normal, I was supposed to feel like that. I just wasn't used to it yet. My H1ac had dropped to 8 again.He upped my meds to Avandia 8 mg, Glipizide 10 mg, and kept the metformin at 1000 mg twice a day. He also put me on Zocor at 80 mg, which I had been on it at 40mg a day. The next time I felt the shakes, I waited 15 minutes more before I checked my sugar levels. It was at 42. I stopped taking the Avandia completely, and only take the glipizide and Zocor for now, as the Metformin tears up my guts. I have not checked my sugar levels since I did this. I feel better now. I try to eat right, but sometimes its not easy. I just want to know if finding a different doctor would be a good choice. This guy seems so young, and wants to put me on all the stuff he can. I have lost trust in his ablilities. That 42 count scared me that much.

[Cia Leah]

My heart goes out to you for what you are going through. I don't know what advice others will have, but if you don't have faith in your doctor, then you mistrust his recommendations. I'd find another doctor and maybe get the help you need.

Best of luck to you and I hope things go better for you.

Cia Leah
Type 2

[BlueSky]

.... I stopped taking the Avandia completely, and only take the glipizide ....
It may help to consider how these different drugs work. The Glipizide stimulates your beta cells to produce more insulin, which is why your blood sugar was dropping. The Avandia and Metformin increase the effectiveness of the insulin your beta cells produce. If you can't tolerate the Metformin, that is a good reason not to take it. But it would make a lot more sense to reduce/stop the Glipizide than the Avandia.

Having said all that, you really need to discuss this with a doctor. You basically have two choices. One is to tell your doctor what you want to do and why you want to do it. The other is to find a doctor who has figured it all out already and will give you good advice. After 30 years of living with diabetes, I always go for the first option. The second option is a lot harder. I have never been able to find a doctor who understands my situation better than I do. :o

[ant hill]

If you feel that the doctor you have is not for you then change and at the Blood Glucose level that you are getting then i like another opinon. I like to see less of the metafromin say like 750MG or so but don't go on my advise see another doctor or better still a endo!! :)

[sweetcheeks]

the metformin is one of the best meds for BG's, sometimes you just have to deal with the side affects in the beginning then once there gone, then your good to go

i personally would be afraid of all those others, the metformin by itself will not make you go low, its the combonation of the others thats doing it

[mzizgayle]

Sounds as if he has you on too much meds...I would change doctors if you do not feel comfortable or he is not listening to you.

I did twice in the beginning until I found the right guy (one was a family member which probably was not the best choice but at the time, I needed to find a doctor and thought lets try, the other would not listen, just plain out rude, he lasted one appointment...my insurance company was very good about allowing me to make a change so quickly once I explained his behavior)

I am on metformin, the long acting. I was on the fast acting and I also did experience some lows with it, people react differently to drugs, some are more sensitive to medicines. It took me a much longer time than most people for the body to become use to the metformin, but the symptoms do go away if you can hang in there. It also takes a bit for the metformin to be working at it's full capacity. Your lows could be the way or what you are eating, etc. If you did not have enough carbs, maybe not having a small snack couple hours after or even exercise can send you into a low. I was cleaning house, putting up wall paper, etc and did not realize I did not snack and even missed lunch and I went way down as yours, and I was on a ladder at the time the shakes hit lol.

[jentoe_22]

I think if you are not comfy with your Doc, you should change Dr.s. This is the person that is supposed to help you manage your life. I know if I was not happy with my Doc, I would switch in a heartbeat. I hope you get it figured out soon. :)

[nneighbour]

the metformin is one of the best meds for BG's, sometimes you just have to deal with the side affects in the beginning then once there gone, then your good to go

Metformin might be "the best" for some, but not for all. When I was on it I had diarrhea at least three times a week, the rest of the time my stomach just hurt. I don't care how good the med is, metformin reduced the quality of my life. I had much less freedom as I needed to be close to the bathroom most of the time. Sometimes the side effects just don't go away. This was happening for over six months. My compliance was terrible and I quit taking it on my own. Now I take actos which is brilliant, only once a day and no side effects.

As for doctors, you have to be comfortable with the person. If you don't trust them and their decisions, then I think it's time to start shopping around. I love my GP, he's great and I really like that he specializes in gay men with HIV/AIDS. I may not be a gay man, and I may not have HIV/AIDS, but it shows that he has compassion towards marginalized populations. It's also important to choose your clinic with care. When I started going, I had no idea that my current clinic is also a methadone clinic, which means things can get a little tense in the waiting room. This can be difficult at times as I have anxiety. I guess my point is, choose carefully.

Sorry for the ramble, I'm a bit of a mess today.

[jeggeman31]

If it was me, I would change Dr's and I would find another female Dr.

[ladytaz]

Firstly, I'm not fond of Avandia, but that wasn't the cause of your going low, it's the Glipizide. The avandia (AND Metformin) 'helped' your body to better use the insulin (that the Glipizide was helping it make).

You definitely need to be testing your BGL!!! You may think you feel better, but in reality your BLG's may be too high, which could be causing damage to your body!

Was the Metformin the 'regular' or 'extended release' kind? A lot of people have tummy troubles with the 'regular' and once put on the 'extended release' do MUCH better!!

PLEASE start checking your blood sugars again!! It is SO very important!! This is the ONLY way you will know how well you are or are not doing! This is also how you will learn how different foods affect you and which foods you should be avoiding, or at the very least cutting back on!

As for the doc ... well, you might want to find you another doc, especially if he wasn't listening to you about how you were feeling!!

Good Luck!